When you’re riding in a group there’s lots of things to be aware of, but how about when you are standing up? It’s more noticeable on a hill, but it can happen when you accelerate on the flats as well.
At the 2024, during the Dwars door Vlaanderen, Wout van Aert crashed after touching his teammate Tiesj Benoot’s wheel. His Visma – Lease a Bike équipier explained what happened.
“We were doing the leadout before Kanarieberg, and he asked me to accelerate. I think Wout was standing up. He touched my back wheel, I feel quite shit about it actually,” he explained. “I didn’t hear it well, my bad: Wout shouted at me to accelerate. Which I did but I think while I was standing up, Wout touched my back wheel. ”
It’s something that can happen to anyone–whether it’s on a group ride or WorldTour race. And it seems that that may have been the case with Benoot. When you stand up, you can sometimes risk causing a tricky situation. It’s because when you stand, your bicycle will naturally slip back. Which means that if you are just half a wheel ahead of someone, you could risk touching wheels. And if a rider touches wheels in a pack, that might mean hitting the deck, which seems is what happened.
How to avoid the wheel slip back
When you stand up, it’s important to push down on your pedals to prevent your bike going backwards. As you get out of the saddle, you should make sure you have a forceful downstroke to avoid letting your bike slip back. If you do that, all is well.
Try it on your next ride by yourself. Standing up without applying pressure, and standing up with applying pressure on the downstroke. If you look at the way your bike moves, you’ll be amazed at the difference.
Tiesj Benoot: “We were doing the leadout before Kanarieberg, they asked me to accelerate. I think Wout was standing up. He touched my back wheel, I feel quite shit about it actually. ” #DDV24 pic.twitter.com/2b3NDahpb1
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) March 27, 2024
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…