Just a little reminiscing game.

[woodbutcher]

Now l know l'm getting on a bit ....this photo shows my cycling hero ....far right Fausto Coppi ....but can you name the others ?
Answers bottom right but hey no cheating !

 

[Sharky]

Recognised some of the faces, but couldn't name them.

Notice that Coppi is the only one with a skid lid. Reaction following the loss of his brother?

 

[woodbutcher]

Recognised some of the faces, but couldn't name them.

Notice that Coppi is the only one with a skid lid. Reaction following the loss of his brother?

That hadn't occurred to me, you could be right .....or maybe just because its a publicity shot because there are lots of photos of him actually racing in '52 Tour with no skid lid , just a cap or no headgear whatsoever .

 

[Illaveago]

Proper bikes !

 

[Cycleops]

Proper bikes !

Yes quite, when men were men and carbon was just something you got when you raked out the grate in the morning.

 

[biggs682]

The first thing i noticed strangely were the the leg muscles on the one at the front of the picture ie left hand side

 

[Illaveago]

The first thing i noticed strangely were the the leg muscles on the one at the front of the picture ie left hand side

They look beefier than modern racing cyclists.

 

[woodbutcher]

They look beefier than modern racing cyclists.

That's Bernardo Ruiz then Gino Bartali, Stan Ockers and F.C I guess you needed muscles to shift those bikes up le Tourmalet. Can't believe Ockers seems to have a single chainring

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

They look beefier than modern racing cyclists.

It would be fascinating to know how much power those old-school riders could produce compared to the current day ones with all their scientific training and nutrition regimes. It would be equally interesting to put modern day pros on all those old vintage bikes, with no aerodynamic benefits, and on vintage gear ratios, and see how they performed.

 

[screenman]

Proper bikes !

That I think may depend on your age. Anyway they cannot be proper bikes as they do not have rod brakes, which is how my father defined a proper bike.

 

[midlife]

Trying to remind myself which famed track rider had specially made frames to manage his "stomp"..... Fair few Watts I would guess. Reg Harris? BITD the riding styles were very different, high gears low cadence and grunt!

 

[Smokin Joe]

It would be fascinating to know how much power those old-school riders could produce compared to the current day ones with all their scientific training and nutrition regimes. It would be equally interesting to put modern day pros on all those old vintage bikes, with no aerodynamic benefits, and on vintage gear ratios, and see how they performed.

Sportsmen and women have improved markedly across all disciplines exactly because of all their scientific training and nutrition. Considerably more is understood about what it takes to maximise human performance since those times.

Interesting to see that the rider nearest the camera is using wing nuts on his wheels.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I'm not disputing that sports science is a significant factor in performance, but I wonder if the old time riders tended to have more sheer brute strength? Their physical build would suggest they did. There's also the thing that a lot of people don't like to talk about, the effect of doping on athletic performance. I've recently been reading about Armstrong's exploits, and one thing that stands out in pro cycling is that average speeds in major events like the TdF increased year-on-year by more than could possibly be accounted for by training & nutrition advances alone. Much of that increase must have been down to widespread doping, such as the use of EPO. I'm sure cyclists and other athletes have always consumed the type of food & drink they believed would help their performance, right from the beginning of sports, but the scientific advances in recent decades benefitted the dopers just as much as the clean competitors. Knowledge is knowledge at the end of the day.

 

[woodbutcher]

I'm not disputing that sports science is a significant factor in performance, but I wonder if the old time riders tended to have more sheer brute strength? Their physical build would suggest they did. There's also the thing that a lot of people don't like to talk about, the effect of doping on athletic performance. I've recently been reading about Armstrong's exploits, and one thing that stands out in pro cycling is that average speeds in major events like the TdF increased year-on-year by more than could possibly be accounted for by training & nutrition advances alone. Much of that increase must have been down to widespread doping, such as the use of EPO. I'm sure cyclists and other athletes have always consumed the type of food & drink they believed would help their performance, right from the beginning of sports, but the scientific advances in recent decades benefitted the dopers just as much as the clean competitors. Knowledge is knowledge at the end of the day.

According to the program about Ineos l saw recently the drug of choice seems to be rice pudding . I have never seen so much consumed by on person in such a short time . Who wants tio be a modern TDF star...poor Gearing Thomas

 

[Smokin Joe]

EPO made a significant difference when it's use was widespread, but doping is as old as cycling itself and you could safely bet that the riders in the photo were all on something or other.