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Rider fitness and Grand Tours
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| thatfguy |
Posted on 07-01-2008 15:46
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Amateur
Posts: 13
Joined: 30-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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I was wondering how you guys approach fitness for grand tours. I know what the guide says but I am interested in how some of you guys do it. I am riding the 2008 Giro with Cofidis. My GC contender is Tom Danielson who started the tour at 80/80, 5/20. Through stage 14 he is 77/77, 20/20 and sits 3rd in GC, 2’44” off the leader Cuengo and 14” off Rujano in second place. The next closest GC man is 5’16” down. A total fitness of 97 with 7 stages left seems ok but I was wondering how you guys do it and if you do it without blowing up a guys training fitness. Do you think it better to go in with lower training fitness and more race fitness or let both build during the race.
This career is using PCM06 with PPDB.
A short note on my tour: Di Luca fell on one of the early flat stages and in a possibly unsporting move I put every domestique on 99% infinite relay to drop him . If he had gotten a puncture I probably would not have tried to drop him and left the peleton to their business but falling… He finished the stage 8’15” back but has since won 3 mountain stages and sits in 10th in the GC at 6’01” off the leader. He is still incredibly strong and if we would not have dropped he would certainly be winning. |
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| mrlol |
Posted on 07-01-2008 16:55
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Grand Tour Specialist
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I allways peak my GC contenters to the first mountain stage, of big TT if that comes first. make them have 80 training in the mountains and time trials. try to peak him only on those stages at 80 and when he gets there let him train at 70% and he'll keep 80 training fitness. and if you let him do one preparation tour, you should be ok, because usually there are first some sprinters stages so he can built up to 20/20. just make sure you peak short so he doesnt gets too much fatigue. |
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| ABridgeTooFar |
Posted on 07-01-2008 18:53
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Domestique
Posts: 463
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I do the same as mrlol. Using this method you should still have enough fatigue where you can enter a race with that rider in a few other races ealier in the year. My GC contender for the Tour usually does the TofCalifornia, Paris-Nice and the Dauphine with a TF of 70. With these three races plus the Tour his TF max usually drops below 80. |
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| Mugerli91 |
Posted on 07-01-2008 20:00
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Amateur
Posts: 16
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Well, I start GT with form of 68/80 and 10+ racing form. Then I put training to 100% and on prelast stage put on 0% (you don't need to have a rider in good form on last stage). With that system you can have a rider in top form for Giro and Tour or Tour and Vuelta. But don't race too much between 2 GT.
And never accept the "media thing", it's just raises fatigue. |
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| dawso |
Posted on 07-01-2008 23:40
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Junior Rider
Posts: 35
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I do much the same as everyone else here, I have my GC guy train at 80-90% through June (after a slow early season build up) to have him reach 70-ish training fitness for the start of the Tour and have him race Dauphine/Suisse and maybe Nat. Champs to get up some decent race fitness which can then be improved upon in the first week of the Tour. If I keep them on about 70-80% training during the Tour it tends to maintain their fitness without leaving them too fatigued at the end.
And never accept the "media thing", it's just raises fatigue.
Mugerli91 this interested me, do you mean talking to the media about riders results? I'd never considered this as affecting fatigue. |
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| thatfguy |
Posted on 08-01-2008 03:31
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Amateur
Posts: 13
Joined: 30-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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I thought the media talks effected the riders morale, I never noticed whether they got fatigued from it, I will pay attention next time and maybe check before and after with the editor. |
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| Mugerli91 |
Posted on 08-01-2008 13:20
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Amateur
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dawso wrote:
Mugerli91 this interested me, do you mean talking to the media about riders results? I'd never considered this as affecting fatigue.
Yes. Once after Giro when I accepted that "media" I had more fatigue with Basso as when I didn't accepted the "media" and rode 2 GT with top form. |
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| CrueTrue |
Posted on 08-01-2008 21:34
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 29989
Joined: 20-10-2006
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Definitely interesting. I'd like to see this tested a little bit more. |
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| Mugerli91 |
Posted on 09-01-2008 13:57
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Amateur
Posts: 16
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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Test is very simple. F.e. drive with O'Grady Tour Down Under (form under 65/80) and when you won a stage just accept it. You'll see rider gain a lot of fatigue.  |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 06:20
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| issoisso |
Posted on 09-01-2008 14:08
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Tour de France Champion
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CrueTrue wrote:
Definitely interesting. I'd like to see this tested a little bit more.
C'est vrai. I've seen it before a bunch of times. it's why I never comment
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
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| mrlol |
Posted on 09-01-2008 14:26
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5005
Joined: 24-06-2007
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now I understand why my best riders got fatigue without having them above 65 training fitness... |
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| Guido Mukk |
Posted on 09-01-2008 14:34
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15830
Joined: 08-02-2007
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And more..If my team captain doesnt seems to cach good form before grand tour..i will choose for him..some races for previous month. This is best way to get rider at form without any 90% training fatigue.
Like all my TdF captains will ride at Dauphine or Suisse tour.
Edited by Guido Mukk on 09-01-2008 14:36
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