Photography by Jered Gruber & Cor Vos

Rocacorba Daily

Thursday January 8, 2015

by Matt de Neef - January 8, 2015

In this morning’s edition of the Rocacorba Daily news digest: Steele Von Hoff wins back-to-back Australian criterium titles; Kimberley Wells wins second Australian criterium title in three years; New UCI Anti-Doping Rules introduced to reflect 2015 World Anti-Doping Code; ASO and Bora-Argon 18 hail news that Tour de France will be screened by German station ARD; Porte to fight for Santos Tour Down Under win with strong Sky backing; Philippe Gilbert not convinced by need for disc brakes on road bikes; Tom Dumoulin extends contract with Giant-Alpecin through 2016; Giant-Alpecin and Liv-Plantur reveals new colours for 2015; A Phase-Averaged Analysis of the Pedalling Cyclist Wake; Identification of Factors that Influence Cyclist Route Choice; Are shaved arms faster?

Steele Von Hoff wins back-to-back Australian criterium titles

Steele Von Hoff (NFTO) has won the elite men’s criterium at the Australian Road National Championships for the second year in a row, sprinting to victory ahead of Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) and Scott Sunderland (Budget Forklifts).

Image: Con Chronis

Von Hoff powered out of the final corner on the Sturt Street circuit in the heart of Ballarat, catching up to and then passing Caleb Ewan as the finish line approached.

Von Hoff said after the race that racing alongside Ewan at the Bay Crits earlier in the week helped him to learn how to beat the 20-year-old speedster.

“I learned from stage 3 at Portalington where he absolutely whooped me … that I left it too late to change gears”, Von Hoff said. “So I dropped my gears earlier [tonight] and as soon as he went I was right on him in his slipstream so all I had to do was sit there and come around him.

“But even when I did, he’s such a fast little guy — he’s going to be the next Mark Cavendish for sure.”

Earlier in the evening Chris Hamilton (Avanti) won the U23 men’s criterium from a two-rider escape group.

Click here to read more at CyclingTips.

Kimberley Wells wins second Australian criterium title in three years

by Jessi Braverman and Simone Giuliani

Earlier in the evening Kimberley Wells (ACTAS) unleashed her powerful sprint to clinch the criterium title at the Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships ahead of Peta Mullens (Seight Custom) and Lauren Kitchen (Hitec Products).

Image: Con Chronis

It is the second time Wells has pulled on the green and gold jersey following the criterium championships, and the fourth time she’s climbed onto the top stop of the podium in the Australian summer of racing.

“That picture crossing the line tells a thousand words. It’s exactly how I felt – elated, hurting, excited, and I felt so pumped because I knew there was daylight behind me,” said Wells. “I’ve won here before. I’m a heavily marked rider. I’m a really good sprinter on the road and I won the trifecta of crits coming into the summer so every single person in that peloton did not want me there at the end.”

A sluggish start to the elite women’s event gave way to edge-of-the-seat excitement with relentless attacks and constant counter-moves before the race all came back together ahead of a bunch kick.

The first U23 rider across the line, and therefore winner of the U23 women’s national title, was Shannon Malseed (Holden Women’s Cycling Team) in sixth.

Click here to read more at CyclingTips.

New UCI Anti-Doping Rules introduced to reflect 2015 World Anti-Doping Code

The UCI has announced changes to its anti-doping rules to bring the sport’s policies into line with the new World Anti-Doping Code, which came into effect on January 1.

There are a raft of new changes in place, including strengthened sanctions, greater flexibility when dealing with positive tests through “contaminated substances” or from out-of-competition use, and the establishment of the UCI’s Anti-Doping Tribunal.

This tribunal will seek to lift the burden from national federations and provide “all international level athletes with the same consistent process and a clear, short timetable.”

Click here to read more at the UCI press release.

ASO and Bora-Argon 18 hail news that Tour de France will be screened by German station ARD

by Shane Stokes

Earlier reported by Der Spiegel, the news has now became official: Germany, the largest economy in the European Union and a country of over 80 million people, will once again have live coverage of the Tour de France on free to air television in 2015 and 2016.

ASO confirmed the news on Wednesday, saying that the company had inked a two year deal.

“Germany is a major country in the world of cycling,” said Christian Prudhomme, the Tour de France director recognising the many benefits of increasing the coverage of the sport in that country.

“Thanks to ARD’s channels, I am delighted that the German public will be able to follow the Tour de France on German public TV, unencrypted, daily and live the race for the next two years.”

The country’s Pro Continental team, Bora-Argon 18, has also benefited from backing of a new German company, and has seen its chances of getting a second successive wildcard invite boosted considerably by today’s news.

“ARD’s decision shows that German cycling has accomplished a successful turnaround over the past few years. A new generation of riders is blazing a trail for a cleaner sport,” said the team’s manager Ralph Denk.

Click here to read more at CyclingTips. Click here to read more at The Inner Ring about the resurgence of German cycling.

Porte to fight for Santos Tour Down Under win with strong Sky backing

by Shane Stokes

Keen to get his season off to a successful start after a largely frustrating 2014, Richie Porte has been confirmed as the leader of the Sky squad in the upcoming Santos Tour Down Under, and has said that he is psyched to ride strongly.

“This race is one of the highlights of my season,” he said on Wednesday. “The support we receive at the Santos Tour Down Under is unbelievable.

“I’ll never forget the atmosphere on Willunga Hill last year and the memories of winning that stage will stay with me forever. This year we have a really strong team heading into the race and we can’t wait to getting started.”

Porte will be backed by the Britons Pete Kennaugh, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas, the Australian Chris Sutton and the Italian Salvatore Puccio.

“Richie and the team raced really well here last year,” said race director Mike Turtur. “We expect cycling fans are again in for a great display of determination and skill by Team Sky at the event as they battle the climbs on the road to glory.”

Click here to read more at CyclingTips.

Philippe Gilbert not convinced by need for disc brakes on road bikes

Disc brakes on road bikes were one of the big trends of 2014 and it would seem that the technology is here to stay. But former world champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) isn’t convinced the pro road peloton is ready to convert to disc brakes.

“You need to have everyone ready at the same time, because you could not have some on disc brakes and others not,” Gilbert said during a team camp. “The braking distance on a disc brake might be 10 meters, and on other brakes, 20 meters. With 17 WorldTour teams, and the Professional Continental teams, do you think everyone could be ready at the same time?”

“You would have to adapt all of the tubes, tires, everything,” Gilbert said. “Now they are made for the brakes we have now. It’s complicated [to change].”

Gilbert also pointed to the perceived risks of rotors in a sport where crashes are common.

“If you land on a disc brake, it’s warm, it can open you up. If you get it on a vein … boof,” Gilbert said. “I am worried about the security. It’s not the same as a chain ring. I would be more scared about a disc brake.”

Click here to read more at VeloNews.

Tom Dumoulin extends contract with Giant-Alpecin through 2016

Giant-Alpecin has announced that 24-year-old time trial specialist Tom Dumoulin has extended his contract with the team and will ride with the squad through 2016.

2014 was arguably the best season of Dumoulin’s career thus far, winning the Dutch national time trial championships, a stage of the Eneco Tour and then a bronze medal in the world championships time trial in September.

“I am really happy for the mutual confidence and trust with the team that allowed us to open up my contact and extend it”, Dumoulin said. “I feel at home in this team as I can develop myself together with the team to my full potential. I have ambitions to work with this team for a longer period and to keep challenging ourselves together.”

Team Giant-Alpecin general manager, Iwan Spekenbrink said: “We are in the process of building a performance project around Tom. It was obvious for us to keep him on board and to keep developing him to a great rider in the WorldTour, and to allow him to reach his full potential not just in time trials but also as a general classification contender.”

Text adapted from a Giant-Alpecin press release.

Giant-Alpecin and Liv-Plantur reveals new colours for 2015

And a change of sponsors for the Giant-Alpecin team (formerly Giant-Shimano) has meant a change of kit design. What’s your take?

And what about the new kit for the setup’s women’s team, now known as Liv-Plantur?

The wait is over… Here is our new Liv Plantur 2015 kit. Absolutely love it! #Liv #Plantur @GiantAlpecin pic.twitter.com/AFKTzBGWuo

— Lucy Garner (@Lucygarner94) January 7, 2015

A Phase-Averaged Analysis of the Pedalling Cyclist Wake

If you’re interested in the science behind aerodynamics for cyclists, you might want to check out this paper from researchers at Monash University and the Australian Institute of Sport.

It’s all about the changes to the wake created by elite level time trialists over the course of their pedalling stroke. The paper is possibly a little challenging for a lay audience, but it’s still worth a look if you’re the sort of rider that loves learning as much as you can about how to get aero on the bike.

Identification of Factors that Influence Cyclist? Route Choice

If you ride to work regularly you’ll know that there are certain factors that make you choose one potential route over another. Now, researchers in Brazil have sought to make sense of those factors, conducting a study of 65 cyclists to determine how cyclists decide which way to ride.

The researchers identified five categories of factors that impacted riders’ route choices: characteristics of the roads, the traffic, the environment, the trip and the route.

The researchers concluded that “the most important factors for route choice were: motor vehicle speed and number of trucks in the flow. Other important attributes were: volume of motor vehicles, security and street lighting. The least important factor was cycling on a one way street.”

Click here to read the full paper.

Are shaved arms faster?

Most semi-serious road cyclists tend to shave their legs, with aerodynamics among the most commonly claimed benefits. So is it more aerodynamic to shave our arms as well? Specialized put this idea to the test.

The Rocacorba Recap

And finally this morning, here are a few things you might have missed at CyclingTips:

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Today’s feature image was shot by Jered Gruber. It’s unclear where it was shot.

Tags: 2015 Australian Road Nationals, 2015 Santos Tour Down Under, disc brakes, doping, Giant-Alpecin, Kimberley Wells, Liv-Plantur, Phillipe Gilbert, Richie Porte, Rocacorba Daily, Steele von Hoff, Tom Dumoulin, UCI

velocite

Shaved arms saves 19″ over 40kms? An interesting teaser, but I need some perspective. I just found a site ‘http://www.analyticcycling.com/RiderAeroStudy.html’ which says that riding on the drops at 30 mph saves about 90″ in 10 kms, huge by comparison. My rough as guts figuring says shaved arms are worth less than 2 watts while riding on the drops is worth more than 10 times that. I couldn’t be bothered with a 2 watt saving - I need much more - but what argument could a pro mount for not shaving the arms?
- jules
  
  I think they may as well go the full body shave and be done with it.
- Alan
  
  I might be way behind the times here. Does anyone have data on the aerodynamic benefits of shaving the legs?
  - dbranson
    
    Specialized did legs in their wind tunnel before and said it saves around 70s per 40km or about the same as going from a traditional round tube frame to a Venge:
    
    The Win Tunnel: Shaved and Dangerous?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZnrE17Jg3I
    - Alan
      
      Thank you. For someone of my modest ability and ambitions, I doubt that the gain would be worth the heckling :)
      - dbranson
        
        Sorry you have to shave the guns, it’s a rule! Rule #1 Obey The Rules, Rule #33 Shave your guns.
        http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/
Dave

I think this year’s TDU course would suit Geraint Thomas a lot more than Porte, simply because there are only two climbs (both laps on Willunga Hill) long enough to suit Porte.

Things may change though - stages 1 and 3 will probably need to be rerouted due to the Sampson Flat bushfire cutting off their routes and surrounding the Paracombe finish location for stage 3. The fireground was still very active yesterday and was only brought under control late yesterday, and there’s still lots of cleaning up to do including checking every tree along every road. The cleanup effort has now been stalled by wet weather, so the TDU organisers may need to make a call earlier rather than later.
- Dave
  
  The area is still closed to anyone who is not a resident with ID.
  - jules
    
    for #2, the cooling benefit of bare arms could introduce a penalty of wearing long sleeves in warm weather
- jules
  
  Porte and Thomas are both prospective leaders. it seems they’ll give the job to Porte, who’s earned it through loyalty in his previous and continuing domestique duties and also cos it’s his local race.
  - Vlad Tepes
    
    Loyalty counts for nothing in regards to Team Sky - and business in general for that matter. Wiggins was loyal, won the Tour even, and then they shafted him from TDF selection. Still, I hope Porte does lead and win. He is a truly humble champion.
    - jules
      
      Wiggo was left out as he couldn’t bring himself to be a team player. harsh as he was reigning Tour champ but Sky were entitled to demand everyone play by their rules - no exceptions.
      - dbranson
        
        Chris Froome’s actions might have had some small play in there too ;)
        
        jules
        
        the key thing Froomey did that sunk Wiggo was build himself as a stronger rider. Sky is a pro racing team - they will and should support the strongest rider. the politics that saw Froome undermine Wiggo aren’t new or unique, it’s just that in this case Froome could back it up with numbers so we saw it in public with the visible fall of Wiggo. but it’s nothing that doesn’t happen behind the scenes in other teams.
        
        Dave
        
        For sure. The “come on, hurry up now” incident when he waited for Wiggo in the 2012 Tour was the main moment where he asserted his claim to the throne. Pity he’s not so good in neutral sections or on flat sealed roads!
        
        A team with more agile sporting directors might have let Froome off the leash then and there, and other teams might also have considered including Wiggo in the 2014 Tour as a more credible Plan B than a one week rider like Richie.
        
        jules
        
        i love Wiggo but his head was in a weird place last year. i can understand Sky giving Richie the job. even though they didn’t really, or at least didn’t plan it that way.
        
        Vlad T.
        
        How is Wiggins not a team player? His team won the TDF. He won gold for GB at the Olympics. What else did he need to do?!
        Upon what evidence are you basing your opinion of Froome being the stronger rider? Because he gapped Wiggo on a climb? Wiggins is a TT and track world champ, multiple Olympic golds, 10th at Roubaix and can actually ride in the rain. Froome has achieved none of this.
        What ‘numbers’ of Froome are you talking about? Source?
        Also, how the heck would you know what happens behind the scenes in pro teams?! Are you the secret pro?
        
        jules
        
        “Wiggo.. can actually ride in the rain”
        
        somebody didn’t watch last year’s Giro :)
        
        Dave
        
        Was that the one with his “descending like a girl” gaffe? I believe that was the 2013 Giro. Sky had quite a good Giro last year with Dario Cataldo getting close to a few stage wins as their leader and all without the soap opera which accompanies the big note British riders.
        
        Wiggo did have trouble with descending in the wet, but he probably would have been able to stay upright in the neutral section (unlike Froome) and might be able to handle a flat road in the rain (unlike Froome) even if the degree of difficulty points for a wet descent are still too high.
        
        jules
        
        Froome’s problems in the ’14 Tour were ultimately due to an injured wrist. he did crash before then, but the criticism of his riding after the injury was unjustified.
        
        Dave
        
        And the cause of the wrist injury (and therefore the troubles on the following day’s flat roads) was of course his overlapping of wheels in the neutral zone.
        
        It was not the first time Froome has had handling-related issues, it just goes to show there’s a lot more to bike racing than just being a pedalling machine.
        
        http://whatspossible.com.au/ Scott Barrow
        
        One and the same. Froome was the chosen team strategy.
OverIt

Have to agree with Phillipe on the disc issue. As much as I like my disc’s, I think for racing in close confines, they’d need vented guards (less aero for sure), to allow cooling but prevent what is basically a ‘hot knife through butter’…. Imagine worst case you got your finger somehow caught in the disc webbing? It’s going to slice it off in an instant.
- RayG
  
  Better get rid of those chainrings and spokes, while you’re at it.
  - Liam O’Dea
    
    Was it Tour of Gila last year that had a crash involving one poor unfortunate that had his neck cut by a chainring?
- Jim
  
  Everybody with discs to the back of the peleton please !!! ???
  - Dave
    
    No, they’ll be off the FRONT once a good descent comes and those still left on rim brakes are preoccupied with managing their rim temperature and brake fade!
- velocite
  
  As I write this I have 11 stitches in my calf, holding in a decent size flap of flesh made by an oily chain ring - so I know chain rings are unfriendly. Discs? They don’t have sharp teeth, and it should be possible to mandate a nice smooth perimeter on them. Plus they don’t turn that fast. Probably in the positions of most big pileups - in sidewinds or in the vicinity of road furniture on the flat -they won’t be hot. And I’m wondering: if an examination was conducted of videos of lots of crashes, could a view be formed of the likelihood of any rider being cut by a disc?
  
  I feel that the differential stopping distance issue is a furphy.
  - Dave
    
    The differential stopping distance is indeed a red herring. Properly set up rim brakes are already strong enough to (front) transfer all the weight and lift the rear wheel, or (rear) skid the rear tyre and send you into a wild fishtail.
    
    The benefits of hydraulic disc brakes are…
    - they work in wet weather (when you pull the brake you want it to do something NOW, not a few hundred metres down the road).
    - the one finger modulation for better control (should reduce the number of peleton pileups).
    - not wearing out your wheels or heating them up to the point tubular tyres can melt and clinchers can blow out.
    - velocite
      
      Yep. I went for a ride on my old bike with its non-indexed shifters on the down tube a while ago, and I enjoyed it, no problem. And the rim brakes on my road bike work fine, no problem there either. But it doesn’t take much exposure to hydraulic discs to appreciate the benefits you mention. Now that the weight penalty is insignificant - nil for pros given the UCI mandated weight minimum - it puzzles me how anyone can be against discs. They’re clearly progress - unlike electronic shifting, which might be, but it’s not totally clear to me.
      - Dave
        
        Have you ridden an electronic shift bike? I took one with the Campagnolo system for a test ride last year and it’s incredible, I’d say it is almost as much a step change as upgrading to disc brakes.
        
        I do agree that it is possibly not yet a mature technology, but that will come in the near future. The added competition that will come once the SRAM system enters full production will be a game changer that will force Shimano and Campy to upgrade their options.
        
        velocite
        
        Only once: I hired a Trek with Di2 to ride up Mont Ventoux! I’d say the changes were reliably crisp but I’m not sure the improvement balances the negative of having to depend on batteries to change gear on a self-propelled machine. I’d say latest implementation with just the one shifter will improve things though.
        
        One surprising thing: I did manage to drop the chain on the Trek. I was a approaching an intersection at Sault, near the bottom of the descent, not sure which way to go, stupidly pressing the buttons without being aware of what I was doing, when off popped the chain. Not foolproof, then!
  - OverIt
    
    Remember though, that because the pads wear the rotor right to the edge of the disc, you can often end up with a razor sharp edge, (not to mention most a laser cut with a sharp edge to begin with), and look at the cut you can get from dragging a blade with pressure slowly across you skin. You could mandate a kind of rounded lip, but then that would mean a pain for wheel changes as the pads would wear disc and they would catch on removal. Chain rings as you well know can cut you up, but have a spiky shape that also has blunt areas, that will still doing damage, don’t act as much like a blade I don’t think as it kind of grabs in the flesh.
    
    Agree with you on the stopping distance, as discs don’t give you MORE power, (the tire grip is the limiting factor), only greater modulation and less hand force. So with disc brakes the elite riders will have even skinnier forearms ;) therefore saving weight and negating the weight increase of disc brakes.
    - RayG
      
      I’ve had disc brakes on MTBs for more than a decade. I’ve never worn a thin edge on a disc. I’m a fastidious cleaner and maintainer, so I would have noticed.
      
      I do have a couple of faded chainring scars, though.
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  I wonder if Gilbert has actually ridden disc brakes for more than a short ride. Many pros I speak to have never had a chance to try them for very long. Certainly not long enough to get used to them, understand how they feel in varying conditions, etc.
Alan

The Liv Plantur 2015 kit looks fine. Unfortunately, the photo looks as if it was taken in a roadhouse toilet.
Ralph

Gilbert’s concens could be countered by saying that from say, 2016, all pro bikes must carry disc brakes. His point about a disc potentially slicing something is an interesting one though ‘boof’ lol so french.
- 900Aero
  
  Why are roadies so concerned about injury from discs and MTBer’s use them without question? I’m not a road disc fan but just find this an interesting discrepancy. Is it a realistic concern due to higher speeds? Bigger bunches? Or just out there with dailylight saving fading the curtains?
  - pedr09
    
    For me it’s the fact that you have so many riders riding so close together often for hours and the total carnage that can and does occur when someone makes a small mistake.
    - Dave
      
      Seems like the introduction of brakes allowing precise one finger modulation for better control would be a good thing.
      - velocite
        
        Absolutely. The cause of Quintana’s fall in the Vuelta was that he was fiddling around with his shoe instead of concentrating on the corner coming up, but it’s possible if he’d had discs he wouldn’t have locked up his rear wheel as he did.
  - JBS
    
    I tend to agree with Gilbert on this point having seen images of what a hot rotor can do to a rider’s calf. One of the US riders at the 2013 (?) cyclocross world champs got a nasty gash from memory.
    
    This issue is bunch size (in my opinion). MTB and cyclocross crashes don’t tend to involve more than two riders. Road crashes often bring down 10 or 20 riders at a time and they usually fall all over each other’s bikes. A very nasty slice into a limb is a matter of when, not it, as I see it.
  - Guest
    
    This daylight savings example is exactly how it sounds to me. Resistance to change. Unfortunately I think Phil will be finished quite soon - before disk brakes come in to pro racing.
900Aero

Misquoting The ‘Gurg: I like the new Giant kit better than their old one.
velocite

It was impressive that German TV gave up on the TdF when it clearly got dirty, and it’s great that they’re back. More eyeballs on the sport, and more money for it.
instafacegram

Man of Steele
Von Hoff the hook!

please continue….