Interesting insight on cyclingnews.com
"Claude Criquielion, one of the Lotto-Domo team directors, is concerned that Robbie McEwen could be eliminated during tomorrow's Alpe d'Huez time trial. With the time limit set at 33% and a winning time for the 15.5 km uphill test expected to be around 40 minutes, McEwen will have to finish within 13 minutes of the victor. "That means that he will have to give full gas from the first metres," said Criquielion. "
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2004/jul04/jul20news2
Just doing a rough calculation.
On stage 12 Castelsarrasin - La Mongie, there was 27.5 km of climbing with an average gradient of around 6.6%. Robbie ended up being 27 minutes behined Basso and Armstrong.
Alpe d'Huez goes for 13.8 km at 7.9%. The overall distance is 15.5 km. That distance is about half that of the climbing done on stage 12 and therefore matches up with the 13 minutes Claude Criquielion is predicting.
Obviously Robbie would have been taking it sort of easily on stage 12 just to make the time limit. But in this case, we have a steeper mountain and the front runners will be going all-out all the way up.
I hope he makes it okay.
"Claude Criquielion, one of the Lotto-Domo team directors, is concerned that Robbie McEwen could be eliminated during tomorrow's Alpe d'Huez time trial. With the time limit set at 33% and a winning time for the 15.5 km uphill test expected to be around 40 minutes, McEwen will have to finish within 13 minutes of the victor. "That means that he will have to give full gas from the first metres," said Criquielion. "
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2004/jul04/jul20news2
Just doing a rough calculation.
On stage 12 Castelsarrasin - La Mongie, there was 27.5 km of climbing with an average gradient of around 6.6%. Robbie ended up being 27 minutes behined Basso and Armstrong.
Alpe d'Huez goes for 13.8 km at 7.9%. The overall distance is 15.5 km. That distance is about half that of the climbing done on stage 12 and therefore matches up with the 13 minutes Claude Criquielion is predicting.
Obviously Robbie would have been taking it sort of easily on stage 12 just to make the time limit. But in this case, we have a steeper mountain and the front runners will be going all-out all the way up.
I hope he makes it okay.