D
Doug
Guest
Hey all,
I've been riding some bone crushing climbs recently. At a snail's pace, nothing about which to brag.
Remembering a thread recently where racers' speed and wattage up steep climbs was estimated, I
searched for grade data on TDF climbs.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/racing/tourdefrance/2002/mountains.html is a link with data about some
famous climbs. Ventoux is 7.5% for 13.1 miles, with a gain of 5200 ft. or so, ending at el. 6200 ft.
Lance climbed Ventoux in 58 minutes. That equates to an average speed of 13.6 and output of
465 watts.
The power calculated using this site: http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
I could not find a power calculator at analyticcycling.com.
Interesting numbers!
Below are some comments from the old thread.
>I can't imagine someone putting out 450 watts for more than one minute in a long distance race
>without trashing their legs. That's an incredible energy output to sustain. Guess if anyone could
>it would be Lance.
>>>> From my recollection, every real attack Lance pulled off in the 2002 TdF was on a "real hill"
>>>> where the speeds started at something like 10-12mph or less
>>>
>>>According to analyticcycling.com, a "Lance" equivalent putting out 450 watts on a 7% grade would
>>>be going 17.5 mph. He probably was going a little faster than that during the initial attack.
>>
>>I recall that he made most of his attacks when the hills were steep enough that they were down to
>>"small-ring speeds". And of course, even Lance can't put out 450 watts all day (that would REALLY
>>take the drama out of the tour!). But yes, I'm sure he accelerated above 12mph during any attack.
>>>10-12 mph is pretty darn peppy up a "real hill" of 7% or more. Bumping that up another 5-6 mph is
>>>simply amazing.
I've been riding some bone crushing climbs recently. At a snail's pace, nothing about which to brag.
Remembering a thread recently where racers' speed and wattage up steep climbs was estimated, I
searched for grade data on TDF climbs.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/racing/tourdefrance/2002/mountains.html is a link with data about some
famous climbs. Ventoux is 7.5% for 13.1 miles, with a gain of 5200 ft. or so, ending at el. 6200 ft.
Lance climbed Ventoux in 58 minutes. That equates to an average speed of 13.6 and output of
465 watts.
The power calculated using this site: http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
I could not find a power calculator at analyticcycling.com.
Interesting numbers!
Below are some comments from the old thread.
>I can't imagine someone putting out 450 watts for more than one minute in a long distance race
>without trashing their legs. That's an incredible energy output to sustain. Guess if anyone could
>it would be Lance.
>>>> From my recollection, every real attack Lance pulled off in the 2002 TdF was on a "real hill"
>>>> where the speeds started at something like 10-12mph or less
>>>
>>>According to analyticcycling.com, a "Lance" equivalent putting out 450 watts on a 7% grade would
>>>be going 17.5 mph. He probably was going a little faster than that during the initial attack.
>>
>>I recall that he made most of his attacks when the hills were steep enough that they were down to
>>"small-ring speeds". And of course, even Lance can't put out 450 watts all day (that would REALLY
>>take the drama out of the tour!). But yes, I'm sure he accelerated above 12mph during any attack.
>>>10-12 mph is pretty darn peppy up a "real hill" of 7% or more. Bumping that up another 5-6 mph is
>>>simply amazing.