VAM-business as usual?
Giro d' Italia 2009 - Part 1
By: Michele Ferrari
Published: 18 May 2009
1717 m/h was the VAM of the group of best riders led by Ivan Basso in the last 10 km of Alpe di Siusi (8.3% average gradient at an altitude of 1014 up to 1844m), a performance which is equal to 6.13 watt/kg.
A performance, that of Ivan, not so distant from his best ones in 2006: 6.27 w/kg on the Colle di S. Carlo (9.8% average gradient at an altitude between 1000 and 1900m), 6.39 w/kg on the Bondone (7.9% gradient, altitude between 278 and 1650m).
In the stage with the finish in Bergamo, on the Colle del Gallo (6.2 km at 7%, with an altitude between 328 and 763m) we have seen a small group formed by excellent riders such as Garzelli, Cunego, Pellizotti, Horner, Rogers, Leipheimer attack and literally devour the 435m of climbing in 14'11", with a resulting VAM = 1838 m/h, corresponding on such a gradient to an excellent 6.8 w/kg.
The group with the pink jersey Di Luca, Basso, Sastre, Menchov and a progressing Armstrong, got over the climb with a delay of 1', but still with the impressive VAM = 1720 m/h, equal to 6.35w/kg
http://www.53x12.com/do/show?page=indepth.view&id=101
By: Michele Ferrari
Published: 18 May 2009
1717 m/h was the VAM of the group of best riders led by Ivan Basso in the last 10 km of Alpe di Siusi (8.3% average gradient at an altitude of 1014 up to 1844m), a performance which is equal to 6.13 watt/kg.
A performance, that of Ivan, not so distant from his best ones in 2006: 6.27 w/kg on the Colle di S. Carlo (9.8% average gradient at an altitude between 1000 and 1900m), 6.39 w/kg on the Bondone (7.9% gradient, altitude between 278 and 1650m).
In the stage with the finish in Bergamo, on the Colle del Gallo (6.2 km at 7%, with an altitude between 328 and 763m) we have seen a small group formed by excellent riders such as Garzelli, Cunego, Pellizotti, Horner, Rogers, Leipheimer attack and literally devour the 435m of climbing in 14'11", with a resulting VAM = 1838 m/h, corresponding on such a gradient to an excellent 6.8 w/kg.
The group with the pink jersey Di Luca, Basso, Sastre, Menchov and a progressing Armstrong, got over the climb with a delay of 1', but still with the impressive VAM = 1720 m/h, equal to 6.35w/kg
http://www.53x12.com/do/show?page=indepth.view&id=101
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Comments
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ah, Dr Ferrari must have seen my request.
6.8 w/kg :!: :?:0 -
.. for 14 minutes.--
Obsessed is just a word elephants use to describe the dedicated. http://markliversedge.blogspot.com0 -
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From talking to others, anything above 6 is world class, KOM style, but many will begin to raise eyebrows once 6.2W/kg is crossed. But the real sign of doping is not the absolute max number - although 6.8 is a mockery - but the change, when a rider does 5.4 for years and then goes up to 6 or more, then the alarm bells ring and sirens flash.0
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Phips, I'm talking about FTP, the sort of output you could sustain all the way up Alpe d'Huez or on a similar 40-60 minute climb. The climb at the end of yesterday's stage was not so significant, it was not that long.0
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6.4 FTP for a pro is out of the ordinary, it will deliver them the KoM jersey several times a year. But as you say the climb was shorter, so yes, it is "doable".
I still have big doubts about some of the riders though.0 -
If you take Ferrari's calculations at face value, Wiggins did 5.8 W/kg (1616 m/h) in the last 10 km of Alpe di Siusi.
Ferrari is of course using a standardised weight for all the riders, something we know varies from rider to rider.0
