After a horrible day on Stage 5, Pablo Torres did everything he could to win the Tour de l’Avenir GC on Colle delle Finistre, but even the greatest performance of all time by a teenager was not enough to regain all the time lost to Joseph Blackmore on Stage 6.
It was the final stage of the Tour de l’Avenir, finishing atop the mighty Colle delle Finestre, with the second part of the climb featuring a smooth gravel section. Joseph Blackmore led the GC after a decisive move in yesterday’s stage, holding a 5-minute advantage over Pablo Torres. The stage was relatively easy until Finestre, with Mats Wenzel spending 1,861 kilojoules over 2 hours and 20 minutes at a rate of 11.53 kj/kg/h.
Jarno Widar was not feeling great for the second day in a row, dropping early and losing 28 minutes today, with a 4.00 ᵉW/kg performance over 88:54 minutes on Finestre. The Spanish team, along with Torres, knew they had to pace hard from the bottom, and the Spaniard managed to drop everyone, including Joe Blackmore, with 12 km to go. Despite delivering one of the greatest climbing performances by any U23 rider, it was not enough to win the GC. Torres beat Blackmore by 3 minutes and 43 seconds on Finestre but lost the GC by 12 seconds, with Tijmen Graat finishing 3rd.
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Despite Blackmore winning the GC, all the attention turned to Torres, who delivered an incredible performance on Finestre. The 18-year-old Spanish rider averaged 6.04 ᵉW/kg for 60:45 minutes, equivalent to 6.34 ᵉW/kg at sea level. Torres even beat Chris Froome’s time on Stage 19 of the 2018 Giro d’Italia by 3 minutes and 34 seconds, when the Kenyan-born cyclist won with an 80 km solo raid. Though Blackmore and Graat lost significant time, both achieved their career-best climbing performances on a pure w/kg climb, with 5.64 and 5.57 ᵉW/kg over more than 64 minutes.
Torres’ performance on Les Karellis during Stage 4 was extraordinary, comparable to a top 10 effort in Chris Froome’s legendary career. Torres has improved significantly since his junior races and even the U23 Giro, where he averaged 6.4 ᵉW/kg for 26:35 minutes at sea level. Below in the graph are Froome’s 10 best performances adjusted for sea level. Despite winning four Tour de Frances and seven Grand Tours, Froome never reached 18 year old Torres’ level, even on a low-kilojoule day. Yet, 11 years later, Froome’s once-stunning effort pales in comparison to the achievements of today’s teenagers.
Pero Froome rodó 80 kms en solitario gastando más préviamente que Torres.
..Klimstruiken? Hoogstens optochten ^^. Kijk, je bent een leugenaar of een onwetend persoon, of misschien allebei. De 80 km die Froome alleen reed kwam na Finistre richting Serstrière en heeft niets te maken met de prestatie waar dit artikel naar verwijst en het verschil dat opende lag fundamenteel op de afdaling vanuit Finestre waar de Zuid-Amerikanen niemand aflosten. Heeft haat je in verwarring gebracht? ^^
Voeg daarbij dat de 18-jarige jongen, Torres, net twee eerdere etappes maximaal had afgelegd, met de kop van de hond.