Power questions - Re: TDF.

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Hope someone can help...

It seems apparent that if you put two riders (one 95kg and one 75Kg, including weight of the bike) side by side on a flat rode, assuming they both give out 360W they will ride at 12.68m/s and 12.81 m/s respectively.

Put these same figures into a hill of 10% incline and you end up with the lighter rider going 4.52 m/s and the heavier one 3.64.

Assuming my calculations are correct, and assuming that a vast amount of the TDF is mountainous them wouldn't Jan Ulrich be wise to shed a couple of kilo's or would this detrimental and cause him to lose power? Apparently this is what Armstrong did after his comeback from Cancer.

Secondly, what is the average output of a TDF rider over the whole even?

Thirdly, when you train indoors at home on the turbo you are not subject to resistance such as the wind and pushing through the air, I therefore assume that your speed, hence mileage clocked up inside is high than would be if that same power was used outside. Correct?

Cheers,
Tom.

Originally posted by tomUK
Thirdly, when you train indoors at home on the turbo you are not subject to resistance such as the wind and pushing through the air, I therefore assume that your speed, hence mileage clocked up inside is high than would be if that same power was used outside. Correct?

Yes and no. Most indoor trainers have resistance units that may or may not provide more resistance than riding into the wind. The speed indoors or mileage indoors doesn't really give you any information, I'm not sure why you would even be interested in recording it!

Originally posted by tomUK, i responded with >>
Hope someone can help...

>>hope so!

It seems apparent that if you put two riders (one 95kg and one 75Kg, including weight of the bike) side by side on a flat rode, assuming they both give out 360W they will ride at 12.68m/s and 12.81 m/s respectively.

Put these same figures into a hill of 10% incline and you end up with the lighter rider going 4.52 m/s and the heavier one 3.64.

>>did you work these out at (e.g.) analyticcycling.com -- in which case most likely correct

Assuming my calculations are correct, and assuming that a vast amount of the TDF is mountainous them wouldn't Jan Ulrich be wise to shed a couple of kilo's or would this detrimental and cause him to lose power? Apparently this is what Armstrong did after his comeback from Cancer.

>>(assuming that you think that Jan is heavier than Lance)actually, the evidence suggests that Jan is actually *lighter* than Lance or they are very close to the same weight.

>>the UCI medical list (or the TdF medical -- can't recall which one it was) has Jan as being lighter

>>during the TT on the penultimate day, prior to Jan crashing both riders were, within a few seconds going at the same velocity -- therefore, assuming similar aerodynamics they were producing the same power output

>>during the mountain stages they were climbing mainly together. given that they have the same power (see above), then therefore, they must be the same or very similar weights

Secondly, what is the average output of a TDF rider over the whole even?

>>first or last place? either way, power is not very much

Thirdly, when you train indoors at home on the turbo you are not subject to resistance such as the wind and pushing through the air, I therefore assume that your speed, hence mileage clocked up inside is high than would be if that same power was used outside. Correct?

>>depends on the resistance of the turbo trainer, one of my units is actually 'slower' than outside at the same power output

Ric


Cheers,
Tom. [/QUOTE]