Grinders Vs Spinners

Images by Chris Auld / Words by Phil Gale

By Soigneur

July 23^rd, 2018

THE ETERNAL UPHILL QUESTION

This is not an article related to kitchen appliances; don’t worry, you’re still on Soigneur. This is a contemporary look at the top-tier battle of climbing. It’s an on-going perspective, achingly modern-day even, which only really dates back a decade in our rudimentary research.

Pre-Armstrong and the associated era of super-charged top riders, the first-class climbers tended to following the same rhythm when pedalling up the biggest climbs. A consistent yet slow cadence befitting of the image of a small rider on a slightly too large and long bike, by today’s standards.

The re-birth of Armstrong ushered in a new way of going uphill, with legs spinning like a windmill for reasons that we now know in part is the result of a higher-octane fuel. Whether these guys are on bread and water or ‘something else’ changes little, because this new technique opened the door to our debate: what’s better a grinder or a spinner?

If we look back over recent years the General Classification of the biggest races have often be ripped to shreds by this very debate, polarising the top 10 of the GC with riders of both species.

Armstrong, cocky, sat on the back of the saddle, perfectly still as his legs whirl at an eye-popping rate, helmetless riding off into the distance in the iconic red and blue of his US Postal colours. Versus Ulrich, sat low, back flat, hands on the drops, seemingly lumbering up the mountain with his large frame, focused yet showing the pain on his face as he muscles away after his opponents, closing down their attacks at his own, unchanging pace.

Contador, explosive, pistol-pulling and almost dancing effortlessly out of the saddle, fans questioning when he will sit down as he leaves the others to look amongst themselves as to who will close the gap. Versus, a Schleck, rangy, thin and obviously relying on the strength in his lower back as his forces his way up the mountains, hoping not to shift gears under load causing a chain dropping issue and as always relying on the rallying support of his brother, equally settled in the grinders camp.

Froome, on his seemingly small bike, elbows and knees adrift, looking at his stem, whilst his legs go ten to the dozen [arguably an effective way of riding yet lacking in the way of aesthetics], a ragged style that has conned his competitors many times – for when he seems on the ropes, then his legs spin even faster as he reveals his hand with a brutal attack in the saddle. Versus Quintana, poker-faced, out of the saddle, slowly reeling back in the powerful attacks of the Sky rider, a true grinder who style looks painful for one so small, riding with a cadence that harks back to the early Columbian riders and the time before the grinders vs spinners debate.

These are, however, two extremes, that are represented in the most dramatic battles. Most frequently it is the spinners that come out on top, maybe it’s because of their ‘medical support’ [there’s been a fair amount of smoke around the riders mentioned above]. Each spin of the pedals accounts to a mini-attack, a teasing dig in the ribs of those that appear to move more slowly uphill. It’s hard to say, but irrespective of how these guys pedal – whether its 120 or 80 rpm – this polarising style splits the field, laying a broader stage for dramatic racing.