MAKE LIGHT WORK

When you want to inject pace do it out of the saddle, but in a light gear – a bigger guy would traditionally get out of the saddle in a bigger gear and drive it, but you can only do that for a short time.

To stay out of the saddle you need to have a high cadence. Contador transitions to standing without his cadence changing. Most people will stand when they feel they’re starting to drag their gear, so change down. It’s not smooth, and doesn’t boost pace. You’ll lose momentum and the bike will shoot backwards at the point Contador’s shoots forwards, so work on keeping that cadence high as you transition.