Some numbers from yesterday’s Giro stage 8 specifically in relation to the climb. If you watched the stage you will know that the definitive climb is right at the end. It is called the Blockhaus and is approximately 13km at 8% average gradient, coming in at 1060m of climbing.
No data from Aussie winner Jai Hindley, but we do have power data from 4 riders in the top 15, including GC leader Juan Pedro Lopez Perez.
Emanuel Buchmann in 7th place, 16 seconds down on the winner. The power for the climb was 352W on a weight of 62kg (5.7W/kg) for just under 40 minutes.
Thymen Arensman: 10th place + 58 seconds; 390W on 69.5kg (5.6W/kg).
Jan Hirt: 13th place +1.39; 325W on 60kg (5.4W/kg)
And finally, Juan Pedro Lopez Perez to hang on to the overall lead in the GC (just) dug in deep for 15th place at +1.46; 323W on 60kg (5.4W/kg).
Typically on long climbs we see numbers of 6.0+ W/kg bandied about. But this needs to be considered in the context of where this climb was placed in ride. It was a 40 minute climb (so a bit longer) and it was right at the end. The riders had also done 4000m of climbing in the race before they reached this final climb.
Therefore fatigue resistance is the key. This has been shown to be the pivotal difference in experienced grand tour riders. It is one thing to be able to pump out 6.0W/kg when fresh. It is another thing entirely to do it in the back end of the race. In fact, if we look at the work done by these riders ahead of the climb: Buchmann (3900kj), Arensman (4400kj), Hirt (3800kj) and JP (3800kj). This is a huge workload. If you have a power meter and use TrainingPeaks – go have a look at your last long ride and see what workload you did by way of comparison.
And what about the VAM for the climb? Romain Bardet (2nd place) was 1605!