How Long Can We Climb At Tour De France Speed? | GCN Vs The Alpe

[@gcn]

How long can you hold 6.1W/kg? 👀🚴

[@MrPharmageek]

Maybe 40 seconds. Once. Followed by a long lay down and cake.

[@ChristianNorling]

​@@MrPharmageekThat do sound reasonable 😅

[@DoNuT_1985]

1:15 last year... Now, I don't know, I'm more of a tractor than a race car.

[@BreakawayB]

About as long as it took me to read that sentence.

[@Erhan_H]

About 40 seconds, on a good day.

[@shaunmcnally7631]

What's the most impressive is that he set the record on day 12 of the Tour and having raced about 150 km just before the climb.

[@kellyodriscoll1411]

Sepp also holds the KOM up LCC to Snowbird entry 2 in Utah. Some consider this tougher than the Alp D”Huez. What more impressive is he did this at the end of 100 mile and dropped everyone so he had no help.

[@jimbaumli8809]

Also, after already climbing the Col du Galibier (23km @ 5.1%) & the Col de la Croix de Fer (29.1km @ 5.2%) earlier in the stage

[@lj2811]

And it was over 35 degrees Celsius …

[@Ali_Kurt]

Yeah xD like WHAT

[@skylerschwendeman]

@@lj2811 ideal temp for climbing well honestly. Hotter is generally better for that.

[@10415153]

Andrew is a machine! It’s a shame we couldn’t see his heart rate data because he looked unbelievably relaxed as the others were in the red at 180+ bpm 😂

[@nateconwi]

He’s on juice 140-160bpm

[@gcn]

He's always cool calm and collected! 🙌 What challenge do you think we should send Feather on next?

[@0836whimper]

It’s a great video - well done. But agree…we needed to know way more about Andrew’s ride ! E.g. notice he seemingly did the entire thing out of the saddle and at relatively low rpm

[@441milachik]

This is i think 4 or 6 video that they do this without heart rate data, we still do not know why.

[@morgand1995]

hank getting binned in the lead in is a victory for regular cyclists everywhere 😂

[@colinjockgraham]

Best part of show lol

[@the_joe_reynolds_foundation]

haha "I reckon i can hang for 15 minutes."

[@Bluesman2509]

​@@the_joe_reynolds_foundation 😂

[@DanielSong39]

I think we all know that none of those GCN people are "regular cyclists" I can't keep up for even 1 second on that slope, my legs simply would not move at all

[@brandonevans2588]

didn't tighten his shoes. That's all it was

[@aprotista]

I really love how Andrew is pretty much part of the gang now. ❤

[@kristiantheslayer]

After that phone call it's now was part of the gang.

[@cedrickclemente8106]

​@@kristiantheslayer may I know who's that Jonas one that Andrew been "talking" after the swift?

[@bobroberts5820]

@@cedrickclemente8106 if you're being serious it was a joke referring to Jonas Vingegaard who won the tour de france last year. Like oh wow that dude climbs fast he should domestique for Jonas kinda thing

[@DanielSong39]

I think Andrew is a former professional?

[@marcm9074]

Soooooo entertaining!!! Hats off to Andrew for smashing it. You guys and gal inspire me to keep riding hard. I'm 62 yrs old!

[@gcn]

Keep it up Marc!!

[@robw718]

Loved this! It's a sobering reminder as to how much faster the tour professionals are even in comparison to the GCN ex-professionals. Andrew Feather is an inspiration - a truly gifted amateur who can ride with the best in the world, and always makes great viewing. Well done all - great video as usual!

[@robburton3255]

My question is: WHY is Andrew still an armature? He's a beast! Love the video! Thanks GCN!

[@justinyeom1828]

Cuz you make way more money as a lawyer than being a mediocre pro cyclist

[@satori4183]

Manon is too modest, she hung in there in the lead-in and then went 45 sec up the Alpe (not 20 sec) 👏

[@gcn]

She smashed it as usual!!! 🙌

[@DoNuT_1985]

That's highly motivational... I was planning to clear the Über Pretzel route tomorrow, with the Alpe at the end of a 120k ride and another 1000 meters of climbing. Yay!

[@AnvilAirsoftTV]

Fueling Fueling Fueling.

[@DoNuT_1985]

@@AnvilAirsoftTV I know, I already bonked badly on the PRL.

[@nicolas2838]

The Uber is such a monster, when you re climbing to the radio tower and after passing the gravel of the jungle it eats so much energy. So you re already cooked when reaching the alps

[@daryl4841]

That, and a couple other long routes are the only routes I have yet to complete on Zwift. Kindof dreading the thought of ever doing it, but the xp gain will be nice.

[@nicolas2838]

@@daryl4841 i tried it 3 times already. Last time I had to aboard 19km before completion after 4 hours bcs work was calling. I wish you all the best. Might try again on Sunday.

[@kn9z]

Andrew is the beast 😮

[@taavinen]

Really enjoyed this 🙌🏼 We all know the pros are exceptionally fast. This really put it into perspective for me just how fast the best of the best truly are. Massive effort Andrew congrats 🤙🏼

[@BurtonHohman]

I really hope they add this as a permanent pacer to Zwift that would be cool to try tdf paces. If only for about 20 seconds

[@gcn]

Great idea! 20 seconds would be good going!!! 🙌

[@velogoo]

yeah... and the option to set off half an hour before it!

[@98408143]

@@velogoo LOL

[@WingsOfMetal]

I've done both. AdZ 12 or so times and AdH twice. I can categorically say that the virtual AdZ runs MUCH MUCH easier than the real deal. No question.

[@kevin._.farren]

Interesting ending. No chat with Andrew afterwards or numbers from the effort?

[@ethangodridge6833]

Excellent work Andrew! Crazy the power the pros put down after all the days of racing prior.

[@NunoJoel]

Andrew is Amazing! Even GCN team deserves a thumbs up just for going in 👏

[@gcn]

We always get a little nervous when Feather comes to the office, it's going to be a tough day 🥵

[@jimcouchon1266]

It concerns me that I giggled while these folks were red-lining… 🙄 Knowing I would Last only 3 maybe 5 seconds it was still cool to see that folks here had the stones to try it in front of their followers. True winners all. Really love the content you put out. ❤

[@gcn]

Thanks Jim!

[@manueldeubler1127]

Der Richie und der Knaupi sind auch dabei 😂 Da lohnt sich das warten auf ein Video bei GCNaufDeutsch

[@andrewmcalister3462]

So many great moments in this video. Insulting Andrew, the ill wishes from Sepp, Hank getting dropped on the lead-in, the team going out to lunch while Feather is still on the bike even the name of the robo-partner, Klimbing Kuss. 😂😂😂

[@primaltone]

That was awesome in so many ways. More of this please! I was rooting for all of you, but Dayum, the Twig can climb. I loved the intro: "Good luck to all, except Andrew". That's high praise indeed.

[@gcn]

Did you see Andrew, Il Bandito & more take on the Alpe on GCN+? 👉 gcn.eu/KOM

[@primaltone]

@@gcn Not yet 🙁

[@TheMachoGabacho]

@@gcn thanks for the link. It opened right up in the GCN app. I’ll be watching that later today.

[@GOLTEB]

It's always a treat to watch our favorite climbing twig Andrew!

[@gcn]

Did you watch him take on the climb in real life on GCN+? 👉 gcn.eu/KOM

[@silasrobertshaw8122]

Great video. Its always good to get a little reality check. For me its always when the pro come flying by me in Sacramento when they come out for the Tour of California on their relaxed spin rides.

[@colinmckague2656]

10/10. Best GCN video in a long time. Good laughs

[@douglaspate9314]

Sepp lives at about 1900m altitude in Andorra and just going home after a training ride down in Spain is a 1200m gain. Even on a rest day he'll do more metres than an Essex resident in a year!

[@peterl3463]

First of all well done to all GCN presenters for their effort. I want to say that Si while at 186bpm he could still talk. At that bpm i can't even breathe!!! Well done also to Andrew man!!! He a Beast!!!!

[@jamesallan8439]

love it, Andrew is insane. My physiology background would love to see his VO2 data

[@veloman59]

Andrew is incredible - why isn't he on a World Tour team? Love the way he can hold a conversation whilst producing an insane amount of watts! Chapeau Sir

[@tohidnikkhah]

Cause he's not taking doping tests as many times as pro riders do. I also doubt if he could show the same performance after 150 km of a tough ride where riders already tackle couple of serious climbs only to reach to the foot of the final climb.

[@veloman59]

@@tohidnikkhah How do you know? What gives you the credibility to make such an assumption?

[@FoobsTon]

​@@tohidnikkhah you've postulated two different arguments. Which is it?

[@nicolas2838]

Wow never thought Manon is so strong. The lead out was already at a killer pace and she still did almost a minute of climbing.

[@prfit]

She's legit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manon_Lloyd

[@manateesarepeopletoo]

You didn't think multi-award winning international track cyclist Manon was that strong?

[@arjunyeleshwarapu]

why did she retire so young?

[@nicolas2838]

@@manateesarepeopletoo but you know the difference in training and body composition between a track cyclist and a climber? Additionally she had a video before in which she said that she almost did no cycling the year before. (Not sure about that one)

[@andyhaochizhang]

Didn't she suffer a couple of pretty serious injuries towards the end of her pro career? I'm sure those had some impact on her potential, or she might had decided its not worth risking long term damage to continue. Women track cycling doesn't pay that much and it'd be pretty hard for her to make national team with the GB team being stacked.

[@Frostbiker]

1:57 Whoever chose that particular picture to showcase deserves a promotion. I did look great on that speedo.

[@Kimberlytheresam]

😂😂😂😂

[@ljadf]

Great video, but I was somewhat disappointed that we didn't see Andrew's lead built up and maintained. It seemed like the editor lost interest after Connor dropped out.

[@PaulJakma]

Yeah, strange ending.

[@commander993]

Properly laughed at that Twig/Andrew part! 😂 Awesome video!!

[@murtheblur33]

Great video! Loved the humor and inspired to be a better climber. Thanks!

[@gcn]

We love to hear it! What sort of training have you been doing to become a better climber?

[@murtheblur33]

@@gcn Thanks GCN! I've been tackling a couple Alpe de Zwift attempts as well as doing some shorter interval training on Zwift. Looking forward to getting outside on the roads soon now that Spring is here. Keep up the great content!

[@e92zerorider93]

Amazing video!!!!! Poor Manon having to hug the fan to cool down afterward...

[@lukeharrison9109]

What a rider/climber Andrew is.

[@BreakawayB]

🇺🇸Kuss’ 2022 performance on AdH was amazing, it was so inspiring!

[@BreakawayB]

@Chris Bloodknot, it inspired me to improve my own climbing skills.

[@gcn]

It was pretty impressive stuff! Did it get you fired up to get climbing? 👀

[@ad9898]

It was impressive, but I wonder what time Pog and Vingegaard posted, it must have been quicker?

[@jtmuso]

Props to Illi Gardner for holding first place for QOM’s! Machine

[@gcn]

She is a machine! Would you like to see us do a video with her?

[@brannmacfinnchad9056]

@@gcn YES

[@jtmuso]

@@gcn that would be great!

[@TheoreticallyNo]

This vid really shows how pros are on another planet compared to even fit regular cyclists. I did the maths and I’d be at 384 W to hit 6.1 W/kg and that is absurd. I’ve done AdZ at 4 W/kg and felt like vomiting at the end.

[@goodcompanycoffee]

Watching the GCN presenters suffering was good fun. Andrew is an absolute animal wow he even beat the pacer

[@sdh8286]

I rode up the Alpe at 52 a few years ago, suffice to say, Sepp could have cycled up twice in the time it took me. The only thing we have in common is I managed to do it without stopping too. Those first four hairpins.........

[@lunam7249]

lucky you didnt have a heart attack...seriously

[@sdh8286]

@@lunam7249 At 56, I'm just back from doing the Glandon/Madeleine/Croix de Fer. Age is not an issue if you are fit enough

[@lunam7249]

@@sdh8286 respect and cherish a healthy body....its a spiritual temple you know.....until you or i have had cardiac spectral magnetic imaging, anyone can have a micro heart attack or stroke.....climbing mountains is NOT an aerobic "healthy" activity....it is abuse, like the tour de france....

[@bateriayvr8988]

Great job gang-- Feather is a beast as usual! The only one missing was Ollie-- where was he??

[@bateriayvr8988]

...and what was that ultra secretive call Feather received, hmm? Is this for an upcoming GCN video? 😉

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Yeah, I would have thought this one was in Ollie's wheelhouse...

[@jonathanzappala]

Well based on my current power curve 6.1 w/kg is just 1:10-1:15 for me. Impressive. I did all d’Huez in real life faster than I’ve ever done Zwift. Real life motivation.

[@wotexpat9367]

Andrew is The Beast... but also The Twig. I love that. Hope he realises it is an amazing compliment...

[@gcn]

We think he's getting used to these compliments 😂

[@daredemontriple6]

I'm 116kg and my FTPs about 225 I think, I'm out of breath just thinking about Alpe d'Huez! So how long could I hold on to TdF pace? A solid 30-40 miliseconds I reckon :D

[@Ditypo]

Conor's commitment at the start haha "Yeah, I'm not getting dropped"

[@belperflyer7419]

No time ever, even when I was relatively fit and our holidays consisting of cycle-camping in the French mountains. I think I rode at about 6mph up a major Col like (say) Tormalet loaded and not that much faster light :)

[@terryg652]

Also remember Sepp Kuss didn't have fresh legs, he rode 94mi (at race speeds) BEFORE he got to Alpe d’Huez. AND he rode 11 prior TDF stages. Go ride a TDF stage, then try climbing Alpe d’Huez the next day, after a 90mi warmup. 😂😂😂

[@ptkewl]

Also remember Sepp Kuss is a professional athlete who does that for a living. This is just for a bit of fun, not taking anything away from the TdF achievements.

[@h31sman]

Lol Hank getting dropped in the lead out is 100% me.

[@phillipbailey7080]

Si showing strong form but feather is a human metronome!! (and he can sort out your legal issues…) what a man 😂

[@Erhan_H]

The angle in Manon's neck, while trying to look at Conor, is amazing...

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Yeah, I got a stiff neck just looking at that scene.

[@anguswalsh778]

It would be interesting to see if you could keep up with the grupetto's pace

[@gcn]

Hank couldn't! 😂

[@SamuelCox-dm6tg]

I rode alongside Fabian Cancellara in the Geelong world championship I think in 2011 (or 2012) on my Bianchi Pista for about 100m before he totally burned me

[@k4z1m.ogm3n]

Great content! Cheers guys for this. Human body is amazing.. Apart from the body conditioning and help your cells in your body to adapt to this, there are also 'gain-of-function' muscle mutations which may also cause lactic acid to build up way slower.. That way, you are all set to become super athelete.

[@siegfriedpfeifer1379]

Mannon sitting in front of the fan 😂

[@TipsSportsTV]

Great video, I really enjoyed it 😃 Sep kiss is a very great person

[@cccycling5835]

I’m lucky enough to live in Morgan Hill, home of Specialized, and therefore can actually compare my best times on roads against people like Filippo Ganna and such and they’re twice as fast as me, as a fast beginner. I’ve tried racing some of the riders out here and I can probably hang for maybe a minute, max, and I’m already the fastest rider in my (gravel) group. Non-cyclists and other recreational riders tell me I’m fast, but these guys are just on another planet.

[@johndef5075]

I remember getting passed by Tinker Juarez on a mtb trail before a big Pro race. I considered myself somewhat fast but he was out of sight in seconds😅

[@riverhunterquebec]

Rowan Barrett from Quebec is a solid amateur climber. He has lot of famous KOM in America

[@dmv4554]

But he doesn’t race. Only does Strava koms.

[@seattlegrrlie]

Just a reminder that "call me Andrew" has a full time job. The man is truly a legend

[@gonzalezgaraypablo]

reallllllly trying not to comment Manon's cool down technique with the wahoo fan 😂😂

[@Questioneverything72]

Andrew is so strong. I would like to see that effort on the real climb.

[@theblackandwhitefilmproject]

I rode Alpe d'Huez 15 years ago at about 4km/hr and legs cramping up at the end so close....

[@gcn]

Did you make to the top? 👀

[@theblackandwhitefilmproject]

@@gcn Of course!

[@buffviking2379]

The only thing faster than Andrew up the climb was Hank off the bike.

[@alexanderhall4281]

I think the altitude would also have been a factor too

[@99cya]

hey guys, just for comparison: kipchoge had an output of 345w for his sub 2 hours marathon run.

[@johndef5075]

That was amazing. Sepp is a beast❤

[@MrTwosugars]

Hi GCN. Just a question. You hear about the pros doing rest weeks every three or four weeks after doing 20-30 hours down to half. Is a rest week a waste of time for someone only doing 6-10 hours?

[@BobBobson321]

Still useful I believe - especially if done with a 3 week build !

[@williamdonayre]

Play it by ear when it comes to those hours, minimum 3 weeks before doing a recovery week

[@pretzelhunt]

7:42 love Si's barely-coherent sputters of words there Most noticeable is Andrews riding style using, like, no legs- just all back and butt; so much more sustainable muscle groups

[@_Inferis]

Wish I could pedal a bike with my back...

[@pretzelhunt]

@@_Inferis 🎶🎵🎶tttttthe back bone's connected to the-- well most all the bones, really. End of song. 😄

[@kevinfrikitona]

andrew did an standing efort while seph was on the saddle, that makes a huge difference in speed if both were in a real life scenario

[@FoobsTon]

Not if he was drafting. Which he was, for a large part.

[@T1MVK]

Liam and golf mates. Your show is brilliant. No need to apologies on my account. I would love to take you on at golf though. We’re the same age, same handicap and similar sense of humour. Would be amazing to be part of your show.

[@_PATRlCK]

@richi die Maschine 🥰

[@oldfrend]

nobody seems to notice that feather was also no.7 on the real d'huez, a minute and a half behind. shows the difference between a lab experiment and the real deal. kuss is a climbing monster; he'd probably win tdf kom if he wasn't tied to jonas' wheel as mega mountain domestique.

[@sym0n42]

Da Weinzheimer wieder vorne mit dabei, geil!😂

[@DanielSong39]

For someone like me it's not a matter of effort, my legs would literally not move if I tried to climb a slope like that A lot of these GCN guys are retired pros so don't be too discouraged if you can't come anywhere near their numbers

[@JamesCrandallPainting]

Not only that, but these presenters made their best effort KNOWING that they didn’t actually have to finish the ride! Except for Andrew, it was almost their best long sprint vs Seth Kuss on a steep grade 😮

[@TheEpieikeia]

What a mind-blowing effort from Andrew Feather!! Such a likable human being as well. So was that "Jonas" [Vingegaard] -phone call a complete joke or did he actually get hired by the Jumbo-Visma team?? I was so inspired by the GCN+ film that I've planned to climb l'Alpe d'Huez next August IRL as part of a bikepacking trip😎

[@alexaudiovisuals]

Did we see the German guys in the list there? Psyched for their video on it :)

[@struancochrane753]

What I find mind-blowing is that the the world tour riders come into that mid stage with 100km plus in their legs and a few cat 1 or 2 climbs to "warm up on". I note the good Dr wasn't invited....I take it as he is no longer comedy getting dropped value, he missed out on selection. It would have been interesting to see how long he would have hung in.

[@brannmacfinnchad9056]

Good point...where was Ollie?

[@brandywell44]

Zwift looks good fun, especially in a group.

[@whatwelearned]

Conor doesn't get enough credit for being a quality diesel engine

[@brettguitarlessons]

Yeah dude he's huge and he hung on that long?! Amazing

[@kevankerd86]

He is an ex-pro, so his numbers are still pretty good.

[@brettguitarlessons]

@@kevankerd86 oh yeah but I meant how good he did relative to the others as well.

[@sethno1ram1]

I've done alpes dhuez twice. I was dead halfway up... to the first hairpin

[@thebigchip]

I recognise that opening passageway as the location of The Breakaway Instragram shorts!

[@VeloJake]

They should add the Mark Cavendish pacer, so 90% of us can get dropped out of the grupetto.

[@themusette5894]

Great ride, but Zwift is Zwift, IRL is IRL. Oh, and we're forgetting the peloton had raced 152km to the foot of Alpe d'Huez.

[@TheKillerman3333]

i weight 136kg and have an adverage of 200 wats. you can imagine that a kg/w output of like 1 isn't great but when i hit that 1000 watts for 2 minutes, i am speed

[@wimcop4285]

How many km did sepp before the Climb? 😊

[@terryg652]

150km (94mi) Plus 11 prior TdF stages.

[@thelars1569]

great video, would have loved to see some comment on the performance of gcn germany though

[@AliAdam80]

AM PROUD OF YOU SI!!!!!!!!! YOU DIDN'T LET ME DOWN!!!!!!

[@ripapa6355]

I don't know if it's the riding or the acting, but I'm here for it 😅😅

[@robertcox5407]

I was wondering if the GCN team could keep up with the slowest pro rider up the Alpe that day in the Tour. Could be interesting.

[@AndersonDawesWasRight]

the grupetto?

[@screscenti]

Manon, you weren't forced. You were VolunTold.

[@larrylem3582]

The difficult lead-in before the start of the segment...hahahahah

[@Hubertus-ko6yl]

When is A.Feather competing SaCalobra, Mallorca, Spain?

[@lachlanfogarty5115]

Hi guys - great video :) - I’m wondering where I could get a copy of the photo that pops up at 2:17? I’m standing right there behind the first cyclist and would love the original as a keepsake. I’d probably get dropped before Hank if I did the challenge if that counts in any way 😂

[@andrewlabat9963]

And setting that power and time after riding about a 1,000 + miles the days leading up, and that day.. WOW..

[@laurenz323]

Yeah thats the crazy thing. For shure a 400w ftp is crazy but you cant compare an effort where youre fresh and only warmed up vs a tour effort where you already have massive elevation and kilometers in your legs and then doing this effort after 4hours of riding 3k meters of elevation. That shows that this type of doing huge efforts after riding for many hours is the thing you need in cycling(road)

[@zao.224]

Hank! What happened?

[@twatson4887]

Can I lose 30cm in height, 10kg weight and 40 years in age then I could say after a bit of training… love your videos they keep me motivated to cycle when I can’t thank you😀

[@alexaudiovisuals]

Could've mentioned Richie pulling for Andrew, what an effort!

[@the_joe_reynolds_foundation]

"And here were are, immediately in the red, HANKing it." 11:21

[@richarddidier5146]

That was fun to watch.

[@markgunn6680]

Wasn't Conor in the World tour a few years ago... 😁