If anyone thinks virtual racing isn’t tough they just need to look at some of the power the pros were putting out on their indoor trainers. With most riders using the Dura-Ace R9100-P power meter, we can reveal an insight into the sort of performance that was required to compete in this legendary race.
The race lasted just over 43 minutes, much shorter than the usual six hours of racing on the 267km course. Winner Greg Van Avermaet averaged a mighty 434 watts which, for the 74kg rider, means 5.86 W/kg. This despite being dropped at the very start of the race.
The Paterberg is one of the steeper climbs on the route, and the final sting in the tail before the flat 10km dash to the finish line. While the virtual race lacked the energy-sapping cobbles, the 12.9% average and 20% maximum gradients made sure the riders had to dig deep. Greg surged ahead on this climb by constantly producing over 500 watts for the majority of the climb, an acceleration that nobody could match.
Only Oliver Naesen and Nicolas Roche were able to keep within any sort of distance but the gap quickly stretched out to over 20 seconds. Nicholas Roche wasn’t able to close the gap to Greg or fend off Oliver in the final sprint, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying as an examination of his power data shows.
In his effort to close the gap to Van Avermaet, Nicolas Roche produced a peak power on the Paterberg of 678 watts. Meanwhile, in the final sprint, he would push out 756 watts. Averaged throughout the race his power output was 385 watts.
A favourite going into the race, Wout van Aert wasn’t able to be a contender in the final move but his power data shows it wasn’t for a lack of trying. His normalised power was 533 watts throughout the race, with a peak of 563 watts and a max heart rate of 192 bpm, close to the 25 year old’s HR limit. His 6.64 W/kg is a real measure of his superb fitness.