PEDAL DANCER GUIDE PAGES

28 May 2012

Time Trial legs

The power in the legs of a professional cyclist
We have been lucky as fans to enjoy a number of pro time trials lately. This past weekend we saw the final time trial of the Giro d'Italia decisively determine the winner - Ryder Hesjedal. We also heard of a new time trial champion at the USA Cycling Professional Championships - David Zabriskie. Two weeks ago I was in California sweltering in the heat of Bakersfield watching the individual time trial of the Amgen Tour of California, David Zabriskie also won that day.
That is some fast racing
The winning time of Marco Pinotti in the final time trial of the Giro d' Italia, averaged 31.8 mph over 14.2 m/s. The average time of David Zabriskie in Bakersfield at the ATOC was 30.77 over 18.4 miles. Last Saturday Dave Zabriskie defended his US National Champion Time Trial title for a 7th time with an average speed of (49,13km/h) 30.53 mph over 20.7 miles in Greenville, South Caroline. 
These are some fast legs 
I wanted to create a picture collection of the legs of some of the final men to take to the start ramp on the individual time trial day of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California. Being a member of the Media afforded me a front row seat to study the legs of the men who powered those incredible time trial machines. 
What made this time trial unusual was that the stages leading up to the time trial stage had been won by sprinters. Rider startlist for time trials are always in reverse order of the current standings. So the Bakersfield ITT saw a progression of riders line up in order of the slow twitch GC contenders followed by the fast twitch powerful legs of the sprinters, because the sprinters had been top 10 in the preceding stages. Basically we went from the climbers to the sprinters in the Bakersfield ITT (typically ITTs see the climbers/all-rounders going last).
Click any image to enlarge

19th on GC - Chris Horner (USA)
Chris Horner legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
18th on GC - Tejay Van Garderen (USA)
Tejay van Garderen legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
17th on GC - Tiago Machado (POR)
Tiago Machado legs  Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
16th on GC - Tom Dumoulin (NED)
Tom Dumoulin legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
15th on GC - Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)
Greg Van Avermaet legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Greg's shoes   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
14th on GC - Lawson Craddock (USA)
Lawson Craddock legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
13th on GC - George Hincapie (USA)
George Hincapie legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
George Hincapie legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
12th on GC - Peter Velits (SVK)
Peter Velits   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Peter Velits legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
11th on GC - Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (ESP)
Luis Leon Sanchez Gil legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Luis Leon Sanchez Gil   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
10th on GC - Josh Atkins (NZL)
Josh Atkins legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
9th on GC -  Wilco Kelderman (NED)
Wilco Kelderman legs  Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Wilco Kelderman    Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
8th on GC - Marc De Maar (AHO)
Marc De Maar legs    Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
7th on GC - Markel Irizar Arranburu (ESP)
Markel Irizar Arranburu legs  Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
6th on GC - Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA)
Ben Jacques-Maynes legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
5th on GC - Fred Rodriguez (USA)
Freddy Rodriguez legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Fred Rodriguez   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
4th on GC - Alex Howes (USA)
Alex Howes    Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
3rd on GC - Jeffry Louder (USA)
Jefry Louder legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
2nd on GC - Heinrich Haussler (GER)
Heinrich Haussler legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
1st on GC - Peter Sagan (SVK)
Peter Sagan    Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Peter Sagan legs   Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Peter Sagan's power    Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen

Extra credit to anyone who can guess whose legs these are .....
Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Photo© by PedalDancer.com/Karen
Answer: the above legs are Tom Boonen's !

See the other Pedal Dancer series of legs of the pros at:
Pedal Dancer: More legs of the Tour of California