Why I took 1 to Stelvio...

[dixon1763]

I was in Bolzano when I did ED in April and thought about riding up the Stelvio, but parts will still snow-covered, so I skipped it and rode nearer to town. Some day.

2:52 is a long time to cover 25km. I'm not sure how quickly the pros do it, but I would bet around an hour.

[Citizen Z]

You've got to remember there isn't hardly any air up there. Unless you've trained for high altitude, above 7000ft, you're going to be slow no matter what.

[RoughneckSeven]

trust me when I say that no pro does it in one hour.

I have mad respect for the bikers. It is a VERY steep grade. It takes a lot of training to be able to make the ride up and be able to hold a conversation at the top.

He was very proud and adamant that he made the time he did. It is VERY impressive. Be assured that his buddy and him were prepared for the climb and that they were in Olympic shape.

Peace.

[Artz 330]

that place was in an episode of Top Gear :thumbup:

[dixon1763]

Originally Posted by Citizen Z

You've got to remember there isn't hardly any air up there. Unless you've trained for high altitude, above 7000ft, you're going to be slow no matter what.

Actually, altitude affects your recovery from day to day much more than your performance on any given day. It takes about 3 weeks to adjust to altitude so you recover nearly the same way, but your body doesn't actually start making more red blood cells until after 6 weeks or so. You get about 90% of the way there in 3 weeks.

[Citizen Z]

Originally Posted by dixon1763

Actually, altitude affects your recovery from day to day much more than your performance on any given day. It takes about 3 weeks to adjust to altitude so you recover nearly the same way, but your body doesn't actually start making more red blood cells until after 6 weeks or so. You get about 90% of the way there in 3 weeks.

How about the gasping and panting? Ever try running 100 yards at 6000 ft?

[dixon1763]

Originally Posted by RoughneckSeven

trust me when I say that no pro does it in one hour.

I have mad respect for the bikers. It is a VERY steep grade. It takes a lot of training to be able to make the ride up and be able to hold a conversation at the top.

He was very proud and adamant that he made the time he did. It is VERY impressive. Be assured that his buddy and him were prepared for the climb and that they were in Olympic shape.

Peace.

No offense, but trust me when I claim pros do climb the Stelvio in about an hour.

Allow me to provide some evidence: the record time up the Alpe d'Huez (13.8 KM at 8.1% average grade) is 36 minutes at an average speed of 23 KM per hour. The Stelvio is 25 KM at a 7.0% average grade. Assuming a linear relationship between speed and gradient -- a conservative assumption since you reach diminishing returns to power output pretty quickly as the grade increases -- it's reasonable to think that during the Giro d'Italia, the quickest pros scale the Stelvio in an hour.

Given my power/weight ratio, that means I could do it in about an hour and a half. And believe me, when I'm climbing at that rate, I feel like I'm going pretty darn fast. It's unreal to believe there are guys who can climb a full 50% quicker.

It's amazing, but these guys are freaks of nature and some are chemically-assisted. I, myself, am not, unless beer is performance enhancing.

[dixon1763]

Originally Posted by Citizen Z

How about the gasping and panting? Ever try running 100 yards at 6000 ft?

Yeah, actually I've done 3-5 day stage races at 6K-8K feet with no altitude training but lots of time on the bike (20-25 hours/week) at sea level. I've also done the same races after spending about a week at altitude beforehand. The biggest difference I noticed was the effect on recovery. With no altitude training, I felt like death warmed over every night. With some time to adjust to altitude, I didn't ride any faster, but sure did feel better throughout the race.

This thread has now officially been hijacked.:biggrin:

[RoughneckSeven]

Originally Posted by dixon1763

This thread has now officially been hijacked.:biggrin:

What's the point of posting shit if it does not generate discussion?

25k in just less than 3 hours is an average of 8.35 kph, or about 5.2 mph. I could probably run the pass in an hour and half.

Here's the point. I drove it, it was fun.

[dixon1763]

Running up the Stelvio. Ugh.

I will see it some day! And, as you say, driving up it in a 135 is probably the quickest way to the top.

[lacrosse]

Five Ferraris, a Lotus and a M3. Looks like you were in good company.

:thumbup:

[mtaylor510]

Top gear has been to this place