Fabian Cancellara’s power was impressive on his way to the Olympic gold medal, but his pacing was phenomenal (Photo: Sirotti)
By Philipp Diegner -@PDiegner
Fabian Cancellara rode a perfect test against the clock in the Olympic Time Trial on Wednesday, as his data for the event reveals.
On the tough two-lap course in Rio he went through three of the five time checks with the fastest time split.
The power of his gold medal-winning ride is exceeded by the expert way he paced himself, underlining the fact that he is still a master of the TT as he edges towards the end of a glittering career.
Over more than 70 minutes of racing, he was able to put out robot-like consistency.
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His 436W during the first quarter were practically equal to the 435W in the last quarter of the contest.
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This conservation of energy meant he was never in danger of blowing up and allowed him to deliver the peaks were it mattered.
His performances on the major climb that was featured twice were particularly impressive.
He climbed the 2.2km - 5.9 per cent slope - at 543W (6.79W/kg) and 541W (6.76W/kg), respectively; putting out that level of power for more than 4½ minutes both times up the climb.
He rode the 54.6km course in a time of 1hr 12 mins 15secs, for an average speed of 45.34km per hour.
- About the author: Philipp Diegner is a coach and analyst. He offers race analysis of any riders’ data for €49, with full strength profile and training recommendations.
Canellara & Co in numbers
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