Analysis: Simple changes could make Aran Islander Eoin Mullen a world beater

Eoin Mullen has made huge progress in the sprint event, but could some very simple changes advance him quickly up the world order?

Out of the Aran Islands, Eoin Mullen is gradually clawing his way up the world order of big time elite men's track sprinting on the international stage.

With a bronze medal from the U23 European Championships and a win in the Three Days of Aigle to his name this year, he has turned into a different athlete as he lives and rides full-time in a UCI excellence facility in Switzerland.

But well known coach Paddy Doran of Peak Endurance Coaching believes despite all of the progress made and work done, there is still some low hanging fruit to be reaped by the young Galway man, most noticeable in improving his position to reduce drag and increase speed.

The men’s sprint event at the London UCI World Cup in early December was very interesting from an Irish perspective.

When the time and performance of Eoin Mullen is analysed there is real optimism for the near future in the sprint event.

Eoin has made great progress over the last number of years and the time and speed difference between him and the front places are within striking distance - see table below.

Eoin Mullen Sprint Qualification ride

This gives a time difference of .266 of a second or 1.875 kph, which can certainly be closed to some extent by targeting a few areas.

How to reduce the gap?

• Increase max speed for first 100 metres section
• Increase speed endurance for second 100m section
• Improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the bike and wheels
• Increase the aerodynamic efficiency of the riders position on the Bike
• Increasing max speed and speed endurance

To increase his speed by nearly 2kph requires a substantial increase in power from an effort already producing massive power output. This will take time to develop in the gym and on the track.

Quick fix

The best option to improve Eoin’s time in the short term is by improving his aerodynamics and increasing the efficiency of the bike.

Improvements in aerodynamics of the bike, his position on the bike and clothing & helmet could yield improvements that may get Eoin into the top 10 qualifiers very soon.

To get improvements in this way, it could be a very worthwhile investment to use a wind tunnel, if it hasn’t already been done.

For example, according to Cervelo Bikes’ engineering website: “Aero drag is 80-90 per cent of the overall resistance affecting a rider. Roughly 80 per cent of this aero drag is the rider, the remainder is the bike.”

So if 80 per cent of the drag is the rider, even small improvements in the rider’s position could give major improvements in time for the same power output.

Immediate improvements

Paddy Doran believes if Eoin Mullen's position was tweaked - his head lowered and arms made more tucked - he may make those tiny speed gains that mean so much in the sprint.

When I look at the photos from the London World Cup and compare Eoin's position on the bike to some of the faster riders, it seems to me that there could be immediate improvements possible.

When comparing photos of the Irishman in the field with the other riders, Eoin's head position is quite high on his shoulders compared to some of the other sprinters.

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The angle at the elbows is also significant; others had more of an angle at the elbow and the elbows are closer to the riders trunk.

An immediate improvement for Eoin

The first thing to target is the qualification TT – that 200 metre timed sprint that determines who progresses to the knock out stages where riders go head to head in best of three sprints.

This could possibly be improved by some simple changes in the qualification TT bike set up.

These are areas that could be experimented with

• Longer handlebar stem to extend his reach?
• Raise the stem; might produce a better angle at the elbows?

The result of these alterations would flatten his back slightly more; get his head dropped more below his shoulders and his arms a bit close to a 90 per cent angle at the elbow.

This will could tuck his elbows in more and give huge improvements in aerodynamics

Obviously Eoin and his coaches have more insight into whether this is possible. But I think it is an area that could be studied with some benefits to be gained. And a session in the wind tunnel could be money very well spent

Tables

Doran notes that Mullen was among that group of riders to lose most pace in the second half of the 200 metre qualifying all out effort.

If we look at the reduction in speed of the second 100 metre section we can see that Eoin has one of the bigger differences between the first and second sections - see table below)

From a training point of view, more specific speed endurance training sessions might give a quicker time for the latter part of the sprint.

I have also included some tables below which give an insight into the sprinters’ performance. It is interesting to see that the two fastest also had a substantial decline in speed over the second 100 metres section, compared to the majority of riders.

To conclude, see an excerpt from an interesting interview with Team GB’s Shane Sutton after the last World Cup and notice the upward pressure comment.

Competition within the British Squad is part of their success. It could be a good move to look for other sprinters to work with and challenge Eoin.

“Cav hasn’t come out and said exactly what he wants to do but the omnium opens doors for the likes of him, Ben Swift and obviously Jon Dibben who has ridden well this year.

“That keeps a bit of upward pressure and it keeps John on his toes but as far as Cavendish goes the door is open for him but it’s just a matter of whether he wants to walk through it or not,” Sutton said.

Sprint qualification, London December

Men’s Sprint, UCI Rankings on December 8th, 2014

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