Road Bike Racing - Yikes, look at these numbers..

Now these are some impressive powertap readings..

Adam hansen posted the numbers he had from a stage of tour of california (I think he was #5 for the stage he posted) on a web forum:

5:52 (whole event) @ 567.5watts
2:32 (flat section) 535.6watts
2:22 (Hill section) 601.4watts

I don't even think I can hit those numbers on a sprint...

What's his weight?

77 on his blog
75 on T-mobile site

THat works out to:
7.37 w/kg
6.96 w/kg
7.81 w/kg
respectively.

Wow. Are those numbers right?!

Well, that's only for 6 minutes. But all the same, I don't think I can hit that for 1 second, let alone 360 of them.

He's using an SRM, and he's a die-hard and self-professed technogeek. So assuming the SRM is properly calibrated, he's at the top.

Which could be validated by the fact that in his first year with T-mobile he's placing 6th in the prologue of the ToCA. There's some debate about the validity of the calibration on the Google wattage list.

Now these are some impressive powertap readings..

Adam hansen posted the numbers he had from a stage of tour of california (I think he was #5 for the stage he posted) on a web forum:

5:52 (whole event) @ 567.5watts
2:32 (flat section) 535.6watts
2:22 (Hill section) 601.4watts

I don't even think I can hit those numbers on a sprint...

I'm wondering what the 5:52 is. That's 5 hours and 52 minutes? I don't think these guys can do 567W for that length of time. I think their threshold power is in the 400-something range which they can do for an hour or so. something like that. I think the top pros can do 6.4W/kg at their threshold

5:52 is minutes and seconds. those numbers are from the time trial.

I think this was for the Prologue, so the 5:52 is 5 minutes 52 seconds.

Those numbers are ridiculous!

I think this was for the Prologue, so the 5:52 is 5 minutes 52 seconds.

Those numbers are ridiculous!


oh ok.

Those numbers are sick!!!!!
!!!

Something is fishy about those numbers, not limited to the fact that the two sections add up to 4:52 (which would have beaten Levi) rather than 5:52 (which would have put him WAAYYY down the finishers list).

Mario Aerts averaged "only" 440 watts for his run (at 68kg) and if it had not been for the thrown chain he would have finished within 10 seconds of Levi.

--Steve

at 68 kg being the important part there.... 9kg is a lot.

If i were to trust anyones numbers in the world, it would be Adam's. That is all.

Direct quote from Adam himself:

"Must remember I was the only one to use a road bike, you can produce much more power on the road bike so you cant compare my data to any other rider. Plus Im not 75kgs anymore Im 78kgs, so the numbers arent so big. Plus riders finished infront of me, around me and just behind me. So it wasnt like I was superhuman or anything. If you really do know your numbers you would know this is nothing new. Im sure if Armstrong was here he would clean up. Remember the winner beat me by 7seconds! thats more then 2seconds faster per KM! So his power was much better then I."

Direct quote from Adam himself:

"Must remember I was the only one to use a road bike, you can produce much more power on the road bike so you cant compare my data to any other rider. Plus Im not 75kgs anymore Im 78kgs, so the numbers arent so big. Plus riders finished infront of me, around me and just behind me. So it wasnt like I was superhuman or anything. If you really do know your numbers you would know this is nothing new. Im sure if Armstrong was here he would clean up. Remember the winner beat me by 7seconds! thats more then 2seconds faster per KM! So his power was much better then I."


Adam's the man, still impressive numbers, and very humble.

He posts on Weight Weenies as "Zakeen" all the time. His website is pretty good to.

Those numbers are impressive, but it's not like they're stratospheric. I looked at a recent race file to compare. My 1 minute peak was 681, 2 minutes 534, and 5 minute 394.

Admittedly I'm heavier, but I'm also a Cat 5.

I would tend to think that those numbers are kinda average for a profesional cyclist.

Anything above 7.0 w/kg for 5 minutes is considered world class. At 78kg, his 5 minute power appears to be somewhere around 7.3 w/kg which is certainly within the realm of believability. The duration is screwed up, though.

--Steve

Nice power. Lance used to warm up for the Tour prologue with three 5-minute intervals at 500W.

If adam is using an SRM, you can't compare directly with your own PowerTap numbers because of the drivetrain inefficiency, which I believe is around 5% for a multi-geared bike -- though I imagine we're all well below 5% short :)

IIRC, the 7w /kg as a standard for world class is as a one hour FTP

IIRC, the 7w /kg as a standard for world class is as a one hour FTP

While I have heard this before, I am not convinced of it's accuracy. Lance apparently was capable of about 6.5 w/kg for about 30 minutes, this was when he was in top shape and was enough to win just a few tour de france stages.

I have not read anywhere reputable of any examples of any athlete putting out over 7w/kg for an hour, though i imagine in a few years it might be the norm for tour contenders.

I think even the elite of the elite would be happy with 7w/kg for 15 mins

Tom Danielson, in an article a while back, was claiming that he was shooting for an FTP of 7.0w/kg. Seeing as he probably didn't even put that out during the 5min TT, I'm kind of doubting this.

He weighs 60kg in race season, and that would be 420w for an hour. While he is an amazing rider I very much doubt that he could do that. More talented people than him (LA, Merckx, Indurain, Ullrich) don't come even close to that, and I'm guessing Pantani, juiced to the gills or not, wouldn't touch that either.

While I have heard this before, I am not convinced of it's accuracy. Lance apparently was capable of about 6.5 w/kg for about 30 minutes, this was when he was in top shape and was enough to win just a few tour de france stages.

I have not read anywhere reputable of any examples of any athlete putting out over 7w/kg for an hour, though i imagine in a few years it might be the norm for tour contenders.

I think even the elite of the elite would be happy with 7w/kg for 15 mins


I believe in Lance Armstrong's War, it's said that his one hour FTP was 500 watts at his very best TDF form, which would be in the 7w/kg range.

I believe in Lance Armstrong's War, it's said that his one hour FTP was 500 watts at his very best TDF form, which would be in the 7w/kg range.

The book says that but pretty much everyone who has calculated what that would mean as far as TT times and hill climb performances disagress with the accuracy of that number.

--Steve

The book says that but pretty much everyone who has calculated what that would mean as far as TT times and hill climb performances disagress with the accuracy of that number.

--Steve

Agreed. Lance's best time up Alpe D'Huez is like 37min and change (I think). AT 500w and at his race weight, he's knocking on sub 35, I would think.

Also, in LA's War, I think they state that he put out 6.5ish up Alpe D'Huez, which is no 500w for an hour.

Or, I could be messing all of these things up. It's been a while and I can't find the book.