GEEK STATS: Stage 10 Race Analysis The first two climbs followed the Specialized Racing prediction with the first climb ridden at tempo after the breakaway was caught, and the second one at slow pace. On the descent of the Petit Balón Alberto Contador crashed, and that event disturbed the entire expected scenario for the next climbs. The Platzerwas and the Orderen climbs were ridden at tempo as predicted. The Chevreres climb was slower due to the absence of the Tinkoff-Saxo team which for sure would have accelerated the pace, and prepared Alberto Contador for the ascension to La Planche des Belles Filles. Vincenzo Nibali performed extremely well on the last climb and took the win after an impressive attack in the last three kilometers. Tubulars were one of the key components today. Having a low rolling resistance and good grip, was fundamental in order to be safe and at the same time, have the best possible performance. Vincenzo Nibali was riding on Specialized AllAround II tubulars. When compared to last years’ tires, the energy saved was around 85Kj or an average of -3.3 Watts less rolling resistance. The final and decisive attack of Vincenzo occurred at 3km to go. The energy consumption of the last three kilometers was around 150Kj. Using the Specialized AllAround II tubulars Vincenzo saved the energy needed to complete 1.7Km of his final attack. Another way to view the benefit of the lower rolling resistance, is that it helped him to reach the finish line about 2.5 seconds quicker. Talking about the bike set up, the lighter weight of the new tarmac allowed Astana team to bring the final bike weight down to the UCI minimum weight of 6.8Kg while last year the Tarmac SL4 was 6.92Kg. For Vincenzo carrying 120 grams less resulted in a time savings of 15” over today’s climbs and specifically around 3 Seconds over the last climb.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:16:41 +0000