TDF Tourmalet, 19 mph average........WHAT !!

JimmyK

I watched the highlights of stage 17 last night on itv4 and schleck and contador put on a masterclass and then some. The beast that is col de tourmalet with its 9% gradient for over 10 miles would sort out the men from the boys. Schleck and Contador were wheel to wheel and the peleton were floundering in their wake trying to catch up , Sastre was a wretched sight as he completely bonked.

What got me astonished was that the ride up tourmalet had an average speed of 19 mph for the front two, I mean 19 mph ....WTF :shock: Ive ridden Craigantlet hill in belfast which is 10% for about 1.5 miles and my best ever was 10.1 mph average. To see athletes like those do average 19 mph on a similar gradient is jaw dropping in the extreme. I dont care how fit some athletes claim to be these days , but riders like contador and schleck must be at the pinnacle of physical fitness.

I think few would bet against alberto winning TDF 2010 now.

sheffsimon

JimmyK wrote:

I watched the highlights of stage 17 last night on itv4 and schleck and contador put on a masterclass and then some. The beast that is col de tourmalet with its 9% gradient for over 10 miles would sort out the men from the boys. Schleck and Contador were wheel to wheel and the peloton were floundering in their wake trying to catch up , Sastre was a wretched sight as he completely bonked.

What got me astonished was that the ride up tourmalet had an average speed of 19 mph for the front two, I mean 19 mph ....WTF :shock: Ive ridden Craigantlet hill in belfast which is 10% for about 1.5 miles and my best ever was 10.1 mph average. To see athletes like those do average 19 mph on a similar gradient is jaw dropping in the extreme. I dont care how fit some athletes claim to be these days , but riders like contador and schleck must be at the pinnacle of physical fitness.

I think few would bet against alberto winning TDF 2010 now.

You sure you arent confusing mph and kph??

CXXC

it was 19mph but that was the average speed over the whole stage i think, which is still flippin impressive given the climbs involved

dennisn

They MAY have been refering to the entire race. You know, TOTAL distance traveled
and the time it took equals MPH.

JimmyK

yep, 19 mph average, impressive isnt the word, tourmalet is a 2155 metre climb on its own

Cleat Eastwood

I think at one point when schleck and contador rode away Phil Ligget said they were riding at 14mph.

I'd love to see the gradients on tele but the camera angles on tv seem to flatten the hills. Its only when you see the still pics from the side do you realise what those guys are actually capable of doing.

rolf_f

The reference to 19mph was to the overall stage time. Irrc there was a mention of about 15mph on one of the climbs.

174km in 5 hours.

SBezza

Don't forget there is alot of downhill in the stage as well, that bumps up the average speed as well. Still pretty impressive over that stage though.

Mapman

PAAH ... Thats nothing ive done it in 4hrs !!!

Splottboy

I could get up faster!

Wait! No I couldn't...I'd forgotten I've got a Fiat Punto.

amaferanga

174km in 5 hours is an average speed of 34.8km/h or about 21.75mph.

With an average of that for the stage I doubt they'd have ridden up the Tourmalet at 19mph.

iainf72

The speed for the climb for Andy and Bert was 14.7mph. Reasonable pace by the early slopes aren't that hard.

Frank the tank

I heard the commentators say the ave speed for the stage was 19 m.p.h. Awsome.

amaferanga

Frank the tank wrote:

I heard the commentators say the ave speed for the stage was 19 m.p.h. Awsome.

FFS can't you do a bit of simple maths?

Stage distance was about 109 miles.
Stage time was about 5 hours.

Speed = distance/time

Do you get 19mph?

jrduquemin

AVG speed over the stage was 34.4kmh or 21.4mph in old money, no idea where they got 19mph from...

Frank the tank

amaferanga wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

I heard the commentators say the ave speed for the stage was 19 m.p.h. Awsome.

FFS can't you do a bit of simple maths?

Stage distance was about 109 miles.
Stage time was about 5 hours.

Speed = distance/time

Do you get 19mph?

FFS, I can do maths but can't be @rsed, So the speed was over 21 m.p.h. even more awesome.

I posted I HEARD the commentators say it was 19m.p.h. not a false statement they said it I heard it. I didn't say it was correct. FFS.

amaferanga

Well if dividing one number by another is taxing I suggest you can't actually do maths

spen666

I did the Tourmalet at over 19mph average - not hard to do.

I was descending

jrduquemin

spen666 wrote:

I did the Tourmalet at over 19mph average - not hard to do.

I was descending

Wish I could climb at 19mph, let alone 21mph :-)

Frank the tank

Wish I could ride on the flat at 19m.p.h. for 5 hours. My fitness has taken a right dip since I had the very slck last winter.

rolf_f

Frank the tank wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

I heard the commentators say the ave speed for the stage was 19 m.p.h. Awsome.

FFS can't you do a bit of simple maths?

Stage distance was about 109 miles.
Stage time was about 5 hours.

Speed = distance/time

Do you get 19mph?

FFS, I can do maths but can't be @rsed, So the speed was over 21 m.p.h. even more awesome.

I posted I HEARD the commentators say it was 19m.p.h. not a false statement they said it I heard it. I didn't say it was correct. FFS.

FFS, he just couldn't be bothered to read your post properly

Frank the tank

Rolf F wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

I heard the commentators say the ave speed for the stage was 19 m.p.h. Awsome.

FFS can't you do a bit of simple maths?

Stage distance was about 109 miles.
Stage time was about 5 hours.

Speed = distance/time

Do you get 19mph?

FFS, I can do maths but can't be @rsed, So the speed was over 21 m.p.h. even more awesome.

I posted I HEARD the commentators say it was 19m.p.h. not a false statement they said it I heard it. I didn't say it was correct. FFS.

FFS, he just couldn't be bothered to read your post properly

FFS can we leave the f**kin' swearin' out FFS

JamesB

Their 19 mph (or 21 whatever) average also, due to the long descents , hides still further how much better than mere mortals these guys are;
ie a couple of years ago I rode Marie Blanque / Aubisque / lower 10km Tourmalet, 80 miles in all, av speed 13 mph, does n`t look too bad compared to their average maybe; BUT big big difference in climbing speeds, I managed about 7 mph UP the cols, whilst they seem to do 14-15mph; however on descents, which on such a route is about 25-30 miles, I probably managed 30-40 mph to their 40-50 mph, which upped my average speed to less than snail pace.

peanut

Frank the tank wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

I heard the commentators say the ave speed for the stage was 19 m.p.h. Awsome.

FFS can't you do a bit of simple maths?

Stage distance was about 109 miles.
Stage time was about 5 hours.

Speed = distance/time

Do you get 19mph?

FFS, I can do maths but can't be @rsed, So the speed was over 21 m.p.h. even more awesome.

I posted I HEARD the commentators say it was 19m.p.h. not a false statement they said it I heard it. I didn't say it was correct. FFS.

don't waste your breath mate the guy is obviously a simple twot looking to insult and engender an arguement . Just ignore them I do . :roll: they'll be back to school soon

Bunneh

Thar be trolls on these thar forums!

*scared!

LazyBoycp

Frank the tank wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

I heard the commentators say the ave speed for the stage was 19 m.p.h. Awsome.

FFS can't you do a bit of simple maths?

Stage distance was about 109 miles.
Stage time was about 5 hours.

Speed = distance/time

Do you get 19mph?

FFS, I can do maths but can't be @rsed, So the speed was over 21 m.p.h. even more awesome.

I posted I HEARD the commentators say it was 19m.p.h. not a false statement they said it I heard it. I didn't say it was correct. FFS.

You're both right - the commentator (the unutterably irritating Liggett, I think) said the average was 19mph (thus making FTT right), clearly being unable to divide the 34.something kmh that showed on the screen by 1.6 (making amaferanga right). Either way, pretty impressive!

Red Rock

Frank the tank wrote:

Wish I could ride on the flat at 19m.p.h. for 5 hours.

Me too

geoff_ss

None of the climbs are very steep - they're just relentless. It's over 20 years since I rode over the Tourmalet and that was on a Mercian touring bike with camping gear but it wasn't particularly hard at the speed I rode - about 6 mph. There are steeper hills in our Derbyshire village but they're only a few hundred metres long, not 20 kms.

However, the day's ride was from Luz St Saveur to St Marie de Campan. I just stand back in admiration for the feats of Tour riders. I was pretty fit at the time but those guys are something else. That year we watched the race on the Col d'Aspin (the year Lemond beat Hinault - 1986?) and the climbing speed was what impressed both me and my wife.

Geoff