A thrilling edition of Ghent-Wevelgem saw the peloton battling crosswinds, chasing down a breakaway full of hitters and riding at high speed over 250km.
The spring Classics treat us to some herculean efforts every year, with Strava providing an additional insight into the memorable performances.
The 2019 Ghent-Wevelgem has thrown up some interesting stats on the "social media for athletes."
Jumbo-Visma’s Danny van Poppel sprinted to a fifth place finish on Sunday (March 31), with his Strava file showing what it takes to compete at the sharp end.
The Dutchman’s power output is pretty mind-boggling, as he averaged 319 watts (3.9w/kg) over the five-hour day of racing.
His critical power curve shows he held 392w for 20 minutes, hitting a maximum of 1,400w in the dash for the line.
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As an 80kg rider, van Poppel’s maximum 20-minute power came out at 4.9w/kg.
The crosswind racing ensure a high average of 45km/h for van Poppel.
Race winner Alexander Kristoff has not shared his power data, but his Strava stats still show the huge effort it takes to win a Classic.
The Norwegian climbed 1,663m over the undulating and cobbled roads of Belgium and hit 84.2km/h at his fastest.
Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) also took seven top-10s along the road – no small feat in a peloton full of powerful riders.
In the sprint for the line, he hit 61km/h at his peak to beat John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) to victory.
One of the decisive segments in the race is the Kemmelburg, but the King of the Mountain did not fall this year.
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 i
