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Next stage, next demonstration of strength. Jonas Vingegaard (26) decisively distanced himself from rival Tadej Pogacar (24) in the 17th stage of the Tour de France. After more than two weeks of tough duels, he took advantage of Pogacar’s weakness on the climb to the Col de la Loze. Now last year’s winner can only beat himself. At least since Vingegaard’s time trial on Tuesday, cycling experts have been looking for explanations. The Dane won more than a minute and a half over the 22.4 km over his rival Tadej Pogacar (24), almost three minutes over all other 153 riders.
Vingegaard and Pogacar have broken several records on the tour so far. This is confirmed by the drivers themselves. No wonder, since the admiration for the struggle of the dominators is accompanied by doubts about the purity of the performance. The last major doping scandals in cycling may have been a long time ago, but they still reverberate.
Vingegaard: “I’m not taking anything with me”
The longer the tour lasts, the more the two dominators are asked if they can understand the doubts. In fact, Vingegaard is happy about it, saying: “Yes, we are fast and we are breaking records. So it’s good to be skeptical so that the stories don’t repeat themselves. All I can say is that I’m not assuming anything.” He points out that there are many factors to consider when comparing past performance: “The diet, the equipment, the training – everything is constantly improving.”
A look at the performance comparisons: For example, there is the Col de Tourmalet, a pass that is always on the Tour program, this year in the 6th stage. Vingegaard and Pogacar were faster than anyone else on the same climb. The ascent of Le Bettex in the Mont Blanc mountain range at the end of stage 15 was completed by Vingegaard and Pogacar together in 18 minutes 25 seconds, breaking Chris Froome’s 2015 record.
The watt comparison with household appliances
More significant than the times, however, are the wattages – more precisely the force that the riders put on the pedals in relation to their body weight. According to “Lanterne Rouge”, Vingegaard and Pogacar showed their best performance of their careers in the last 4.8km of the Tourmalet climb mentioned above, if you count the thin air that prevailed at about 2000 meters above sea level. Vingegaard kicked 13:27 minutes with 6.91 standardized watts per kilogram of body weight, Pogacar with 6.83. Translated this means: 415 watts for the 60 kg heavy Vingegaard, 451 watts for the 66 kg heavy Pogacar. And that after they had already been on the road for half an hour with more than 300 watts. What exactly do these wattages mean?
The comparison is obvious: the performance of ordinary household appliances is also shown in watts. A standard toaster uses about 800 to 1400 watts. So do the best professional cyclists in the world do less than a toaster? Blick asks the sports scientist Dr. Ralf Kredel, who studies sports biomechanics at the University of Bern: “The big difference in this equation is that the input power is specified for the toaster, i.e. the energy it draws per unit time from the electricity grid, while the output power, i.e. the energy it gives to the crank per unit time, is measured for the professional cyclist.”
Kredel further explains: “A toaster converts a large part of the energy it absorbs into heat, which is relevant for toasting bread. The human organism also produces heat when it moves. However, this is not performance-relevant for optimal cycling performance and is often more of a hindrance.”
“In the field of a modern home heating system”
In a performance comparison with the toaster, humans have a worse relationship between the total energy consumed and emitted per unit time; when cycling, people speak of an efficiency of about 20 to 25 percent. That is to say: a Mathieu van der Poel (28), who also competes in the Tour and, according to his team, can push more than 1000 watts in sprints to the finish for 20 seconds, needs about four to five times as much input power. “So we are more in the field of modern home heating,” Kredel compares.
For those who can only marvel at the performances of Vingegaard, Pogacar or Van der Poel on television, the question naturally remains: how much could you put on the pedals yourself over a race distance covered by professionals? Sports scientist Kredel provides information: “A typical adult could sustain between 90 and 120 watts — if his butt didn’t hurt too much after the 115 miles in this example.”
The comparison shows how much more power the pros have in their legs. So much so that it sometimes becomes frightening. Like now at the Tour de France.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
