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Bicycling
Spinners
Are Winners
By Mike Carter, 2002 Masters
National Road Champion and AthletiCamps
Spinners are winners? Well, that is part of
it. Yes, its true, spinners are winners. Look at Lance Armstrong, his cadence
in the last couple of Tour De France races looked to be over 110 RPM's at
times. In the mountain stages, and in the TT's he was not only flying down (and
up) the road, but he was flying his pedals around like the wind too.
But is that all you need to win races, a high cadence? Well, yes that
is part of it - the easy part of it. The ability to spin smoothly and
effectively is key to an efficient pedal stroke, and it does require deliberate
training workouts to develop leg speed. Leg speed helps to conserve energy and
power for those critical defining racing moments when you need to close a gap,
bridge to a break, attack the break and sprint for the win. Developing good leg
speed is the easy part however. Without power, it does not matter how fast you
can turn the pedals over. What matters is the capability to spin a gear, big
enough gear that will hurtle you down the road, and hurtle you with speed! Leg
speed alone however, does not necessarily translate into going fast on the
road. Notice the size of the gear(s) Lance is turning over in the TT's. He
probably had a 55 or even a 56 large chain ring on, and he was in his 14 or 13,
maybe in his 12 at times in the TT at the 2001 Tour De France.
While
Lance has incredible leg speed, he has the massive power to turn over a big
gear to go with that leg speed. Lance has worked hard on his leg speed, but he
has dedicated even more time to developing his power. ESP Cycling is dedicated
to maximizing the balance between developing leg speed and combining that leg
speed with a power base. Spinners are winners, but only if there is power
behind it.
For scheduled and custom cycling training camps
throughout the year in Northern California to help bring your cycling skills to
the next level, visit AthletiCamps |
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