On the Col de Peyresourde on Stage 8 of the Tour de France Chris Froome first clobbered a Colombian spectator with a bony fist (something akin to being clubbed with a toffee hammer I’ll warrant), and then gave the other riders a good clobbering by snatching the points at the summit  He then proceeded to then put the stage to bed with an effective, and frankly bizarre descent style known as the super-tuck.  Sitting on the top-tube and leaning out over the front wheel like a heaving drunk he polished off the descent – giving himself a nice lead and the Yellow Jersey.  Not only was he positioned like this but he was still pedaling like a maniac!  Team Sky being Team Sky we can be sure this technique has undergone testing with their boffins and is deemed to be quicker than any other, more comfortably pedal-able, position in the circumstances …  And while this technique may look somewhat odd and ungainly, it’s pretty slick compared to Froome’s usual attack position, which is more akin to a broken coat hanger.

I was so intrigued by this that I gave it a quick whirl after a recent training session.  However, the amount of focussed clenching required to prevent ‘voiding the warranty’ on my perineum precluded any ability to pedal freely.  Being a long time advocate of cut-out saddles and having the contact points suddenly inversed was a particular shock to the system.  So, feeling less like Froomey, and more like Max Wall I quickly desisted.

Froome is the latest in a long line of evolving experiments to find the most efficient position.  Some successful, some embarrassing, and often both…

Graham Obree

Obree atop Old Faithful

The super-tuck probably began with one of modern cycling’s most influential innovators: Graeme Obree.

The position he used on his famous bike Old Faithful is remarkably similar to Froome’s and proved to be so very effective it got the bike design banned.  Later Obree adopted the superman position which is more akin to modern tri-bars.  True to form this was also banned.

It seems that these 2 positions were truly ahead of their time since we now see them both employed to some extent in modern cycling.

Marco Pantani

Cool

OK so Marco Pantani did it the other way around – hanging off the back.  Allegedly this is not as aero – but it looks much cooler which counts for a lot.  And 78 Kph is pretty fast.  Maybe the cotton cap causes some unwanted turbulence – although Marco would eventually dispense with hats, and hair, altogether – no doubt to punch, or rather nut, a hole in the air more effectively.

Prone Position

Prone to what?  The trade-off between speed and ridicule reaches a new zenith with the Bird of Prey bicycle…

This is by no means a new idea.  In fact Graham Obree used a similar position in his attempt on the human powered vehicle land speed record all be it with a faring attached.  A faring being a good idea if only to keep out of sight of the general public.  We cyclists get a lot of stick for clopping about in shoes that can’t be walked in, and wearing clothes that would be too tight for an 80’s hair metal band.

Nitro…

So do us all a favor and cling on to that last bit of dignity…

Dignity