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Post Race Analysis
Another tough day in the saddle for the racers as today started off fast and furious again, resulting in a strong 12-man breakaway that almost stayed clear for the win. But in the final kilometers the few remainders of the break were reeled in and the GC contenders took over, with Tejay van Garderen edging out Christian Vande Velde for the win on the tough 3 km uphill finish on Mount Crested Butte ski area.
| 1 | Tejay van Garderen BMC Racing Team | 3:52:24 |
| 2 | Christian Vande Velde Garmin - Sharp | 0:00:00 |
| 3 | Ivan Rovny RusVelo | 0:00:06 |
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TrainingPeaks Featured Rider
Lucas Euser SpiderTech Powered By C10 8th 0:00:12
Overview
Euser hit his 20-minute peak power in the final 20 minutes of the race, riding hard for his eventual top 10 finish. Climbing 800 feet to the top of Mt. Crested Butte Ski Area, Euser manages to average 26.4 mph in these 20 minutes after 3.5 hours of hard racing! Click the blue arrow to see stage data.
141
Avg. Heart Rate (bpm)
25.5
Avg. Speed (mph)
182 W
Avg. Power
2585
Kilojoules
- Compare the fastest 60 minutes of the race, when Euser was safely tucked in the peloton, against the last hour of the race, when the pack was getting strung out over the final climb and Euser lost the advantage of drafting in the pack. In the pack, Euser averaged 135W to go 31 mph, spending 490 kJ. On the last hour, he averaged 212W to go 27 mph and spent 771 kJ. Great illustration of the point that a rider can save up to 30%-40% of their energy riding in the draft than off the front of the pack or in a breakaway.
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TrainingPeaks Featured Rider
Jani Brajkovic Astana Pro Team 11th 0:00:12
Overview
Just in the final 20 minutes of racing, fighting up Mt. Crested Butte for his 11th place finish, Jani burned 333 calories - approximately the equivalent 1.5 chocolate frosted donuts. That's barely enough time for the guilt to set in. Click the blue arrow to see stage data.
133
Avg. Heart Rate (bpm)
25
Avg. Speed (mph)
209 W
Avg. Power
2998
Kilojoules
- Jani vs. Chris Carmichael. Jani completed the stage in 3:59. As part of Carmichael Training Systems' Epic Endurance Bucket List series, Chris Carmichael, ex pro cyclist and Lance Armstrong's former coach, pre-rode the stage today as well and completed it in 5:26. You can see Carmichael's interactive file here (note: HR and power channels are corrupted).
- See our screenshot for where Carmichael would've been on Mt. Crested Butte when Jani crested the finish line, if the two started at the same time. Carmichael's average speed was 15.7 mph going up the final climb, while Brajkovic's (who trains 25-30 hours a week) was 26.5 mph.
- Started hard and ended hard: 30-minute Peak Power in first 30 min of race at 270W (4.2 w/kg), 60-minute Peak Power in last 60 minutes of race at 230W (3.5 w/kg).
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TrainingPeaks Featured Rider
Timmy Duggan Liquigas-Cannondale 22nd 0:00:21
Overview
Once again the stage started off fast and hard. Duggan set his 20-minute peak power for the stage in the first hour of racing at 284W. You can see 12 spikes in power over 600W in those 20 minutes - translating to 10.2 w/kg for Duggan. For a 170-lb (77 kg) man, that would translate into 12 efforts over 785W in 20 minutes! Click the blue arrow to see stage data.
144
Avg. Heart Rate (bpm)
186 W
Avg. Power
2715
Calories
53.4
Max. Speed (mph)
- Roughly 100 miles in 4 hours with over 6000 ft of climbing! Duggan averaged 25 mph for the stage, the speed a car can drive through a school zone.
- From Duggan's coach, Jon Tarkington of FasCat Coaching in Boulder, "In the final 3km Timmy was comfortable, perhaps a bit too much as he played his cards a little early, making a move at the front of the race. The end result was that he ran out of gas about 40 seconds short...and lost about 12 seconds from where he could have ended up. Had he waited another 40 seconds before playing his cards, he would have likely finished around 10 places higher with those 12 seconds in hand. On a day like this, most riders' power files look very similar in the final 3km. It’s a matter of how well you can execute a big effort in the final 1km of a fast uphill finish. Some can produce a few more watts for a few more seconds, giving them an advantage."
- Timing is everything: You can see Timmy make his move in the final kilometer, with a burst of power over 500W, but runs out of gas just a few seconds too early to place in the top 10. Compare his data to that of Jani Brajkovic, who finished 11 spots ahead of Duggan. In the final 2 miles, Brajkovic averaged 29.1 kph, Duggan averaged 28.5 kph. The 0.6 kph difference resulted in a 9 second difference in their finishing times - and 11 spots.
- Nonetheless, this uphill finish cost Duggan quite the effort - he put out 320W for those final 3.2 km (2miles). He could have powered a blender on this climb!
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TrainingPeaks Featured Rider
Brian VandborgSpiderTech Powered By C10 107th 0:04:58
Overview
The role of domestique: Vandborg spends the first 2 hours of the stage working hard in support of his teammates, setting all his peak power values in the first 3 hours of the stage. Then he "pulls the plug" on the last few kilometers to the line, conserving whatever energy he can for the upcoming stages rather than fight for his own top position. Click the blue arrow to see stage data.
143
Avg. Heart Rate (bpm)
172
Max Heart Rate (bpm)
234 W
Avg. Power
3426
Kilojoules
- Vandborg averaged 24.8 mph during the 4-hour stage and came in 107. Euser averaged 25.5 mph and came in 8th. Less than a 1 mph difference.
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