Contador keeps moving back in his saddle less than every 10 sec - needs a better position and saddle
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menchov had the same problem on his TT bike in the giro
i think perhaps the UCI regulations make it hard for these guys to get in a stable position
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Many people do that in time trials. It’s not a matter of positioning or saddle.
Many people do that in time trials. It’s not a matter of positioning or saddle.
what is it a matter of?
it’s hard to argue with his result though
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It’s most likely UCI regs to a large extent, but there are saddles that help. You’ll notice Cancellara doesn’t do it. Then again, Contador may prefer to ride relatively steeper than Cancellara, and being so much shorter, he’s a lot more hampered by UCI regs, even with the morph-exemption I’m sure he gets. But let’s say he likes to ride at 80deg of effective STA. That’s going to be really tough for him to get and still have any saddle underneath him.
It’s natural for some to creep forward. Then they slide back to keep the nose of the saddle out of their crack.
it’s hard to argue with his result though
x2.
Maybe we should all take lessons from today’s performance.
At Musselman on Sunday, the guy in front of me kept shifting and the amount of shifting increased as the ride went on, eventually he sat up a litttle and he fell way back. I never moved, never got out of my aerobars even on the steepest of climbs and was very comfortable. I stretched out my hamstrings systematically in preparation for the run, but I think saddle discomfort can be so distracting that it can sabotage fitness.
Contador shifting appears to be discomfort on the front of his saddle, he keeps shifting back to desperately get away from the pressure on his soft tissue and move the pressure to his sit bones on the back of his saddle.
Yes thats exactly what he needs…
It’s most likely UCI regs to a large extent, but there are saddles that help. You’ll notice Cancellara doesn’t do it. Then again, Contador may prefer to ride relatively steeper than Cancellara, and being so much shorter, he’s a lot more hampered by UCI regs, even with the morph-exemption I’m sure he gets. But let’s say he likes to ride at 80deg of effective STA. That’s going to be really tough for him to get and still have any saddle underneath him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA03vSHPBJo
Cancellara. Yes, he slides.
Contador keeps moving back in his saddle less than every 10 sec - needs a better position and saddle.
If he had better position and a good saddle, he might someday win the ITT and the TDF.
At Musselman on Sunday, the guy in front of me kept shifting and the amount of shifting increased as the ride went on, eventually he sat up a litttle and he fell way back. I never moved, never got out of my aerobars even on the steepest of climbs and was very comfortable. I stretched out my hamstrings systematically in preparation for the run, but I think saddle discomfort can be so distracting that it can sabotage fitness.
Contador shifting appears to be discomfort on the front of his saddle, he keeps shifting back to desperately get away from the pressure on his soft tissue and move the pressure to his sit bones on the back of his saddle.
One word: Adamo
angling the nose up a little works for me
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Contador keeps moving back in his saddle less than every 10 sec - needs a better position and saddle.
If he had better position and a good saddle, he might someday win the ITT and the TDF.
**Yeah…maybe you’re right…perhaps it’s actually faster to do the “carriage return”. **
So, are you saying there’s no room for improvement based on the OP’s observation?
Much less than Contador, though. MUCH less. You’ll also note that this year, Cancellara had prologo modify his saddle to add “grippers” to the nose. They all slide somewhat due to UCI regs (and, to some extent, from the natural pull of your quads), but with the right saddle, you can minimize it. Contador’s position is excellent (surprise, surprise), but given how asinine the UCI regs are, I wouldn’t be surprised if, like many riders, he simply rode a saddle that he felt was “good enough,” which it obviously is. But it doesn’t mean that he might not be happier - even if he was not faster - with a slightly different saddle. Then again, when you are 60kg and putt out that kind of power, you have so little of your bodyeight on the saddle, that it’s probably even that much harder to stay on it.
His position was good. His moving was not from putting out a ton of power, but moving off of the nose of the saddle.
Pictures of you show you on the nose of your saddle. If that position were comfortable for Contador, he wouldn’t be wasting so much energy shifting himself back to the rear of his saddle. That’s a waste of energy and putting too much focus on discomfort. I think that if he were naturally going out in front of the nose of his saddle to achieve a non-UCI position, this argument would be OK, but since he is avoiding the nose of his saddle all together, it appears he’s trying to avoid a position that may be taught by FIST. Why would he do that? most likely because he’s experiences pain on the front of his saddle.
after this many days in the saddle for that long i may be a little raw there too…
and it wouldnt be in their crack if not for UCI regs
It’s natural for some to creep forward. Then they slide back to keep the nose of the saddle out of their crack.
So, are you saying there’s no room for improvement based on the OP’s observation?
I don’t know if there is room for improvement, I assume there is but sometimes you see athletes do things that don’t fit the “acceptable” way and yet they break world records or with time trials in the TDF.
I remember watching Janet Evans swim the 800m and people were saying her arm carry is too high, she should have a more relaxed carry, yet she won the Olympic gold. The same with Jim Furky in golf, people sitting in their armchairs saying he has a bad swing, yet he wins the U.S Open.
I have watched marathon runners get Olympic medals with an odd gait or arm movement but sometimes, it is just the way they run or ride or swim or swing a golf club and if you tinker with it, they are not the same.
My point is that despite his technique, he won the time trial, so if I were his coach or trainer, I would be hesitant to change a thing.