168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Alex Dowsett has suggested that the likes of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Filippo Ganna and𝕴 Remco Evenepoel are exploiting a 'grey a🅰rea' in being followed by team cars stacked with spare bikes during time trials.
Ganna and Evenepoel were both trailed by team cars carrying several spares as they finished first and second in Monday's 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tirreno-Adriatico time trial. As 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:reported by Cyclingnews t🐷his week, increasing the surface area of a following team car increases the aerodynamic ♒advantage gained by the rider.
At the start of Wednesday's Tirreno-Adriatico stage, Cyclingnews asked Dowsett, one of the world's leading time trial🍃ists and keenest pursuers of aerodynamic༒ gains – who was followed by a single spare bike on Monday – for his take on the matter.
"I just think they must have s🔜ome prototype tyres that have a high chance of puncturing, so they need 10 bikes in case there's a puncture. Obviously ♚that's the reason for so many bikes on the roof racks," Dowsett said, before making clear: "That's a joke obviously."
Dowsett's true feelings are less clear but he did suggesไt the practise raises several questions relating to fair pla🌜y, and he twice used the term 'grey area'.
Team cars are supposed to stay at least 10 metres behind a rider but there is ওno UCI rule dictating the number of spare bikes permitted on a team car during a time trial.
"It's in the grey [area] – the grey being the line between꧒ what's in the spirit of fair play and what's in the📖 UCI rule book," Dowsett stated.
"If there's not a rule ag🍨ainst it, then it's not cheating," he added. "We understand so much about aerodynamics now that we see these things and obviously the press and social media bring these things to light.
"A skinsuit is an aerodynamic gain that's making the rider faster, whereas a push from behind... Is that in the spirit o🍬f fair play? The🗹re's just a lot of questions that come from it."
Part of that question revolves around how much of a gain th꧒ere is to be had. Belgian scientist Bert Blocken has calculated that a car following at 10 metres offers a drag reduction of about 0.23 per cent, translating to 0.078 seconds per kilometre.
168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Ineos Grenadiers apparently believe there's some value, with Ganna – but not other riders, even GC leaders – trailed by stacked cars in three of his four time trials this🗹 year and on the final day of last year's Giro d'Italia.
"It's not something you can feel," Dowsett said. "You'd still be pushing air. Nothing would change from what's being pushed in front of you. Your power wouldn't change, you might look down and be like 'oh I'm doing 55kph instead of 54, but it wouldn't be something❀ you'd notice."
Likewise, Dowsett acknowledged that Ganna is so dominant as to render those gains almost irrelevant, but he did still suggest the practice of stacking 🉐cars raised ethical questions.
"Cycling teams are a business. There's a set of rules and it's like 'ok this isn't breaking the rules so we do it'. But actually🃏, when it all comes to light, does it diꦏscredit the rider?" he pondered
"Because it's like, 'well did you win because you had the push?' Ultimately, with the gaps Ganna can produce to second place, he doesn't need that kind of external influence. No one actually knows tꦏhe gain.
"If they'r💟e sitting 10 metres behind, maybe it's a fraction of a percentage gain. If it's 30 metres, maybe it's a zero🔯 per cent gain. It's in the grey."
