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I'd never really considered that there must be a cross over point where the aeros of being tiny on a descent trumps the pull of gravity on bigger guys but it was there yesterday. And the physics of grip when cornering, lower centre of gravity etc?
dubtap-
This sounds dumb but it might just be he is braking less. It's impossible to see on telly how much they are using their brakes. From the way Pidders moves around the road and the body position on his bike it might just be he's not braking as much and so is faster. Sounds dumb but take Froome's comment when he said that Pidders was pushing the limit. Sounds to me like Froome was braking and Pidders wasn't - there are some sections where they must be totally hands off but they have to be doing a bit of feathering and moving their body around to slow down down and position as they weave their way down mountains. And people like Pidders and Nibbles just must brake less. Or am I way off base never actually done descending like this
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I think the pull of gravity is trumped by skill and handling mostly.
The variation of weight in the peloton is not that wide, at least for the people that might be contesting a mountain stage win. 58-68kg?
Froome is about 67kg and 6'1, Pidcock is probably 58 ish and 5'7.Not quite the same as a 100kg sportive rider barrelling down a mountain.
youramericanlover
Acliff
Another great stage yesterday.
I never thought of Froomedog as a big guy but he looked like a giant compared to Pidders.