The Giro has taken us from the Netherlands to southern Italy. Up north, we battled the wind, fought for position on narrow farm roads, weaved through traffic islands and sprinted out of small towns. After a relentless first week of long days on the bike combined with hours in the bus, we are now racing through the hills and undulating Italian countryside. Attached are two SRM powerfiles from two stages during the first week of the Giro–the graphs show the distance, speed, power, and altitude ( I wasn’t wearing a heart rate strap).
The first graph is from the third stage in the Netherlands (Amsterdan-Middleburg), where the peloton blew to pieces and our team led the charge on the front until the final eight kilometres when our leader, Brad Wiggins, was caught up in a crash. We spent the final kilometres of the race chasing to limit his time loss. The second SRM file is from the first mountain top finish on Stage 8 (Chianciano Terme-Terminillo). The peloton rode like mad from the drop of the start flag and never really relented. My job for the day was to protect Brad and keep him out of the wind and in good position before the final climb. Once we reached the climb, I sat up and rode up the climb at a steady speed to save energy for the coming days while he hammered away with the leaders. The next six stages are all over 200 kilometres. Wednesday’s stage is 262 km. I’ll try to post a graph from one or two of those stages.
Great racing Michael! I was real hopeful you were going to get away today but it wasn’t to be.
I hope your riding is rewarded with just enough luck to take a stage before the end of this Giro. Thanks for not forgetting your blog readers even during the event.
Very interesting! I’d be interested in the average power for the climb and for the chasing effort, if you could sort that out.
Your cadence seems to be very low – is that because you are coasting a lot in the peloton? What is your normal cadence?
Of course it would be very interesting to see the SRM file of your breakaway – I guess the effort is a lot harder.
Anyway, good luck for the rest of the giro and thanks for the updates!
Hi Markus, The average cadence is taken over the entire ride so includes the descents where I am freewheeling which is why it is low. I pedal at 85-100 RPM depending on the terrain. The average watts for the final climb were roughly 340–which is a steady speed that’s not too hard. Up front, Bradley would have been around 400+ watts for the entire climb. Obviously you have to consider weight as well–at the moment I am 71 kg. I don’t have the file from the breakaway yesterday as the camera motorbikes blank out the wireless SRM as their radio signals are too strong. Oh well. Thanks for the note. Cheers, Michael
Michael,
I echo Dean’s sentiments! We here in the South Shore of Nova Scotia were rooting for you, and hoping that your former team would relent, alas, not to be.
Best of luck — and may your DS set you free again during the Giro….
Thanks Aaron and Shane. I will try to give it another go in the coming days. All the best, Michael
Michael! I was so stoked up watching you race today. Congrats on a great effort. I was jumping around the room – a cycling Paul Henderson moment, if you will. You should be proud – can’t wait to watch more. Best of luck.
Michael,
Enjoyed your riding yesterday! Hope you will get another chance to break away in this Giro. Thanks for the updates.
– Erik
It’s awesome that you are blogging and keeping us fans updated and aware of what you are up to. Thanks a lot for taking the time!
I was also freaking out yesterday watching your break on Eurosport France. Really heroic, especially how you came back to Ignatiev after his attack. Maybe that was kind of dumbass of him to attack the break and blow it up so far from the finish, but on the other hand maybe it was another typical “race radio” kind of formula day. Must be a bit frustrating. You guys were taking on the sprinter teams like david vs galiath.
Keep up the great riding!
Top piece of riding … a true embodiment of Le Metier !
Michael, thanks for the answer.
We share the weight, I am just a few cm shorter 😉 – and I can’t hold those numbers for long, but I guess that’s why you are pro and I am not . But I am happy b/c my SRM is never blanked out by cameras.
I am glad I found your website – stay strong at the Giro and I hope you’ll have a successful breakaway, too.
I absolutely love looking at this data. I’m amazed you have the time (or energy) to keep things updated and reply to these comments!! Good for you.
Classy ride yesterday!! Was rooting for you the whole way! Best of luck for the rest of the Giro!!
There must be some people struggling tonight with a terrible crisis of conscience. Which way will the tide turn?
Canada will forgive you Michael. Tell us the truth.
We wish you courage.