I really don't know too much about mountains. As I sprinter, I don't like them at all, but they are beautiful. And since I'm at Rouvy for a free ten weeks, I thought I should travel the world and pick my bucket list. Except, nobody would care to read about the rides I really love. My sweet spot is anywhere from eight to sixteen minutes. Even Alp d' Huez is too long for me to enjoy. I rode it yesterday and feel like I can take the current record easily, but not the all time Strava. (too many cheats to sort through really.) I don't think I would do these on Zwift climb portal either.
I have done Zwift Alp Huez and one of the favored few to ride the Stelvio. I do want to compare them. Mostly, more fun on Zwift and probably faster too. So, the Alp, Stelvio, and Rouvy offers the Galibier and the Tourmalet. The goal will be all four (five if you count the Telegraph lead-in to the Galibier) in six hours. The Tourmalet is just over an hour, the Alp just under an hour, and the Stelvio and Galibier are each at an estimated two hours each. EDIT: I decided not to do the Galibier. It isn't exciting and the Zwift version is only half the reality. So, I couldn't compare the Rouvy edition. I can find another climb. Maybe, the Madone. Yes, the Madone is a bit too long but Lance and Illi have done the last 9.77 km of the climb under thirty minutes. That will be the goal!
I can not believe I was able to go fairly hard all the way today on the Tourmalet. My mind was blown away to reach the summit in.....59:57 !!! I really was feeling like I was fading at 20 minutes, but I kicked again until the 30 minute mark. After a short respite, I launch full steam ahead to the finish. I am ready for my Alp Huez full effort. Last week, I did it at 90 to 95% and had a time of 48:10 (best alp climb on Rouvy. This is fourth counting full-gaz and bkool. I need to beat 44 minutes. Goal. Probably not on my next ride, but you know I will attack it every two weeks or so until I max out my effort. Going fast for 40 minutes is much better than my best watts for 50 minutes. It just takes training and commitment...and intensity.
A mountain that goes on forever. The Grand Stelvio. It is like doing two Alp Huez back to back. 48 turns, 24 km, and 1848 meters of elevation. Shut the door! I just forced myself to do this ride. What made me go full gas all the way was knowing if I was too slow, I would have to do this ride again. Anything but that! So, I clipped the Rouvy segment, and cut off the small downhill last section, and my time came out to be....exactly...1:30:00!!! 225 watts and just 90 minutes. Wow. What would Illi do? (probably 1:20) Anyway, it will be one of my great climbs ever. I only raced this long once before and that was one of the national races, I think at nearly two hours of pain. If only there was just a hint of flat or downhill. One section was 14-17%! I tried to push my wattage that whole segment. It was absolutely brutal, covered in sweat. I'm just so happy, I didn't break. Time for a drink and celebration. 1:29.36 is the virtual Stelvio segment time.
The Madone. This was an awesome challenge and I had great legs today. At times, I had to try to hold back as I was charging faster than I could maintain to the finish. I was watching my heart. At 160, it starts to get dicey. I either push super hard or I fade. Today, I tried to maintain, just down a notch to help recover, just stop my heart rate from climbing. I finished in 32:11. The record is 32:06. The mistake I made was starting a minute too early. I really thought I was only ten or fifteen seconds ahead, building speed. But, I went pretty hard for 30 seconds to start. Still a fantastic ride, going 258 watts over 30 minutes? I will take that any day. I really felt it at 2 km to go. I started spurts of effort, then pull back. I still had a great top half. My sprint was only 300 for the last minute. It felt like forever. I should have finished with 400, but I just had gone so deep for 30 minutes.
Total so far....59:57 + 1:29.36 + 32:11 = 3:01.44 with just the Alp Huez left.
Before the Alp, I was ready for a very hard but short effort: The GRADE on Zwift was the challenge, as some at Zwift missed me and wanted to see what I could do. I guessed around 12 to 13 minutes, if I could keep my power high, I went in feeling pretty strong today. The end seemed so far off when I was really hurting, trying to hit around 300 for the last 8 minutes. I actually did 299. I almost passed out crossing the finish line in 11:22. Turns out to be the fastest time yet, just edging out Guerra! Now, that is something. I watched her last month on this ride. Two ways that I beat her. First, she went with a medium effort on the first minute. Also, she started from the gate, while I built up speed before the line. I had an 18 second lead in the first minute and the rest of the race, she was 14 seconds faster. She didn't sprint the finish as long as I did. I held mine for 52 seconds, hers was 42 seconds. Side by side would be awesome. (I do recognize that she can beat me when she is at her best. ) Loved this challenge.
So today was Alp Huez...at nearly 250 watts, which was my goal. I just had a kink in the middle where I rode around 230 for a few minutes, then finished with a pretty good 20 minute run at 250 again. It feels like an hour effort with a fast start and a hard finish. I think I could do just a wee bit better. But for now, I feel content with this build-up and finish. Alp Huez at 43:45, which breaks the Strava best times (three gals at 44-45 minutes....darn fast). Total Time for Bucket list = 3:47.29
