Chris. I Hate that Guy.
Chris. God I hate that guy even more now. Actually, that is not quite true, I only disliked him before. Now it is hate. Pedaling down the mountain, well, that's one thing. Attacking off the front of the bunch and pedaling while in your deepest tuck? That is something else entirely. Who the hell does that? Besides Chris, I mean. Stem pushing into the cavity where his chest should be. Entire body weight, all one hundred twenty-five pounds, over his front wheel. Butt seated on his top tube, sometimes pushed forward, sometimes wedged under the nose of his saddle. That is the position you get into when you let gravity take over. Completely. But not our Chris. That's just not good enough for him. No, he found a way to pedal in that position as well.
Danny Boy, Alejandro, Quintana, some of my favorite riders, as well as a whole host of others all chased their way down the mountain. They got into their deepest tucks and slalomed their way down the twisting road. They only got out of their tucks to pedal when the effect of gravity loosened its grip. You might think a group like that could close down on the single man who, a few seconds earlier, had ridden away from them. Try as they might, however, they couldn't make up any ground, could not close the gap. Chris seemed to have discovered a way to, effectively, tuck and pedal at the same time, awkward as it seems, indeed, awkward as it looked. Comical, that is a better word, it looked comical. Something you would do for laughs, when you are joking around in the group. I never would have guessed it could be faster, it is so strange looking, it couldn't possibly be efficient.
Back in the day we never tucked like they do now. Being in a tuck back then meant putting your nose to your front wheel and your rear way up in the air - above the saddle. An airfoil, a wedge into the wind. Because it looked aero everyone knew it was. De facto evidence. These days riders flatten themselves to the top tube. Quite frankly it does not look as aero but, apparently, it is more so. And so, within a generation, everyone has switched their descending position. But now that "tuck and pedal" has proven to be faster than "tuck or pedal" will it become a new norm, will we now see everyone, within a generation, switching over? Chris, man I hate that guy.
Danny Boy, Alejandro, Quintana, some of my favorite riders, as well as a whole host of others all chased their way down the mountain. They got into their deepest tucks and slalomed their way down the twisting road. They only got out of their tucks to pedal when the effect of gravity loosened its grip. You might think a group like that could close down on the single man who, a few seconds earlier, had ridden away from them. Try as they might, however, they couldn't make up any ground, could not close the gap. Chris seemed to have discovered a way to, effectively, tuck and pedal at the same time, awkward as it seems, indeed, awkward as it looked. Comical, that is a better word, it looked comical. Something you would do for laughs, when you are joking around in the group. I never would have guessed it could be faster, it is so strange looking, it couldn't possibly be efficient.
Back in the day we never tucked like they do now. Being in a tuck back then meant putting your nose to your front wheel and your rear way up in the air - above the saddle. An airfoil, a wedge into the wind. Because it looked aero everyone knew it was. De facto evidence. These days riders flatten themselves to the top tube. Quite frankly it does not look as aero but, apparently, it is more so. And so, within a generation, everyone has switched their descending position. But now that "tuck and pedal" has proven to be faster than "tuck or pedal" will it become a new norm, will we now see everyone, within a generation, switching over? Chris, man I hate that guy.
this guy was certainly not moving fast across the SGRT on Friday
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