2009 Tour of California Race Files & Analysis

Many of the professionals racing the Tour of California, including the entire Team Saxo Bank, Rory Sutherland and others manage and analyze their training with TrainingPeaks.com. In combination with TrainingPeaks WKO+ desktop analysis software the riders and their coaches gain a competitive advantage.

TrainingPeaks is posting same-day Tour of California daily stage SRM power meter files provided by Team Saxo Bank's Gustav Larsson, and occassionally files from other professionals. Two other such featured riders are Australian Rory Sutherland (OUCH presented by Maxxis) and Finnish rider Kjell Carlstrom (Liquigas).

Learn more about TrainingPeaks.com and create your own account for free. Feel free to view, as well as download, the rider's raw data files produced within one of the sports hardest races. View the file in the File Viewer. Or, to analyze the raw race file you will first need TrainingPeaks WKO+ desktop software. Download a free WKO+ trial here.

Race file analysis by:

Dirk Friel who raced professionally on the roads of Europe, Asia and the Americas and is a co-founder of Peaksware.
Hunter Allen who is widely respected as an expert in coaching and training athletes with a power meter and is co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”.

Follow TrainingPeaks on Twitter for immediate notice when new files are posted.

Stage 8: Rancho Bernardo - Escondido, 155.8 km/96.8 mi - Gustav Larsson

Gustav was pleased with his Tour of California result and especially since his teammate Frank Schleck won the final stage. Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 8 - Rancho Bernardo - Escondido, 155.8 km/96.8 mi - Rory Sutherland

Rory Sutherland placed 4th on the final stage in the Tour of California. Not only did he place 4th, but he also worked the entire stage for his team leader Floyd Landis. Click through to see all the details. Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 7: Santa Clarita - Pasadena, 143 km/88.9 mi - Gustav Larsson

Bobby Julich summed up stage 7 for Gustav Larsson as, "after a great time trial yesterday, Gustav deserved a nice easy day, but that was not in the cards." See all the power and heart rate data by clicking on Details. Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 6: Solvang (ITT), 24 km/15 mi - Gustav Larsson

Stage 6 Time Trial: If you are only going to look at one professional power file make it this one! Wow! Gustav showed why he owns an Olympic medal in the time trial. Try holding 6.0 watts per kilogram for 30 minutes. Click details to see the amazing data. Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 5: Visalia - Paso Robles, 134.3 mi - Gustav Larsson

Stage 5 was the longest stage (134 miles), but had the lowest power readings of the Tour so far. Click on details to see the power data and inside story. Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 4: Merced - Clovis, 115.4 mi- Kjell Carlstrom

Kjell Carlstrom is a Finnish rider who rides for team Liquigas. His primary duty is to protect and ride for Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali. He said that the Tour of California has been "really hard so far, and not just because of the weather, but a lot of guys are really motivated and are going really good now." Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 4: Merced - Clovis, 115.4 mi- Rory Sutherland

Stage 4 was another tough day of racing although with the best weather of the week. Rory Sutherland had to race hard, especially for the first hour. As his coach Adnan Kadir commented, "The first hour was very active with a Normalized Power of 376W." Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 4: Merced - Clovis, 115.4 mi- Gustav Larsson

Stage 4 started out fast for the first 90 minutes until a 3-man breakaway escaped. Jason McCartney of Team Saxo Bank was a part of the breakaway which meant Gustav could save energy and stick with his team leader Jens Voigt and team sprinter JJ Haedo (who finished 3rd). Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 3: San José - Modesto, 104.2 mi - Rory Sutherland

Stage 3 for Rory Sutherland was a bit easier than the previous stages. He had a couple of bad days in stages 1 and 2 and finished stage 3 strong and ready for better days ahead. Click on Details to see Rory's power data. Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 3: San José - Modesto, 104.2 mi - Gustav Larsson

Stage 3 meant Gustav had a job to do and that was to protect his team sprinter Juan Jose Haedo and make sure he got over the main climbs in good shape. Overall Gustav had an easier day compared to stage 2. His SRM measured his maximum 20-minute effort as 428w over the Sierra Rd. climb. Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 2: Sausalito - Santa Cruz, 186.6 km/115.9 mi

Today's stage started out fast and only got faster. Gustav Larsson set his highest 5-minute and 30-minute power values of the race today at 504w and 435w respectively. These values were both recorded on the final climb of Bonny Doon Rd. so we decided to highlight this section in today's analysis. Read the race analysis & files...

Stage 1- Davis - Santa Rosa, 107.6 mi

Stage 1 took the riders from Davis - Santa Rosa, CA over a distance of 107.6 mi in wet, cold conditions. Race leader Fabian Cancellara abandoned today due to being sick and having a fever. Gustav Larsson flatted just before the attack by team Astana and he finished 5-minutes down in the third group..read more and get the SRM power data by clicking on details. Read the race analysis & files...

Prologue

TrainingPeaks member Fabian Cancellara won the opening prologue of the Tour of California for Team Saxo Bank. Fabian's teammate Gustav Larsson was 38th and produced 529avg watts for 4:45. Please click on "Details and Analysis" to see more, and to download Gustav's SRM power meter file. Read the race analysis & files...

Preview

Preview: The 2009 Amgen Tour of California is the 4th edition of this wildly popular event. The '09 version has also been expanded to include a potentially decisive mountain stage on the final day of the tour. This year, TrainingPeaks has partnered with Team Saxo Bank , and Saxo's Gustav Larsson will be sending daily SRM files from the race to TrainingPeaks for analysis. Check back here each evening for the daily race file and analysis. You'll get a unique view into what it really takes to race as a professional cyclist. Read the race analysis & files...