Blog: Why Normann Stadler is NOT At His Best On The Bike (07/04)

By Peter Lissens
These last few weeks haven’t unfolded quite as planned: in my master plan I had not counted on getting run over by a BMW (the full story on my crash is on www.projectsuperman.be), having my left knee and my face stitched or getting surgery to my abdomen. Nor did I take into consideration that I’d have to stay out of the pool for three weeks. (By the way, I am really sorry, Dr. Cools, but I can’t go for that – no can do…)

Nevertheless, it hasn’t been all sorrow and dismay. In fact, I have met one of the most interesting people on my triathlon journey so far. His name is John Meuleman. John is a bike fitter that I came across through the Retul website. He has been in practice for just over a year and already his advice has become invaluable to top athletes such as Bert Jammaer, Axel Zeebroeck, Marino Van Hoenacker, Loic Helin, Sofie Goos, Katrien Verstuyft and Sofie De Groote, to name but a few.

As he was fitting me on my Scott Plasma, I felt compelled to ask the man a few questions:

PL: John , All of the big names that come to you have had Retul Bike fittings elsewhere before. What is your secret?
John: Er…I don’t think there is a secret…I guess I was just lucky with having Marino pass by. He was very much excited about the improvements that I made and he was kind enough to drop my name a few times.

PL: Okay, what’s your method, then? How did you win all these athletes over? What do you do differently than other bike fitters?
John: Well, my method, if you want to call it that, is not to rely on just one protocol. I think Retul is an absolutely wonderful tool. But it is not a fitting tool in my opinion. It is a state of the art measuring divice.

PL: Which means…?
John: Which means that I use it for taking measurements and not as a bike fitting tool. In fact, I use a combination of five systems to get you fitted perfectly on the bike. First of all I will not fit you or any other athlete on your own bike. As you can see, I’m doing the fitting on a multi-functional Serotta fitting bike on which I mounted a Racermate divice to measure watts. The power that you develop and how symetrically you develop it is a key factor in getting you positioned. I also use SPIN scan software, Dartfish video analysis with two cameras, Retul of course, biomised ‘butt-analysis’ and RS Footscan analysis.

PL: So you are analysing my butt, are you?
John: Not right now, but I will in a moment. I’m sorry. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it!

PL: So what does that 5-system set-up cost?
John: Around 45.000 euros, I guess. After the positioning on the Serotta bike, we’ll make the alterations to your bike.

PL: What do you think about my bike? Will it get me what I want, this season?
John: If there’s one bike that can do it, it’s the Scott Plasma. It’s the same bike that Marino Van Hoenacker and Normann Staddler ride. Light, very, very stiff yet comfortable and probably the most aerodynamic frame on the market. As far as the bike goes, you’re in excellent company.

PL: Yet, I heard you say that Norman Stadler is not exploiting his full potential on the bike. Why is that?
John: Well, let’s start by clarifying something. I didn’t say that Stadler’s bike positioning is completely wrong. But there are a certain number of things that could absolutely be improved upon. They’re details, but at his level those details make all the difference. For instance, I feel that Norman still has his arms stretched out a bit too far. The angle between his upper leg and his upper body is too small, which puts more tension on the hamstrings and compromises his running efficiency in the marathon. Things like that. It’s hard to give a full report without measuring, but somethings you can tell just by looking at a rider.

PL: I heard that Stadler is thinking about taking the Team Colombia Scott Time Trial bike to Hawaii, next time around…
John: He shouldn’t. That bike is way to agressive for an Iron Man distance. These bikes are made to go as fast as possible for one hour tops. At the finish line of a Tour de France time trial, there are two or three people ready to carry the riders off their bikes.  My prediction is that if Norman rides that bike in an unaltered form, he will simply blast the field away for the first 50 or 60 kilometers, then start to fade and be worthless on the run. But that’s just my 5 pennies worth …

PL: You are an engineer, John, how did you roll into this?
John: I’ve always been a cycling fan. And I thought it would be great to aproach cycling efficiency from a sientific and dynamic/mechanical point of view. I had save some money and about a year and a half ago, I decided to go for it. I went to the States and got trained as a bike fitter.  During that  SICI course, I met Todd Carver from Retul, who is a really nice guy, by the way, we still call each other from time to time.

Then, when I got back, after 5 moths or so, I started practicing. I practiced on friends and family for eight months, before fitting my first cyclist.  And from there on, things just kind of rocketed.

PL: Personally I have consulted some of the greatest names in the business. I’ve tried bike fitters that have fitted Luc Va Lierde and some of the greatest names in pro-cycling and yet I have  never ridden a TT bike painlessly. Especially when there’s steep hills involved, my back feels like it’s broken hours before T2. Do you think you can get me off the bike and running efficiently without back pain?
John: I guarantee it.

For more on John Melueman’s fitting services, click here

Follow Peter Lissens on his journey at www.projectsuperman.be

FILED UNDER: Blogs / Features TAGS: John-Meuleman / Normann-Stadler / Peter-Lissens / Project-Superman

Paul Moore

Paul Moore is the Online Editor for Triathlete Europe. When not glued to a computer he can be found writing books - most recently Ultimate Triathlon: A complete training guide for long-distance triathletes which you can buy on Amazon

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