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Belgium Knee Warmers Defined
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.
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.
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- 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.
© 2006-2009 Belgium Knee Warmers. All Rights Reserved.
© 2006-2009 Belgium Knee Warmers. All Rights Reserved.
15 comments:
Props to my man Vince Gee, the BMC mech, formerly Discovery, Postal, Saturn and Mavic.
Keep it coming
whats with the dura ace srm covered with an fsa sticker? why not just use the fsa model?
What do the numbers on the stem mean?
"What do the numbers on the stem mean?"
While I don't ride myself, I have a friend who almost completed a century ride once, so I'm pretty sure those are cadence targets for different portions of the route.
For example, on the really steep parts, this rider is probably looking to be grinding away at about 16rpm -- slow and steady to avoid blowing up (like my friend did) -- while on the downhill portions, he's aiming for 166rpms, spinning fast and keeping the engine burning clean.
It's all about physics. Cycling rules that way.
Fletcher
RE: SMA - sponsor is currently out of stock>mech makes due with decal
Anon1: KMs along the route when events are sure to happen, hills, feeds, sprints, wind - compare it to a course profile from cycling news or the official race site. this system is arbitrary - whatever they agree on. it is not however 'cadence targets' ... uphill at 16 rpms? downhill at 166 rpms? nice try but no. Maybe thats why he almost but didn't complete a century.
@ sma & Jason,
I think the likeliest scenario is that the DA SRM is being used because it is available in lengths longer than 175mm, where as FSA cranks are not.
The "friend who almost completed a century" thing? I hope that's a joke. If so, funny. If not, sad.
What I don't get about the numbers on the stem though is the complete lack of order to them. I guess it's just one of those things that only makes sense to the person who has wrote it. Sorta like my tax records.
Numbers on stem are General Classification contenders? So Astana know who to chase? Just a guess. could account for the random order
The numbers on the stem are a mystery. It was the only of the Astana bikes with the note.
The SRM was a cool find because it was a carry over from 2005 when FSA was the sponsor of CSC but Jens wanted an SRM. The crank is a DA, wrapped in a carbon skin. It debuted at the Tour that year and the aspect which caught my eye is that it is still in service.
- RF
Anonymous 3:52 appears to be correct. Numbers appear to be top 14 non-Astana riders after stage 5:
91 - David Millar
93 - Christian Vandevelde
42 - Fabian Cancellara
45 - Gustav Larsson
92 - David Zabriskie
28 - Jurgen Vandewalle
53 - Robert Gesink
101 - Alexandre Moos
94 - Thomas Peterson
166 - Victor Hugo Pena Grisales
74 - Bernhard Kohl
25 - Kevin Seeldraeyers
16 - Iker Camano Ortuzar
141 - Benjamin Jacques-Maynes
- judd
"I hope that's a joke."
OK, I'll come clean. The "cadence target" thing was a joke. Anyone who has a friend who's almost completed a century will recognize those figures as what is known in European as "heart-rate targets."
Fletcher
what the hell are you talking about ? ... If you haven't been on a bike, please stay on the side lines. Thanks.
"what the hell are you talking about ? ... If you haven't been on a bike, please stay on the side lines."
Lordy! I can't tell whether you're being mock-angry about my mock-ignorance. But it pains me to see such consternation, real or otherwise, on my beloved BKW, so I will stop posting frustratingly idiotic comments lest I upset our kind hosts.
Fletcher
P.S. Caloric intake targets?
Judd has the right idea about the numbers. You can even see how they've organized the list - assuming this was taken going into the final stage, the 5 in the left column are all less than 2 minutes behind Levi, and the 9 on the right are all within 4 minutes. This way it's easier for them to figure out how long a leash they can allow a breakaway.
Fletcher- are you BSNYC?
jje
"Fletcher- are you BSNYC?"
No, more like CCSTKO -- canned coffee snob Tokyo.
Fletcher
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