Giro d’Italia 2020: Strava stats reveal new fastest times set on Mount Etna ascent
Riders took on a new ascent of the volcano and the power stats are impressive


The Giro d’Italia peloton tackled the familiar landscape of Mount Etna on stage three, but this time from a different direction.
Strava stats from the first mountain stage early in the Italian Grand Tour show some huge performances on the iconic volcano.
The ascent from the north east of Etna is an 18.6km-long climb with an average gradient of 6.7 per cent
The stage was one by EF Pro Cycling’s Ecuadorian champion Jonathan Caidedo, who took victory from the day’s breakaway.
Unfortunately Caicedo hasn’t uploaded his data to Strava, but third-place finisher on the stage Harm Vanhoucke has share his ride on the social media for athletes.
Lotto-Soudal rider Vanhoucke is now the fastest rider on the Strava segment for the ascent of Mount Etna from the north east.
The Belgian set a new fastest time of 47-24, with an average speed of 23.3km/h for the 18.44km-long climb.
Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) is now second, with a time of 47-53 as he rode to a tenth-place finish on the stage to pull himself back into the GC race.
The fastest rider to share his power data on Strava is Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck - Quick-Step, who is the third fastest on the leaderboard with his time of 48-28.
Masnada pushed 348 watts for the duration of the climb (5.3 watts per kilogram), which carried him to 16th on the stage.
Britain’s James Knox (also Deceuninck - Quick-Step) was strong on the climb, as he pushed 333w for 48-43 on the climb, good enough for 22nd place on the stage.
Knox is the sixth fastest rider on Strava.
The previous fastest time had been set in May this year by British rider Calum Johnston, who pushed 241w for a time of 1-05-55.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
-
-
“That was f***king hard!” Annemiek van Vleuten reacts after winning stage four of the Giro Donne
The Dutch rider warns that she is not in her best shape yet after arriving at the race from an altitude camp.
By Owen Rogers • Published
-
The best 4th of July cycling deals
Save big on apparel, accessories, tools with these 4th of July cycling deals!
By Cycling Weekly • Published
-
'Expect anything at the Giro!': Riders react to 7 kilometre Giro Donne 'neutral zone' climb
Stage three of the Giro Donne might have had the toughest neutral opening section ever, a seven kilometre climb at an average of 7%
By Owen Rogers • Published
-
Tom Pidcock returns to training after lingering knee injury and posts ride on Strava
Despite battling injury since February, Pidcock ha claimed Olympic gold, won his first pro road race, and completed his debut Grand Tour
By Alex Ballinger • Published
-
Strava data reveals huge performances from Fausto Masnada, Alejandro Valverde, and Mike Woods in Il Lombardia 2021
The KoM for the decisive penultimate climb fell in this year’s edition of the Italian Monument
By Alex Ballinger • Published
-
Paris-Roubaix runner-up Florian Vermeersch posts incredible ride to Strava
The 22-year-old Belgian put in an astonishing ride on his 'Hell of the North' debut
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
Jack Haig wins Strava's new 'King of the Day' award after stage 10 of Vuelta a España 2021
The new feature is only available for pro riders at the moment but will become available for all soon
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
Tour de France 2021: Strava stats reveal huge effort by Sepp Kuss in the Pyrenees
Kuss took the biggest win of his career on stage 15 in Andorra
By Alex Ballinger • Published
-
10 hours, 20mph average, 300km: Strava stats reveal brutal efforts behind Unbound Gravel 2021
The unique off-road event picked up more attention than ever - but how hard is it?
By Alex Ballinger • Published
-
Strava stats reveal the huge efforts behind stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia 2021
Racing over the gravel roads of Tuscany takes a huge amount of effort - here are the numbers behind the day
By Alex Ballinger • Published