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2012 Tour de France - Stage 16: Pau - Bagnères-de-Luchon 197 km

Chris Anker Sørensen

420

TSS

274 W

Average Power

312 W

Normalized Power

5533

Kilojoules

  • Second on the stage! 25 km into the stage, Sørensen made what would end up being the winning break, spending about 170 km off the front and raced to a 2nd place finish on the stage! Today's stage was the hardest in the Tour so far, comprised of the infamous "Circle of Death", which includes the Col d'Aubisque, Col du Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin and Col de Peyresourde ascents. The Col du Tourmalet is the highest point in this year's Tour.
  • 420.1 TSS! That's the highest we've seen in the Tour so far for all riders we've analyzed.
  • Look at Anker Sørensen's heart rate on the final descent to the line (about the last 14 minutes). He is chasing Voeckler with everything he has and actually sets his 12-minute Peak Heart Rate going downhill! The last 14 minutes of the stage: 240 Average Watts, 275 NP, 172 Average Heart Rate, 61.2 kph Average Speed, descending 842 m.
2012 Tour de France - Stage 16

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Janez Brajkovic

Astana Pro Team

415

TSS

254 W

Average Power

302 W

Normalized Power

5412

Kilojoules

  • Highest TSS of the Tour so far! The epic route covered four cols that are collectively known as the Circle of Death and Brajkovic's TSS score of 415 shows just how hard it was. Averaging 254 W, this equates to generating 4 w/kg for the entire, nearly 6-hour long stage!
  • After Stage 16, Brajkovic has taken over the 8th spot in overall standings. With only one more mountain stage to go, his goal of finishing in the top 10 is well within reach.
  • 60-minute Peak Power set on the famous Col du Tourmalet : 82.3 TSS, 325 W, 328 NP, 5.1 w/kg. Brajkovic averaged 18.4 kph on the 7.1% climb!
2012 Tour de France - Stage 16

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Bernhard Eisel

402

TSS

295 W

Average Power

331 W

Normalized Power

6726

Kilojoules

  • 402 TSS - highest TSS of the Tour so far for Eisel! Although the highest TSS score, Stage 11 still holds many of the records for Peak Power Values.
  • Today's stage contained the infamous "Circle of Death", comprised of the Col d'Aubisque, Col du Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin and Col de Peyresourde ascents. The Col du Tourmalet is the highest point in this year's Tour.
  • Climbing to the highest point in the Tour then bombing the descent!
    UP: 1:10, 19.2 km, 78 TSS, 336 Average Watts, 339 NP, 16.3 kph Average Speed
    DOWN: 0:15, 17.1 km, 12 TSS, 196 Average Watts, 288 NP, 67.9 kph Average Speed (92.9 kph Maximum Speed!)
2012 Tour de France - Stage 16

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Glossary

TSS

TrainingPeaks' Training Stress Score (TSS) system allows any endurance athlete the ability to quantify their workouts based on their relative intensity, duration and frequency of workouts.

Normalized Power

Normalized power provides a better measure of the true physiological demands of a given training session - in essence, it is an estimate of the power that you could have maintained for the same physiological "cost" if your power output had been perfectly constant (e.g., as on a stationary cycle ergometer), rather than variable.

Intensity Factor

Intensity Factor provides a valid and convenient way of comparing the relative intensity of a training session or race either within or between riders, taking into account changes or differences in threshold power.

w/kg

Watts per kilogram is the standard measurement of a rider's "power to weight ratio" and represents a rider's average power output over a period of time, divided by the rider's body weight. w/kg equalizes power output between riders of various sizes and, all else being equal, increasing power (watts) or decreasing weight (kg) will make a rider faster.

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Stage Results

1 Thomas Voeckler
Team Europcar
5:35:02
2 Chris Anker Sørensen
Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
0:01:40
3 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti
Euskaltel - Euskadi
0:03:22
21 Janez Brajkovic
Astana Pro Team
0:08:48
148 Bernhard Eisel
Team Sky
0:33:04

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