http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/9083.0.html
Looks almost Bjorn like, it was interesting that dropping his shoulders and tilting the aerobars downwards for him produced less drag. Also amazing (if it is true) that he can develop 500W in this position for an hour! I dont think I could hold 500W for much more than a minute or so. They say that Contador had the lowest drag going in than any pro rider measured including Hamilton and Basso. I need to track down a picture of his position.
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fuk, nearly 500watts for 1 hour TT… i quit!! i can barely hold 250watts for an hour TT… to be able to cycle like this alone is impressive not to mention running a 15:10 5k off the bike in a sprint tri. as 18yr old Steven Duplinsky did in Gamagori, Japan… sick!!
http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/9083.0.html
Looks almost Bjorn like, it was interesting that dropping his shoulders and tilting the aerobars downwards for him produced less drag. Also amazing (if it is true) that he can develop 500W in this position for an hour! I dont think I could hold 500W for much more than a minute or so. They say that Contador had the lowest drag going in than any pro rider measured including Hamilton and Basso. I need to track down a picture of his position.
I don’t believe the 500W number, especially if he’s under 70kg as stated.
Yeah, thinking about it 500W is Armstrong level or higher and I cant see it being that high. What is interesting is how individual aerodynamic changes can be, Landis did better with his “praying mantis” position and yet another rider does better with their arms low. I always wonder if all those riders rushing out to sell their P3SL in order to buy a P3C would be better off spending the money on windtunnel time.
If this story was even close to being true, these 2 guys would be 1-2 in every major TT with minutes to spare on third place. Who are they again? The aero part may be true (but it’s probably exagerated also), but the power is probably off by a huge margin.
Scott
P.S. This guy isn’t nearly as low as Bjorn. Even with a very high heel, his knee only comes about 1/3 the way up his humerus.
<<I don’t believe the 500W number, especially if he’s under 70kg as stated. >>
Agreed. According to Michelle Ferari, the magic number is 6.7 watts per kilo at LT to win the tour. If he were 70kg (the article says he’s lighter) that would be over 7 watts per kilo. Doubt it.
They forgot to write AT LEAST 500W… can be even more… 
Yeah, thinking about it 500W is Armstrong level or higher and I cant see it being that high. What is interesting is how individual aerodynamic changes can be, Landis did better with his “praying mantis” position and yet another rider does better with their arms low. I always wonder if all those riders rushing out to sell their P3SL in order to buy a P3C would be better off spending the money on windtunnel time.
500w is well beyond Armstrong. That’s what Indurain made, but at 80kg, and with a very pedestrian CDA. Using data from Indurain’s hour record (with a full on TT set up), and assuming the article is correct, these guys watts/CDA would be at least 15-20% better than ole Miguel’s. So they should be able to do a flat, windless TT at 65+kph (gander at the banner ad above for reference to the wind assisted Tour record). And Pantani’s record the the Alp…these guys could shatter it.
Scott
I wonder how well they could run off this position…
Probably a good thing they don’t have to worry about that.
You know, I think they are quoting their wattages in European watts. With the current exchange rate… That would be about 400 watts State-side! lol
i believe boardman pushed 440 watts for one hour for the world 1hr record. . .500+ seems a bit suspect.
-mike
Man i think they were reading the numbers wrong …or trying to scare the rest of field into thinking they are the strongest…
Now if they had a little something extra in their water bottle perhaps…
Are you guys saying you don’t believe a journalist’s report? Say it isn’t so. Over in the Lavender room journalists and pundits are taken verbatim. Oh…wait…that’s only if you agree with what they said…nevermind…
I don’t believe the 500W number, especially if he’s under 70kg as stated.
Amen Brother!
actually, that would be the opposite…
So they dropped his shoulders and tilted down his aerobars 7.5 degrees. Plus the skinsuit gets him down to a 4.03 from 4.19. What about the big fat brake levers and ginormous hoods??
-mike
Or is it the inverse, Francois?
i am suspicious of the 500w too. that would put him at about 7.1 w/kg. that is high! note, the guy in the pic Mark Cote was a very good triathlete as a junior. i coached him a bit, but with school and his summer internship at cervelo, he was too busy to train. smart kid, good athlete.
kurt
I see neck problems in his future! Hurts my neck just looking at this picture!