Originally Posted by
fantom1
While I won't say that that's untrue, anyone that puts that time down on a solo 100 mile ride is a top caliber professional rider, and one who likely would have won multiple "Grand Tours," especially if he was in the racing scene and would have had at least some exposure. I dunno, maybe it was a one of those super tailwind days in a great plains state...but it's mighty hard to believe.
Just to put it into perspective: Eddy Merckx's hour record was at 7,550 feet, indoors, in ideal conditions and he went 30.72mph for just one hour. (I choose Eddy because he rode on a standard road bike, not a tri or in "superman" position)
This guy did 26.67mph for 3 hours and 45 minutes, presumably outdoors, much closer to sea level (ie, much more wind resistance)
So without getting into the nitty-gritty, this guy put out almost the exact same effort, for 3.75 times as long.
I didn't say sea level or no tailwind. Neither did I say no aerobars (I am not sure on that one) It was in AZ where the elevation was probably nearly 6k and I am guessing tailwind yes. I believe him. He has no reason to lie about it since his legs prove it. It is also a personal record and not something he did all the time. The Merckx comparison is worthless. Do the correct math. Power to overcome drag is proportional to the cube of velocity.
By the way, you might consider looking up 100 mile time trials in Britain which are consistently won by people with even better times. None of them are on the pro tour
AFAIK.