Anatomy of a Photo: Full Gas

This qualifies.

We are just about done with our next book, The Hardmen. At its core is the question: how hard is hard enough when it comes to effort.

None of us really know the answer, but when you can’t stand up after winning a Tour de France stage, even with the help of several adoring fans and staff members, you got pretty close.

Chapeau, monsieur Millar.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Teocalli says:

Nov 18 2016 at 11:29 am

Lunch? Crikey that's a long wait.........Launch.
frank says:

Nov 18 2016 at 2:08 pm

@KogaLover

@Cary

one of the coolest things about this post is the very first sentence! i cannot wait. TAKE MY MONEY NOW

Available on Amazon on pre-order The Hardmen

That's not the cover!! And it's only the kindle version...
Cary says:

Nov 18 2016 at 4:56 pm

anybody that wishes to emulate Roche, Millar or Quintana doesn't need to go climbing any mountains, or set off on a 40k TT into the teeth of a North Sea gale. all that is necessary is to attempt to ride a kilo like it's 200m, or do tabata intervals at a similar pace. if you do it right, you'll wish you were dead in the time it takes for a TV commercial break.
Cary says:

Nov 18 2016 at 5:03 pm

@frank

@KogaLover

@Cary

one of the coolest things about this post is the very first sentence! i cannot wait. TAKE MY MONEY NOW

Available on Amazon on pre-order The Hardmen

That’s not the cover!! And it’s only the kindle version…

regardless, it's gonna be cool to read. i was stoked to see Van Hooydonk in the description. there are just so many cyclists from that era that really have faded into semi-obscurity. at least, in the US.
Cary says:

Nov 18 2016 at 5:08 pm

semi off topic, but tangentially relevant is the subject of track riders. they don't necessarily get the same credit for being "hard" as roadies do, and they're nowhere near as famous, but guys like Patrick Sercu, Urs Freuler, Etienne DeWilde are right alongside Sean Kelly, to me. to race six days for a career is not for the faint of heart.
Gianni says:

Nov 18 2016 at 5:09 pm

@JohnB

A Legend of a Hardman, I hope he’s in your next book @frank. If not, he should be.

ooops!
Gianni says:

Nov 18 2016 at 5:12 pm

@Cary

Did you see any footage of Gent six-day with Twiggo and Cav? That track is so short. All the action is compressed. What a place. That is on my big list.
Cary says:

Nov 18 2016 at 5:21 pm

@Gianni

@Cary

Did you see any footage of Gent six-day with Twiggo and Cav? That track is so short. All the action is compressed. What a place. That is on my big list.

hell yes. there seems to be a sort of six day renaissance going on in terms of coverage, thanks to YouTube. it is FANTASTIC to me. one of the prized possessions of my 20s was a Famous Cycling Videos VHS tape of the 1993 track worlds. Huebner, Niewand, Obree, Boardman, DeWilde, etc. I think Florian Rousseau won the kilo that year too. i mean, they even had a stayer race for chrissakes. that was the coolest thing ever.

the Ghent track is insanely small. do you remember the Vandedrome "portable" velodrome? the turns were near-vertical.
Cary says:

Nov 18 2016 at 7:53 pm

@Gianni

@Cary

Did you see any footage of Gent six-day with Twiggo and Cav? That track is so short. All the action is compressed. What a place. That is on my big list.

after a recent perusal of YouTube, i do not see any footage of Wiggins and Cav at Gent. there are a few clips of them winning the Madison at the 2015 Revolution 6, and a couple of Cav winning at Gent with Iljo Keisse in 2014. if you find any more links, please post em.

also, i looked up the Gent Velodrome, cuz i HAD to know. it's only 167m long. pretty rad.
Steve Trice says:

Nov 18 2016 at 11:00 pm

Has anybody here read "Push Yourself Just A Little Bit More" by Johnny Green? There's a bit in there where he describes watching Jean Patrick Nazon cross the line after a TDF time trial. Apparently JPN had so little left in the tank that he collapsed to the floor and lost control of his bodily functions, ending up lying in a pool of his own body fluids.