It’s also Zwift. I’m always amazed at the number of 5wkg+ riders online vs. in person.
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Ah Ok. I wouldn’t consider that a bench mark segment for climbing per se. The leaderboard is dominated by elite/professional riders from TT nationals and fast group ride/ training races. I’m a good climber, and not very high up that segment because I just haven’t been there on a fast day - doesn’t really indicate my climbing ability much.
A better bench mark segment that represents climbing ability in gatineau park, would be the fortune hill climb as that’s where the selections normally happen. Even that climb isn’t very steep, but still seems to bring the best climbers to the front.
Over the years, I have seen a few bigger guys do well on that loop in a race/simulation race, but it’s a small population of riders. So, yes, it’s possible, but you gotta have mega watts and some real natural ability/gifts.
Bigger g
I think a segment dominated by elite men is a perfect benchmark. Fortune has a stop sign which really makes it less than ideal. TT out is much more direct route to the elevation which is probably why the national TT took place there. You should certainly give it a shot when you can, ideally solo for proper benchmarking.
The course as a whole is 40/40/20 split of gravity areo and rolling resistance so it’s certainly a good place for a bigger rider.
Is your goal for road races or TT? Also, have you any real races or simulation race experience in Gatineau park? I’ve likely done a 100 or more over the years as a cat 1 and I can assure you it doesn’t favour bigger riders - some bigger riders can do well, but it’s def more the exception.
Edit: I’m in no way trying to be negative- just want to give my experience as I’ve been riding and racing in the area for decades. Many high level cyclists have come through these training races on these roads all the way up to the world tour, so I’ve seen a very large sample size.
Yeah I’ve done all the group rides and whatnot, it just isn’t steep enough for the real lightweight climbers, and generally favors the rouleur type guys who have enough punch to climb outside their means for 5-8minutes as needed.
That being said you rarely see guys firing from right at the start line in order to start putting the “sitting in” w/kg puncheur guys in difficulty so I wouldn’t be surprised to see most group rides not really playing out in favor of heavier guys.
Personally I prefer even the segment that starts way down at the park entrance coming in along the bike path up until p3, just because it gives enough of a warmup and makes attacking right from the line at p3 more nominal.
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