2011 Tour de France - Stage 5, July 6
Tough day in the Office for Chris Anker Sorensen
Stage Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) HTC-Highroad 3:38:32
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
161 Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) Saxo Bank-SunGard 00:02:46
Chris Anker Sorensen's SRM Data
Total Time = 3:40
TSS = 201
Average Power = 241 Watts
Avg Normalized Power* =296
Avg HR =135
Max HR =171
Mean Maximal 1-minute power =527
Mean Max 5-minute power =381
Mean Maximal 20-minute power =324
Avg Cadence = 90 rpm
Avg Speed = 27.5mph
Race Analysis
What a tough stage. On paper, it didn’t look so bad, but wow, this was tough even for the best in the world. Chris had to put out 317 watts (normalized) for the last 2 hours and 13 minutes and for a guy that only weighs 140lbs, that is not easy! The average speed in those last 2 hours was 29.5 mph and it wasn’t like Chris was just being sucked along in the peloton. This was in cross winds, up and down hills and in the gutter.
It was a typical TDF stage in the fact that it got faster and faster and faster as the stage went on, and there was a crescendo in the last ten minutes of the race. Chris was a part of that crescendo as he had to ride right at his FTP in order to stay in the peloton and keep Contador safe. Not an easy job at all and he cracked out 400 watts normalized power for that 6 and half minutes near the end with an average speed of 32.5 mph.
Chris’ Training Stress Score for the stage was 201 TSS points and that means the 3:40 minute stage created the same amount of training stress as 2 hours back to back at his threshold power. That is a lot of training stress in a short period of time. Chris’ Normalized Power was 296 watts for the stage and that’s about 74% of his FTP, so solidly at the top of his endurance zone for the day. If you look at his last two hours, then this ratchets up to about 79% of his threshold power as the average normalized power goes to 317w.
All of his peak efforts came in the last 15 minutes of the stage including his peak 1, 2, 5 and 10 minute wattages for the day. Definitely a tough stage as it just got harder and harder towards the end. Chris must have been really working hard for Contador because after those 6 minutes at his threshold in the end, he sat up in a big way and lost some time to the finish. Another tough day in the office!
Be sure to view Sorensen's actual race file in the TrainingPeaks.com Interactive File Viewer. Or, download his original file to view in TrainingPeaks WKO+ for your own in-depth analysis.
* Click here to learn what TSS (Training Stress Score), IF (Intensity Factor), NP (Normalized Power) and FTP (Functional Threshold Power) are, and how you can use these metrics along with a power meter to optimize your own training and racing just like pro's. Click here if you don't have a power meter but still want the benefits some of the same metrics in your training and racing.
File Analysis by Hunter Allen, Co-Author of "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" and Co-Developer of TrainingPeaks WKO+ analysis software.
Data captured by SRM Powercontrol 7.
Thank you to Saxo Bank-SunGard and Chris Anker Sorensen for allowing us to share race data and provide analysis on today's stage.
Click to View, Share or Download Today's File.
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