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Sorry but it was a long morning on the turbos.
So which generation do you think would adapt the best to each others period in racing?
I'm talking the guys that raced steel, 52/42,downtube shifters, no indexing, no computers, no communications, not much science. Just miles and miles and get on with it, drugs.
V
Power to weight, power meters, radio links, crazy good bikes, all the info you need at your fingertips or in your ear, better drugs.
Time to get out more!
I don't suppose it hurts any less today than it did back then...
If you take the romantic view that back then it was just riding then the modern guys would have the edge. The modern racer has a lot more to deal with. Great having all the info but you are expected to do something with it. Think about Cav and a sprint finish. His entire days racing is about getting him into position as fresh as possible for the sprint. That takes a huge amount of management on the road and is a skill in itself. Plenty of fast sprinters are not good sprinters etc.
I was thinking more along the lines of modern pro racer stepping back in time and technology and vice versa. Not against each other.
Its still just pedalling....
Lemond would adapt fastest to the modern scene - he pretty much started it.
Voigt would probably have been more succesful in days past - more drugs and more attacking 🙂
Old school rider would do better in the modern age. All they have to think about is the business of getting the bike to the finish line, as they have a full team sorting everything out. (Aggregation of marginal gains etc)
I reckon older ones would cope better as its easier to become a specialist from an all rounder than the other way round. Also 30/50/70 years ago there was much more tolerance of adversity. Lets bear in mind the Brits at the World champs for example. 😆
I can't see Sir Wiggins riding over the Dolomites in the snow as Merckx did.
Depends how far back you go. I reckon the modern pro wouldn't last so long on a 200 mile+ early Tour stage with no bunch or support during / at the end of a day but many could train to adapt, ie look at what Mike Hall can do - equals the best of the 1900s hardmen's feats (imo). Different kind of fitness to todays road pros really.
On the dope point, is it better now or just less detectable? Massive miles while training on HGH and a load of amphetamines on the day might win over EPO. But I can't imagine anyone lasting long in a longer race if they were dosed up on something like speed on a daily basis.
Depends who the rider is...
174 riders came to Liege on April 20, 1980 for the 66 th edition of La Doyenne . The riders arrived at the start line in a raging snow storm. Many in the media called it the worst Ardennes weather in the history of L-B-L. After one hour of racing more than half of the 174 starters had abandoned the race. It was merely survival for the remaining riders as the race passed through Bastogne and turned back towards Liege .
Two riders, Rudy Pevenage (Ger) and Ludo Peeters (Bel), broke away from the frigid and shattering peloton and gained a 2'15” lead over the famed Stockeu climb. Always a front runner, Bernard Hinault (Fra) began to increase the pace on the Stockeu and broke clear with Silvano Contini (Ita) and Henk Lubberding (Bel). After a 20 km chase the Hinault group caught the leaders on the Haute Levee climb. With 80 snow covered kilometers on the road to Liege , Hinault rode straight through the leaders to plough a lonely path to the finish.
The biting cold and pelting snow increased the pain of the difficult terrain on the roads back to Liege . Hinault's exposed face was stinging from the snow as he steadily increased his advantage on the peloton. The frozen Frenchman dismissed thoughts of abandoning while in the lead. Driven by immense pride and a potentially colossal moment in cycling history, Hinault ignored the pain and flew towards Liege .
His Renault-Gitane teammates, long since abandoned, welcomed a near frostbitten Hinault from the warm confines of a Hotel along the finish straight in Liege . Across the finish line Bernard Hinault claimed his second Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory, a devastating 9'24” ahead of second placed Hennie Kuiper (Hol).
I wonder how Sky would deal with him LOL!
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BERNARD PREFERRED TO SCORN FANCY ITALIAN TECHNOLOGY AND JUST OPEN A CAN OF ****ING WHOOPASS ON THE WORLD.
http://bigringriding.com/page/3
I had the rare fortune once to ride Tommy SImpsons Paris-Nice bicycle, it was heavy and clunky, that was 20 years ago, and I think back to what I was riding then compared to what I am riding now, and we are spoilt now. The other thing is training methods and the amount of science that has gone in, is just incredible.
And that said, Tom Simpson's average speed for his 1967 Paris Nice was slightly higher than Richie Porte's 2013 average!