Wiggins on the Concept2 erg

[KonaSS]

I know absolutely nothing about rowing, but to give the guy the benefit of the doubt - he had pretty good looking form on the bike, smooth and graceful, especially compared to some other grand tour riders. Maybe that can transfer to the water.

[thegunner]

Originally Posted by eippo1

To pile on to what others are saying, I'd like to see what he can do in the water.

I remember being super-intimidated at the Dad Vails in our division 3 freshmen boat going up against huge guys from Navy, Georgetown, Auburn, Purdue, etc. And then shredding them with much better technique and a boat that trained together for months.

It's even more evident in with sculling. Being out there with 2 oars and crap technique makes for a very long day in any head race.

surprised navy gets lumped in there they were usually pretty solid (as of 10 years ago anyway, **** i'm getting old)

[crankles]

Originally Posted by CaptStash

The big question, is how is he progressing as an actual oarsman? So far I haven’t been able to find anything online on that front, although there is a photo of him in a double. I have seen rowing “savants” pick up the sport very quickly, but it’s also very very rare. How he moves a boat will be illuminating. I would expect to see him on the water this spring. That’s when it’ll get interesting.

CaptStash....

This...He's between a rock and a hard place. Even if he does get down to say, a sub 6:00, he'd have to be far cleaner than anyone else with the same times for me to even consider sticking him in even the 4 or 5 seat.

I can pedal circles all day, but god help me, I still can't set a van dusen to save my life.

[ducati2]

Video...

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/la...onships-362204

[happycampyer]

What was his category that he finished 21st? Watching the video, his flub doesn't look like he looses 20 seconds, although it could have psyched him out. The guy on machine #25 is flailing like a gym rat—there's no way that guy has ever been in a boat.

[CDM]

Wiggins might have some potential

[thegunner]

Originally Posted by CDM

Sit on an erg. Row 2 k then post. It is something he has chosen to do. What are you doing?

i'm pretty sure a bunch of us posting used to row...

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by KonaSS

I know absolutely nothing about rowing, but to give the guy the benefit of the doubt - he had pretty good looking form on the bike, smooth and graceful, especially compared to some other grand tour riders. Maybe that can transfer to the water.

This may be a bad photo, and not indicative of his technique, but it looks awkward IMO. His finish shows an odd grip, sharp bend in the wrists, and the handle a bit too high on his torso.





Tim

[CDM]

Originally Posted by thegunner

i'm pretty sure a bunch of us posting used to row...

Ok

[ltwtsculler91]

Originally Posted by CDM

You used to row...now he is rowing...

If a lot of us who used to row were training as much as he did, we'd probably be pretty close to his 2ks and likely a hell of a lot lighter than him. We'd have none of the crazed media hype though. Hence our critiques of him. Plus the whole erg thing, is the equivalent of any of us hopping on a trainer and claiming that our power numbers mean we could make a world tour squad, there's still the whole tactics, technique, and racing portion

If you want to check out a similar story, look up Hamish Bond from New Zealand. 2 Olympic gold medals and something like 12-13 world championships, along with an 8 year unbeaten streak in the mens pair, now trying his hand at Cycling Time Trials coming from rowing. He finished decently at WORLDs for NZ in the TT and who knows where he ends up with 2 more years..

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/97067709/early-puncture-costs-hamish-bond-in-world-championships-time-trial

[572cv]

Technique and practice, over years, make for the 'ten thousand hours' that separate the good from the really good. The difference between the Concept 2 in my basement and my scull out on the water is significant, as conditions on the water are not usually uniform. And in an 8 or a 4, learning to row in close coordination with others is not nothing. Its late in an athletic career for Sir BW to get that knack, but I applaud him for trying, and hope that he experiences the joy of at least one really great day when everyone clicks and the boat rises out of the water and just flies. That happened for me a few times bitd; it was the best.

[thegunner]

Originally Posted by ltwtsculler91

If a lot of us who used to row were training as much as he did, we'd probably be pretty close to his 2ks and likely a hell of a lot lighter than him.

it's exactly this. i couldn't sniff at a 6:20 2k (admittedly i was rowing at 140), but i had teammates that were 150 who were posting low 6:teens. our boat wasn't even particularly good - although we did churn out one olympian - but most of those guys weren't even in the discussion for the US team.

i think i'd be just a bit miffed if he somehow ended up on the team for publicity when it's clear that where he's at he doesn't deserve that spot. that's the main point of contention for me. either he doesn't realize that he's nowhere close, or some nonsense in selection happens.

also i don't really understand this "he's doing it now, you used to" logic. if i did a 2k this morning, or a 10k, or a 20k, does that make my analysis any more valid than if i didn't?

[batman1425]

Originally Posted by CDM

Sit on an erg. Row 2 k then post. It is something he has chosen to do. What are you doing?

I've personally got 9 years in shells, 10's of thousands of K's on the water and the erg, and countless tests on the water and off including CRASH-B's in my athletic past. I know lots of folks here can say the same, with some having participated at the highest levels of collegiate rowing in both LWT and HVY. I'd say that give us some reasonable perspective of what Wiggo faces given the mediocre performance he dropped in front of the cameras.

I rowed for a smaller D1 program, and we had light weights that could pull sub 625. Andrew Campbell (US National Team Lightweight) pulled a 622 in high school.

[batman1425]

Originally Posted by thegunner

surprised navy gets lumped in there they were usually pretty solid (as of 10 years ago anyway, **** i'm getting old)

I still follow the rowing community and Navy is the class leader of the service academies in rowing. Navy's Lightweight program is often national championship caliber and their HVY's are no slouches. Both are solid performers at the EARC/IRA level. Not unusual for them to send people to U23 development camps and be competitive for U23 worlds teams. Frankly any program that can trade blows in the EARC, HVY or LW, is loaded with talented athletes.

Not to start a fight here like on rowing forums, but the gap between the top of the Dad Vail list and the bottom of the EARC/Pac12/IRA is pretty big these days. DV powerhouses like Michigan, Virginia, Hobart, FIT, etc. which have lots of dedicated, talented athletes, struggle to make it out of the 4th level final at IRAs. A notable exception is GW that has nearly made the jump. This isn't to say there aren't a few international standard athletes in those DV schools. Several notable US National team members and olympians have come from programs like Ohio State, Temple, Virginia and Michigan, but those programs may only find one or two of those really great athletes every 5-10 years. The big programs will have 4-5 of those guys/class. That's what makes the difference between DV speed and IRA speed.

[akelman]

Originally Posted by CDM

You used to row...now he is rowing...

I rowed at Wisconsin a million years ago. I rowed heavies, because there was no lightweight team there and then. I wasn't particularly good—and not just because I only weighed 160 and was relatively short—but my erg times were still roughly equivalent to what Wiggins is pulling now.

I honestly have no idea what your point is. I really don't.