Peter Sagan, GREAT descending Video. {-Spoilers-}

[Shortsocks]

Short vid of Peter "The Great" Sagan downhilling at the Tour De Suisse -Stage 6.

Listen to the commentary. Of a lot of descending videos I've seen I really like this one. But that Sagan he's a show-boater. Thought I would share.

http://youtu.be/UaahZTZ8WHE

Cheers.

http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j323/prelude97si/141df0b727165007b249480335380246.jpg

[weisan]

Warning to our viewers:
Please don't try this at home.

[tiretrax]

No, not at home, but on the road, yessssss.

[F150]

How close did he come to doing a header off that speed bump/hump? Pucker factor alone could have lodged that top tube somewhere delicate...

[bcroslin]

What was all that nonsense about resting arms on the bars to get aero? Jeez, should I not go above 20 mph on my bike as well? Why not just shut-up and watch Sagan fly down the hill Buzzkill McGillicutty?

[bironi]

The sport could use more characters like Sagan.

[thirdgenbird]

Did they say riders have been fined for resting their forearms on the tops? I find myself doing this naturally without thinking about it. If there is concern, give them their spinachis back.

http://www.bootleg.it/immaginisito/categorie/ibrowser/legalize-spinaci.jpg


(I've nearly put my set on)

[Waldo]

Damn, he breaks away coasting! Impressed.

I used Spinaci in the 1990s and liked them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pinoymamba]

gravity does wonders for the heavier riders.

[thirdgenbird]

I used Spinaci in the 1990s and liked them.


I've still got a pair in the parts bin. I lind of wish they were the drillium style in black.

[William]

What was all that nonsense about resting arms on the bars to get aero? Jeez, should I not go above 20 moth on my bike as well? Why not just shut-up and watch Sagan fly down the hill Buzzkill McGillicutty?

Agree.

The running diatribe about the "dangerous" position was annoying. If you can handle a bike, you can handle that position. The incident on the speed bump was more that he didn't see it in time, imo he would have bobbled even if he was in a seated position.

The most dangerous thing that ever happened to my using that position was getting my shorts caught on the nose of my saddle when getting back up & seated and ripping them. An eyeful for the folks behind me!:eek: Good thing I had a bandana with me to spread out in my shorts for the ride back.:)

Bring back Spinachis? Then bring back the Rakes and the CC Speed bars as well!:cool:






William

[carpediemracing]

Bring back Spinachis? Then bring back the Rakes and the CC Speed bars as well!:cool:

I've used the CC Speed Bars as recently as two years ago. Still legal, as far as I know, but I'm not fit enough to fit them to the bike. I prefer the Rakes closer together and with the longer cranks my bars are lower - my thumbs get jammed between the tire and Rakes so I had to use the Speed Bars. Not as svelte as the picture above when I was on Rakes :)

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/281950_2263733270490_3720362_n.jpg

[thirdgenbird]

I'm pretty sure my dad still has a pair of rakes in his parts bin. I've never tried them, only the spinachis.

[carpediemracing]

Regarding descending, the main skill there is cornering. If a rider can corner well, at speeds uncommon on flat roads, they'll probably be labeled a "good descender". It helps to be dense, of course, and I normally leverage my density on descents :) In 2010, when I was much lighter, I was shocked to find a long time training partner regularly dropping me on descents. Normally he'd be scrambling to stay with me but after losing 35-40 lbs relative to the prior year's visit (he lives in SoCal) I had to pedal just to stay on his wheel.

I comment on this somewhat regularly because it's frustrating for me to see otherwise strong riders throw away gains on descents because they can't corner well. Cornering is sort of unique in that it doesn't require fitness. Doping doesn't help, except maybe if you're not totally cross-eyed as you crest a big climb, and I suppose in the shallow descents that require regular powerful pedaling. A person can practice cornering all the time, even walking to the bathroom in one's house. Cornering theories/lines can be applied while walking (behind a shopping cart for example), driving, or riding. Riders that don't practice cornering are giving away a critical module of riding skill.

Anyone can go fast in a straight line. Going fast while linking a few turns together, that's a different story. Sagan links together some very fast corners really well. He's obviously superbly confident in himself and his equipment.

What also gets me is that videos usually seem to make the riders seem like they're going slower. In this clip it feels like he's going fast, so he must be going really, really fast.

[nooneline]

One of the keys to descending fast is practice, too.

In one race a bunch of years back, one of my teammates reconned a technical descent. He reported back, "It's full of blind corners so you feel like you have to brake, but I guarantee you - we don't have to." So, we hit the climb hard to crest it at the front, and we descended knowing we didn't have to brake. When we hit the valley, we could see the field strung out for what felt like a mile, with gaps all over the place.

[William]

Skill and practice for sure, but it also takes a certain mindset to be comfortable letting it go and not dwelling on the "what ifs". Skill, confidence, and intuition in taking the right lines, and staying calm, loose, and smooth. I always think: "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast".

I've always loved descending and just flat out going fast. As a clydesdale a lot of the other riders felt the climb was a good place to get rid of you, but I can climb pretty well for a big guy so you weren't going to drop me on anything but the steepest climbs. Even if you do, most likely I'm going to catch you on the descent. If you don't, grab my wheel and hang on because I'm going to let it go.:)






William

[Elefantino]

The video is sketchy, but take a gander at Paolo Savoldelli. Il Falco's lines were perfect, his nerves of steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHshscIsbGQ#t=46

[soulspinner]

just watched Paolo Bettini win the Giro Lombardia 2006 where he repeatedly comes within inches of guardrails and stone walls as he rides away from Deluca.............you tube

[metrotuned]

3:30 holy ····! About to bail for real. And the motorbike cant even keep up with the cyclists in the switchbacks, but of course.