The Strava King of the Mountains titles in England may be safe now the Tour de France peloton has headed across the Channel but the riders continue to put out some fascinating numbers.
A flat stage, well-suited to the sprinters but with crosswinds, rain and crashes proving problematic – and a few hills to negotiate en route too – ensured the day was still a great spectacle.
Unlike the pan-flat offering from Cambridge to London, however, the speeds put out by Strava’s pros on the stage were lower – albeit at a more consistent pace this time out.
Alongside, naturally, reaping the rewards of a professional lifestyle, Strava also allows us to see the effects being in the bunch has on the peloton.
While those leading the way put out high cadence and power output figures, those in the middle are a complete contrast – the speed of the bunch dragging them along more often than not.
David Lopez (Team Sky), who is riding to protect Chris Froome and so has been regularly moving forward in the bunch, shows regular patches of zero cadence with little change in his speed, for example.
Meanwhile, as a taster for the cobbled stage five, the cobbled descent of the Cassel shows how the riders are likely to approach today’s stage.
It is not so much the numbers on the downhill, as on the uncategorised ascent which are interesting – with many riders setting a phenomenal speed up the climb to ensure prime road position for the descent.
It is not necessarily the cobbles which will dictate stage five, but the run-in to each secteur – as the stage four numbers show.
