The Pros

[jimmy]

The other week, I did a National Park run solo, I was feeling good, and managed to set a new record time for that way round (Anticlockwise).

I ended up with an average of about 31.3km/hr, over about 96km and it took me about 3:04. I was pretty smashed at the end of it, but I felt pretty good.

Then I read about the second stage of Paris-Nice.

This stage was shortened to 93km, so just a bit shorter than what I covered. I had a look at the course profile for the last 93km, and there were a few lumps, but no big mountains. So probably not too dissimilar to my RNP ride.

Now, I know that they were riding as a bunch under race conditions, but they still managed to cover it in about 2:21. A whole 45 minutes quicker than me!

And then this week, I am reading about the Tirreno-Adriatico, and you see a picture like this

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/ ... 463_1_full

And you think, phew, they are human.

James

[weiyun]

And then this week, I am reading about the Tirreno-Adriatico, and you see a picture like this

Good to see that they are still drafting and holding their echelon formation.

[mcrkennedy]

The hill at the end was a 20% slope and some of them actually rode up it. I think I would need the wagon to take me up it!

[Adrian E]

Correct me if I'm wrong but would 20% be en par with Buli Pass?

[weiyun]

Correct me if I'm wrong but would 20% be en par with Buli Pass?

No. Bulli's Pass is around 13-13.5%.

[Adrian E]

And what about the hill coming up to stanwell tops.

I would really love to have something to measure this as gradient (other than an expensive bike computer) because gradient is a big issue for creating good bike infrastructure. For instance, when TransUrban took the shoulder/bike lane off the M2 westbound, they put a bi-pass through Pembroke St Epping. I have a sneaky feeling that the start of the 'cyclelane' may be steeper than anything in the TdF.

[weiyun]

And what about the hill coming up to stanwell tops.

Which way?

Try Bikely.com or MapMyRide.com for cheap elevation data.

[T-Bone]

Bulli Pass maxes out at 15%. Apart from that those riders in the photo would be the back group, and those that were in contention to win the stage would have been well ahead.

[mikesbytes]

I would of thought they would of used gearing applicable to the days challenge

[jimmy]

The only hill that I know of that hits 20% is Awaba Street in Balmoral.

It only averages about 12.5% over it's 600m, but it does ramp up quite well in the middle. It is ridable, but you have to be prepared, and if you stop, you won't get going again.

In this case, there was a camera motor bike that went over at some point on the hill, plus you have the difficulty of staying upright on a climb like this. I suspect that the riders didn't have any choice but to stop, because of the mass of riders ahead of them, and then they couldn't get going again. The climb was right at the end, so they wouldn't have missed the time cut.

Even so, it is still good to see the pros made human.

James

[mikesbytes]

I know its short, but what gradient is Wallace st, Marrickvile?

[micklan]

Jimmy - do you know what % the climb up out of Audley weir heading south is?

[Adrian E]

Regarding Awaba St, Balmoral... I was actually there on Sunday with my new fixie (mellow yellow). I was too scared to ride down it and too scared to ride up it on a 72 inch gear. But I did make it up ragland st... but only just.

[T-Bone]

do you know what % the climb up out of Audley weir heading south is?

from memory it hits 12%, maybe 13%, but i'll have to check next time i go through there.