ALPE D'HUEZ, ALL-TIME TOP 200 LIST

[Thor Buttox]

They run an Alpe d'Huez time trial every week during summer which attracts hundreds of wanna-be's. The finishing point is however a few hundred meters short of where the Tour finishes (but there is not much climbing left). I rode this flat out and managed 53min. By comparison my flat out Tokai mast times are around 52-53 so this is probably the most comparable climb we have in the cape.

Gees, that's really impressive!

[Lucky Luke.]

Comparison with the mast is interesting. The course record there is similar to the Alpe too.

[Madmac]

I've just finished reading Tyler Hamilton's book which has given me a new understanding of what went on and how naive we all can be. It makes me wonder if there was ever a clean winner after the 60's.

 

I also can't help but think what is going on in all sporting codes, particularly where there is large money involved. As Tyler pointed out, after his doc was bust, they calculated a figure of just under half a million dollars per year in payments from cyclists alone!!

 

Can we seriously look at the current crop and say they clean? I know they talk about the biological passport and how the times have come down since the late 90's/early 2000's but still you wonder? By the sound of things, the doping controls are always 2 steps behind because there is always some doctor finding the loopholes because he's getting paid top dollar to find them.

[Thor Buttox]

Comparison with the mast is interesting. The course record there is similar to the Alpe too.

The tarred road sections are much steeper than the Alpe but there you don't have the contour road flat sections to give a bit of rest. The true test of climbing is the Ventoux though. 22km, 1800m climbing. Also meandered up there in a car, and there were serious riders at the little shop at the top who had taken 2:30. The record is about 56min

[rock]

might be going a little off topic, but you notice how when the guys get bust for EPO they are always like it doesn't turn a donkey into a race horse and only improves performance slightly, yet they are still using it today and with all the heavier sanctions now - it has to be a wonder-drug that really improves performance hugely.

[TopFuel]

might be going a little off topic, but you notice how when the guys get bust for EPO they are always like it doesn't turn a donkey into a race horse and only improves performance slightly, yet they are still using it today and with all the heavier sanctions now - it has to be a wonder-drug that really improves performance hugely.

 

EPO = more red cells = more oxygen = more power. Can see why they really like using it.

[Madmac]

might be going a little off topic, but you notice how when the guys get bust for EPO they are always like it doesn't turn a donkey into a race horse and only improves performance slightly, yet they are still using it today and with all the heavier sanctions now - it has to be a wonder-drug that really improves performance hugely.

Read Tyler's book, it will help you understand the science more. It really is an eye opener and something that every cyclist should read to understand the truth of the doping matter.

[Jaco-fiets]

Read Tyler's book, it will help you understand the science more. It really is an eye opener and something that every cyclist should read to understand the truth of the doping matter.

 

I also enjoyed Tyler's book. Finished David Walsch's book (7 deadly sins) few days ago. He could have kept the book to 1 page with 1 sentence: "I told you so"

 

Did not enjoy it much

Edited June 12, 2013 by Jaco-fiets

[Lucky Luke.]

when the guys get bust for EPO they are always like it doesn't turn a donkey into a race horse

 

Armstrong and Riis were both donkeys pre-EPO. Times have come down because of the bio-passport but guys are still micro-dosing and they're using different / new stuff as well. So in my opinion a slower peloton / climbing times only indicates that the new stuff is not quite as good as the old stuff.

 

Also, nobody wants to bust out 7 w/kg any more, because the sports scientists will have your numbers on Twitter the next day and you'll have your own thread in the Clinic before you've had time to get back on your bike.

[jcza]

I also enjoyed Tyler's book. Finished David Walsch's book (7 deadly sins) few days ago. He could have kept the book to 1 page with 1 sentence: "I told you so"

 

Did not enjoy it much

 

Walsh is on the Sky payroll now and have gone quiet. Loads of other noise on twitter.

[Jaco-fiets]

Walsh is on the Sky payroll now and have gone quiet. Loads of other noise on twitter.

 

No doubt he will bring out another "I told you so" or "I wanted to tell you so" book when they bust Wanko for doping or uncover a funded doping programme at Sky

[nuge]

It makes me wonder if there was ever a clean winner after the 60's.

 

um, hate to burst your bubble there, but there's a fair whack of anecdotal evidence that cyclists have making use of various concoctions and other means to win going right back to the start of the major monuments in the late 1800's. back then the stages were longer and supervision was nothing like the scrutiny of today's races. in fact, the podium finishers of the second edition of the tour de france were all bust for jumping trains and taking taxis!

['Dale]

fast, but not too fast! Brailsford probably has a warning light on the SRM when the w/kg reading strays into mutant territory.

 

[Andrew Steer]

This thread reminds me of the LBL winners list... also a whose who of doping.

Anyone reckon they can top my 43rd place for Moncoutie as the quickest, possibly clean, rider...

[jcza]

This thread reminds me of the LBL winners list... also a whose who of doping.

Anyone reckon they can top my 43rd place for Moncoutie as the quickest, possibly clean, rider...

 

16. Sastre?

[TexasRanger]

Have any of you guys tried this famous climb? It would be nice to compare those times to us mortals who work for a living and can only manage around 6 to 8hrs per week

 

We have Bainskloof close to my home. It is a good climb to see where you are fitness wise. From the 4 way as you leave town to the top (on the turn before the 1st houses of 1ste tol) is just over 12km. Can't remember how much it climbs but I think it is in the region of 500-600m. I really have to push very hard to get to top under 37min. This is slow by most standards.

 

I was fortunate enough to ride it back in 2008 the day before the Tour arrived.

 

Took me at least twice as long as Pantani's best.

 

It was an incredible experience. The sheer number of people was amazing and they support all the riders punishing themselves. The "Dutch" area was the best - what seemed like a few hundred metres of orange, shouting, cheering and some even running (probably walking) next to me like I was one of the pro's.