I thought the same thing. Do you remember the old shots, video, of Mark Allen riding at full power? His stomache went in and out like bellows to a real extreme. In that case it was just highly developed breathing. Perhaps this is the same with Lance and the photo just catches him a full breath. Maybe.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

It is called belly breathing. You try to expand your stomach to the nose of the saddle in order to suck ans much atmosphere into ones lungs as possible. It is important to get as much volume of air as you can when working at your maximum.

It ain't pretty for pictures, but it works.

OK- I've been wondering about this for a while... when I'm in the aero bars and relaxed, my thighs hit (brush) my stomach as I'm riding. I know what you're thinking, and I'm 6'0", 160 lbs- pretty lean and no spare tire :-) It's not a hindrance to a full pedaling motion, but it gets very annoying after a while. The only way I can prevent this is to contract my abs to pull my stomach back in. This, of course, is not as relaxed a position and my HR goes up 3-4 bpm if I try to sustain riding with flexed abs. The other subconscious "fix" is that I find myself rotating my hips backwards and arching my lower back to create more clearance, which causes lower back pain after a while. I'm not in an aggressive position by any stretch of the imagination. I ride a Trek 5200 with C2's in a pretty relaxed position. I've read the Tri Fit article elsewhere in this site and am considering setting my bike up according to the formula for a 76* angle, but I'm concerned that if I set the bars to the correct drop- even at the least aggressive end of the range- it will exaggerate this problem. Does anyone else have this problem? Is this just endemic to the tri position and something I need to get used to (like a sore arse)? I know I have relatively long femurs relative to my torso. I'm not sure if this also contributes to the problem.

Probably just the photographer catching him at the top of a massive inhale. I don't think he's putting on weight. Man, can you imagine having your photo analyzed so intensly? Look how significant this guy is to cycling. I wonder, if he put two pieces of black electrical tape around his ankles how many people might do it just because Lance did? It's kind of impressive he weilds such curosity and possibly influence.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Now I feel like I am a over analytical internet geek. (Maybe I am.) Anyways, I do not think it is trick of the camera since I observed it in more than one picture. It now looks like it is a combination of the extra back hump and regular belly breathing. Daivd K.

I think it is the belly breathing thing we're seeing but there does appear to be something under his jersey. I thought that was against UCI rules?

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Most people will have trouble with thigh clearance if they try to get a good aero position with a relaxed seat angle. That is no problem for the guys on the tour, but most mortals can't do that. The point of a steep seat angle is to open up the hip so you don't have the clearance problem while you are in the aero position.

I am guessing you won't be able to get a steep enough seat angle and low enough bars out of your Trek, but you could try. I know that I can't.

you're supposed to relax your tummy muscles when you're on the bike.. wasted energy keeping them tight. Relaxed with diaphgram breathing.

mike

Talk about thigh clearence and hip angle, check out George Hincapie in stage 3 of the Vuelta a Murcia on grahamwatson.com

http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/updateframesetcall?openform&03murciaSt3

A

The UCI banned under jersey drinking bladders for about 3 months, then relented when it was pointed out to them that the ban was entirely the result of an article in Cyclesport where a reporter speculated - with absolutely no data to back it up - that riders were wearing them for an aero advantage. They are currently legal, and by extension, just about anything you can stuff under your jersey is legal. For now.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
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