Here are the mind-blowing power stats from the Team Ineos Zwift race
Rohan Dennis took victory with the likes of Chris Froome, Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas in his wake
Perhaps the most anticipated Zwift race of the lockdown, the Team Ineos event saw some of the biggest stars in the world fight it out on the virtual climbs of Watopia.
With three Tour de France winners – Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome and Egan Bernal - all lining alongside world time trial champion Rohan Dennis, there was some phenomenal talent on display for the 27km-long race up Alpe du Zwift.
It was the Australian Rohan Dennis who emerged triumphant in the unique event, finishing 56 seconds ahead of Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar.
But what do the power numbers tell us?
Unsurprisingly, double world TT champion Dennis has an enormous engine, as Cycling Weekly found out earlier this year when we spoke to his long-standing coach Neal Henderson.
Power data from the Zwift Companion app shows that Dennis averaged 373 watts for the 58-minute effort, and as a 72kg rider that equates to a huge 5.18 watts per kilogram - not bad considering there is no racing and Dennis would be looking to peak for the World Championships late in the year.
Dunbar actually put in an even bigger effort when measuring his watts per kilogram, averaging 5.38 w/kg for 58-57, but just wasn’t able to match his team-mates power output as he held 312w for the duration.
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Dennis had an average heart-rate of 157 beats per minute, compared with Dunbar’s 165bpm.
Poland’s Michał Kwiatkowski rounded out the podium in the first race of its kind, finishing 59 seconds behind the winner.
Former world champion Kwiatkowski put out 339w for 59 minutes, which is 5.06 w/kg.
Surprisingly it was triathlete Cameron Wurf who crossed the line fourth, after he joined Team Ineos as a workhorse earlier this year.
Wurf finished in an hour, holding 365w (5.06 w/kg) for the effort.
Chris Froome, the four-time Tour de France winner, put in an impressive ride but only managed sixth place with his 355w average (5.07 w/kg), which still made him the best of the Ineos Grand Tour winners on the day.
Meanwhile Geraint Thomas crossed the line in 19th place out of 28 riders, with 292w average at 4.31 w/kg.
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Egan Bernal, the Colombian superstar, only managed 28th place amongst his team-mates, with 253w average and 4.36 w/kg.
And for anyone wondering how they would fare themselves, the last placed rider was Jonathan Narvaez, who finished 15 minutes down on Dennis but still average 272w for one hour and 13 minutes, which comes to 4.12 w/kg.
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