The Athlete Clinic

Stage 6 – Dinan to Lisieux at 226.5 km

The stage 6th stage see’s the riders covering more km’s than the previous few stages. The food consumption both on the bike and off will start to play a vital role in some of these harder stages to come. If the calorie intake is low and doesn’t match or exceed the expenditure then the recovery will be poor and the riders form and condition will start to quickly deteriorate.

Today has two category 3 climbs with a category 4 tailing them. It is also interesting to note that the Sprint Prime today is located after the first category 3 climb in Vassy. This will pose some difficulties for some of the serious green jersey hunters and the sprinters teams will be trying hard to either keep their rider up with the peleton or get them back into the peleton after the climb in order to gain points for that coveted green jersey.

Be assured a small group will go up the road today but again will not be afforded to much time on the peleton. Today should prove to be a hard day on the bike with the stage being undulating. It is the type of stage that could suit Evans and Gilbert as the par cours is suited to those rouleurs. This first week of the tour is proving to be like the one day classics, each and every day is like a classic. 

Another hard day today with rain and dampness all through the stage. Todays stage would prove hard for the riders to maintain any king of rhythm regarding food and drink consumption. With the weather being so wet a rider wouldn’t start to feel as thirsty as in dryer or hotter conditions but at the same time just as much liquid is being lost and needs to be replaced. At the same time the food consumption by riders tends to drop in nasty weather like this due to the fact of the constant pressure to stage at the front of the peleton. The dangerous and slippery conditions of the road and the classic like undulating conditions make eating ie taking their hands of the handlebars opening the food parcel and trying to stuff it down their mouths aswell as trying to see where their going and stay upright at the front of the peleton, not easy. This process is critical for recovery, recovery alwasy starts on the bike.

A note on food consumption for riders in stage racing is always to start the recovery before the stage ends, i.e. if you can start eating some protein bars in the last 30 mins of a stage it will triggor some early recover even before you get off the bike. This is a trick used by the pro’s in the high level squads. I also see a comment from Nicolas Roche regarding a trick his father Stephen recommended. If you insert some blocks under the end of your bed raising your feet and putting your legs at an incline above you heart that it will aid recovery. This does work as I used it more than twenty years ago as did Stephen. I have come accross riders with the drawers taken out of dresser in hotel rooms and using them to raise the bed, but be carefull if then bed is to high then blood circulation will not be as efficient during the night and recovery will be worst. Four inches or 100mm is recommended for a 6′ or 183cm rider.

Below is a list of riders who either withdrew or were eliminated from the Tour. You can click on the rider number to access the riders profile.

This is a typical power from a rider in this stage, nothing special.

Juan Antonio Flecha’s SRM Data

• Total Time = 5:13
• TSS = 287
• Average Power = 226 Watts. Avg Normalized Power* = 312
• Avg HR = 114
• Max HR = 166
• Mean Maximal 1-minute power = 667
• Max Maximal 5-minute power = 453
• Mean Maximal 20-minute power = 360
• Avg Cadence = 82 rpm
• Avg Speed = 26.5 mph

It’s also important to note that this rider put out 494 watts for just over 4 minutes at the end of the stage which was over 5 hrs in duration.

Stage 5 brings the riders from Carhaix – Cap Fréhel with a total distance of 158km. Being a flat and relatively short stage the riders will be looking for easy riding today after yesterdays wet and miserable conditions. We will undoubtably see a group of 4 – 8 riders going up the road who’s gap will be kept down due to the short nature of the stage.

I was not expecting such a dangerous stage and a stage filled with nervousness as was today. Numerous high-speed crashes due to riders trying to consistently pushing to the front. With the speeds so high and the possibility of cross winds and a very strong tailwind  the Team leaders were always trying to stay at the from to prevent them getting either caught in a crash or a spilt in the peleton.

Power numbers for  a typical rider today were

• TSS score 213
• Max 1 – minute power 623 watts
• Max 5 – minute power 459 watts
• Max 20 – minute power 339 watts
• Avg Normalized power 320

The Average Speed for todays stage was 43.84kph the 623 watts for his 1 – minute max was generated after 4hrs and 10 minutes on the bike. The rider also averaged 415 watts for the last 10km obviously holding position in the front of the peleton for his team leader.

Stage 4 saw the riders travel from Lorient to Mur-de-Bretagne covering a total distance of 172km. The weather was not pleasant with rain for most of the stage , The final assault on the Mur was conducted in brighter conditions thought with Cadel Evans taking the stage from Contador and Vino. The riders today would have burned quite similar amount of calories as in stage 1 with power output of similar nature. The final kick up the Mur would have the most demanding on the riders throughout the whole stage. Percentages of up to 10% with an average of 8% for the last 2km would demand good power to weight ratios and we see this with the likes of Gilbert not taking the stage but the likes of Contador and Evans sprinting for the final. Had the climb been slightly longer we would have seen the likes of Vino, Hushovd and Gilbert further back and some more prominent climbers with there 7 w/kg numbers.

So the riders in the peleton would have used 3500 cals plus their daily 2500 and the riders who made to the breakaway would have used slightly more and be substantially more fatigued by the end of the day. Average powers for the day would range in the 230 -280 watts with the final ascent of the Mur generating 6 – 6.5 w/kg for the last 2km

Typical Rider in todays stage generated these numbers

• TSS score 238
• Max 1 – minute power 608 watts
• Max 5 – minute power 481 watts
• Max 20 – minute power 364 watts
• Avg Normalized power 308

For the first 3 hrs of the stage the riders normalized power was 274 but for the last 13 minutes it was 468 watts  yielding a 6.3 w/kg ratio. It’s a know fact that as the riders move from 50km – 30km – 20km and then the final 10km that the speeds do ramp up particularly when the sprinters are around. This is due to riders trying to constantly stay at the front of the peleton out of trouble, This sort of effort show’s what pro’s need tobe able to deliver after 3 hrs on the bike and a 3 previous stages in their legs. cumulative fatigue will start to build from here on in the riders.

The third stage consisted of 198km of generally flat road. The distance was covered in an average speed of 41.5kph with a typical value of 180 – 210 TSS (Training Stress Score). The riders spent 4:40:21 in the saddle today. It is worth pointing out that these values are based on a typical rider sheltering in the peleton for the stage. Riders who engage in breakaways could score values as high as 250 – 300 on their TSS. Such efforts and even higher efforts of up 375 – 400 can be seen from time to time. For instance Paris Roubaix winner Johan van Summeren had a TSS of 375 for this years win. Such efforts take days to recover from. During a one day classic this is fine as the rider most likely has the rest of the week to recover but during the tour he has to get back on his bike the next day and do it all again.

The TTT (Team Time Trial) of 22,5km was covered in approximatly 24 minutes with general wattages by the riders in the 450 – 550 range. Individual efforts at the front of the group are generally 600 – 800 watts. Calorie consumption for this would be in the 400 range as the efforts are so high (@ VO2 Max) that glycogen would be the main fuel. This type of effort is all about suffering, suffering and suffering as much as one can for the duration of the effort.

The riders covered 191km in 4:41:31 giving them an average speed of 39.04 kph. The typical “Training Stress Score” for a flat stage like this would be in the region of 180 – 200. The riders would be burning 3500 kilo calories on the stage and then another 2500 before the stage and in recovery between the end of this stage and the next stage the following day. Tomorrow see’s the riders tackle the Team Time Trial.

A riders day will consist of burning 4000 to 6500 calories a day seven.days a week for three weeks. The riders will get two rest days along the way where most will do.1.5 to 3 hrs easy riding to keep their legs going. The strain of processing 4000 to 6500 calories on the body alone is quite severe without discussing the 4 to 6 hrs spent in the saddle. Over the next 3 weeks i’ll be detailing the nutritional needs and issues endured by a tour de France professional cyclist.