Guillaume Martin blames lackluster Tour on 'too heavy' bicycles: "I wouldn't have finished 45 seconds behind the Pogacar group at the top of the Bonette"
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He never says what was his ideal weight and how far away from that he was at this tdf. This way at least the proportionality of blame can be given
SWEEP is right. Martin is one of THE lightest riders in the peloton at 121 lbs/54.9kg, while pogačar weighs 146 lbs./66.22kg.
this might be one of the lamest things i’ve ever heard a pro say.
Technically speaking, his number is just about right. I crunched the numbers using my Alp D'Huez calculator (1 pound = 14 extra seconds from bottom to top). The Bonette-Restefonds is 5,200 feet of climbing, so about 1.5 times the Alpe. You do the math and it comes out to about 45 seconds.
Using another source, at 250 watts, I kilo takes an additional 2.5 to 3 watts. So yes, if his bike was one kilo heavier, all other things equal, he would lose 45 seconds.
Of course, it is way more complex than that. What if his Look bike was more aero than his opponents?
I showed a friend once, using one of those complex cycling calculators that going up and down a mountain on an aero 17 pound bike was actually faster than a non-aero 15 pound bike. (Not by much).
On a windy climb like the Bonnette-Restefonds, drafting on a climb was probably more than the extra 3 watts he needed. IF, everyone, in fact, had 1 kilo lighter bikes.
In any case, the comment above about not saying things that hurt your career is most apt.
The funny thing is that Pogi's bike isn't 6.8kg. It's about 7.2 so it's closer to the teams claim of 7.4kg than the minimum of 6.8kg but Pogi isn't complaining because he's too busy winning.
Serious question: given the low weight of bikes these days, is 7.4kg really "slightly below the average of the bikes of the best riders in the peloton"? Seems implausible: are the pros really tolerating an extra half kilo of dead bike weight? I'd think that even full-on aero bikes in the pro peloton would be close to 6.9kg...
Pogi's bike is 7.2kg and he's not complaining at all. He knows about about the entire system. He can ride shallower wheels, and narrower, lighter tires if he wanted less weight but he knows better.
I've said and done things that have hurt my career. This probably has not helped him with his current team or his next team.
In all seriousness I can see his point, at the level he's at, a ⅓ of that would make a difference...
Pogi's bike is 7.2kg. Jonas' is at 6.8kg. I've yet to see Pogi complain that his bike hasn't as light as Jonas' bike
Yes that was the issue LOL i would have kept up also if i was not aged 60😂😂😂😂😂
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