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"

Cycling
Thursday, 25 July 2024 at 10:44
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Guillaume Martin fought at the Tour de France to the best of his abilities, however it wasn't good enough to reach further than 13th place in the GC and without a realistic shot at a stage success. According to the Frenchman, the 'too heavy' LOOK bikes are to blame for his struggling.

He reports this in a roundabout way when Le Monde asks him to analyse his own performance data from the last Tour. "Unfortunately, that is not possible, because I do not have a power meter. Our bikes weigh 7.7 kilograms, 1 kilo more than the UCI's permitted weight. I do not want to make my bike even heavier with a bike computer and meter, which also weigh 200 grams."

Martin explains that one kilo more in cycling is really a lot these days. He gives an example of what it makes a difference in practice. "If you calculate with a bike that weighed a kilo too much, I wouldn't have finished 45 seconds behind the Pogacar group at the top of the Bonette. I could have stayed with them and also taken some time to eat. I would have felt better anyway if I knew that everything was better. We pay attention to weight with nutrition all year..."

The team reacted as if stung by a wasp after the interview with Martin, who will probably pack his bags for Groupama - FDJ after this season. They came up with a statement on their website very quickly.

"The weight of the bike is an important consideration, but not the only performance factor. The bike used by Martin is specifically designed not to exceed 7.4 kilograms, a weight that is slightly below the average of the bikes of the best riders in the peloton. Our riders benefit from advanced material with frames from LOOK," it says.

"We are convinced that our material partners have enabled us to compete with our opponents. We have also achieved several victories with the same bike in the 2023 Tour, the 2023 Vuelta and this year's Giro," Cofidis also points out.

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11 Comments
abstractengineer 25 July 2024 at 11:06+ 3086

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

OCexile 26 July 2024 at 03:53+ 496

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.

cdw 25 July 2024 at 09:10+ 78

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.

Veganpotter 25 July 2024 at 17:33+ 589

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.

Pogboom 25 July 2024 at 17:33+ 190

"A bad workman always blames his tools".

verve825 25 July 2024 at 03:24+ 97

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...

Veganpotter 25 July 2024 at 15:55+ 589

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.

SpinClub 25 July 2024 at 17:33+ 779

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.

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leedorney 29 July 2024 at 02:52+ 618

In all seriousness I can see his point, at the level he's at, a ⅓ of that would make a difference...

Veganpotter 25 July 2024 at 17:33+ 589

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

paultryan2002 26 July 2024 at 06:35+ 265

Yes that was the issue LOL i would have kept up also if i was not aged 60😂😂😂😂😂

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