Three years’ of Flèche Wallone Power Data from Marco Pinotti

By Dirk Friel
Team HTC-Columbia’s Marco Pinotti had yet another strong finish at the Flèche Wallonne classic in Belgium on Wednesday, placing 28th, 32 seconds behind the winner Cadel Evans. Pinotti made it to the base of the infamous Mur de Huy, which includes 20-percent grades and averages 12 percent over one kilometer, with a group of nearly 60 riders vying for top podium positions.

For the third successive year, Pinotti has shared his power data collected from his SRM Power Meter and analyzed with TrainingPeaks software. You can see the 2008, 2009 and 2010 power data and analysis at the following links:

• 2010: Power Files
• 2009: Article – Power Files
• 2008: Article – Power Files

Marco Pinotti’s SRM power meter Summary Data for Flèche Wallonne 2008, 2009 and 2010.

*(based on a threshold of 380w)

Better results with less power
You can see from Pinotti’s finish placing over the past three years that he has done an excellent job of improving his results in the Flèche Wallonne. In 2008 Marco was 102nd, 40th in 2009 and now 28th this week. You might expect his average power values to have also risen in much the same way, however this is not the case. Cycling is a sport where you need to manage your efforts, pace well and have a tactical savvy.

Pinotti’s average watts over the past three Flèche editions have actually taken a tumble from a high of 275 watts in 2008, to 245 watts in 2010. Much of the difference simply came down to team tactics. In 2008 Marco was a less protected rider since he had never previously finished the Flèche Wallone. His duty in 2008 was to ride off the front in a 100km breakaway, which ended up getting caught 30kms from the finish. Pinotti is now a more protected rider which means he can stay within the shelter of the peloton and time his maximum efforts for best results. Another good example of this is how the eventual winner, Cadel Evans, was placed near the back of the group when the race went up the Mur de Huy the second of three ascents.

The Mur de Huy
The showdown on the Mur de Huy is no doubt what every good Wallonne cycling fan waits to see all year long. All the big cycling legends of the last 74 years have at one point battled their way up this severe 1km climb. The Flèche Wallonne course criss-crosses the Wallonne region of Belgium and sends the riders up the Mur de Huy a total of three times.

This year the final battle was waged between world champion Cadel Evans, Joaquin Rodriguez, and Tour de France Champion Alberto Contador. The Mur takes these guys a little more than three minutes to climb which translates to about 7 watts per kilogram of body weight. Keep in mind this is after having already raced numerous other climbs for more than four hours.

Pinotti climbed this year’s final Mur de Huy ascent in a time of 3:20, with an average power output of 461 watts (6.8w/kg). In 2009 the same finishing climb took him 20 seconds longer for an average wattage of 415w. An interesting detail is that he averaged nearly the same cadence (77rpm in 2010 vs. 78rpm in 2009) which means he was most likely in a larger gear while racing this year’s edition since he had higher power output and went 20 seconds faster.

The Final Hour
A rider’s final placing on the Mur often depends on how they raced the last four or more hours, and even more importantly over the hour leading the finish. The final hour of Flèche Wallonne is always the hardest fought for the contenders and conserving energy for the finish is the ultimate goal.

Pinotti averaged 307 watts for the final hour of racing this year, compared to an average of 317 watts in 2009. These values are well above the overall average watts for the race. Professionals at this level have the capabilities to go faster towards the end of the race which takes years of focused training (and very good genes).

The mean max five-minute power (also known as critical power 5) value was also set within the final hour of racing. Pinotti’s 2010 mean max five-minute power (450w) is a whopping 15 watts higher than his next highest of 435 watts set in the 2008 Flèche Wallonne. Not only has this athlete learned how to conserve more energy over the years, but he has also shown that his short-duration power output has risen, which is a key ability separating riders up the final climb.

Look for more of Pinotti in the upcoming Giro d’Italia where he is a past stage winner (see his time trial victory in 2008 here) and race leader.

Dirk Friel is a USA Cycling certified coach. He raced professionally for eleven years and is a co-founder of Peaksware, the makers of TrainingPeaks.com and WKO+ Software. You can follow Dirk at www.Twitter.com/DirkFriel.

FILED UNDER: News TAGS: Marco Pinotti