Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site varian.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!umcp-cs!gymble!lll-crg!dual!qantel!vlsvax1!zehntel!varian!fred From: fred@varian.UUCP (Fred Klink) Newsgroups: net.bicycle Subject: Re: Frankie Moser's Hour Record(*Not so spoiled*) Message-ID: <333@varian.UUCP> Date: Mon, 1-Jul-85 12:53:03 EDT Article-I.D.: varian.333 Posted: Mon Jul 1 12:53:03 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 5-Jul-85 04:33:17 EDT References: <1019@druxj.UUCP> Organization: Varian, Walnut Creek, CA Lines: 55 Reply to Mr. Hildebrand, 1-- If Moser had beaten the hour record by 200 meters and then collapsed, I would agree that the his equipment had alot to do with it. In fact, he beat the record resoundingly twice in a row! The *man* pushing the pedals did that, not the bicycle. I'm the "uniformed netter" that posted the original article in which I said that the moon discs on his bike were heavier than normal and this was *one of several unusual design characteristics of the bike* I posted it as an interesting counterpoint to the cycling truism that light wheels are best. It was not a suggestion that we all adopt six pound wheels. Further, it is the human that provides most of the air resistance on a bike. This is not to say that a delta bike with moon discs will not improve time trial times. It will. But it won't make a second rate rider the world's hour record holder. I've been associated with racing for 12 years and the myth amoung the press and the naive fan is persistant that equipment can make enormous differences in performance of otherwise equal riders. Speaking of uninformed: 2-- Sure he won Milano-San Remo? You think thats a minor accomplishment? Moser beat Fignon by "only a minute and a half" in the final time trial of the Giro? Another minor win by a second rate racer? You obviously aren't a racer, or if you are you are a very misguided one. As I recall that time trial was a short one (~17 miles, less?). In the upper echelons of European racing a 1.5 minute win in a time trial stage is outrageous and certainly requires more than a delta bike under you. By comparison, in the final time trial stage (~ 25 miles) of the Tour de France in Bourdeux last year, Fignon with delta bike and aero helmet won by a couple hundreths of a second over Sean Kelly who rode a conven- tional bike. Maybe Fignon's is just not a time trialist of the first category? 3-- The European sports press is just like the American. When a performance goes against expectations, good or bad, the press is likely to look for and promote an explanation other than the athletic ability of the participants. That sells newspapers after all! Sure, Moser won the Giro by a slim margin because Italian fans "pushed him up the mountain". Leading climbers in the Giro and other races are climbing about 10-12 mph or faster up grades as much as 18%-- they must have some tough fans that can run along side a rider *pushing* him under these conditions for long enough to make any difference in the outcome of a 3 week race! A second rate racer cannot win a stage race in Europe by "cheating" and its foolish and uninformed to imply that one could. Also, the Giro organizers were accused of tailoring the race to Moser's abilities. It was the French press and the French teams that made this accusation. To swallow anything from the French cycling community about an Italian racer in an Italian race is truly naive. Its like believing everything the US press writes about Russians and East Germans. Cycling in Europe is a business and everything ultimately comes down to a business decision including routes. I've never heard the Dutch complain about the Tour de France even though their top riders are mostly time trialist/ pursuiter types and must consider all those mountains "unfair" to them.