Here's the latest episode of our road.cc Recommends YouTube series with a round-up of the best products we've tested this past month as well as a route and cafe stop for you to try...
Felt good to be back in the mix with the boys today 💪 What else is there to do but grit your teeth and get on with it. Ready for the rest day though 🤣 #TDF2021pic.twitter.com/RPQsfJnWxF
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) July 4, 2021
In the latest episode of his podcast on Eurosport, Sir Bradley Wiggins says he believes the Tour de France is far from over for Geraint Thomas and that a stage win should be his priority in the second and third weeks of the race. "I don’t remember a Tour like it for a long time," Wiggo said. "It’s been brutal. To think it’s only one week we’ve done. We’ve got two weeks left of the race and the field is decimated. It’s absolutely decimated.
"I don’t think this race is over for G yet. It is for GC definitely, it would be nice to see Ineos spread their numbers a bit and let G go up the road. He is capable of doing something like Ben O’Connor did and that is something you’re not used to seeing from a Team Sky or Ineos point of view. It would be lovely to see that."
Despite losing big time on GC, Thomas was back at the head of the peloton yesterday helping his teammate Richard Carapaz who sits in fifth place, five minutes behind Tadej Pogačar.
Nice one Lachlan (Photo @JohnFox28541730 ) pic.twitter.com/aA6Dyuw4uG
— Chris Sidwells (@ChrisSidwells) July 5, 2021
No time for rest days on the Alt Tour but Lachlan Morton found a moment to pay tribute to British cycling legend Tom Simpson at the memorial on the upper slopes of Mont Ventoux. The EF Education-Nippo rider is now onto stage 12 of the Tour having summited the famous climb twice and is almost halfway to Paris. He is currently heading to Nimes before beginning the long road south west towards the Pyrenees.
Lachlan endured more rain and punctures on his journey to the #MaRégionSud and arrived at the foot of the Mont Ventoux in the late afternoon, giving him enough time for one ascent of the mythical climb. #sudavelo#villedemarseille#vaucluse
Follow here: https://t.co/6rrmhtsjfGpic.twitter.com/hi7Hsrw7A1
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) July 5, 2021
@Michael1979 we need to pamper the grass but we can freely injure children and the elderly. Call me old fashioned, but it seems like we have our priorities all messed up. pic.twitter.com/Yi8haiBiX3
— minhagim (@minhagim) July 4, 2021
Ever wondered what it takes to win an epic mountain stage of the Tour de France? Maybe you've been watching the serene mountain scenery on TV and thought you could hold the wheel in the breakaway. How hard can it be?
Ben O'Connor achieved his career highlight yesterday, winning stage nine and has kindly uploaded his ride to Strava with all the juicy numbers we want to see.
The Aussie riding for home team AG2R Citroën snuck away early in the stage with a big group of riders, picking them off one by one over the 147km route with 4,441m of elevation. O'Connor's average speed stayed a touch under 32km/h, even with one HC mountain and two first cat climbs and he maxed out at 92km/h on the descent of the Cormet de Roselend.
Where his numbers become even more impressive is when we look at the power data. Unlike Tadej Pogačar, who selfishly keeps his power hidden on Strava, O'Connor uploaded his ride in full. His normalised power for the four hour plus stage was 350w, which at his Strava weight of 67kg is 5.2w/kg and is nothing short of staggering. Next time you're giving it beans up your local hill ask yourself if you could sustain it for another four hours?
When we take a look at the climbs things get even more silly. O'Connor summited the hors catégorie Col du Pré in 39:08 at 18.8km/h pushing 366w average. On the Cormet Roselend he held 367w for 21:18 before getting a touch of recovery on the freezing descent. He then covered 23.5km in the final hour as he slogged up to the finish at Tignes, 2000m above sea level at an average power of 343w...
And that doesn't include the efforts he made to make the break in the first place...