Two days ago Conor rode the USPro Road Race National Championship, one of the toughest races in terms of power demands on the US circuit. Conor weighs 145-147 pounds. Below are some of the power demands it took for him to finish the race:
An interesting thing looking at the race is that the power demands of the U23 race nine days ago were higher. At the U23 Nationals Road Race Conor normalized 313 watts for 280 minutes, and for USPro Conor normalized 303 watts for 283 minutes. However, the temperature at USPro was consistently 93-95 degrees Fahrenheit according to Conor's Garmin. In Hagerstown his Garmin read around 80 degrees the entire time. I feel the USPro was probably a harder race because just 10 watts less in 15 degree warmer temperature is probably more difficult.
It was a scorching day for USPro!
Looking at the peak power demands for the race Conor had to average 473 watts for 2 minutes, normalized 376 watts for 5 minutes, normalize 369 watts for 10 minutes, normalize 334 watts for 20 minutes, and 331 watts for 30 minutes. These watts may seem large, but for Conor these are normal figures he can produce often. For the final hill and sprint Conor was still able to produce 604 watts for 30 seconds. That's a good effort after 5 hours in the saddle!
Peak Power Demands for USPro
Conor was efficient during the USPro Road race. He spent 54.5 minutes not pedaling out of 282 minutes or 19.25% of the race. Hunter Allen suggests to shoot for a minimum of 15% not pedaling in a race. As Conor did not pedal for 19.25% in the race he conserved energy well.
Conor did not pedal for a lot of USPro!
Conor spent a lot of time above lactate threshold for USPro. He spent 30 minutes at tempo, 30 minutes at lactate threshold, 20 minutes at VO2max, and a staggering 40 minutes at anaerobic capacity power. That's a total of 90 minutes at lactate threshold and beyond!
Power Zone Distribution Chart
The main obstacle in the USPro Road Race was the Sherrod Rd climb. It's 0.36 miles long and averages 11% with peak grades of around 20%. It is a brutal climb! I highlighted the climb to check out how difficult it was each lap. Conor had to consistently average over 400 watts for 2.5-3 minutes up this climb. It seems the race took the climb easier laps 11-14. Conor told me he went for it on the last lap averaging 397 watts for 2:52 on the final ascent.
The Power Demands on the Sherrod Rd Climb
At the end of the day Conor ended up finishing 17th. It's a great ride for a 20 year old. In the years to come he will keep improving because he is talented and works hard every day. Here is a link to Conor's ride on Strava, and here is a link to his Strava profile. Follow him if you want to check out his epic rides.
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