powertapgeek.com

Finally someone talks about the 2008 Slipstream Team!

ToC Stage 1

Watts Next?

Great video of the Slipstream boys talking about the end of Tour of California. I love Donald sharing the average wattage for the day. 321 Watts for 4 HOURS!

Pro Training Camp

Great video from Gear Fisher and Dirk Friel about the Astana camp. Here you can see that the Pro's have dedicated training camp plans. Unlike the majority of the amatuer teams I have been on where we went out and rode 4-6 hours and besides that there was no-plan these guys have routes, prescribed duration and intensity levels.

I am sure the guys using cyclingpeaks WKO+ will get even better and montiroing their off-season training since they will have so much baseline from this season for next year.

WATTS IN A PRO...

Michael Barry has some information for all us training for the upcoming race season. My first race is this weekend.

We have been racing with our power meters since the first stage. After each stage the team doc downloads the data, analyzes it, and gives us some feedback on our fitness and our effort. I have found it interesting racing with it and the numbers are quite astounding.

On average I have been producing about 3000-4000 kilojoules each stage but the peaks and valleys in download profile are very interesting and completely different to what I see on the training graphs. While leading out the sprints we are accelerating out of the corners at about 500-700 watts and then each stage I hit a maximum of about 1000-1200 watts when I do my final acceleration on the front in the last kilometer before pulling off.

Essentially, the conclusion I can quickly draw from looking at the files is that to race well you need to race, or motor-pace, to simulate a race. Otherwise, it is hard to find the rhythm of the race straight off of a good training block or an entire off-season away from the races.

I was chatting with Thor Hushovd yesterday, and he was complaining that his legs felt good one minute and empty the next-mine were similar-and I guess that sensation is due to the different rhythm and the changes in speed and power output that aren't felt on a solo training ride.

* Images Graham Watson, article Velonews.

Videos and Files from Tour of California Stage 1

Ouch! Hate to see a crash of this size occur in the race, especially when it is so close to a finish. From what I saw someone must have hooked bars because the Quickstep guy is completely off his bike flying to the barrier taking guys out before you ever see his bike.

I really have to wish Dave Zabriskie a speed recovery. Not only is Dave a great racer, but having met and ridden with him a couple of times he is also very cool.

Here is a great video of Chris Horner from Lotto-Predictor discussing Stage 1 of Amgen Tour of California.

This is a video interview with Chris Horner specifically talking about using a power tap.

Additionally you can see the power files from Mario Aerts, Bart Dockx and Josep Jufre from the team during the stage today.

I find it interesting that these guys have power levels that are within the human range. I know that some people will question what I mean by that. But having read that people like Lance and Floyd had huge Functional Threshold Power levels and talking with Kevin Livingston last year, he said that he was putting out 400+ for preperation for the Tour de France. I know there is a lot more that goes into racing then just raw power, but the 500+ watts I have read people speculate Lance, Cunego, Basso and Floyd generate seem to be more fiction then possible reality.

Slipstream has also updated their recap of stage one right here.

Video: Bulk Import for WKO+

Gear Fisher has a good video for all you new users to WKO+ who want to import your training files in bulk to save time and get your calendars current.

Clear ties redux

Sorry this post has taken longer then expected, I have been busy developing some new wheels for powertap SL's.

The top shows a fully professionally mounted Powertap using the new fasteners. Six zip ties and 8 clear strips were used in this project. Imagine 14 black zip ties versus 6!

The bottom is a closeup of the new clear strips that let you conceal the wires better. If you look hard there are two holding the main cable.

ALL POWERTAPGEEK SYSTEMS HAVE THIS INCLUDED along with an extra battery FREE!

Carbon wheel covers

Carbon fiber disk wheel covers...for powertaps...

Power Surge!

Received some new SL's this week.

The product is much better asthetically and from a quality stand point then the Pro. The sealed bearings and hubs built in servicability are the two most notably features.

Having a 28H wheel built up by Dave Thomas which should weigh close to Mavic Ksyriums when finished. Will also build a Zipp 404 wheel with an SL for high priority races.

Estiamated wheel set weight: 1565 grams (for comparison Mavic SSC SL wheels are 1600 grams).