No actually those are not. I took mid race photos too. The majority of the time they ride the drops.
Yes, that’s exactly right. 
And the hoods are so much faster but MVDP opted to chase the break and pass them staying in the hoods the whole time? No he was in the drops the whole time. Why would he do that if the hoods are faster?
Riding hunched over in the hoods isn’t a comfortable position for most riders most of the time. That’s why you see it used when on the front of a break, or organizing the train near the end of the race, generally.
Otherwise it’s drops for the majority of the time.
Must admit looking at the rider on the front he’s much lower to the bike. In reality though how long can you hold the aero position on the hoods for? I’m lucky if I can do 2 minutes at the moment.
Longer than most people can stay in the drops, honestly.
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See response above…control is a big factor. I’ll be in the drops a fair amount in a crit, not because it is faster, but because it is safer.
I’m saying regardless of the reason the drops are far more widely utilized even if the hoods are more aero. I think you are saying the same thing.
Fair enough to that. Do you do any exercises off the bike help with this? I can stay in the drops a lot longer than the hoods at the moment.
No, we are definitely not saying the same thing. All good…we can agree to disagree.
Not really…I never do core and I never stretch. 
A lot of this goes back to other discussions re: hip rotation.
Fair enough. I’ll take a look at some hip rotation posts. Thanks for the info.
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I find it easy to sit on the hoods for hours…like I mentioned at the start of this thread I did a whole road bike tt in March for an hour ish and stayed on them (I rarely use the drops even on group rides and neither do my mates but we all tt) . But I race tt in the UK - usually 25/50m mostly on my tt bike - I do a ton of core work - planks/side planks for up to 5-6mins to allow me to use my tt bars in quite an extreme position and keep the body still on my tt bike - it’s just practice and needs about 15 minutes 3x week to do the core work. When I watch pro racing the drops are mainly just used in bunch sprints and if the rider wants a bit of a rest.
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I have recently practised riding flat on the hoods and try to do it all the time when i’m riding outside. I can do it for mile after mile now no problem.
When i’m racing i’ll stay in the drops mostly because you have more control and can yank the brakes on or take evasive action if you need to.
Planks are your friend, so is practise. It’s like anything: just learn good habits and bed them in.
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Thanks for the replies. I’ll start practicing a lot more on the bike and doing some more core exercise. Appreciate the advice.
Just adding here that it’s not always all about speed… being in the drops helps you protect your front wheel in dynamic group positioning. On the hoods, your drops are exposed, you don’t have as much control over the front wheel, your COG is somewhat higher, you don’t stop as fast (well, this was true with rim brakes…), and you can’t protect your front wheel as easily while still being safe. It’s not all about speed.
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Exactly, which is why they ride in the drops (slower according to some) more than hunched over and aero on the hoods (faster according to some).
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I go for a split finger approach on the hoods. Split my index and middle finger around the hoods and lower the fore arms to 45deg. Tuck my head down into a turtle position. Its uncomfortable but you get used to it.
Sprinting - always drops, lower my front end over the bars and head over the front stem. but that’s a different skill.
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Did they run that test on a velodrome also ?
Resting your elbows on top of the hoods is a sure way to knock your teeth out after hitting a pothole. It is also illegal in a lot of amateur races. Just because you see some pros do it, does not mean you should too.
If you want to get aero, either get aero bar extensions or a set of narrower handlebars that will allow you to keep your arms closer together, while sitting on the drops. It is by far the safest option.
I don’t think anyone was suggesting that…the discussion was about having your hands on the hoods, wrists on the bar and forearms parallel to the ground, not resting your elbows on the bars in a pseudo-TT position.
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