Moto-doping

[Grog]

This is so crazy it looks real:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/06/news/cancellara-calls-motorized-bikes-claims-stupid-as-uci-looks-at-scanning-bikes_119452

It's worth watching the 6-minute video. Basically it's suggesting Fabian Cancellara might have used a motorized bike in his recent unbelievable performances in European races.

I googled a bit and it does look like there actually is a company manufacturing those gizmos.

Enjoy!!

[BikeDutchess]

Very entertaining!

[Bike Chick]

Pllllllleeeeease! I don't believe that Cancellara cheated. Of course, the last person I thought I applauded and didn't believe cheated was Floyd Landis in the Tour de France.

[7rider]

I want one of those!!! :D

[Thorn]

Counter point....

http://bikehugger.com/2010/06/cancellara-conspiracy-doubter.html

I also wonder about carrying the extra weight.

[tulip]

He didn't stand up to mash away from the other riders, even going uphill in the Tour de Flanders. Normally, breakaways like that involve the rider standing up and surging ahead and changing their riding position to exert the additional effort required. Interesting.

Could be a good thing for regular people. More people commuting by bike, the better, IMO.

[Grog]

Wow, this guy's a true geek:

http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2010/06/anatomy-of-cancellara-attack.html

He is not making a call on whether Cancellara is cheating or not but calculates the kind of wattage that is required for one of Cancellara's fabled attacks. The bottom line is something like 1400 watts for the first five seconds of the attack (to break away from the group) - which supposedly is not totally unattainable for humans - and then almost 700 watts. Pretty impressive stuff.

If you watch the whole video, it doesn't seem that weight would be an issue. Many racing bikes have to have weight *added* to them because they are too light anyway (according to the rules).

I have no opinion on whether this is true or false, but I find it highly entertaining.

[OakLeaf]

Meh.

If you blow the video up to full screen - even at the low resolution - you can clearly see the shift lever move on the shots from Paris-Roubaix. A bit more ambiguous on the Tour de Flandres footage, but it would be a whole lot more convincing with hi res video.

I don't have an opinion one way or the other. It's true that in an application like this, peak amps are a lot more important than amp-hours - so the technical questions of power to weight will be a whole lot different from those in consumer motorized vehicles. But it's also true that scandal sells papers, and the sporting press is well known for circulating the wildest unsubstantiated rumors.

[redrhodie]

Don't they weigh bikes before races, and wouldn't there be a discrepancy there? I seem to remember washers added to one of Lance's bikes because it was too light.

[Eden]

hmmmmm - I need a physicist.... but it seems to me that Cancellara is already strong enough to overpower a puny little motor like that... it seems like even it was there, it wouldn't really give him much assist.

Are forces like that really additive? or after a certain point would the rider just "outspin" the motor? I know that my husband on his regular old pedal bike can ride faster than his co-worker who uses an electric assist....

[smilingcat]

1400W for 5 sec is only 1.95W-hr. quite doable in lithium phosphate battery or even a super capacitors. But do you want be lugging around a high-powered electric motor for the duration of the race. Seems bit silly to do.

Electric motor and electronic controller will weigh far more than the Li-phosphate battery. Not to mention, the motor technology isn't so sophisticated to build a 700W motor in such small space.

Just silliness I think.

[arielmoon]

That is hilarious! Truly entertaining!

[loopybunny]

Just wondering... has anybody else ever seen Fabian Cancellara's legs up close? They're scary strong and muscular. The guy is a monster on the bike.

I don't consider myself a fan of his, but I have to believe he's capable of pulling away from others like that, especially in races he's trained for and raced to win.

Although, I also believed Floyd so I guess I'm not a great judge in those respects.

[OakLeaf]

ooooooh, what do I have to do to get to see his legs up close? ;)

[loopybunny]

ooooooh, what do I have to do to get to see his legs up close? ;)

He totally doesn't have twig limbs like Andy Schleck does. They're more like solid trunks. He looks really powerful.

[malkin]

*stepping up to defend Andy*

Andy Schleck may have kinda skinny arms, but his legs?
Beefy.

Evidence: http://www.bicycle.net/2010/andy-schleck-motivated-and-ready

[loopybunny]

*stepping up to defend Andy*

Andy Schleck may have kinda skinny arms, but his legs?
Beefy.

Evidence: http://www.bicycle.net/2010/andy-schleck-motivated-and-ready

More recent... http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4617756920_2d1d12fc27_o.jpg

Of course, now we're getting totally off topic.

My original point was that Cancellara is a powerhouse as the size of his thighs would suggest.