Categories: La Vie VelominatusLook ProTechniqueThe Rules

Look Pro: Éclatant de Panache

Sur La Plaque. Photo via BikeRaceInfo.com" src="http://www.velominati.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/1998-17-Pantani-Guerini-620x449.jpg" width="620" height="449" /> Pantani always moved Sur La Plaque. Photo via BikeRaceInfo.com

The Prophet was very clear on how best to ride an individual Time Trial; start as fast as possible and finish as fast as possible. As for the middle, his advice was to ride that as fast as possible.

The same can be said of climbing; as we covered in Part I and Part II of the Sur La Plaque series, the key to climbing well is to hit the bottom as hard as possible, and then move into the big ring as you go over the top in order to finish the climb as fast as possible. As for the middle section; well, hit that as hard as possible and focus on keeping your momentum going.

The trouble is with this pesky notion we have of “gauging our efforts”. Certainly, the perfectly measured climb would result in riding the whole of it Ã bloc before moving Sur La Plaque over the top, blast down the other side and – just as you hit escape velocity – explode spectacularly, using your perfectly honed LeMond Tuck to recover in time to crush it in the valley to the next climb where you repeat the process. Panache.

Panache is a dualistic thing; almost without exception do we admire it in others, and almost without exception are we too cowardly to hold it inside ourselves. Panache doesn’t speak of caution, or of measured action. It speaks of impulse – compulsion, even – to attack despite one’s better judgement. It speaks of throwing caution to the wind. It weighs heavy with the risk of exploding magnificently and trading angel’s wings for the devil’s anchor.

But those who venture freely into that realm have blown up so many times that it hardly features in their reasoning. Pain and climbing are inseparable; what difference does it make if you blow up and suffer a bit more for a bit longer? And, should we blow up often enough, we will learn how to suffer through and push to the top with grace. And perhaps by that same grace, will we recover enough to try again on the next climb.

Vive la chance. Vive le Grimpeur. Vive la Vie Velominatus.

Exhibit A: The master of Panache, Marco Pantani. And the master of blowing with grace, Richard Virenque. For a prime example of how to blow up properly, jump to 2:00.

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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frank says:

Mar 15 2013 at 10:52 am

@chiasticon

pantani flatting just before the stage's final climb? no big deal.

That is fantastic. That's a good example of burning through your train.

He dropped his chain in '98 and made a similar recovery. Awesome stuff.
piwakawaka says:

Mar 15 2013 at 12:20 pm

@frank

@DerHoggz

That is true, spin a bigger gear at the same cadence = go mo fasta. Mo betta. But therein lies the rub.

Being over or under-geared is always bad, and you just have to find the setup that works best for your individual needs. For example; I'm contemplating a compact for my gravel rig where climbing steep gravel roads would benefit from having a low enough gear.

Aside from that, its just pride.

Try this, as you climb check your cadence, change to an easier gear, initially your cadence will rise and then will quickly drop back to the cadence you were pushing before, but as you have changed gear you are now climbing slower than if you had mashed away in the bigger gear, if you can hold that gear down to 50-60 rpm I think it's a better result than changing.

Fucktards! Sorry just had to say it.
scaler911 says:

Mar 15 2013 at 12:41 pm

@frank

@chiasticon

pantani flatting just before the stage's final climb? no big deal.

That is fantastic. That's a good example of burning through your train.

He dropped his chain in '98 and made a similar recovery. Awesome stuff.

This effort is so awesome. So Pantani. I don't even care that he probably had a 8ball of coke on board and a Hct of 70. Brilliant. RIP little buddy............
TBONE says:

Mar 15 2013 at 2:59 pm

@Tbone Llamma

i see EPO everywhere

And I see someone who needs a new username.
frank says:

Mar 15 2013 at 3:54 pm

@scaler911

Here's another one. Tonkov was such a hard bastard, too. I love how long it takes Pantani to break him. And then, when he finally pops, its lights out.
Chris says:

Mar 15 2013 at 4:50 pm

@frank

@chiasticon

pantani flatting just before the stage's final climb? no big deal.

That is fantastic. That's a good example of burning through your train.

He dropped his chain in '98 and made a similar recovery. Awesome stuff.

His team must have been just well "prepared" the speed at which they drag him up that first section. At one point it looks like they have to check their speed to avoid dropping him.

It must have been brutally demoralizing to have him blow past you like that when you new he had come from so far behind.
Anjin-san says:

Mar 16 2013 at 6:01 am

Pantani was just amazing in this race! That said, I can't stomach Ozzy covering Motorhead... he sounds like a boy band when compared to Lemmy!
The Pressure says:

Mar 16 2013 at 6:08 am

@Chris Fantastic!! Why did he even bother with a saddle? The expressions of the leaders when caught were all the same...WTF???
unversio says:

Mar 16 2013 at 7:14 am

@chiasticon

pantani flatting just before the stage's final climb? no big deal.

I didn't breath while watching this. Perfetto!
Davidlhill says:

Mar 16 2013 at 7:31 am

The translations are good, but I think the right one is "whoever doesn't love Merckx doesn't love sport".