Oh maybe it did, maybe it didn't. They were see-sawing back and forth before that and I don't think Jan would have made up huge amounts of time if he hadn't of crashed.

I think it DID mess with Jan's head, but if you look at pictures from yesterday's stage, there is a picture of Jan with the caption waving a vehicle off there too. I think the preparation and mental took the day.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

hmmm, if Ulrich is riding at 30 mph, his team car is behind him at 30 mph and the tailwind is present, wont the car provide a similar effect to a tailwind by pushing air into Ullrich?

I guess that's possible.

I realize the car, too, is pulling air with it and this has some positive effect -- even if it's 20-25 meters back.

But it seems rational that shielding you from the benefit of a force that otherwise favors you (when you are doing the cutting into the wind) can't be a good thing.

I do know that it unnerved the hell out of Ullrich, and concentration is everything in a TT.

Physicists?

It's as stated in an earlier post...if the wind isn't as fast as the rider, having a car behind a cyclist won't negate the benefit of the tailwind. Look at it like this...if the tailwind is 30 mph, and the cyclist is going 31 mph, the cyclist has an effective HEADWIND of 1 mph. The car does push air in front of it...in this case, however much air is pushed with an effective HEADWIND of 1mph. NOT MUCH! And, it is for only a very little distance...inches perhaps. Jan was waving the car back because he didn't want to be roadkill in case he fell.

If the tailwind were faster than the riders, then following too close in the car would negate some of the tailwind benefits...how much depends upon the difference in speed, and the closeness of the car.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

If you're going the same direction as the wind, and you're going slower than the wind, then it's a tailwind. Once you pass the speed of the wind (as is certainly the case with Ullrich), it's no longer a tailwind... it's just less of a headwind. There was no wind coming up from behind at those speeds.

Edited: Damn, I need to learn to type faster. :)

So the favorable "force" (granted it's not a 'net' tailwind) is not negated by the folowing vehicle, assuming both vehicle and rider are moving faster than the trailing wind?

[Anyone who knew my performance in physics class at O.R.H.S. way-back-when won't be surprised that this is a bit over my head :-) ]

Gary -- I think I got it (belatedly) and have now apologized to the car for calling it stupid.

Good luck smashing past that 26 mph barrier later this summer -- have a hunch you'll do so, and easily...

I have a new weapon (Spanish invention that eliminates the dead spot in my pedal rotation) which I am working with right now.

 
I have a new weapon (Spanish invention that eliminates the dead spot in my pedal rotation) which I am working with right now.
[reply]



They have been tried and tested by many riders
including "Cyclingnews" and have been on the market for some time. Did anyone use them in the
Tour de France ?

Gary -- have that same Spanish weapon -- the 180 mm Ti version -- and swear by it (won my 5th consecutive state TT title on June 1, despite crashing heavily on a very wet/windy day -- familiar scene, eh?). No, they haven't been used by any team in the Tour yet, though they are UCI legal -- Relax Fuenlabrada, a smaller Spanish team used them in the Vuelta, though. Good luck!

ah yes, I believe Howie mentioned your successes. I set a new PR in this morning's 10 mile TT, 23:18 - 25.75 MPH avg., with the 'Spanish weapon' I'll be looking at well over 26'

What was your best 10 mile TT last year? To what do you attribute your improvement? I keep missing our local 10 miler...maybe August 13th I'll make it. Last year I had a 24:35 (24.4--mph?). This year, I'm almost that fast in triathlons during longer and hillier races, so I'm really curious what I can do on a flat 10 mile course. Be sure an let us know if the rotorcranks do improve your time...it does seem to make sense.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

I'll have them mounted up this week, have not ridden them yet.

I added about 1 MPH to my average TT race speed in the past 3 months through a new training program and some aero gear and fit refinements (Big Slam).

Yaqui: In re-reading, I now realize you asked this of Gary, but since I use 'em too and race the occasional 10 mi. TT, I'll answer as well.

Used them for the first time this year at the Sandy Hook TT -- just a hair over 7 mi. -- and I'd guess they were worth about 18 seconds or so over this short course. That doesn't sound like a lot of "edge", but allowed me to set an age group record on a tough/wet/windy day, and finish second overall out of 180 racers (my buddy neo-pro Gui N. beat me -- see: http://www.truesport.com/...results/sandytt.html).

Some "firmer" data 10 mi., which is the distance you asked about... There's a dead flat 10 mile stretch along the Delaware River right near where I live that I race long intervals on (first S-N and, then the return leg N-S so the times are terrain and wind neutral).

When I'm on form, times for both directions are in the low 21's (~21:18 or so) -- nothing earthshaking by national standards, but good enough for the geezer division locally. :-) That's about 30 seconds faster than the best I could muster in similar form last year without the Rotors, so my hunch is they're worth over a minute over a flat 40km course (what we race at state's).

I'm racing the same course in 4 weeks with about 3 weeks of training (or about 3 rides of 10.5 hrs total) with the 'weapon', I'll report back. I'm expecting to average 26.5 or so this year with them, on my way to a 27 avg for the flats.

Thanks, Gentlemen. Keep us informed, it's interesting stuff!

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)