Contador's Everesting record broken ... by 20 minutes

[NHAero]

I can't find the total distance he rode (?)

[jb_11]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I can't find the total distance he rode (?)

Here's his Strava activity:
https://www.strava.com/activities/3840715465/

Looks like ~130km

[benb]

This is getting pretty interesting..

It's brutal, it must be really draining while at the same time being boring & soulless.

It's dangerous too, someone could have a bad crash on the descent considering how cooked they must be after a while.

I wonder how this guy handled eating and drinking.. he must have gotten someone to hand him stuff since he had no cages, but I wonder if he did it while descending or ascending.. he would have had to take tiny bottles/cups and drink them immediately.

I think as the record drops down there is going to end up being a particular stretch of road that is going to be the best grade.. and all the record attempts will start to gravitate to that hill.... it seems like they're still figuring out what the best profile of the hill is to get the best times.

[robt57]

S-Works Tarmac SL6 – was optimised for the record, with his modifications including stripping the bike down to just three gears, removing the bottle cages, and cutting his bars back. McLaughlin’s lowest gear was a 39x32T.

Did Alberto use such a purpose specific bike, or UCI fair?



Love it...

[cgates66]

I'm assuming that a "saddle" structure is cheating (the website says "single hill") - but I'll identify two "features" that could make your attempt better:

1) A straight road that is at a grade good for you - your best grade may not be Contador's!
2) A very, very, very wide turn-around area at the bottom of the hill (like a parking lot), so you don't have to use the brakes. The top is less important because you can coast down without brakes up top to turn.

You have a lot of energy coming down, and the more you can preserve while turning around, the better.

Personally, I'd (1) be awful at this; and (2) would probably enjoy it. Once.

[R3awak3n]

and then there is this dude... who Everested on a MTB trail

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd3xf7WvfYQ

[72gmc]

I like the attempts by the MTB kooks. Still crazy in its own way, and you’re in a more interesting place than a short stretch of road.

[benb]

Originally Posted by cgates66

I'm assuming that a "saddle" structure is cheating (the website says "single hill") - but I'll identify two "features" that could make your attempt better:

Yah imagine a road that looked like a giant half pipe. You'd have to wonder if the momentum going up and down would help. It'd make sense for that to be disqualified.

I think the problem with enjoying it is if you're world class you're "enjoying it" for 8-10 hours, for the rest of us what 12, 14, 16 hours?

Not that much stuff stays enjoyable after 10 hours of doing it over and over again.

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by benb

Yah imagine a road that looked like a giant half pipe. You'd have to wonder if the momentum going up and down would help. It'd make sense for that to be disqualified.

I think the problem with enjoying it is if you're world class you're "enjoying it" for 8-10 hours, for the rest of us what 12, 14, 16 hours?

Not that much stuff stays enjoyable after 10 hours of doing it over and over again.

Imagine crossing the Williamsburg Bridge 264 times over two days!

https://www.strava.com/clubs/231407/posts/626375

https://www.roadbikereview.com/revie...amsburg-bridge

Talk about a long day(s) in the saddle. Austin Horse, a New York bike messenger, climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest, achieving the feat – known as ‘Everesting’ – in which he climbed the same vertical distance of 29,029 feet as the world’s tallest mountain. He did it by crossing the Williamsburg Bridge 264 consecutive times. The effort took him two days to complete. In the process he pedaled a whopping 373.7 miles.

[Waldo62]

I'm riding a double century tomorrow, and have been intrigued by Everesting lately. But at 165lbs, I'm not a flyweight climber and I don't enjoy steep hills. I prefer longer and shallower drags. Longer and shallower drags take me a long time to climb and to descend, so I reckon I'd be in the 15-16 hour range. The idea of going up and down a hill for 15-16 hours, even hills right outside my front door, of which I have plenty, hurts my brain.

[Waldo62]

Of course, five years ago, Everesting was a mere appetizer for Craig Cannon...
https://www.bicycling.com/news/a2004...-world-record/