Things have taken a few unusual turns over in the Movistar camp as they limber up for the new season.
We've never seen these used by cyclists before, but apparently parachutes are a thing in Alejandro Valverde's training circle.
The shot above was taken earlier this month and features Valverde on the front, with his buddy Javier sitting in behind him.
Javier is not a pro cyclist but apparently sitting in behind one of the very best riders in the world - albeit one who has served a doping related ban - is not training enough for him; he needs to whip a parachute onto his back.
The drag it creates makes your legs stronger in a way that sitting on Valverde climbing mountains doesn't, apparently.
While we've never seen these used by cyclists before, they are used by runners, especially track sprinters.
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Nike has made the parachutes at different times and claims they create an additional 25lb of force.
These are definitely made for big tracks sprinters, with the belts the parachutes attach to ranging from 32 to 56 inches.
Movistar has also just released the very cool little video below showing one of its mechanics building a bike from scratch blindfolded.
Montar una bici a ciegasEl mecánico del mejor equipo del mundo es capaz de montar una bici con los ojos tapados.¡Alucina con este vídeo!
Posted by Movistar Team on Tuesday, 29 December 2015
Last time Movistar's mechanics hit the news; during Vuelta...
A Movistar team car pulled in by the side of the road mid-stage at the Vuelta and shouts at this mechanic to "hide the bike" where nobody would see it.
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The Spanish WorldTour team Movistar has dismissed speculation that an unusual video featuring some of its staff was part of a cover-up to hide a bike with a motor installed.
The team said there was a simple mechanical and commercial explanation for the behaviour of its soigneur and mechanic on the Vuelta, dismissing any notion of bike doping.
The allegations, and short video filmed by a fan, first surfaced in La Gazzetto dello Sport.
The clip below shows the Movistar team car pulling in by the side of the road on stage 9 to Cumbre del Sol last week.
Imanol Erviti had crashed and cracked the seat tube of his Canyon bike.
Team mechanic Thomas Amezaga came upon the scene of the crash and grabbed a new bike to get the rider underway again.
He then gave a team soigneur the broken bike further up the road, taking it down from the team car roof rack and telling him to “hide the bike” where nobody would see it.
When the clip emerged, there was intense speculation the team was up to no good and may have been trying to evade post stage checks for small motors in bikes.
However, the mechanic involved has dismissed the speculation, saying three riders crashed, with each breaking their bikes.
“We had Erviti’s spare bike in the car," he explained.
"When we arrived, another (rider) was helping, but I gave Erviti his spare bike because his bike was broken on the seat tube. No problem, I gave him a new bike.
“It’s normal when a bike is broken to put the bike inside the car because if the photographers take shots it can be a problem for the sponsors.
“For us, it’s normal to change the bike and to put the bike in the car and take it to the hotel because the frame is broken and for the sponsor, it’s important that the bike is not seen.”
"Hide the bike" clip
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