Gerro’s Milan-San Remo Power Analysis

Have you ever wondered what it would take to win a classic like Milan-San Remo? What it would be like to follow Cancellara's wheel while "lactate was coming out of his ears"? Well, Gerro being the great guy that he is shared his Milan-San Remo SRM files which gives an excellent insight to what it takes to be the #1 cyclist in the world.

Below are five snapshots from Gerro’s SRM data during Milan-San Remo. The first one is the overall view of the entire 298kms. The next one is the final 20kms where they go over the Cipressa and the Poggio. After that is the breakdown of Nibali’s attack where Gerro and Cancellara respond to follow and then the final 2km where Cancellara drives the pace like a “motorbike” and Nibali and Gerro hold on for dear life (the numbers explain why). And finally, the graph that shows what it takes to beat Cancellara in the final sprint after 298kms. Check it out…

But first, let’s watch the final 7.5kms again just to get the heart pumping:

T: Time / P: Power / H: Heart rate / S: Speed (mph) / C: Cadence / A: Altitude (ft) / D: Distance (miles) / E: Energy (kilojoules)

Gerro averaged 211 watts for 298km (nearly 7 hrs), 2100m of climbing, and burned 5600 calories. Keep in mind through all of this that Gerro weighs approximately 64kgs

2012 Milan-San Remo course profile

Final 20km: Gerro averages 300 watts for the final 20km after riding 280km.

Nibali attacks! Gerro pushes 1,188 watts to stay with Cancellara and Nibali on the Poggio. The three went over the top with a 5 second lead, chased by Katusha and Freire. Nibali and Gerro stayed on Cancellara's wheel as they came off the Poggio with a 12 second gap.

“He (Fabian) was going like a motorbike. He followed Nibali and myself on the Poggio, drove it over the top and was the best descender. Without question Fabian was the strongest, I can’t deny him that” Gerro said in the press conference. “He drove the break to the finish. I gave him one turn but he passed me again. I was confident the break would make it to the finish and I knew what I had to do to finish off the job and win. Fabian was racing to win in the finale. He perhaps thought he had enough to finish it off but perhaps he underestimated me in the finale.”

Final 2km: Gerro averages 400 watts in the final 2km as they approach the finish. Nibali refused to do a turn as he knew he didn't have a chance in the sprint otherwise, and Gerro pulled one turn at 1.8kms remaining to help keep the gap.

The Sprint: Gerro pulls out 1,300 watts with a 183 heart rate and 60 kph (after 298kms remember) to get him the biggest win of his career! Go Gerro!

Gerro outsprints Cancellara with one last 1300w effort. As a reference, most club riders' sprints are about 1200-1300watts after racing an hour crit.

Michal

Great insight! Many thanks for that, Gerro & Wade. Wouldn’t it be great if these data would be accessible from every race from top riders!
Bek Gratton

Wow it’s awesome looking at Gerro’s charts, thanks for posting:-)
interested

Anyone have any ideas on crank length and front chain ring size.
diamondjim

He looks too colourful and happy to be posed in front of a fountain dedicated to San Emo
http://twitter.com/Tinea_Pedis Nick Squillari

The power to weight of all those numbers almost makes me want to cry.

That is why the good guys are really, really good.
Raphael

Impression.
I would love to see a comparison with the data of Cancellara. Wade, can you obtain these data?
- Manning
  
  If you look at the photo at the top you can see that Cancellara isn’t using a powermeter…no data to compare
  - http://twitter.com/james_mcdonald james mcdonald
    
    umm i tend to disagree, i think you will find a power meter on cancellara’s bike
    - Manning
      
      Nope, he’s using an SRM head unit…but not the cranks. Check out the difference between Gerro and Fabians cranksets
    - Manning
      
      Nope, he’s using an SRM head unit…but not the cranks. Check out the difference between Gerro and Fabians cranksets
Gareth

Amazing insight, thanks. Very impressive and makes you realise exactly what they go through.
AP

Interestingly that GreenEdge seems to be making an effort to make items such as this (and the backstage passes) available to people. Seems to be a good strategy for attracting cycling followers.
- G_O
  
  It’s working. Between the ‘backstage pass’ MSR video and this, they’ve gained a fan. Doesn’t hurt that they have a good Canadian boy on the squad.
VU

SRM headunit is certainly there on FC’s bike. Need to look closely.
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  Head unit is definitely there, but it looks like he’s missing the crankset
  - Thefunkyplumber
    
    That’s cos the head unit reads directly from the electric motor connected to the BB inside the seattube.
    ;)
Mee

OMG -1300 Watts - Gerro is “quadzilla”!
Anonymous

So, 6.25W/kg just to stay in Cancellara’s draft zone!!
David

Thats amazing but at the same time believeable. I dont think I could do it if I was given ten years to train, but I can see that others could. Good to see the peleton is probably clean.
Michal

It has just occured to me that Milan - San Remo was similar scenario like Aussie Nationals; where Gerro also had an amazing win after “key riders selection” was made in last uphill, break survived downhill and Gerro outsprinted his compainions to the line. Chapeau!
Tom

Here’s the data overlaid on video of the finish:
http://suffervision.appspot.com/embed.html?videoid=g9UpH7OCefM&rideids=gerrans&offset=1001&controls=1
- fifty-four
  
  That. Is. Awesome.
- https://twitter.com/#!/BPriestie Priestie
  
  I agree, That’s A W E S O M E ! Thanks for the share
Michael Manning

Simply amazing footage!
GeeTee

Before anyone jumps on this - I’m not trying to compare road endurance - but does anyone know what Sir Chris, or say Shane Perkins max’s out at? If the top roadies can pump 1300w at the end of a big day - what do the track sprinters do over say for the last 300m of a pursuit?
Ron

Jeez, I think too much number analysis can take away from the pure beauty of cycling, but that was awesome. I simply can’t believe those numbers. It really, really shows how extraordinary the PROs are. Impressive.

It wasn’t until after this race that I found out Gerro and I are exactly the same size/weight. I LOVE pulling for fellow mighty mites in the peloton. A new dude to watch. Much better than watching Tommy V. bounce around.

GREAT win, Gerro!
http://twitter.com/dave__anderson Dave Anderson

Whether Fabian was pushing higher W/kg is up for debate. But his absolute power would be higher for sure….hence the “motorbike” comments.
http://twitter.com/dave__anderson Dave Anderson

Whether Fabian was pushing higher W/kg is up for debate. But his absolute power would be higher for sure….hence the “motorbike” comments.
Lefthandside

And to do it while wearing that outfit as well!
Tricky Dicky

Damn straight. Riders like that come along pretty rarely - would love to see what he could do.
https://twitter.com/#!/BPriestie Priestie

Absolutely, so does Jacky Bob.