Stage 11 - 2011 Tour de France

An Easier Day for Flecha

Stage 11 Results

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) HTC-Highroad 3:46:07
2 Andr. Greipel (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto
3 Tyler Farrar (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo
128 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling

Juan Antonio Flecha's SRM Data

Total Time = 3:54
TSS = 203
Average Power = 236 Watts. Avg Normalized Power* = 303
Avg HR = 118bpm
Max HR = 153 bpm
Mean Maximal 1-minute power = 352w
Max Maximal 5-minute power = 381w
Mean Maximal 20-minute power = 327w
Avg Cadence =  84rpm
Avg Speed =   26.8mph

Race Analysis

A perfect day for Juan Antonio Flecha in Stage 11, with a solid endurance ride.  Flecha was never in any trouble today and rode safely in the peloton, which is perfect to his healing process.  His Best 20 minutes wattage came late in the race as we would expect when the pace begins ramping up.   He had to put out 357 watts normalized power during this time, which is a lot to most of us, but for Flecha, it’s only about 85% of his FTP, so he really wasn’t stressed.

I am glad to see that Flecha spent the day recovering and soft pedaling.  He only pedaled for 84% of the stage today, which means he spent 40 minutes of the stage not pedaling at all!   Great job Flecha!  If you download and review the TrainingPeaks WKO+ file, you can check out the ‘Journal’ page where the charts for the day’s data are.  One to notice is the Power Zone Distribution chart and it shows me how much time he spent in each of his physiological training zones.   Today, he spent 50% (2 hours  4 minutes) of the stage in Active Recovery, again confirming his prudent use of energy.    With this much time in the Active Recovery zone, I would say that the whole peloton was more interested in taking an easier day than racing super fast like in Stage 10.  The mountains are looming!   Flecha should be fine in the mountains and I bet he’ll be riding conservatively to get over them within the time cut and making sure he finishes each stage with maximum energy still left in the tank.

Be sure to view Flecha'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 Team Sky Pro Cycling and Juan Antonio Flecha 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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