How Fast Are Female Tour De France Pros? We Find Out!

[@gcn]

Which women cyclists would you love to see join the GCN team? 🚴

[@veganpotterthevegan]

I'm good with all day Manon for reasons...

[@sc20777]

Anyone from the EF Education team!

[@shellypalumbo5297]

Either AVV or Elisa Longo Borghini! The most experienced women after a fantastic career!!♥️ Either would crush all of the GCN guys. 😁

[@JimboJonas]

Puck Moonen

[@will44bott]

Alison Jackson

[@wspmjw]

Virtual is okay, but I'd prefer a head-to-head in real life under the same conditions. Wonder if the rest of the GCN viewing audience feels the same. THAT would be some incredible content.

[@mx2000]

Well, it’s called avec Zwift. 😅

[@leftylum]

She did crush Hank in real life in another video

[@COYOTEEXILE]

No Way they'd have a woman beat a man in anything these days.

[@morosis82]

I'm sure they would have too but sometimes you've got to do what you can, not what you'd like. Sounds like she's kinda busy right now.

[@FlourescentPotato]

Sometimes it's surprising how a massive channel like GCN with millions of subs and sponsors, often cheaps out on video ideas. I know budgets aren't infinite, but they surely earn enough to push the envelope a little more

[@abhi4121]

It would be interesting to see how fast “Rapide Ollie” is now over “Dropped Ollie” from just a few years back. Truly inspiring! Hard work and determination. Kudos!

[@matthiaswuest7271]

Ngl I don't think it would be a huge difference. Ollie's always been a really strong cyclist over endurance efforts, just doesn't have anywhere near the anaerobic capacity of the ex-pros. So when hank went nuts in the TTT Ollie couldn't keep up. He would have smoked all of them except maybe Si in any other context

[@seimiekfumakaka]

We need this with some back to the future idea or a delorean

[@AlistairLattimore]

4.8w/kg is a monster effort for an amateur, great result Ollie ! Incredible how strong the top women are on a w/kg basis :-)

[@Cobra_2_]

Man absolutely not, in Italy, in every amateur regional races, the first 20 amateurs, have from 5.5 to 6 w/kg, i have 5.0 w/kg 30 minutes ftp (75 kg) , and i'm constantly dropped.

[@deamon2107]

I dont think he is an amateur at all, he is just Humble man.

[@FlourescentPotato]

@@Cobra_2_ nobody asked

[@Cobra_2_]

@@FlourescentPotato Ok, champ, i'm speaking facts here, come in Italy, and do one race, you'll see with your eyes. In your country mabye is different, but anywhere in the world, is accepted that under 5 w/kg is a poor result, also for an amateur. So, shut up, or prove i'm wrong with some data.

[@Southerncyclist]

Nobody I know or ride with is anywhere that fast. Us Americans like BBQ and Beer lol.

[@thecoffeeblog]

4.8 w/kg is insanely fast. Good job Ollie

[@mlee6050]

I love to do that now as be over 480w but as over 100kg, I'm trying to lose weight to get back to 85kg, I love to be less but struggle to

[@stevenqirkle]

Seriously that’s super impressive

[@adamwallace9790]

Awesome effort. I was on for a body shattering 48 min time on my big alpe effort when the trainer disconnected 600m from the line. I spent 4 mins trying to get it to resync to finish and got a time of 52 mins .. then I cried a little. Watching the women race is just as exciting as the men and I have just as much respect. I just wish the quality of the coverage they receive was equal.

[@BooksWithBrad]

So relatable. I had a few climbs where my front gear wouldnt drop to the smaller one so i had to do mont ventoux on the big front gear at 40rpm :(

[@scottsutoob]

My roommate rode the women's Tour de France in 87. Top ten finish at La Plagne. I was in shape in those days and no way could I stay with her on a long climb. But it was fun. Dorky guys would try to tell her how to ride going up hills and she would just act dumb but slowly increase the pace until they blew up and I would ride by them and say, "She's pretty good huh?"

[@ynotnilknarf39]

Looking even further back, Beryl Burton did the 100 in 3:55:05 in 1968! Donning aerokit bike etc that would be equivalent to 3:33:16 according to Jeremy Wilson using wind tunnel tests with her old bike/kit and a rider of similar size on a Cervelo P5 aero kit. Even today Burton's times are insane, her 12 hour TT of 277 miles is ridiculous!

[@hgm8337]

sadly, that's why mansplaining is today a dying art...

[@JackMott]

My wife gets that. Had someone at the local bike loop tell her she should stay in the small ring for her first year of riding. He was unable to keep up for long.

[@a_diverge]

That is a monster effort at 4.8wkg Ollie. You did great 👍 Ashlie is a pro and there is now way for us rookies to keep up with her.

[@Bluesman2509]

4.8 wkg!!! Crikey even when I was slim and very fit I could only do that for 8-10 mins max eyeballs out intensity 😮😮😮

[@WarHammerWH]

Respect Ollie! Both for your sustained performance and ability to temper the stress of having this glowing-eyed Ashleigh robot behind you getting steadily closer…

[@charlesstorey8425]

My PB up Alpe du Zwift is 79 minutes so a good 30 minutes slower than Ollie and way behind Ashleigh. I've seen the female racers on climb stages as a spectator and they are very fast. Amazing to have ended up within 5 minutes of her time. We'll done Ollie and I've hot a lot of work to do 😂

[@Frostbiker]

The editors did a great job with the eerie sounds for the robot. Really nice touch!

[@murtheblur33]

Ollie, you smashed this climb! It was neat to see the head to head with Ashleigh. Well done!

[@Choccytube]

Those pain faces were so relatable, shows the racing spirit when you get a PB. Those women have some insane climbing ability. As a lighter rider I know the advantage of less weight, but this is some serious power to go with it.

[@SignorLuigi]

Really awesome effort by Ollie. 👏👏👏 I think some folks who have cast doubts on Ashleigh's robo performance might not appreciate the climbing advantages on Zwift of being 49 kg with muscles and a cardio system that are genetic outliers. Both of these folks are incredible. 🙌🙌🙌

[@darringrey4329]

So your a genetisis?? Strange how they couldn't find the cycling gene or any sporting gene hardwork for sum sit at home for others

[@SignorLuigi]

@@darringrey4329 genetisis -> geneticist. If you are going to dedicate your life to being a snarky, sad, sack of depression on the internet, at least be a solid speller. 🤦‍♂️

[@shellypalumbo5297]

@@darringrey4329 good grief Charlie Brown. 😂

[@AntoniWroblewski78]

Ollie, I really appreciate your vids. Thank you for what you do. IMO, you are the top GCN presenter.

[@serisingh]

If Ollie is an amateur for putting out 350+ watts for an hour up an 8.5% climb, then I seriously don’t understand the meaning of amateur 😂

[@rg7035]

It’s very good but he would still get smashed by the better amateur race categories

[@mrsogoras]

You could have pro stats and still be an amateur (although it is unlikely you won’t get discovered). As long as you do not make a living out of it you are an amateur

[@matttilley8620]

I tagged along for a training ride with the Canadian Olympic team in Arizona in 1992. One day we were accompanied by Olympic silver medalist Alison Syder. Prior to the 200 km ride that included the ascension of Mt. Lemmon, the coach quipped that anyone who gets dropped by Syder should pack their bags and return home immediately. The guy was an idiot. Anyway, I was only cat 2 at the time, so I was dropped within five minutes on the climb, as was a rider who went on the compete in the Olympic games and establish a professional career.

[@junkandcrapamen]

Alison Sydor. A mountain bike XC silver medalist. I was a huge fan of hers back in the day.

[@billmccaffrey1977]

I love watching the Pro women race. From a race perspective the big difference I see between them and the men are the attacks and breakaways - they seem less aggressive and stay more bunched. They are great athletes and deserve great respect.

[@renecornelius113]

I was gonna say Ashleigh 😊 since she represents our nation!! She's been doing so well in TDF femme! She needs to feature here more.

[@gcn]

Did you watch the video Hank did out with her in Girona? 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/joGmm4d5mcR4rsk

[@renecornelius113]

@@gcn I did not, thank you for sharing. Watched it with a big smile on my face. And, she's doing exactly what she set out to do; feel incredibly proud of her and her achievements! Wonderful to see our flag at 2nd place on the TFD femme GC.

[@stephensmit3994]

Superb effort Ollie! 🙌. Ashleigh is the most authentic person one could wish to meet with a real passion for cycling as well as an amazing talent. I've had the good fortune to meet and cycle with her. She's an amazing woman and a wonderful ambassador for the sport.

[@jwongmandu]

Sub 50 min AdZ is amazing, enjoy your well deserved cake Ollie! 💪🔥

[@nickvandam1214]

Loved this, would love to see more with or about the women pros

[@geoffreyhoney122]

Annemiek Van Vleuten or anyone from EF Education! Manon is the best but we need to balance the gcn gender split. Manon needs a buddy! I really enjoyed what Emma Poole brought to the show.

[@gamby16a]

Becca Fahringer!!! Excellent on camera and a watt monster! 😀

[@shellypalumbo5297]

I totally agree!! Bring Emma back as a regular if she’s still available. 🥰 Put it to a poll. I remember the banana challenge climb. Emma climbed like a mountain goat.

[@johnwestwell2241]

@@shellypalumbo5297 EmmaPooley went back to her job in engineering in Switzerland a few years ago. Manon was brought in to replace her.

[@shellypalumbo5297]

@@johnwestwell2241 thank you!!♥️

[@shellypalumbo5297]

@@johnwestwell2241 thanks for the info♥️

[@vinterdodlys3394]

Hey, I know you would loose. Ashleigh does this for a living. But a gallant effort. She has access to some of the best nutritionists and training coaches. Also when you see her interviewed she is so light hearted and entertaining. Long may she do her cycling at a professional level.

[@SecwetGwiwer]

The difference between men and women for middle distance events is about 10%, it’s much greater (30%) for explosive events.

[@RidingBikes07]

Yep, although a male pro such as Tadej/Vingegaard could hold 6.3 for an hour quite consistently so the difference is still substantial.

[@oldtwinsna8347]

True. 15 w/kg is pretty much norm for an average domestic pro non-sprinter male in a bunch finish. But average female in the same class would have a very hard time coming close to that.

[@Hoolio1967]

Chapeau, Ollie! Under an hour!

[@derekhartloper11]

That was gripping video Ollie and GCN! Thanks for doing that! And didn't Hank do the real climb in about 66 mins? Please send Ollie there to do the real thing, and compare to his Zwift effort. I'm very curious how that would turn out!

[@GCNuser123]

current best time is 49mins but i reckon i could go faster. it’s on strava!

[@Dan-jy8rq]

Awesome effort! I like the new robot avatars in Zwift too. I think they used to look like gold colored holograms.

[@jonathanzappala]

I hear Dan Lloyd has a pretty high power to weight ratio on Zwift 😂

[@wotexpat9367]

When he is 1.54m talll :)

[@sspan1]

Ollie should have used the Orbea climbing bike and shallow wheels

[@benis9965]

it literally wouldn’t matter

[@flynando]

@@benis9965 Really???

[@stuartmisfeldt3068]

😂

[@philslama8691]

Right?! And all that drag from having his jersey unzipped haha. Pretty impressive effort nonetheless 💪

[@matthewnormand2041]

No Terminator references for the Moolman-Pasio bot? Listen, and understand! That Climber is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dropped!

[@SFSomega]

Monster effort by Ollie. That was seriously impressive stuff.

[@ianball7559]

I very much like watching videos with Ollie.

[@sherab2078]

I'm really impressed by Ollie's performance. Still, I don't think this was an honest challenge. It should be repeated in real-life if possible.

[@GCNuser123]

we’d 100% love to do that!

[@TheTrailRabbit]

She'd destroy him on the roads too. Probably took it easy here. Across all endurance sports, the only athletes who can beat elite women are elite men.

[@davidbernhardt551]

@@TheTrailRabbit And junior men, and very strong amateurs.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

It really wouldn't be that different in real life. The overall times may be different but the gap would be pretty similar.

[@LR6092]

​@AirbusBabyy the average male pre teen sports team could thrash a professional women's team in all sport

[@stevenagy7152]

Great result Ollie! 4.8 is close to a TDF sprinter power!

[@stevenagy7152]

And AMP is an utter monster, she is phenomenal.

[@Mububban23]

Great work to get a PB Ollie, but this just shows once again that pros are simply on another level. Genetics, training, dedication, diet, pain tolerance, mental strength - amazing.

[@xosece]

hats off to Ollie, he is always so fit and consistent. And also congrats to the girl for such a climb, beating Ollie ascending is a very difficult task

[@mendistan]

Bravo bruh. Fantastic content.

[@ArnageLM]

325w on the climb. Damn, that is very impressive!

[@jeremycyclingbelgium]

They really know how to entertain people watching GCN ! Congrats guys for such a great job ! Keep going 💪

[@JRoyGreen]

I bought a GCN+ subscription exactly because of videos like this. So good...

[@TheTrailRabbit]

I'm watching for free on YT

[@JRoyGreen]

@@TheTrailRabbit Missing the extra specials and race coverage

[@stuartpotter4923]

Love how Ollie’s Yorkshireness increases as he puts down more power. 😂 #superdomesgeek #northernmonkey

[@richardjt8708]

Great video and fantastic effort Ollie ! 41:46 for the Alpe Climb itself, wow. Can we know what Ashleigh got on the timed Alpe section please ? (Not just the Road to the Sky Route). Thanks :-)

[@stephenstorey6653]

Well done 👏🏼 great effort

[@lisandrosanchez3317]

Ollie is the best! Love the video.

[@erandeser5830]

Amazing. Another sport that can organize mixed competitions.

[@ripapa6355]

I only ride mtb, but gcn is 🔥

[@alainpfammatter8224]

Great effort Oli 👏👏👏

[@caspervondj4508]

So glad you Made this. Sick of amateur dudes ( in all sports) thinking they could compete with elite women athletes. BUT I think you were slowed a bit by tho that deep aero front wheel. C'mon Ollie put on the climbing wheel!

[@MaximRecoil]

"Sick of amateur dudes ( in all sports) thinking they could compete with elite women athletes." Is that a joke? There are no women in existence who can compete with the best amateur men in _any_ sport. Ollie isn't even close to being among the best amateur men, not to mention that this wasn't a real competition to begin with; it was a computer simulation. In tennis for example, the top pro women often train by playing against good college players (men). When Steffi Graf was the number one female tennis player in the world, she admittedly couldn't beat her brother, who was a nobody in the world of men's tennis. In another example, FC Dallas U-15 boys (meaning they were all under the age of 15) academy soccer team beat the U.S. women’s national team 5-2 in 2017, and 14-year-old boys aren't even close to being the best amateur male soccer players in the world. Have you ever heard of the Olympics? Those men are amateurs (with a few relatively recent exceptions). Do you really think there are women who could compete with them? If so, you live in a fantasy world.

[@3Max]

Hey GCN, as I'm watching this, you have pi-million subscribers! Congrats!!

[@JCleggy]

It sucks that zwift didn’t actually get her to ride for this. It seems like GCN wanted to make a cooler video.

[@dioright]

This was very interesting, and idea is very good.

[@zukzworld]

Well done Dr. Bridgewood. 👏🏾❤️✌🏾

[@JackMott]

My wife raced as a domestic pro in the USA for a little bit, and one of her team mates was a multi time world TT champion. I asked her what her ftp was, and she wouldn't tell me exactly (hyper competitive and secretive) but she said in twas in the low 5s. Which is like, the fastest cat 1 man in your town, that is where they are at, heh. My wife was "only" around 4.6, much much bigger 1 minute power than the TT specialist though.

[@ThatAnnoyingCyclist]

For the next one, perhaps try Andrew feather?

[@andreemurray7039]

The robo version looked more aero

[@gcn]

Ollie's all about lightweight these days! 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWmXiJxndr5gebs

[@LeZinZin95]

impressive effort, I could only dream of having a 4.8 w/kg Olie. What to say about Ashleigh? It is insane

[@thsaintful]

i would not classify Ollie as an amateur anymore though :) 4.8W/kg is crazy. GG

[@benedictearlson9044]

@@Bu-22 He's paid to ride his bike, he's a pro!

[@SY-ve5qm]

For amateur, that’s pretty impressive numbers Ollie!! No shame to be dropped this time!

[@JustOneWolf]

4.8w/kg is really good and Ashleighs 5.2 amazing - but now imagine Vingegaard with over 7w/kg 😅

[@81caasi]

True, but Vingegaard would do 7w/kg for like 20mins of the climb, and prob average around 6w/kg for the full 40mins or something.

[@alaefarmestatesllc]

@@81caasi7 w/kg for 20 minutes and ur half way up the climb lol. Insane

[@schoel2730]

@@81caasiHis ftp is 6,4w/kg. So he can drive with aroaund 6,7 i think the whole climb

[@stephenauckly]

Nice effort Ollie!

[@jamesgelsthorpe8616]

Couple of things .. if your going to do these races.. at least do it to start from the climb its a bit pointless really.. secondly that power for duration seems a bit high 😶

[@n22pdf]

Ollie that’s amazing dude well done man.. I wish I could hit those numbers.. legend mate 👍👍🚴🏻😃 Pete

[@DrewsOnFirst]

Yes, this is a kind of ad, but damn is it ever a *good* one. Great job everyone!

[@larrymcgoldrick3471]

Have zero interest in Zwift indoor racing. I would like to say though, given the women in my area alone that I am truly impressed by their power. Seems to me they are predominantly blessed with endurance over raw power. I look good for 15 minutes, while they look good all day. Slightly jealous admittedly. Truly an inspiration riding along side.

[@darringrey4329]

I can bless you brother dunk on you a river same thing right???

[@SeanBlader]

I can do 400w for like 40 seconds... and then I need to sit down. I might be able to do 60 seconds, but then I'd need to throw up. For an hour... maybe 180 watts, when I was at my best.

[@cycletherapyUSA]

Great comparison , loved it! I would love to see one where one of you guys go vs a current pro on the same exact bike, and the bikes are from a professional team. A solo 80k, non-stop, in the countryside or city, but exact routes. Same gender though. Basically, I want to know how much faster a pro vs a typical intermediate or advanced cyclist on their own without a peloton or team support. I know they are still very fast on their own, but by how much? It's hard to really gauge it based on races with huge pelotons of astronomical athletes.

[@Arkainebe]

What many people don't realise is that the best female climbers will smoke male pro cyclists that are "bad" climbers. Ashleigh would leave a lot of male riders in her wake going up a lengthy steep climb.

[@internettalker1]

Great effort the fastest I done that climb both in Zwift and real life is 55 minutes and that's me dying the whole way up and I weight 130 lbs

[@alfredongos]

For any amateur rider, riding the same stages in the Tour des Femmes avec Zwift is a very good challenge.

[@JBuchmann]

Sub 50 mins, great job Ollie!

[@TiagoMorbusSa]

Ollie is a monster, 4.8W/kg?!?!?!? You're well strong, fantastic!! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@hernanhernandez3861]

I was absolutely smoked up an 18k climb in Malibu, California by a female pro about 20 years ago. Today, again smoked by a Cat 1 young lady. Honestly, there are so few female cyclists in the mountains generally when I run into one full respect - I don't even try....

[@JuliusPersson]

Don’t forget irl competition along with a crazy crowd cheering for u along the way up would probably give u even better wattage! Ollie is a ducking PRO haha

[@rangersmith4652]

A cheering crowd is absent in Zwift, but that means you won't get knocked off your bike by any of those idiots.

[@peteranderson6935]

Marlene Reusser yesterday...46 kph up hill and down dale.

[@timtim686]

Ollli 💕 ur effort is amazing

[@lokkagutt]

Great effort Ollie!

[@rangersmith4652]

Any woman who rides professionally can smoke me easily. Even robo-pro woman. But I'm 63. Ashleigh is second on GC at the Femme after today's Stage 6. She'd effectively lap me up that climb -- twice.

[@cra_55]

I'm always in awe of these athletes. I'm out of breath just saying the names of their teams.

[@Neilz911]

Läßt year i met Amanda spratt (i think) at sacalobra and when i say i met her i mean she overtook me at the bottom of the climb, after i passed her at the bay when she was taking some pictures. When she overtook me, i increased my effort up to 320w 4w/kg witch i maybe could sustain for the climb, but that didn't changed anything. A few moments later i couldn't see her anymore. I was realy Impressed by that speed 😅

[@christine_penn]

I'm always a little disappointed when I see things like this. It always implies that women are not capable of incredible sporting feats. They are, they put in the work, and they kick ass! Pro peloton women are so incredibly amazing!...I wish people would watch them as much as all the male races. All the stories are there...the rivalries, the specialists, the drama, etc.. It's time that women get their due in all sports! They are all inspirations to me!

[@JuventinoDOC33]

Ollie, you seem like a nice and humble guy. But don´t underestimate yourself. You are a really good amateur cyclist, a LOOOOOOT above average....

[@danschweri]

Impressive, Ollie! How would you compare on a time trial though?

[@rickstokes2239]

A group of us doing an 80 mile race with over 8,000ft of climbing, starting at 3am at 85 deg Fahrenheit and finishing at well over 100deg had a pro female lead up front and she LEFT US! Of course she was training for a race in France the following week so…..

[@NildoScoop]

You did a great job. You did put out more watts.

[@Thejetpack360]

Would be interesting to compare a female pro climber vs a heavier pro male rider, like a sprinter for example

[@galenkehler]

Should have played "Boten Anna" as the background music 😂

[@rebeccahatten784]

So the real question... where can I get one of those caps?

[@codemonkeyalpha9057]

Ollie is a monster, that's an impressive result at (what I am guessing) is about 67.5KG? Found it amusing to think that I would be world class... if I weighed 49KG lol. Unfortunately I am double that, and so I basically go uphill as effectively as a chocolate pudding.

[@Stellar001100]

Makes you wonder if there are bots of other peloton racers loaded onto Zwift. Pretty sure racing anyone between 1995 to 2010 would be like one of those unbeatable bosses on a video game.

[@superchargedv8993]

Unreal time Ollie, truly unreal

[@gregsettle9725]

You made a great effort and got a PB! Woohoo, great day!

[@Lordwonga.]

Great effort Ollie

[@canwilldo604]

yes dude, it's got to be her genes... couldn't be her incredible work ethic

[@trdi]

I guess this content pays the bills, so I'm glad for you. I don't believe in these robots and I think her own robot would beat her almost always. They are going to make sure to make a super fast female robot, because it's the times we live in. I'm not sure what the point of a robot is if the pace is the fastest she could ever go. There is a good chance that if they actually went head to head in real life, she comes second. Seriously, this content is nowhere close to GT video. Show some courage and race for real, don't send in the robots.

[@adamweb]

Great job Ollie! It's incredibly hard to sustain over 4w/kg... as evidenced by rarely anyone ever following the 4w/kg pace bot (Constance!)

[@johansauser2661]

Hi! Great vid, just as a heads up, "femmes" is pronounced exactly like "fam" as in the "familiy" abbreviation, even if the first "e" is misleading !

[@leftylum]

Didn't GCN already establish Ashleigh can crush a decently fit amateur when Hank visited her in Girona?

[@shellypalumbo5297]

Ollie, I believe that many of the Guys in you audience think that you intentionally blew the race. Sour grapes from out of touch guys who can not deal with a women actually being able to outrace a fabulous male rider like yourself. Next they will accuse your adversity in this race of doping. It’s the standard response of little boys who don’t get their way. It was a wonderful video and you rode a great race. I really loved this video. Kudos to GNC for showcasing superb female athletes!!🥰🥰

[@gcn]

Thanks Shelly. Women cyclists deserve so much more respect than many men give them!

[@shellypalumbo5297]

@@gcn thank y’all for standing up for the gals. 😁

[@shellypalumbo5297]

@@gcn thank you!!🥰