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Post Race Analysis
We called it! Our pre-race prediction: "We will most likely see a breakaway on today's stage where a solo rider may survive on the final slopes up to Beaver Creek...Look for a rider such as Jens Voigt who has a massive engine to go on the attack in search of victory." That's exactly what happened today, with legendary "hard man" Jens Voigt escaping with the breakaway at the start, then dropping his 15 break-mates and riding alone off the front for more than 3.5 hours. By the time he hit Minturn with 5 miles to go to the finish, he had a 6 minute advantage on the peloton, and everyone knew the race was won.
| 1 | Jens Voigt RadioShack Nissan Trek | 3:54:00 |
| 2 | Andreas Klöden RadioShack Nissan Trek | 0:02:58 |
| 3 | Tejay Van Garderen BMC Racing Team | 0:02:58 |
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TrainingPeaks Featured Rider
Jens Voigt RadioShack Nissan Trek 1st 3:54:00
Overview
Establishing the winning move: Attack, attack, attack...and then attack again. As soon as the gun goes off, Voigt starts attacking, determined to establish a break. He has 4 efforts over 800 Watts in the opening 17 minutes of the race establishing a 15-man breakaway...whom he sheds before the summit of Independence Pass. He gained a 2-minute advantage on the descent of Independence that only grew as the race went on. Click the blue arrow to see stage data.
24
Avg. Speed (mph)
994
Max Watts
300
Avg. Watts
4217
Kilojoules
- Strong and Steady wins the race! Averaging 300W (3.9 w/kg) for the 4-hour stage and spending 3.5 hours of it off the front alone, Voigt also kept the speed steady averaging 24 mph (38.7 kph).
- The "Hard Man" keeps a cool head: Jens' max speed today may be surprising to some - he only topped out at 48.7 mph (78.5) on his descents. Most riders hit 60+ mph in a race. This shows his experience and patience - why risk going down when you have a lead? He kept it safe on the descents, knowing there was no need to hang it out completely, and he drilled it on the climbs (Peak 1-hour Power of 367W was climbing Independence Pass). A younger rider may have taken more risks and crashed, but Jens, with 17 years of professional experience and 88 wins under his belt, trusted his pacing. It's very hard not to panic when you are off the front alone. This is the cool-headed move of a true veteran.
- Jens burned 4200 calories during today's epic effort, the equivalent of 26 New Belgium Fat Tire Beers! He earned himself an extra 6-pack for riding solo for most of the stage - he would've saved approximately 30% more energy had he been tucked away in the peloton.
- Savoring the victory: With a 6-min lead on the peloton by the end, Voigt sits up and enjoys the last kilometer in, cruising into the finish at 13.6 mph (22 kph). Race broadcasters estimate he would've been going 2x as fast if he didn't have his massive lead.
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TrainingPeaks Featured Rider
Lucas Euser SpiderTech Powered By C10 17th 0:03:03
Overview
Independence Pass take 2: Today the riders climbed Independence Pass in the reverse direction, cutting the time in half. Euser's stats: 1:01:44, 15.3 miles (24.5 km), 919 KJ, 248 average watts, 14.9 mph (23.8 kph). Click the blue arrow to see stage data.
184
Max Heart Rate (bpm)
786
Max Watts
227
Avg. Watts
2639
Kilojoules
- Euser's Peak 60-Minute Heart Rate of 158 bpm occurred climbing Independence Pass (the result of exertion as well as altitude). At 158 bpm, his heart was pumping nearly 3 gallons of blood per minute!
- Beaver Creek is home to the Birds of Prey Annual Downhill Skiing World Cup. Speeds on downhill ski courses with turns average 40-50 mph, and 80mph and upwards at the Olympic level. Euser would have hung in there with some downhill ski racers, hitting 59.1 mph on his final descent towards Beaver Creek.
- 10-minute Peak Power was set in the last 10 minutes of the stage as Euser fought to stay with the first chase group and maintain overall GC position: 309 AW (5.3 w/kg), 777 Max Watts, 164 Average Heart Rate, 184 Max Heart Rate, 23 mph (36.8 kph), 40.9 mph (65.4 kph) Max Speed.
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TrainingPeaks Featured Rider
Timmy Duggan Liquigas-Cannondale 35th 0:03:58
Overview
Like the rest of the peloton, today was not about trying to win the stage for Duggan - they were content to let the breakaway go, and stay in the main pack letting their teammates help them to maintain their own GC position (Voigt was not a GC threat). Still, trying to minimize the time loss at the end, Duggan puts in his 6-minute Peak Power effort about 10 minutes from the finish: 326W (5.5 w/kg), 768 Max watts. Click the blue arrow to see stage data.
146
Avg. Heart Rate (bpm)
196
Avg. Watts
2798
Kilojoules
87
Avg. Cadence (rpm)
- Independence Pass, Take Two: Today the riders went back over Independence Pass, but in the opposite direction. It only took Duggan half the time it did in Stage 3, at 1:03 versus 1:55 during Stage 3. Being a shorter effort, he was able to put out 254W for that hour heading up the pass today, compared to the 211W he averaged for the nearly two-hour reverse climb yesterday.
- Duggan spent 2800 kJ riding the same course as winner Jens Voigt, who spent 4200 kJ. Duggan's energy saving of 1/3 was a result of riding in the peloton, while Voigt went it alone. Approximately 80-90% of a cyclist's energy at speeds above 20mph is spent fighting air resistance, which is broken up when riding in another cyclist's slipstream.
- We set up a "virtual race" between Duggan and Chris Carmichael, founder of Carmichael Training Systems and former pro cyclist. Carmichael pre-rode the course as part of Carmichael Training Systems' Epic Endurance Bucket List series. He completed it in 6 hours, 20 minutes - Timmy would have beat him by nearly 2 hours! Keep in mind that Carmichael has been riding each stage just like the current pros, and also now has 4 tough days over the Colorado passes on his legs. See Carmichael's file here.
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TrainingPeaks Featured Rider
Rory SutherlandUnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 41st 0:04:39
Overview
The starts of these races are just unbelievable! What it takes to make the break: check out the flurry of power spikes during the first 7 minutes of the race as Sutherland attacks to make the breakaway that contained eventual winner Jens Voigt. Sutherland hits his 10-second Peak Power for the day of 843W (10.8 w/kg). Click the blue arrow to see stage data.
141
Avg. Heart Rate (bpm)
1127
Max Watts
266
Avg. Watts
3814
Kilojoules
- Sutherland's Quarq power meter showed he hit 1127W today going for the break. At this power level, Sutherland could've powered your microwave and made you your TV dinner!
- After making the early break, Sutherland then settles into a hard but steadier pace heading up Independence Pass for the 2nd time in this race, setting his 20-minute Peak Power for the day: 390W, 975 Max Watts, 171 bpm Max Heart Rate.
- Life in the break: Rory spent 3800 kJ today being in the breakaway, significantly higher than the energy expended by Lucas Euser and Timmy Duggan, who were in the peloton and each spent about 2600-2800 kJ. Rory's energy expenditure is roughly the same amount of energy released by 2 sticks of dynamite.
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