I can’t answer your question, but wanted to thank you for unintentionally answering mine
I made 4 attempts last year;
52.05 @ 222w / 85kg = 2.6W/Kg
50.58 @ 235w / 86kg = 2.7W/Kg
47.47 @ 252w / 87kg = 2.9W/Kg
46.07 @ 261w / 87kg = 3W/kg
I’m going back in April and my very optimistic goal is to break under 40mins.
Historically, I’ve been able to do ~10w more than my TR FTP which is currently 260w, so assuming I could do 270w I need to reach 79kg to hit that 3.4W/kg ballpark you’ve shared for the 40min mark.
I was an hour up the official segment the time I did it but it was a few days after the 312 so I was only going recovery pace and on hindsight the dodgy stomach that caused me to throw up dinner and breakfast the night before was the start of my bowel cancer. The calendar tells the story
Not gone there, but you can use https://www.bestbikesplit.com/ to see how power and weight would affect your time, and where to push to get the best time
I’ve only ever actually had one good dig at it, and that was 35:22. I was probably about 3.8wkg then. Strava estimated power at 294 as I didn’t have a PM.
The only decent scalp I’ve ever taken in Mallorca was also back in 2019 - a little known cyclocross racer (probably on a recovery ride).
On my first attempt at my heaviest… I got caught up in a little traffic with buses on the hairpins but if the weather is good and minimal traffic… a sub 40 at 3.4wkg is definitely Doable
Thanks I had it whipped out at the start of 2019 and solidly built through chemo till the end of the year and to around 2022. At 48 now I’m just concentrating on maintaining.
Puig major is a great climb also… my best for that segment is 47.57 but that was on my 6th day with almost 1000km done so far so pretty fatigued. I hope I don’t need 5.5wkg for sa calobra… as I have no chance of doing that sort of power haha
That’s quite an interesting result. Did you get get a clear run or were you slowed down by any traffic? What was the weather conditions like? ’m currently just under 72kg now and did 314w last time and I know I’m a little stronger now… I’m aiming to get Down to around 69-70kg and hopefully add another 15-20w to my 30min power over the next 10 weeks so hopefully will get close
I probably won’t achieve it this time… but we all need to set goals right? As the saying goes… aim for the moon, and if you miss, you’ll still end up among the stars
As I said; everything in here already confirms my belief that you need to be comfortably at 5wkg, fresh, riding a rapid bike (low drivetrain losses, light, reasonably aero, good tyres), not hit any traffic and maybe snatch a bit of a draft to break 30.
Let’s see what the computer says.
MyWindSock says for an 80kg total weight (e.g. 10kg bike including tools, computer and water and 70kg rider) and a .34 CdA, you get 29.59 for 350 watts average, and that’s if you use an early morning gentle onshore breeze of 20kph.
So yeah, 5wkg.
Unless you have 3 mates to draft you at each section!
The advice to go early is definitely key. You want a road free of coaches, both on the way down and up!
5w/kg sounds about right as a rough estimate. It’s a climb I still want to do under 30 mins. One day!
My best time was in a heatwave, on a 38 degree day so I didn’t manage to give it my absolute best power, but at least the aero drag was probably quite low!
I did 32:46 with 400W average and weighed c.85kg. So 4.7W/kg excluding the bike and gear.
Definitely go early - I got to the bottom at 9.30am (Oct 5th). There was only 3 cars coming down and 2 bikes. I hung around and by 10.30 the buses started and it was chaotic!
OP, I was really close to your 2nd attempt time, when I did it in 2022. Excuses, excuses, but I never got down to the weight I wanted to that year, and the trip was in October, so I was hanging onto weight and form.
My mistake was putting 30 on a pedestal, without really thinking about whether it was reasonable, and hence I think set myself up for 1) going out too hard and 2) feeling like I’d failed. I did 4 w/g at the time, but even at 4.3 or 4.5, it was probably out of reach, so I should have set a target of 32 or 33.
I found it tough logistically too. Unless you drive out, it’s a fair cycle to get to the start, and there’s also the timing during your stay. If you do it any day but the first couple, you’ll likely be a little worn out.
Just ran the numbers and I think 33 would be great for me. What’s tantalizing about 30 is that you can see the number you’d have to hold, and it’s one you’ve done for 10-15 minutes, and you think ‘if only I could work a bit more, then on the day…’.
Yeah I’m not realistically expecting sub 30… but I’m training with the mindsets as if I can… I want to try and increase my power a little bit more. I’m roughly around 4.6wkg for 30mins but have 2kg left to lose over the next 9weeks. I’ll be attempting early morning with a steady z1/z2 ride with a couple friends on the way there. It’s roughly 30miles from my hotel last time I made the mistake half way up the climb by changing gear at the wrong time and dropped my chain, resulting in me having to get off the bike quickly to put the chain back on. Probably lost 20-30seconds then.
Hoping to squeeze another 10-15watts on my 30min power and lose another 2kg before I go… but either way, I’ll be just happy to beat my previous time
I had it whipped out at the start of 2019 and solidly built through chemo till the end of the year and to around 2022. At 48 now I’m just concentrating on maintaining.