Climbers are wheelsuckers

[stratus5]

Whenever I see a race advertised with some hills there is the invariable comment that this will sort out the wheel suckers.

 

Ahem ... from my humble experience and as one of the larger stronger types I know who the guys doing the work at the front are and its not you skinny types.

 

Skulking behind the big boys and then blowing them away up a steep hill so that you can wheel suck on the group in front makes you way worse  ... especially when you pride yourself for having broken away from the group.

 

Yes some peolple never do any work in front, but that because they are also "reserving" themselves for the next climb, that makes them no worse than the specialist climbing types.

 

This is just sour grapes because I am scared of the Visserhok climb coming up in the 99er

 

[American Flyers]

Not really! It might be a team work....

[Edge_Design]

Sounds like you just described me! I am useless though at high speed on the flats so won't finish a race if I do too much work, but on hills I will often cycle straight off the front of a bunch (and I'm not exactly talking about the elite group here!)... I actually enjoy doing work and if I'm feeling good I will do my share of the pulling without any hesitation, but I also plan it to make sure I get to the finish with the front of my bunch.

 

And I can't wait for that climb after last weeks flatness! Struggled to hang on to my bunch in Stellies, but in the Cobra and Rollercoaster I had no problem at all.

[firewolf]

when u r on a good day the hills seem like flats and the flats seem like tailwinds.

[Andyr249]

Climbers leave the flat to the ones who can go fast then and those fast men leave the climbs to the climbers! How long would a Tour stage take if you had Schlecks Bro's and Contador pacing on a flat and someone like Cavendish pacing up the climbs?

[Icepick]

What I don't understand, also being in the 1 ton club, is when the climbers race up the hill and then wait on the flat for people to catch up in a race. I seems like a waste of energy or an overload of testosterone

[Spinnekop]

Capie....hou op moan en loop oefen harder!

Next time instead of working up front, attack on the climb and drop everyone! 

[Older]

If there is a bunch of 200, there must be wheelsuckers, not everyone can be in front so why can it not be the climbers.  Usually the climbers are the minority anyway. 

[The_Break]

I think we need to redefine wheelsucker. A wheelsucker is a person that rides the entire race at the back or in the pack and never makes an attempt to work or break away. They simply sit and wait for the sprint.

 

A non-wheel sucker is someone who plays some sort of a role during a race that serves the goal of reducing the size of the bunch or improving the overall speed and time. So guys who pace along the flats, climbers who try and break away (because for sure the flats will come where they will have to work very hard to stay away will come) are not wheel suckers.

 

The only time I see a sprinter as a non-wheel sucker, is when he is part of a team that is required by their sponsor to win for either a title or money. Otherwise in the lower ranks, a guy who sits entire race and then sprints is no more than a wheelsitter.

 

Without a bunch a sprinter would be nothing. Without a sprinter, a bunch would still be a bunch with an exciting finish.

[I FLY]

I discovered the secret to feeling like a good climber at the Fast One. Ride in a much lower seeded batch. I always climb badly but at the Fast One I was at the front of every little rise by default.

[HappyMartin]

I discovered the secret to feeling like a good climber at the Fast One. Ride in a much lower seeded batch. I always climb badly but at the Fast One I was at the front of every little rise by default.

 

 

 

I dont remember any climbs at the fast one?

[Mighty Atom]

Whenever I see a race advertised with some hills there is the invariable comment that this will sort out the wheel suckers.

 

Ahem ... from my humble experience and as one of the larger stronger types I know who the guys doing the work at the front are and its not you skinny types.

 

 

 

How much advantage do you get from slipstreaming a skinny guy?  rather slipstream a big guy! Going downhill do bigger guys have an advantage more potential energy to convert to kinetic energy?

[Kritzie]

Whenever I see a race advertised with some hills there is the invariable comment that this will sort out the wheel suckers.

 

Ahem ... from my humble experience and as one of the larger stronger types I know who the guys doing the work at the front are and its not you skinny types.

 

Skulking behind the big boys and then blowing them away up a steep hill so that you can wheel suck on the group in front makes you way worse  ... especially when you pride yourself for having broken away from the group.

 

Yes some peolple never do any work in front' date=' but that because they are also "reserving" themselves for the next climb, that makes them no worse than the specialist climbing types.

 

This is just sour grapes because I am scared of the Visserhok climb coming up in the 99er

 

[/quote']

Sounds like your carrying some extra weight there mate lol

 

Its true fatties cant climb!!

[MyKey]

The most you had to climb on the fast one was maybe a bridge... so not sure if you can call the climbing

[mountain_lion]

 

 

Going downhill do bigger guys have an advantage more potential energy to convert to kinetic energy?

 

Yes we do, but much less of an advantage than the skinny ones have going uphill.

 

 

[Icepick]

In CTN we have the south easter most of the summer so sitting in front of a bunch with no help is really no picnic. I'm sure the dudes from PE will concur. Even a skinny guy helping every now and then is great.