Putting on a jacket while climbing is challenging because of the slow speeds…add in wind in tough weather conditions and it is a true test of fortitude.
That said, it still amazes me that zippers are still the closing device of choice…30 years ago I had a Pearl windbreaker with Velcro and it was the greatest thing ever. So easy to open and close while on the bike…watching Hindley and Kelderman the other day with flapping jackets greatly offended my aero sensibilities…not to mention leaving them both cold.
Sure, a zipper will seal water out better, but no jacket keeps you completely dry in those conditions…
But damn that was a great stage…wide open race right now!!
uhm I kinda hate to bring this up, but the Spanish government declared a nationwide state of emergency …so I guess we are back to uncertainty about the race.
Kuss basically blew up trying to get Roglic back on after the jacket fiasco…
Agreed…we got a lot more racing than I expected. I didn’t think the Tour would finish, let alone the Giro or starting the Vuelta. And most of the races have been very entertaining, especially the classics.
In most of the coverage I saw where rain jackets were a problem, the issue was more getting the thing on in the first place - rather than doing up the zip once both arms were in
Yeah I just saw a couple clips from the end of the Giro where both Kelderman and Hindley spend like 4 minutes just trying to get their second arm in the jackets while climbing up the stelvio (might not have been the stelvio) at a pretty good clip. There was a bunch of wind and just kept twisting the jacket up when they tried to pass it from one side to the other around their backs.
Correct…but both Hindley and Keldermann also never got their jackets closed and they were flapping in the wind on the descent. Kelderman eventually ditched his because of this.
Putting on a jacket while climbing slowly can be challenging in the best of times…add in wind and bad weather and it gets real dicey sometimes (especially with deep section rims). When possible, I think the riders would be better served opting for a vest / gillet rather than a jacket. Sure, not as much protection / warmth, but you can get it on much easier.
Honestly, I wonder why riders don’t simply stop for 5 seconds, put on the jacket, and then get going again. It seems like they are easily losing 5-10 seconds futzing around with the jacket anyway.
Exactly, especially on top of the Stelvio. I can’t imagine how much they suffered going down at 70/80 km/h at 5°C with only a base layer and a shirt (probably soaked in sweat).
When I did it in August it was like 12°C and even though I was wearing a jacket I was sooooo cold for the first 10k of the descent.
The time gained back by Valverde yesterday is proving beneficial…Movistar now have 3 riders in the top 10 within ~2 min of the lead. JV and Ineos can’t afford any of them to go up the road, which gives Movistar cards to play.
Case in point - Valverde just did a testing move @ 6.5k to go, forcing JV to up the pace and bring him back. I’m sure he’ll go again before the finish to set up Mas and Soler.
. Gotta say it has been a pretty banging season so far. Anything else honestly is basically a bonus.
