The Secret Pro: The Spring Classics

It's been a while since The Secret Pro has dropped in and given us the inside scoop, but he's now had a chance to come up for air after an intense couple months of racing. I must admit, it's getting harder to keep all of his stories and details in here while trying to remain anonymous, but I've let a few clues pass through this time. Since there aren't any controversial topics this month, I'll keep comments section open as he'll stop by and answer your questions.

Since the last edition of my column, the racing season has started for real — and it’s been full-on. My training started training early this year, although I can’t say the Tour Down Under was much more than a good training ride with lots of other teams around. The weather in Europe has been strange and I long for that Australian sun right about now. It was alright at the beginning of the year, but has only gone downhill since with freezing temperatures common.

The Tour of California is similar to the TDU and it’s just around the corner. The fans are just dialled up a bit more in the obsessive stakes. Some of those American cycling fans are borderline OCD with their questions about your bike and groupset. Most of the peloton looks forward to going to Cali because it’s like another vacation after the Spring Classics. It’s always fun going to the US of A, but certainly no Giro.

After almost any race it’s straight home on the evening the race ended. There’s no vacation afterwards, no sitting on the beach (but lets’ face it, the TdU or Cali are just holidays in themselves). It’s the same with La Vuelta and most other races. You’d think that when you’ve travelled halfway across the world you might have a day to yourself after the race, but not so. Not even a team dinner or celebration most of the time. You just pack your bags, go your separate ways, and you’re home that evening. The teams take care of all the equipment logistics, so I basically only need to bring a suitcase. The Tour de France however is the only race where every team has a big blow-out party afterwards no matter if your team wins or not. After such an intense three weeks, I think we deserve it.

Often after your team wins a race (or takes one of the jerseys), the team leader will give his teammates a gift to show appreciation for the work they’ve done. In a Grand Tour it’s quite common. Lance and some other winners of the Tour give their teammates cold hard cash for helping him win. After John Degenkolb won 5 stages of the Vuelta last year he gave each of his Shimano-Argos teammates a really nice portable Bose sound system. Nine times out of ten though, the team leader will give a nice watch to each of his teammates as a token of appreciation.

After Cancellara’s win at the Ronde, he’s the type of guy who will likely give his team some nice Rolexes or something. Or it might be an expensive Breitling if he wins Roubaix as well. But that’s only if you’re a big name rider like Cancellara, Booonen, Contador, Cav, etc. If you’re a small-time pro like me, you’re not expected to give anything if you win a race. Oscar Freire, a pretty big-name rider I’d say, gave each of his Spanish teammates an iPod Nano when he won the World Championships (for the third time!). Nice one Oscarito…

So, what’s on the minds of the pro peloton these days? Well, with the snow-affected races, cold weather, a lack of sunshine, and races on wet and slippery cobbles I think pretty much everyone is over it. Thank goodness the race organisers are taking a bit of pity on us with shortening Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem, and even having the sense to cancel Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. These are important races to many, but for me, the real season begins in June when I start coming into form and vying for our Tour squad. I don’t want to be on the backfoot because I’ve broken my collarbone racing on snow and ice. I just keep up at the front and have stayed out of trouble so far.

The talk of the peloton is about these ridiculous “aero” helmets they’re making us wear. I mean … seriously? They always put them on the big name riders first and then they start trickling down to the rest of us. You’ll see Specialized’s new helmet on Boonen right now. They had a great looking helmet and now what what they’ve done? Scott, Lazer, Kask, Uvex … almost all of them have gone backwards. We’re now on these absolutely ridiculous looking Giro helmets now and every iteration is getting worse and worse.

I remember seeing guys wear ones that looked like this back in the 80’s. Giro had the best looking helmet out of them all, and I can’t understand what they’re doing. Riders will say in public that they benefit from “marginal gains” with their aerodynamics, but really nobody cares. If you have the legs, then you’ll win. Simple as that. No helmet is going to make a difference with all the other variables thrown in there.

Helmet sponsors also tell us that these new-aged helmets will keep us warmer. They’ll also say that they keep us cooler (see Lotto Belisol’s helmets at the TDU). I can’t tell the difference. And whatever happened to a good old-fashioned cycling cap? I think everyone will look back on these and wonder what they were thinking. I pray that it’s just a passing fad. But the sponsors use us to sell more helmets, which ultimately pays our salaries, so we just play along.

How about Sagan? What a talent. The feeling in the peloton is that Sagan is making us all look like a bunch of cat 4s out there. He can climb, he can TT, he can do a mono, and he can sprint with the best of them. The whole podium girl thing? Well, it’s something you might joke about on the team bus, but to actually do it? Whoa…that’s not on…

So, who’s your pick for Paris-Roubaix? Cancellara again? Kristoff? Chavanel? Ladagnous, Haussler? Me?

Tags: The Secret Pro

Notso Swift

I like the blinking eyes
- http://twitter.com/alexroseinnes alexroseinnes
  
  Well, he said they have Giro helmets so either Garmin, BMC or IAM. Someone have at it…
  - Drew
    
    Andrew Talansky
    - RD
      
      I’d expect him to be more partial to the USA.
  - Notso Swift
    
    How about.
  - blimit
    
    If he’s ‘on giro helemts’ and came to the TDU then can only be 1 of 14 guys - Garmin & BMC but no IAM.
    Only one septic out of of those (who would refer to ‘Cali’) is Tyler Farrar!
- http://twitter.com/alexroseinnes alexroseinnes
  
  Well, he said they have Giro helmets so either Garmin, BMC or IAM. Someone have at it…
Anonymous

Secret Pro for the Roubaix win!
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  I hope he doesn’t. How will we keep that a secret after that?!
  - xbonesx
    
    He’ll just have to do the clark kent versus superman thing, and talk about himself in the third person. With all the furore at the moment, i bet supersagan is wishing he had another persona he could blame the ass-grab on.
  - Paolo
    
    If he really wins Roubaix, i’m sure he wouldn’t mind ;-). Love the helmet and marginal gains statement! As Canceallara is sponsored by IWC, i would say IWC Ingenieur’s for Radioshack riders it is.
  - Paolo
    
    If he really wins Roubaix, i’m sure he wouldn’t mind ;-). Love the helmet and marginal gains statement! As Canceallara is sponsored by IWC, i would say IWC Ingenieur’s for Radioshack riders it is.
  - Anonymous
    
    It’s Koen then?
  - Anonymous
    
    It’s Koen then?
http://twitter.com/Antmar123 Antonio Marino

Get rid of those flashing eyes on the secret pro please,they make you go stir crazy after 10 seconds!!!!!!!
- Anonymous
  
  Stop staring at them, scroll down the page and read the article ;-)
  - http://twitter.com/Antmar123 Antonio Marino
    
    I couldn’t help it when I was reading the first part of the article,scrolling down did fix the problem though :-)
http://twitter.com/chickasmith chickasmith

Just guessing really of course - I dont know who has broken their collarbone on a snow and ice race … I will take KdK and wonder if he still has his Bose sound system :)
jules

SP - i’m certainly not tipping you for Paris-Roubaix after you just said your season starts in June! good luck with Le Tour though.
DaGoose

I’m pretty sure this isn’t Cheng Ji…. :)
Guest

I thought comments were going to be disabled on the Secret Pro articles to stop all us armchair DSes comparing identity guesses.
- jules
  
  we had a meeting and voted to overturn that decision.
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  That was one reason, but the other reason was because there were a lot of trolling comments being left because of the nature of this. However, I’ve read the forums and am quite confident that nobody is even close to guessing who TSP is. The only thing I’ll say is that it’s not Koen de Kort.
  - Anonymous
    
    It could even NOT be a pro then? How would we know?
    - http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
      
      The Secret Amateur was busy, so I had to settle for a pro. Hopefully I can sign him up next year.
      - jules
        
        there is no such thing as The Secret Amateur - they all want their name up in lights and to pretend they’re a big deal :)
        
        not bsnyc
        
        perhaps we need the secret fred
        
        Notso Swift
        
        They are called Hubbards in Australia
        Or should I say “We are called Hubbards in Australia” because everyone who is not a PRO is kidding themselves if they think they are not one! :-)
        
        not bsnyc
        
        perhaps we need the secret fred
  - Anonymous
    
    It could even NOT be a pro then? How would we know?
  - sumbitor
    
    he has beady shifty sort of eyes
http://twitter.com/Salsalola Salsalola Pistola

Call me crazy, but Andre Greipel looked stronger than ever last Sunday, and on a flatter parcours, who knows for next Sunday?
- http://www.facebook.com/ulrich.laderhosen.9 Ulrich Läderhosen
  
  I think it may have been the helmet that did it.
http://twitter.com/rgmerk Robert Merkel

Thanks again, Secret Pro.

I don’t doubt the helmets make a marginal difference, but…

While Brailsford and his “marginal gains” philosophy are regularly mocked, if you save half a watt here, half a watt there, it all adds up. As long as the net effect is in the right direction and it doesn’t make your head too hot, why not take the miniscule amount of free speed? Who cares if you look a bit silly - let’s be honest, pro cycling kit inherently looks pretty silly.
- Rasmussen
  
  I know what you’re saying Robert, but I just dont buy the gains as being significant enough. Especially when aerodynamics usually comes at the cost of comfort.
  Remember Cervelo’s old marketing campaign for the Soloist? How it took the most generous estimates of aerodynamic savings it could, then applied them to making savings across an hour.
  Then the 40 seconds you saved sounded worthwhile.
  But it managed to ignore the fact that most of your time was spent in the peleton wheelsucking where the benefit of aerodynamic gains meant doing 210 watts instead of 212 watts…. as if those 2 watts would cause me to wear out early and have nothing left for the finale. Of course the compromise for all this was having a bike that dominated you everytime you went away from the perfectly smooth hotmix of Glenvale.
  
  Seriously, I’ve rarely been in a race where simple speed in a straight line has won. It’s always been the climbs that make the real gaps, or taking a corner slower than everyone else, taking short turns and pretending im hurting, or just timing the sprint properly. Even in epic solo breaks, it is the amount of effort the peleton put in that really makes the difference. As the secret pro said, there are just too many variables. Otherwise we would see teams with aerodynamic bikes winning an overly high proportion of races.
  - Lee Davies
    
    So why then do they change helmets for TT’s which are all about speed? Helmets obviously cause drag. When I ride with a cap and helmet in the wind my necks hurts more as it is essentially a sail pushing your neck back.
    
    Surely the same things were said with regard to deep section rims and aero frames (I don’t know this but using as an example). But hey, they are riding with them too. And on cobbles. In the classics. Even a few years ago spoke-tied Nemisis wheels were the norm. So Marginal Gains are made there.
    
    And lastly, surely 2 watts for every minute of every hour for six or so hours mounts up to alot of watts. Does it not?!
    
    PS I think they too look daft, but so do skin suits and cycle clothing in general. In particular Giro’s child-like lids. Awful. But the practicalities of them in the UK could work for me given the current ~0° climes :-(
    - http://twitter.com/rgmerk Robert Merkel
      
      And for that matter, why do pros Slam That Stem? Even for twentysomethings who spend a lot of time working on their flexibility and strength, a slightly higher position would surely be more comfortable
    - http://twitter.com/rgmerk Robert Merkel
      
      And for that matter, why do pros Slam That Stem? Even for twentysomethings who spend a lot of time working on their flexibility and strength, a slightly higher position would surely be more comfortable
      - http://www.facebook.com/sam.weinberg.0 Sam Weinberg
        
        Your entire torso has a greater cross section than small vents curving over your head. And I think I figured out the slammed stem: less stress/work for your triceps when you can lock your elbows and stay low. Higher bars mean more arm strength to support your upper body in a low position.
        
        Lee Davies
        
        Of course but generally people can’t change the size of their torso (physically, not on the bike) meanwhile they can change the shape of the big lump they put of their head. It probably adds a significant percentage to the cross section of your head. So reducing that would be a great benefit, surely?!
        
        Anyhow great article and good luck the TSP this weekend in the P-R
        
        Lee Davies
        
        Of course but generally people can’t change the size of their torso (physically, not on the bike) meanwhile they can change the shape of the big lump they put of their head. It probably adds a significant percentage to the cross section of your head. So reducing that would be a great benefit, surely?!
        
        Anyhow great article and good luck the TSP this weekend in the P-R
      - Rasmussen
        
        I was making the point about marginal gains at the cost of comfort. Putting a TT helmet on in a TT makes more sense given that the variables are pretty much power, aerodynamics and perhaps picking up seconds taking corners fast.
        
        And 2 watts per hour sure might add up. BUT, if I ride at 61% of my max for three hours instead of 60%, do you really think it is going to make a difference to the time I can smash up the Bergs at the end of the race? No, because those 2 watts you save arent helping you gradually pull away from the peleton.
N/A Cycles

Great to hear about the whole helmet thing. It looks completely stupid, and I hope that your right. Lets hope it’s temporary.
The easy PR bet would be Fabian, but thats just plain boring, and if he wins It’s not that well picked. I’m gonna go with Haussler, or because, I’m a Dane, Lars Bak from Lotto. But Haussler is the main bet. Small group comes into the Velodrome. Fabian is their, but wasn’t allowed to make his solo-thing, and Haussler takes the win in a small sprint.
Nn

I think his initials are HH.
- Tom
  
  “Thank goodness the race organisers are taking a bit of pity on us with shortening Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem, and even having the sense to cancel Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. These are important races to many, but for me, the real season begins in June when I start coming into form and vying for our Tour squad.”
  
  Nope. Haussler is a classics man.
- Tom
  
  “Thank goodness the race organisers are taking a bit of pity on us with shortening Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem, and even having the sense to cancel Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. These are important races to many, but for me, the real season begins in June when I start coming into form and vying for our Tour squad.”
  
  Nope. Haussler is a classics man.
  - Notso Swift
    
    And didn’t come to Australia for the summer
  - RooBay
    
    The Tour squad reference could be a red herring to throw us off the scent.
  - http://twitter.com/Tinea_Pedis Nick Squillari
    
    And loves poor (read: cold) weather.
alex

Good luck to Stuart O’Grady in Paris Roubaix.
cck197

Has to be an American to use the expression Cali. There were only two Americans at the TDU of which only one wears a Giro helmet. Tyler Farrar.
- america
  
  No american says “mono,” it’s a wheelie here.
  - jules
    
    i’m sure it’s a “manual” in the US
tracking ID: 19743025682

Hehe.

What Ozzie pro would know that Oscar Friere gave his team mates iPods. Someone OLD enough to have BEEN THERE when Friere won the World Champs, perhaps on his team. Also, what Ozzie pro, wears a Giro. Any Australian on, let’s say the team that was formerly Rabobank, which formerly had Friere, who formerly won the WC. Who could it be…
- Notso Swift
  
  Good call, in the first Secret Pro before it was cut I had said Hansen, but the other H
  
  I think the helmet brands are a red herring, Sky are Kask, Lotto Lazer, but the principle is the same, they are smoke and mirrors for little benefit.
- Ryder
  
  Technically there’s something wrong with that statement- freire won his third championship in 2004, iPod nanos weren’t released until September 05. Unless he was slow to cough up.
futurefunk

Could be a Blanco rider since Giro owns Bell plus Blanco’s been using those ugly air attack caps this season and last. I’m going with David Tanner.
futurefunk

Could be a Blanco rider since Giro owns Bell plus Blanco’s been using those ugly air attack caps this season and last. I’m going with David Tanner.
DS

Yeah, about the cycling cap…

Pro cyclists should wear them when they go on the podium instead of those ugly baseball caps.

Cycling caps are nice looking and are a specificity of this sport. (I am not talking about the hipsters at the local café/bar)

I say: BRING BACK THE CYCLING CAP ON THE PODIUM!!!
- RooBay
  
  Couldn’t agree more.
Steve Jamieson

Graeme Brown.
http://twitter.com/patrickxsmith Patrick Smith

Tjallingii
john

Theories:
1) there is no singular secret pro - its whoever Wade contracts to write about certain secret pro topics. That way, data will never be truly convergent/we’d never figure it out by process of elimination/logic.
2) There’ll be too many red herrings/they’ll be just vague enough that it’ll be way hard to discern which are/aren’t true.
3) it’s Koen. He’s written here before, obviously must have relationship with Wade, Koen is otherwise active on social media, and is generally level headed/honest with his responses about stuff. Would make sense, but be easy enough to throw off search…

Question:
Is there ever a plan to ID the secret pro? (anytime soon, anyway? before he retires?). I like the secret pro and all, but thus far, there hasn’t been too much damning evidence put forth, more things to get around smaller contractual obligations, like with sponsors. Doesn’t seem all THAT necessary to keep secret.

If not, is more serious business on the table for future?…
inside_cyclist

Hayden Roulston. writing too clever for Haussler.

The Secret Pro: The Spring Classics

Receive Daily Posts By Email