The Stillwater criterium has been coined the 'toughest criterium in America.' With its famous (or shall we say 'infamous') Chilkoot Hill averaging 24% grade, it is certainly no walk in the park. The rest of the course offers no reprieve. After racers sprint off the finish line to tackle the 250+ yard climb (think 2.5 football fields), they turn a corner and continue ascending to the top of the course. They then face a screaming descent where they have to navigate 4 90-degree corners at speeds of over 40 miles per hour. Good bike-handling skills are essential, and riders have to stay alert as they maneuver their bikes at such high speeds. Plus, riders who stay with the main field, are doing very little coasting to recover.
For this stage's power analysis, we'll take a look at the ISCorp's team's highest placing rider vs. one of their lower placing riders. In his first race at Stillwater, Matthew Busche finished in an amazing 15th place. He was 1 of 24 riders to finish in the lead pack of racers. Jordan Roessingh, on the other hand, was racing in survival mode - his goal for the race was to stay in the race long enough to get a placing on the final GC - a respectable goal for a cyclist balancing a full-time career with bike racing. Jordan was placed as the 66th finisher out of 97 starters.
By looking at Busche's data, we can see what it might take to be competitive as a professional racer, as the 24-man lead group in which he finished only contained 4 amateur racers. His power data is broken out in the table below.
Photo ©: Ryan Staab
|
| Busche |
Distance |
Time |
Max Power |
Avg Power |
| Lap 1 |
1.3 |
3:29 |
962 |
336 |
| Lap 2 |
1.3 |
3:12 |
1150 |
355 |
| Lap 3 |
1.3 |
3:19 |
900 |
311 |
| Lap 4 |
1.3 |
3:20 |
1047 |
332 |
| Lap 5 |
1.3 |
3:29 |
949 |
300 |
| Lap 6 |
1.3 |
3:25 |
991 |
303 |
| Lap 7 |
1.3 |
3:28 |
865 |
284 |
| Lap 8 |
1.3 |
3:25 |
972 |
296 |
| Lap 9 |
1.3 |
3:23 |
985 |
277 |
| Lap 10 |
1.3 |
3:27 |
867 |
273 |
| Lap 11 |
1.3 |
3:22 |
918 |
301 |
| Weight: 155 pounds |
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In comparison we have Roessingh's data. He was placed 6 minutes and 17 seconds back from the leaders after being pulled 8 laps into the race.
Photo ©: Ryan Staab
|
| Roessingh |
Distance |
Time |
Max Power |
Avg Power |
| Lap 1 |
1.3 |
3:54 |
815 |
294 |
| Lap 2 |
1.3 |
3:24 |
822 |
234 |
| Lap 3 |
1.3 |
3:22 |
797 |
267 |
| Lap 4 |
1.3 |
3:25 |
717 |
278 |
| Lap 5 |
1.3 |
4:03 |
775 |
224 |
| Lap 6 |
1.3 |
4:02 |
676 |
240 |
| Lap 7 |
1.3 |
4:04 |
640 |
254 |
| Lap 8 |
1.3 |
4:06 |
604 |
230 |
| Weight: 155 pounds |
click to view larger
Can you tell during which lap Roessingh lost contact with the main group?