Attacking on a descent in the rain and drifting both wheels on your way to catching '86 World Champion Moreno Argentin and beating him in the sprint is stunningly PRO.
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.
7 comments:
I got leg cramps after watching that.
That was epic! I got goose bumps.
30+ rider field bearing down on you in the final k and STILL not taking a pull:
HUGE BALLS!
man,,,, now if we can only get versus to hire king kelly to work along phil and paul!
Stunning.
I love Kelly.
...grit, guts & glory...sean kelly was an amazing bike racer...
...hard man, fast man, tactical man, kelly could win any number of ways & his palmares certainly reflect his many strengths...
...& one of the very last road cyclist's to use clips & straps...
Never realized that Sorenson was behind Kelly on the descent. That helps explain the gap at the bottom.
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