Much has been said about the Combloux time trial last Tour de FranceFrom Vingegaard's incredible performance, which opened the door for Pogacar to change bikes, to the final average speed (over 41 kilometers per hour) considering the final climb leading to the finish line. A lot, but not enough, or everything. One detail that immediately caught the eye was that almost everyone ran it without a water bottle. (Van Aert at the beginning).
The time trial was just over 22 kilometers, or just over half an hour of effort. Taking into account that the classic “canicule” French never let go of the heat, How can you run the decisive time trial of the Tour without having anything to drink? What is the limit that an athlete can reach in similar races without a water bottle? We asked these and other questions to Adriano Malori, someone who knows about chronos. And as always, when you talk to him, many answers and considerations come.
Knowing yourself
"First of all," Malori begins, "the rider, or rather the time trialist in this case, must learn to know himself. You do this trial after trial, taking references. When you begin to understand what kind of athlete you are, then you can understand what your autonomy is. In fact, you absolutely have to know it when you're at a high level. Among the many things a time trialist must know, there's also the matter of pre-race hydration. It is one of the components that adds to the watts expressed or to be maintained, to staying concentrated or to the position.
«vingegaard, Pogacar, Van Aert, Yates twins, to name the protagonists of the Tour, but also many others, They are now used to doing time trials without a water bottle and his support. They don't do it for aerodynamic reasons Because it's been proven that carrying a water bottle, even an empty one, is always more aerodynamic than just a bottle cage. In fact, if you notice, they never throw it away when they run out. Let's just say they don't carry one because they know it would be a waste of time, so to speak. When you're in position and in a competitive trance, drinking can throw you off your rhythm.. But there are distinctions to be made."
Hydration and adaptation
The length of the time trials is a sign of the passing of time. And therefore of the habits or predispositions of the specialist. In 2010, in his first year as a pro, Malori did time trials of over 50 kilometers in both the Dauphiné and the Tour. Vingegaard and Pogacar have so far competed with time trials of about 10 kilometers less, However, some things haven't changed.
«Doing a time trial without a water bottle – explains the 35-year-old world vice-champion of the specialty in 2015 – is very possible. I used to do it a lot too: there's no real limit.In spring you can even go 50 minutes without drinking. But you must have done it abundantly both in the previous days and on the day of the time trial.You must have already tried it in the months before; you can't improvise. It's known that in stage races, well-hydrated muscles develop more power. I usually drank a liter and a half in the morning. between water, salts, sugars and bicarbonate to prevent cramps. Then two water bottles an hour and a half before the start during the warm-up on the rollersOne of salts and one of water. Teams invest heavily in hydration, but this was also the case before. Maybe now there is a greater sounding board through social media, also because these are truly great champions."
«We can add other significant details», continues Malori. «One of the habits of the timeman is knowing how to adapt to various external factors. What I said before applies regardless of the weather conditions. Obviously, you need to consider whether it's very hot or what temperatures it was before. Or whether you sweat a lot during the warm-up. But be careful: you shouldn't overdo it with liquids. Because then there's the risk of becoming too bloated. And then the physiological need arises. Maybe it happens right when you're already in the race and what do you do?Or maybe it's a windy day and a fly ends up in your mouth. Having a water bottle can help you rinse off. In short, you have to look at many situations."
Correct result
The time trial verdict for Malori was nevertheless fair. He had foreseen itAnd hydration only matters so much.
«Vingegaard deservedly won – he concludes – and he certainly better adapted than pogacar under pre-chrono conditionsWhen I saw the photo of the Slovenian on his rest day with the beginnings of herpes, I knew he couldn't compete with the yellow jersey. Vingegaard is more of a specialist than Pogacar, especially among climbers. There was also a change of bike, not comparable to what we saw at the Mount Lussari at the Giro, which had a totally different path. Pogacar was the only one to do so among the top of the rankingsWhen you do operations like that, in that type of time trial, you lose rhythm, your muscles have to readapt to another position. The final climb wasn't too long and hard, imagine if champions like them can't do it on a time trial bike.. Pogacar would have lost anyway, but he would have done it in a different way."
