Cadel: Climbing style

wicklow200 said:

Did anyone notice Evans' climbing style? Anyone find it unusual?

Unbent, rigid leg pedalling (while out of saddle).

To me it looks harder to keep the legs unbent. Am I missing something?

Sometimes he looks like he's clinging onto the bike for dear life. Maybe he is, maybe that's why?

More obvious is the way his front wheel gets steered left and right with each pedal stroke, especially when watched from the front. Obviously it worked for him.

He's wasting a bit of energy with the wheel twisting everywhere but he seems to be getting that lost energy back by keeping his body perpendicular to the road.
It would be good if somebody (physics) could test his style against the norm and see if there are any definitive plus or minus results.

wicklow200 said:

Did anyone notice Evans' climbing style? Anyone find it unusual?

Unbent, rigid leg pedalling (while out of saddle).

To me it looks harder to keep the legs unbent. Am I missing something?

The pedalling style isn't fluid, to be sure.
We were always taught that pedalling style was dependent upon your position on the bike.
Get your position as correct as possible and everything, including pedalling action, follows.

I looked at his body position on the climbing stages and I would describe his position as awkward.
he seemed hunched over the bars and like the others here, his line was wavering from time to time, which consumes more energy.

Having said that CE would destroy any of us on a climb!

Personally I think he needs to lift his stem up a touch.

his wide arms and bent elbows are more in the style of what he may have done as a mountain biker. still pretty effective though

Not pretty, that's for sure. I think he was a little over-geared at times too, he should perhaps also try a lower gear and keep his cadence up for a more efficient use of his power.

Eagle of Toledo said:

Not pretty, that's for sure. I think he was a little over-geared at times too, he should perhaps also try a lower gear and keep his cadence up for a more efficient use of his power.

Second that.

Also, the straight leg style gives the knee flex muscles a rest somewhat.

And his arms pumping the bike back and forward get a nice work out instead...

Given the fact that he came second in the TdF GC and was third behind doped Ras and young Contador on some of those mountain climbs. I can only learn from his style. 🙄

hoggy said:

his wide arms and bent elbows are more in the style of what he may have done as a mountain biker. still pretty effective though

He was and still is a world class mountain biker.

f1943r said:

He was and still is a world class mountain biker.

- like Rasmussen !

😄

He climbs like a mountain biker, leaning way over chest to the stem, elbows out, fork flying left and right, like he's going up a twenty percent gravel gradient...yes he could kill any of us but maybe if he worked on fluidity and efficiency the way Lance did during his comeback (couldnt resist) he could go even faster.

sogood said:

Given the fact that he came second in the TdF GC and was third behind doped Ras and young Contador on some of those mountain climbs. I can only learn from his style. 🙄

Cadel was most probably doped too... as are most of the top cyclists nowadays and in the past too !

Rode out over the weekend and tried a little of Evan's climbing style. It's interesting that there's actually less resistance when the wheel is at an angle from the climb direction.

I guess the effect is similar to how one tackles a hairpin turn. The grade is greater right next to the apex while going to the outer part of the turn, the gradient is less but you have to distance is a tad greater than taking the apex. I remember this has been argued to be beneficial for conserving energy.

Cadel's climbing style looks very painful that's for sure.

He is doing the old school MTB stem setup - long and low. This works OK for steep stuff (like 20%), but really hides the fact that the core strength is not great.

I agree that he could do better with a more upright stem or a couple of spacers to raise it, but then he would have to relearn climbing in this format.

cheers