Mathieu van der Poel, the holder of the yellow jersey coming into the weekend, was always expected to lose his lead when the road pointed up, but after Saturday's stage 8 where Geraint Thomas and Primož Roglič lost 35 minutes and Tadej Pogačar proved he was in a league of his own with a long-range solo attack, Sunday's stage 9 was set to be a thriller.
And what a thriller it was; on a day where Pogačar proved once again that he is on another level, it was 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën) who took the honours, with a win that saw him jump 12 places in the standings and gain 6:02 on Pogačar. In the end, he finished the day 2:01 down on the Slovenian, but in a strong second place ahead of Rigoberto Urán at 5:18.
But as the only GC rider who managed to stave off the Pogačar steam train, what sort of power does that require? Well fortunately for us, O'Connor has uploaded his ride to Strava for all to see, so let's dive in.
Ben O'Connor's Tour de France stage 9
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All 𓄧in, O🍸'Connor burned 5,195 calories... or almost kilo of Nutella(Image credit: Strava)
Official timing from the race sets O'Connor's time for the day at 4:26:43, however, according to his Strav෴a, he was moving for an extra 11 minutes for a total ride time of 4:37:32. Throughout this time, he averaged an impressive 313 watts with an even more impressive normalised power of 344w, all while weighing 67kg according to ProCyclingStats.
In this time, he burned through an incredible 5,195 calories, averaged 31.9km/h and topped out at 92.5k🦹m/h.
Getting into the break
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The first climb was where O'Connor made the split, getting into the brꦫeakaway with an effort at 102% of ꦺhis FTP for 22 minutes(Image credit: Strava)
Despite knowing the big day he had ahead, it was the first ascent of the day where O'Connor burned his brightest match, forcing his way into the breakaway on the Category 2 Côte de Domancy, which averages 9.5 per cent for 2.𝓀5km.
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The main portion of this efforꦗt lasted 22 minutes, for which he averaged 403 watts at an average cadence of 95, peaking at 691 waꦕtts.
Looking at the Zone Distribution of his ride, we calculate his FTP to be set at 395 watts, so assuming those calculations are up to date, O'Conꦰnor would have been over his limit and pushing into VO2 Max territory.
Fortunately for him, the following 12 minutes afforded some recovery. They were spent at a slight descent (minus one per cent gradient), and O'Connor average🐻d 228 watts, before tackꦍling the second ascent of the day.
Easy up this one, lads?
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The second climb of the day was where the breakaway gained the🔯ir time, with O'Connor averaging 389 watts for 32 and a half minutes(Image credit: Strava)
Unfortunately, in the Tour de France, there's no such t🐷hing as easy.
The second major ascent of the day took in the Col des Saisies, which averages 6.2 per cent for 9.4km. The climb comes iꦫn three steps separated by short periods of descending. The first and last step are short, while the middle ramp is the longes🍸t of the three.
O'Connor ascended the entire climb in 32:30, enough to take the '' Strava KOM by 37 seconds over Warren Barguil in second place. ❀Throughout this period, he averaged 389 watts, peaked at 796 watts, and averaged an 23.9km/h (14.9mph).
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The only Hors Catégorie climb of the day saw O'Connor average 364 watts for almost 44 minut⭕🌸es(Image credit: Strava)
Next up came a 15km descent, which saw O'Connor spend a lot of time freewheeling, interspersed with countless violent accelerations out of hairpin corners that saw him hit his peak power for the day, 890 watts.ꦅ And then came the day's main course, the HC climb of the Col du Pré.
This ascent took O'Connor 43m 51s, throughout which he averaged 364 watts, ꧒peaked at 691, and averaged 19.7km/h (12.2mph).
Tignes
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The final climb of the day saw O'Conno⛦r average🦄 345 watts for 1h 12m(Image credit: Strava)
The final climb of Monté🦹;e de Tignes is where O'Connor made his mark. Easing away from Sergio Higuita with 17.3km to go and spending the rest of the race alone. All in, the ascent lasted 1h 12m, and he settled into a rhythm that saw him average 345 watts, peaking at 659, and covering th⛄e 31.1km (19.5mi) at 26km/h (16.25mph).
O'Connor's ascent of the Strava KOM '' was the fastest ever recorded, however despite uploading his ride to Strava, Pogačar's SRM looks to have dropped the GPS data.
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Pogačar's failing GPS data means we cannot compare the two riders' ascents(Image credit: Strava)
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leadin🌠g our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has 🅰been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Jos🤡h has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He 🌠started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
