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Featured Athletes
Stage 10: Cautiously Optimistic
from Allen Lim, PhD
Yesterday when Christian moved into third place, he and the rest of the team were happy, but no one really seemed to make a big deal out of it. It was definitely a hard day, but we were all trying to stay focused on today. In our minds, the Tourmalet and the Hautacam were going to be the real first test of the Tour. At the same time, the performance Rico put in to solo win was just incredible. So much so, that it can screw with your head as a rider, and I sensed that Christian was a bit reticent to really believe how astounding his form is right now.
Racing in the Mountains at the Tour
from Bruce Hildenbrand
The first weekend of the Tour welcomes the big mountains of the Pyrenees. While there were a few smaller hills on the way south, the long, race-defining climbs had yet to test the cyclists. The first day in the mountains is tough for the Tour riders, especially the contenders for the yellow jersey. With all the pre-Tour responsibilities the week before the start and the usually flat route in the first week of the race, it can be 10-14 days since they have ridden up a major hill. With fitness always a prime concern, the riders just do not know how they will perform in this most crucial of the Tour's challenges.
Living The Grind
from Dr. Allen Lim
It’s day 8 of the Tour and I’ve reached the point where I am deep in the minutia of the daily grind. Wake up, cook, pack, clean, transfer, traffic, mayhem, set up tech, transfer, analyze, cook, transfer, more mayhem, clean, unpack, analyze some more, write, and then prepare to do it all again. It is seriously cracking me.
Stage 7: A Power Analysis of a Domestique
from CycleOps Power
For Stage 7, we'll take a close look at Danny Pate's power data. Danny Pate's roll on Team Garmin for the 2008 Tour is to be a domestique. He is charged with setting pace at the front when necessary, grabbing bottles from the team car, trying to get in a break when appropriate, and generally protecting Team Garmin's GC riders: Vande Velde and Millar.
Stage 6: Power-to-Weight Ratio
from CycleOps Power
As the terrain begins to go upward, as it did in Stage 6's uphill finsh, it is important for the riders to be able to maintain a high watts-per-kg or power-to-weight ratio. Watts per kilogram is power output normalized to body weight. The reason we like to normalize power to body weight is that going up a hill, two people might be going the exact same speed, but if they aren't the same size, they won't be putting out the same power.
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