"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - what is the purpose of liniment (A535) before a race?

my wife says she smells guys wearing liniment before the race starts. is this to warm up the muscles. is there a certain brand or kind anyone uses.

mostly seen under ~50 deg, I have been using atomic balm w/ success.
There are many brands that are created specially for cyclists.

To make the legs feel warm and supple, loosen up the muscles, look and feel PRO. It has been pointed out before that, though warming liniments make the legs feel warm, they are actually detrimental to proper warming of the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the legs in general and the knee especially. They produce the sensation of warmth primarily by stimulating increased flow of warm blood from the inside toward the outside of the legs. You can probably guess at the result - the heat then radiates and is convected into the atmosphere, rather than staying where it belongs and keeping the critical tendons and ligaments of your knee and other joints all warm and toasty.

I'm not suggesting that use of warming liniments is unsafe per se, but it's very important to keep your knees and other joints as warm as possible to keep them safe and limber. Liniments actually compromise your body's best efforts to do just that. Personally, I would stick to tights.

I just like the tingly sensation on my huevos

:lol: