Ryan Mullen's data, with power, for super Paris-Roubaix debut

Ryan Mullen still smiling after more than six hours and 150 miles in the saddle at Paris-Roubaix, and well he might as he put in a formidable ride.

By Brian Canty

Having told stickybottle before Paris-Roubaix today, Sunday, that he was looking to help his team have an impact on the race and also finish it; Ryan Mullen did both.

The 21-year-old, riding his first Hell of the North in the first months of his WorldTour career, came home in 103rd place.

Finishing the race as a first-year pro is something not many riders do, especially those who turn pro as young as Mullen has.

He was in a group with compatriot Matt Brammeier (Dimension Data) 18mins 30secs down on winner Matt Hayman (Orica-GreenEdge).

A race like Paris Roubaix is all about extremes; extreme conditions, extreme road surfaces, extreme feats of endurance - and extreme numbers.

And Ireland’s Mullen witnessed first-hand how deep you need to dig just to finish a race regarded as one of the toughest in professional cycling.

The Cannondale Pro Cycling man produced a monstrous average of 335 watts for exactly 6 hours 10 minutes and 28 seconds in the saddle.

Obviously, that is hugely dependent on his weight but for a weekend warrior, holding that number for 20 minutes would be a struggle.

It’s a figure slightly less than what Mullen produced during his breakaway ride on day one of the Majorca Challenge in February (353) but that race was 100 kilometres shorter and his riding time was significantly less.

Of his most impressive numbers, his average speed is another one that will surely have him purring when he looks back.

An average of 40kph over those cobbled roads today is truly extraordinary.

We’re not exactly sure where Mullen hit his maximum heart rate for the day but from his Strava file we suspect it was somewhere around the 80-kilometre mark as the peloton raced towards the first section of cobbles at Troisvilles.

There (or thereabouts) Mullen hit 191 beats per minute (bpm) and it just edges the 189 bpm he hit on the Noyon climb earlier on as the break was trying to establish itself.

That three-kilometre climb saw him punch out over 1,000 watts and somehow manage to hit a maximum speed of over 50kph going uphill!

Mind, his maximum watts today was over 1,200.

Another figure Mullen will definitely look back on with pride is the 7,500+ calories he burnt today.

He won’t need to be told help himself to another slice of turkey at the dinner table the next few evenings....

Mullen is 77kg and 1.89m in height.

Ryan Mullen's Paris-Roubaix in numbers

Speed: 25.6mph average, 43.8mph maximum

Heart Rate: 162bpm average 191bpm maximum

Cadence: 88 average, 138 maximum

Average Power: 305 Watts

Maximum Power: 1,288 Watts

Distance: 158miles

Moving time: 6hrs 10mins 28secs

Elevation: 5,328ft

Calories: 7,561

Temperature: 55℉

Elapsed Time: 6:10:28

Weighted average power: 335 Watts

hen you ride with a power meter, you'll notice how your power jumps all over the place based on the terrain, grade, wind, and other factors. Weighted Average Power looks at all of this variation and provides an average power for your ride that is a better indicator of your effort than simply taking your average power. It is our best guess at your average power if you rode at the exact same wattage the entire ride.

Total work: 6,781kj

Total Work, expressed in kilojoules (kJ), is simply the sum of the watts generated during your ride. There is a close 1–to–1 ratio with 'total work' and 'calories expended' during a ride.

Training load: 394

Strava calculates 'training load' by comparing your power during your ride to your FTP and determining how much load you put on your body during the workout. Training load is a great way to determine how much rest you need after your workouts. A score of 125 or lower takes 24 hours to fully recover from. A score of 125-250 takes about 36 to 48 hours to recover from. A score of 250 to 400 takes at least three days to recover from and a score of 400+ takes at least five days to recover from.

Intensity: 80 per cent

Intensity is Strava’s way of showing how difficult a ride was as compared to a riders function threshold power (FTP). Strava looks at a rider’s weighted average power for the ride and compares it to their FTP. If riders’ weighted average power was 250W and FTP 300W, the intensity would 83%. It's very possible to have an intensity of over 100% if the ride was shorter than an hour. And endurance or recovery ride is 65% or lower. A moderate ride is 65% to 80%. A tempo ride is 80% to 95%. Time trial or race effort is 95% to 105% and short TT or race effort is any score above 105%.

Extreme suffer score: 369

The Strava ‘suffer score’ is an analysis of riders’ heart rate data. By tracking heart rate through a rider’s workout and its level relative to the athlete’s maximum heart rate, Strava attaches a value to show exactly how hard the rider worked. The more time riders spend going full gas and the longer their activity, the higher the score. You can compare your score to others to discover the ‘epicness’ of your ride.

Zone Distribution

Z1 Active Recovery (1 - 231 Watts) for 2hr 12mins 06secs, 36% of moving time
Z2 Endurance (232 - 315 Watts) 56mins 32secs, 15% of moving time
Z3 Tempo (316 - 378 Watts) 48mins 45secs, 13% of moving time
Z4 Threshold (379 - 441 Watts) 46mins 09secs, 12% of moving time
Z5 VO2Max (442 - 504 Watts) 32mins 27secs, 9% of moving time
Z6 Anaerobic (505 - 630 Watts) 33mins 24secs, 9% of moving time
Z7 Neuromuscular (630+ Watts) 20mins 51secs, 6% of moving time

Heart rate analysis

Z1 Endurance (less than 130bpm) for 1:48 mins, or 0% of time
Z2 Moderate (130-150bpm) for 1hr 03mins 18secs, or 17% of time
Z3 Tempo (150-168bpm) for 3hrs 2mins 4secs, or 49% of time
Z4 Threshold (168-185bpm) for 1hr 59mins 47secs, or 32% of time
Z5 Anaerobic (higher than 185bpm) for 3mins 31secs, or 1% of time