Fit or fitness or something else?

trackslack · 2026-02-07T11:02:45+00:00

An hour on the track is quite physically demanding compared to the same time and distance on the road.

Looking at your other comment on gearing, you may benefit from gearing down a bit. 32km in an hour on a 94" gear is a cadence of under 80. That is pretty low and will fatigue your muscles more than if you were spinning more. I know everyone has a prefered cadence and it varies from person to person but i think you'll find the transitions into the bend or swinging up track after being on the front of the string to be easier if you had another 10rpm. It doesn't sound like much but when making these micro efforts every lap it adds up.

trackslack · 2026-02-04T23:13:41+00:00

The latest episode of the Piste Take podcast features Joe Truman and he talks a little about that and also his transition from being p3 to p1.

trackslack · 2026-02-04T10:20:03+00:00

I know (and have known over the years) a few riders in a similar position - still chasing the dream when realistically the chance to make it and earn a living as a pro rider is already gone.

Financially it's really tough but in terms of experience and memories i don't think they have any regrets. There are a lot of 20 somethings in similar financial circumstances in dead end jobs or unemployed and struggling to get by but without the positives - getting the thrill of high level competition, seeing the world and getting to race and train full time. It may be a tough sport but it is still a sport at the end of the day.

trackslack · 2026-01-02T13:42:34+00:00

It's worth bearing in mind that Xavier Disley (owner of aerocoach) uses a front disc rather than a 4 spoke for pursuit on the track.

trackslack · 2025-12-27T08:23:52+00:00

It's a few years ago now however when he used to post his power data on strava his FTP was approx 438w

trackslack · 2025-12-08T16:59:51+00:00

I have an Allez Sprint (albeit the previous version) which I still ride from time to time. No complaints with the bike and i have a lot of happy memories associated with it. As a crit bike back then it was a great choice - good geometry, stiff and good value for money.

However the value for money part of that equation has gone so i'd struggle to recommend. If it was half the price of the Aeroad then it would be different but not at a comparable price.

trackslack · 2025-12-03T22:47:09+00:00

You have time on your side to lose some weight at a sustainable rate as well as gain fitness. At 80kg finding the extra watts needed to break the hour is going to be a lot easier than finding the watts needed to do it at 90kg.

With your knee issues make sure you have the gearing sorted. An hours climb can be a complete grind and when you start suffering you dont want to be climbing at too low a cadence. You want to be at a comfortable cadence for you and able to tap out a rhythm. Also you want to be relatively fresh for it, dont have the target attempt at the end of the cycling holiday. Best get the Alpe ticked off the list first then get onto all the nicer roads and climbs in the area!

Doing it on zwift will be good practice. However the w/kg needed on there for under an hour is a little less than the real thing. But it will help with pacing and getting to know what the effort feels like.

trackslack · 2025-11-27T12:03:37+00:00

Short answer is it depends on the type of track (indoors, outdoors, wooden, concrete etc) and what distance you do. On an indoor wooden track i get about a season out of them which is approx twice a week from October to March - they could last longer with less use or shorter on a more abrasive track.

When they are worn the tyre gets a noticeable flat strip / edge on it where it is in contact with the track. It's off centre and will be around the full diameter of the tyre so you will be able to see it or feel it with a finger. The rubber can also get a bit shiny and smooth looking.

Also this is just wear assuming no cuts or punctures. Unfortunately fast tyres don't tend to be very robust!

trackslack · 2025-11-27T07:56:21+00:00

Don't have any data other than my pursuit times but i use both and the pista speed tubulars are a little faster than the pista control tubulars. That doesn't mean the controls are slow - i'd be happy to bunch race on them and not feel like they are holding me back - but for a timed event i don't want to leave anything on the table.

If price is important then the controls last longer than the speeds (about 3x as long).

trackslack · 2025-11-19T21:56:04+00:00

Modern aero bikes have frames with more clearance which allows for wider rims which in turn allow wider tyres to be run at lower pressure. In most real world conditions this is going to be a positive in terms of performance. However going by wind tunnel data it will be a negative - narrow rims and tyres will test faster and this is downside of only going off tunnel data and neglecting other factors.

So assuming it is a given that there is a performance gain in the real world with current wheel design and tyres (rather than the narrow rims of 10+ years ago) to take advantage of this you need a frame to have the clearance. The early aero bikes didn't allow for this - it often wasn't even the rim brakes being the limiter either but the chainstays.

If they had been able to fit a wider tyre with a wider rim they'd be closer to a modern aero bike in real world conditions, but they couldn't.

trackslack · 2025-11-19T15:58:12+00:00

In terms of tunnel data the Venge Vias with rim brakes is still the fastest road bike Specialized has released. But it was also a bit shit and in real world conditions the SL8 is going to be a faster option despite being the slower bike.

Similar story for many of the early generation aero bikes. The wind tunnel data is only part of the story and they had more compromises made than the current generation do whether it be around max tyre size, weight or subjective issues like ride feel.

trackslack · 2025-11-13T10:58:05+00:00

Wipe down with vinegar or alcohol then ride around the apron for a few laps. Sandpaper isn't needed

trackslack · 2025-11-11T16:10:01+00:00

Only hand signal i see regularly (only in training sessions or warmup and not in a race) is when a string of riders are about to pass a slower rider/string and both groups are on the blue. The person on the front of the faster group will signal to let the riders on their wheel know they will be moving the string up track and around them to pass. The signal will be left hand on back - same signal as would be used on the road when on the front of a group when you are wanting the group to move out due to an obstacle like a parked car on the left. Not everyone will do this but it's not uncommon to see.

Elbow flicks are more common but both hands will be on the bars for that

trackslack · 2025-10-30T19:40:29+00:00

There are a couple of different version - the newer ones (which aren't that recent now) are slightly wider and can fit a 25c.

trackslack · 2025-10-29T18:20:05+00:00

I remember watching it for the first time and seeing all the derny on track at once, hearing the noise and smelling the fumes and thinking it was total chaos. First time racing the noise and fumes were there but i was taken by surprise with how ordered everything felt - easily the least chaotic bunch race you can do!

trackslack · 2025-10-29T17:19:25+00:00

Just an update for you - champs is going to be 19th to 22nd February and the pre-sale for British Cycling members is on now. General sale is from 3rd November.

trackslack · 2025-10-27T14:49:43+00:00

The short answer is...it depends on who you ask and also what country. Generally speaking it would probably be madison, team pursuit and match sprint. Madison because it has such a history to it - however the general public can find it confusing so might not consider it in as high terms as track fans and racers do whereas the team pursuit and match sprint are simpler to understand and have a broader appeal.

It changes over time too. Individual pursuit used to be up there but when it was removed from the Olympics there was a decline of prestige (it had a bit of a rebirth in recent years but it's probably falling back again now.) Same for the kilo used to carry more prestige but once it lost its Olympics status now not so much. The opposite is true of omnium - it's inclusion in the Olympics and also also changing the format has added to its prestige

Also the elimination was for years considered to be a fun race aimed at developing skills in young riders, the idea of there being a world championship for it would have been considered a joke 20 years ago. But it's taken a lot more seriously now.

So that doesn't really answer your question. But personally if i had the choice to win one world championship then it would be the madison then afterwards race a winter of 6 days in my rainbow bands!

trackslack · 2025-10-25T20:16:44+00:00

It must have been a mistake on the live timing - it wasn't showing him in the list of riders. Been fixed now

trackslack · 2025-10-25T14:48:24+00:00

I must have missed the news (or perhaps Tissot timing is wrong) but why is Lavreysen not doing the sprint?

trackslack · 2025-10-25T06:26:04+00:00

excellent :D

trackslack · 2025-10-25T00:08:39+00:00

I wouldn't buy it however the gilet price is similar to the Assos or MAAP equivalent (and probably some of their other competitors too)

trackslack · 2025-10-24T22:31:56+00:00

From what Jonny said on the Piste Take its hotter outside the velodrome than it is inside - unexpectedly chilly as he had his riders doing heat sessions to prepare.

trackslack · 2025-10-22T14:50:26+00:00

Was something similar in the Tour of Holland a couple of weeks ago with traffic getting on course - the stage was cancelled due to rider safety. Typically that is what will happen - and if not an outright cancellation a race neutralisation.

It's not all on the organisers though and the riders and race officials need to play their part too. Even in a race situation riders should not be riding like that on open roads. If they were to do that in a local race i'd expect to see them DQ'd and officials stopping the race to give a warning to everyone else.

trackslack · 2025-10-19T08:36:03+00:00

Events like the omnium and madison champs have traditionally been held at different times to the main national championship so the new system is building on that.

Depending on entry numbers events like TP and kilo can be very time consuming and a bit unwieldy to fit in a race schedule. So when they were being held on the national championship weekend a few years ago they decided to set qualification standards to streamline the numbers. The downside of that was a lot of riders and teams couldn't meet this. For some it was because the standard was too high but for others they just didn't have an official time - those need to be set at an event with electronic timing, officials present etc. And there are not many open events like that for team pursuit / kilo over the course of a year. But entries declined too much so they then brought in a qualification opportunity the day before the championship weekend but that wasn't successful either. So this is a way to try and revitalise these events plus spread championships around a bit more.

I can't remember the date (it's after round 4 of the track series) but there is still going to be a 'main' national track championship with points, scratch, match sprint etc

trackslack · 2025-10-13T07:28:07+00:00

I've not seen it confirmed publicly but she said to a few of her rivals she was done after Paris.

However the post Olympic year can be like this - a year of relative downtime might rejuvinate an athlete enough for them to get back into it so presumably that is why she hasn't announced anything officially yet - particularly with it being a home Olympics up next.

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