I believe this study was done by the USCF/USACycling. Chris Carmichael apparently refers to it. They did this test to see if PowerCranks would be a valid training tool. They concluded that they weren't.

As someone who mountain biked a bit in the traction limited Northeast, I can see where their theory came from (re traction).

It doesn't mean "smoother stroke" is better for a road rider. For example, if you have an extremely powerful downstroke and "recover" for the rest of the pedal stroke, it might be more efficient than having an even pedal stroke. Your muscles recover for 1/2 of the pedal stroke (relatively speaking) instead of taxing your muscular system for 7/8 of it (or whatever). Kind of like the "skip every 5th downstroke" idea I read about in Eddy B's book. The pros have a powerful downstroke in general - this means there must be some good to it, else they wouldn't be pros. Perhaps mountain biking suits a more even pedal stroke type rider. Is that why Cadel can't jump like some of his rivals? Because he's too smooth? Not enough peak power? Definitely not like BMX racers who don't use clips/clipless pedals and spin pretty quickly. They all become decent sprinters and power type racers (Frank McCormack, John Tomac, to name two that I know of). They're definitely "jumpier" than straight out mountain bikers (Tinker for example, or Cadel).

I rarely think about pulling back ("scrape mud off shoe" etc). I tried (after Lemond and a few others wrote about it) but found no perceived gain and a lot of perceived effort.

I somewhat naturally focus on pulling up quite a bit when going at lower rpms, i.e. climbing while seated. Flat foot, pull up. I think this is from toe clip days, because with clips, if you pulled up without keeping your foot flat, you might just pull out of the pedal. I can see and feel serious muscle flex and I can also see an immediate jump in power. I also fatigue quicker.

In sprints I end up thinking about the "kick over the top". It really starts (on the right crank, if looking from the right side) at about 9-10 pm on the clock and extends to about 12:30-1. Then it's a down stroke. But when I feel good sprinting that kick over bit feels very strong and smooth. If it doesn't feel like that I'm not in sprinting shape yet. My abs also get fatigued when I sprint well, almost like I'm doing crunches. This only occurs when I'm standing and rocking the bike aggressively. I never have the kick over feeling when seated or not rocking the bike.

cdr