News and Race Reports for October 13

The Hour Attempt

     It looks increasingly likely that Miguel's hour attempt at Bogota's
     Carlos Galan Velodrome will go forward as planned -- probably this
     Sunday (15 October 95).  The velodrome is an open (outdoor) one, and,
     since winds are reported to be at their calmest in the morning, the
     attempt will most likely take place around 8:30 or 9:00 am.

     Indurain will be conducting a series of tests with Banesto team
     doctors Thursday morning to determine whether he has recovered
     properly from Sunday's World Road Championship effort.  These will
     consist of successive efforts of 5, 10, and 15 minutes duration to
     determine lactic acid levels.  Team Director Jose-Miguel Echavarri is
     hedging his bets, arguing that Indurain's objectives for the Colombia
     trip have already been achieved in the form of his time trial (gold)
     and road championship (silver) medals, and saying that the group will
     return home if Thursday's tests indicate that Miguel's recovery is
     still incomplete.

     L'EQUIPE photographer Patrick Boutroux snapped a photo of Miguel with
     "epee II" -- a carbon fiber monocoque frame similar in many respects to
     the bike on which Indurain broke Graham Obree's hour record in
     September of last year.  However, the geometry has been altered to
     allow Miguel to more closely simulate his road time-trialing position,
     as Indurain suffered severe back pain from the saddle position he used
     in his Bordeaux ride (several centimeters forward of his normal
     position).  The new bike is said to have an aerodynamic coefficient of
     penetration of 0.054, as compared with 0.06 on the original version.

     The major mechanical difference will be the use of a larger gearing:
     Miguel will be riding a 63x14, which is roughly the equivalent of a
     54x12 and covers 9.36 meters per rotation.  Tony Rominger used a 60x14
     gearing in his record ride (9.02 meters), and it is hoped that
     Indurain will be able to turn the larger "development" at an average
     of 101 revolutions per minute in Bogota's rarefied air (2,640 meters).
     If so, this would allow him to cover something like 56.7 or 56.8
     kilometers, exceeding Rominger's (sea level) mark by roughly 1.5 km.

     COMMENT:  In an article in the July 1994 issue of (U.K. magazine)
     CYCLE SPORT, Chris Boardman's trainer Peter Keen estimated the thinner
     air of Mexico City (2,300m) to be worth 1.4 to 1.5 km (over Bordeaux)
     on an hour effort, less those effects due to the non-covered nature of
     the Mexico City velodrome and its inferior track surface (probable net
     gain for Mexico: at least 1 km).  Bogota's velodrome is roughly 10%
     higher than that in Mexico City.  Bearing in mind the highly
     aerodynamic design of Indurain's bike (compared with Rominger's fairly
     conventional frame), it would be debatable whether an Indurain success
     on the order of 56.4 to 56.6 km would -- viewed in strictly athletic
     terms -- represent a superior performance to that of Rominger in
     Bordeaux.

     The EQUIPE article points out a number of concerns the Banesto camp
     has in addition to the state of Indurain's recovery from last Sunday's
     seven-hour-plus effort.  Foremost among these are worries about what
     atmospheric conditions will be like this weekend (COMMENT: Miguel's
     frame may have negligible forward air resistance, but it is easy to
     see from the photo that it presents a huge side profile, with the
     central triangle "closed" so that it adds virtually as much
     side-surface area as a third disk wheel!  It would appear that even a
     light breeze would affect cornering and could dramatically increase
     upper body energy requirements.)

     A final concern is Indurain's weight.  For most of us, this would mean
     fretting about the effects of extra "ballast".  But Miguel is
     reportedly concerned that his current weight, which has fallen to 77.5
     kilos, may be several kilos to light for optimal power output.

     Look for an imminent announcement from the Banesto camp -- possibly as
     early as later today (Thursday) -- as to whether the attempt will take
     place this Sunday...