TdF Other

[TheSaint]

Can any knowledgable hubbers shed light on:

1. What do they eat and drink while on the bike

2. What goes on behind the scenes immediately after the stage wrt the technical bike support

3. Immediately after the stage what do the riders do

4. What do they eat after and what would supper be

5. How many hours of sleep do the riders need

6. Any info on their heart rate at various sections during the stage

7. Do's and dont's after the stage

8. What's in their bottles

 

Basically the behind the scenes info that the TV commentary doesn't shed much light on.

[Patchelicious]

You can copy n paste any of those questions into www.google.com and get pretty good answers immediately.

[BMCfan]

You can copy n paste any of those questions into www.google.com and get pretty good answers immediately.

 

What fun would that be, the best is all the hubber knowledge

[Patchelicious]

What fun would that be, the best is all the hubber knowledge

You are right, it will be more fun here.

 

If this thread makes it to page two, I can guarantee you that there will be a fight between at least 3 hubbers about which energy bar is best and that sleep is not needed...

 

My apologies.

[Brickleberry]

You are right, it will be more fun here.

 

If this thread makes it to page two, I can guarantee you that there will be a fight between at least 3 hubbers about which energy bar is best and that sleep is not needed...

 

My apologies.

Everyone knows that they don't need to eat anything other than honey.

[Patchelicious]

Everyone knows that they don't need to eat anything other than honey.

Speaking of which, have I told you about the latest is convenient honey packaging?

[BMCfan]

You are right, it will be more fun here.

 

If this thread makes it to page two, I can guarantee you that there will be a fight between at least 3 hubbers about which energy bar is best and that sleep is not needed...

 

My apologies.

 

[Patchelicious]

Can any knowledgable hubbers shed light on:

1. What do they eat and drink while on the bike

2. What goes on behind the scenes immediately after the stage wrt the technical bike support

3. Immediately after the stage what do the riders do

4. What do they eat after and what would supper be

5. How many hours of sleep do the riders need

6. Any info on their heart rate at various sections during the stage

7. Do's and dont's after the stage

8. What's in their bottles

 

Basically the behind the scenes info that the TV commentary doesn't shed much light on.

I am not knowledageble but here it what I think.

 

1. What do they eat and drink while on the bike This is very specific to different riders, some like real foods and cakes, where some some eat bars, often ones that they are not supposed to eat due to sponsors, you will see the packaging is covered up.

2. What goes on behind the scenes immediately after the stage wrt the technical bike support Full service and full checks, its one of the hardest jobs. Read up on Gary Blem.

3. Immediately after the stage what do the riders do It is now common practice to do a cool down on the trainers. Winners get whisked away for PR stuff, and then might do a quick cool down. Froome sometimes even misses the PR stuff to get his cool down done.

4. What do they eat after and what would supper be Very well planned out meals by their cheffs. Look on Twitter, lots of fish/chicken, green vegs.

5. How many hours of sleep do the riders need Probably one of the most important parts of their routine, sleep. 8 hours! More if possible.

6. Any info on their heart rate at various sections during the stage Go check Training Peaks, they often post rider data.

7. Do's and dont's after the stage Pinching the podium girls bum.

8. What's in their bottles Just like us, they have their preference of juices/waters. You will sometimes even see the guys drinking a coke. There are rumours about Ketone juices, but at $10 000 a litre, not sure they always use it.

[Imploder]

From a bike maintenance point of view, do you think they do a full service every night?

[Grebel]

From a "what's at stake" point of view, can they afford not to?

 

My guess would be yes.

[Butterbean]

From a bike maintenance point of view, do you think they do a full service every night?

New chain, chainrings, and cassette for every bike after every stage.

 

New brake pads as well, wheels and tyres are thoroughly checked. Full wash down of all the bikes.

 

Special setups for special stages like cobbles/climbing get done too

 

Jersey winners often get either special paint job bikes or simply handlebar tape.

 

New tape on bars when required.

 

Sometimes brakes are set up so that the quick release is open, then after much defending, the rider can close the quick release to retain lever pressure. Mountain stages it's seen.

 

Also remember bottles are timed.

 

Finishing bottles were a big thing last year, we learned that a lot of cyclists will take a bottle full of espressos and painkillers right before big climbs.

 

Will eat all sorts of crap, whatever thier taste is. Some like coke out the can, some like to keep it super clean. All up to the rider, but I'm sure all cleared with the team docs.

[TheSaint]

Thanx for the info guys. Very interesting. I'm sure I could read up on the internet but specifically wanted the hubbers to share their knowledge.

 

I do see the guys drinking coke. Anyone no the reason? It usually gives me a spike. Any comments?

 

We normally see the Yellow Jersey with a yellow bike and or shoes, helmet etc. do they spray the bike the day before or does each team have a yellow frame just in case?

 

What about brands for clothing? I see the sponsor names but do they where like ASSOS? Obviously this has to do with sponsorship but what are the brands out there. Shoes and helmets easier to spot. What about gloves. Gel or padding?

[Smiles]

Can any knowledgable hubbers shed light on:

1. What do they eat and drink while on the bike

2. What goes on behind the scenes immediately after the stage wrt the technical bike support

3. Immediately after the stage what do the riders do

4. What do they eat after and what would supper be

5. How many hours of sleep do the riders need

6. Any info on their heart rate at various sections during the stage

7. Do's and dont's after the stage

8. What's in their bottles

 

Basically the behind the scenes info that the TV commentary doesn't shed much light on.

 

At which stage do they take their blood transfusion?

[StevieL]

Pretty good demo of what happens to the bikes after every stage

 

[scotty]

Next year they looking at having a stage start in England and crossing the channel to France without getting off their bikes. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--0QAmi6oPM&feature=youtu.be

[Spoke101]

New chain, chainrings, and cassette for every bike after every stage.

 

New brake pads as well, wheels and tyres are thoroughly checked. Full wash down of all the bikes.

 

Special setups for special stages like cobbles/climbing get done too

 

Jersey winners often get either special paint job bikes or simply handlebar tape.

 

New tape on bars when required.

 

Sometimes brakes are set up so that the quick release is open, then after much defending, the rider can close the quick release to retain lever pressure. Mountain stages it's seen.

 

Also remember bottles are timed.

 

Finishing bottles were a big thing last year, we learned that a lot of cyclists will take a bottle full of espressos and painkillers right before big climbs.

 

Will eat all sorts of crap, whatever thier taste is. Some like coke out the can, some like to keep it super clean. All up to the rider, but I'm sure all cleared with the team docs.

 

I have never seen/heard a mechanic or team say that whole drive-lines are changed daily. Cassettes might be due to terrain changes. 

 

It would be a huge waste of time and money, especially is teams are running spider based power meters due to recalibration.

 

When they get to the mountains some riders change to compact cranks.