how much did it help...

Quoted message said:

that Landis was in the lead all day? I mean, had he been in the group
his team car would've been well back in the convoy. Any time he needed
water or food one of his teammates (assuming any were still there at
the time) would have to drop back and get it for him, or he'd have to
do it himself.

By being in the break (or when he WAS the break) his car was right
there with him, able to give him all the food & water he could possibly
want, with no hesitation. Considering that he dumped every third
bottle on himself to stay cool, I'm guessing it must have helped LOTS.
He'd have never had access to that much water in the group.

There's also the matter of the bike change after the broken spoke. I've
never seen a bike change happen that quickly. Landis knew it'd be there
too, he just calmly laid the bike down, took a long pull off the water
bottle, and climbed on the replacement bike.

<[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email hidden]...
| that Landis was in the lead all day? I mean, had he been in the group
| his team car would've been well back in the convoy. Any time he needed
| water or food one of his teammates (assuming any were still there at
| the time) would have to drop back and get it for him, or he'd have to
| do it himself.
|
| By being in the break (or when he WAS the break) his car was right
| there with him, able to give him all the food & water he could possibly
| want, with no hesitation. Considering that he dumped every third
| bottle on himself to stay cool, I'm guessing it must have helped LOTS.
| He'd have never had access to that much water in the group.
|
| So the question is, was that factored into their strategy?
|
| Fred
|

You've hit the nail on the head. That was the key to Floyd's success. All
that pedaling was just for show.

trg said:

<[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email hidden]...
| that Landis was in the lead all day? I mean, had he been in the group
| his team car would've been well back in the convoy. Any time he needed
| water or food one of his teammates (assuming any were still there at
| the time) would have to drop back and get it for him, or he'd have to
| do it himself.
|
| By being in the break (or when he WAS the break) his car was right
| there with him, able to give him all the food & water he could possibly
| want, with no hesitation. Considering that he dumped every third
| bottle on himself to stay cool, I'm guessing it must have helped LOTS.
| He'd have never had access to that much water in the group.
|
| So the question is, was that factored into their strategy?
|
| Fred
|

You've hit the nail on the head. That was the key to Floyd's success. All
that pedaling was just for show.

Awww, c'mon now, you know I didn't mean to play down his
power/strength/endurance/heart...

Frankly, it was a rhetorical question of sorts, in that it clearly made
a difference. I just wonder if they thought about how much different
the feeding would be if he were alone vs in the group. They must have
given it some thought, or they were just lucky that he had a team's
worth of bottles at his disposal that he didn't have to share with
anyone.

Fred

in message <[email hidden]>,

(') said:

trg said:

<[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email hidden]...
| that Landis was in the lead all day? I mean, had he been in the
| group
| his team car would've been well back in the convoy. Any time he
| needed water or food one of his teammates (assuming any were still
| there at the time) would have to drop back and get it for him, or
| he'd have to do it himself.
|
| By being in the break (or when he WAS the break) his car was right
| there with him, able to give him all the food & water he could
| possibly
| want, with no hesitation. Considering that he dumped every third
| bottle on himself to stay cool, I'm guessing it must have helped
| LOTS. He'd have never had access to that much water in the group.
|
| So the question is, was that factored into their strategy?

You've hit the nail on the head. That was the key to Floyd's success.
All that pedaling was just for show.

Awww, c'mon now, you know I didn't mean to play down his
power/strength/endurance/heart...

Frankly, it was a rhetorical question of sorts, in that it clearly made
a difference.

I think it was planned for.

How many bidons does the average DS' car take out on the road in the
morning, allowing that they also have to have room for the driver, the
DS, all the telecoms stuff, the mechanic, the mechanic's toolbox, and
all the spare and service parts which might be needed on a stage?

Flandis got through 70 bidons, we're told. That's a substantial volume.
It's not as big as I'd guessed - 0.075 m^3 - but still a lot. Obviously,
if you're supplying bidons for a team of nine riders you'll need to have
a lot anyway, but split across two team cars - is 70 bidons in one car
normal?

Interesting sidenote (1): in 1967, the year Tom Simpson died on Mont
Ventoux, cyclists were limited by the rules to four bidons per stage.

Interesting sidenote (2): wine grown on Mont Ventoux is marketed in the
UK as 'Old Git', a most suitable beverage for Masters Fattie:
http://www.winebeersupermarket.com/voir_3430561152080.html

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Age equals angst multiplied by the speed of fright squared.
;; the Worlock