Great photos. Black and white always seems to capture the pain and suffering in a way that color just can't... Forgive my Cross ignorance, but why don't they ever seem to be wearing glasses or goggles during these races? An eye full of mud would seem to be unavoidable looking at those shots. Certainly glasses would get really dirty, but it would be one hell of a lot easier to wipe off your glasses than would be to get your eyes washed out every lap...
...i'll leave freespuds question to be answered by somebody who races in those circumstances, but i wonder how the euro-PROs would have fared under those conditions...
...obviously, we've heard from the weather reports that it was an exceptional weekend, & that certainly seems to be born out by the photos...
...whadja say, pvb ?...was it just a good weekend for cross, or would it have given the euros a go ???...
When conditions deteriorate, I personally find glasses to be more of a liability, largely due to issues of fogging. I bought a pair of nice new Smiths in 2005 and remember haphazardly chucking them in the early parts of some epic snow/mud races as though they were a pair of convenient store faux-kleys.
In the elite race, I noticed riders wearing glasses but having them perched down on their nose so that they could look over them. I think the ticket was a cap or, dare I say it, a visor.
But I don't know, it looks like Danny Summerhill may have benefitted from glasses. Look at this.
The euros would have dominated. The conditions never got into the realm of being ultimately unridable or silly. And they would have been especially fine if they had somehow gotten their trailers and mobile homes over to warm up in.
I raced the B race Saturday and came out and watched Sunday. Epic - but different - conditions both days. I wear glasses (prescription) and haven't had any fogging issues, but they're small and lightweight Silhouetes; less prone to being knocked off my face and room around the edges to breathe so they don't fog.
I raced b's both days. Started Saturday with glasses and threw them to my girlfriend on lap 3. Sunday, no glasses and a face full of mud. Blinking and eyelashes are marvelous things.
For many professional cyclists the Spring campaign is the toughest of the season; it means training from October until March in the worst, character-building weather conditions Europe can dish out. This weather and the suffering that is bicycle racing breed characters known as "hardmen".
Select cyclists tackle these conditions in shorts, long sleeve jerseys or short sleeve jerseys with arm warmers, wind vests, and shoe covers. A true hardman opts to forego the knee or leg warmers and instead chooses an embrocation to cover the knees. The liniment provides warmth for the legs and keeps the blood circulating and muscles supple. Embrocation and the sheen created is affectionately known as "Belgium knee warmers". The hardest of cyclists will sport bare legs in the most ruthless of conditions.
Belgium Knee Warmers are indicitive of the many subtleties that make professional cycling so enthralling.
I spent 20 years of my life working in the bicycle industry, turning wrenches and selling bikes for some of the industry's best shops. I have extensive experience designing and constructing frames in both steel and titanium and have performed thousands of bike fits. I am passionate about bicycles in all forms. The bicycle provides me with physical and mental health and taps me into a social pipeline that allows me to share my passion with others. I ride as often as possible and love the flow of a hard group ride. Check back for musings about all things road cycling and, especially, the Spring Classics. The devil is in the details and I am an expert in the useless minutia that makes up our discipline.
8 comments:
TJ's teeth in that first picture rival Boogerd's for being the whitest in cycling!
While the weather made pre-race prep and post-race surviving difficult, from start to finish, the conditions in Portland this weekend were sublime.
Great photos. Black and white always seems to capture the pain and suffering in a way that color just can't... Forgive my Cross ignorance, but why don't they ever seem to be wearing glasses or goggles during these races? An eye full of mud would seem to be unavoidable looking at those shots. Certainly glasses would get really dirty, but it would be one hell of a lot easier to wipe off your glasses than would be to get your eyes washed out every lap...
...i'll leave freespuds question to be answered by somebody who races in those circumstances, but i wonder how the euro-PROs would have fared under those conditions...
...obviously, we've heard from the weather reports that it was an exceptional weekend, & that certainly seems to be born out by the photos...
...whadja say, pvb ?...was it just a good weekend for cross, or would it have given the euros a go ???...
When conditions deteriorate, I personally find glasses to be more of a liability, largely due to issues of fogging. I bought a pair of nice new Smiths in 2005 and remember haphazardly chucking them in the early parts of some epic snow/mud races as though they were a pair of convenient store faux-kleys.
In the elite race, I noticed riders wearing glasses but having them perched down on their nose so that they could look over them. I think the ticket was a cap or, dare I say it, a visor.
But I don't know, it looks like Danny Summerhill may have benefitted from glasses. Look at this.
The euros would have dominated. The conditions never got into the realm of being ultimately unridable or silly. And they would have been especially fine if they had somehow gotten their trailers and mobile homes over to warm up in.
TJ is a hard man. 'nuff said
I raced the B race Saturday and came out and watched Sunday. Epic - but different - conditions both days. I wear glasses (prescription) and haven't had any fogging issues, but they're small and lightweight Silhouetes; less prone to being knocked off my face and room around the edges to breathe so they don't fog.
...good input...looked like a fun weekend in the rose city...
I raced b's both days. Started Saturday with glasses and threw them to my girlfriend on lap 3. Sunday, no glasses and a face full of mud. Blinking and eyelashes are marvelous things.
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