Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) solidified his position in the pink jersey on Stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia into the hilltop town of Osimo as he rode to his second stage victory of the race.
Launching a stinging attack in the final 1,500m, the Englishman managed to distance his rivals on the cobbled streets, holding off defending champion Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) by two seconds at the line.
The win not only extended his lead out to 47 seconds but further proved that Yates is undoubtedly the strongest climber in the race at this moment in time and his power numbers, provided by Velon, are testament to that.
As Yates rounded the attacking duo of Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) and Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) on the uphill rise to the line, he sustained an acceleration matched by none.
Over a one minute attack, Yates produced an average of 560w maxing out at 950w. That means the maglia rosa held 9.5w/kg to drop his rivals and win the stage.
He also averaged 26.1km/h on the final climb that included sections of double digit gradients. That was half a kilometre faster that second placed Dumoulin and almost two kilometres faster than Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida).
While Dumoulin was slower in speed, he did actually produce more watts – 660w – for the same climb but due to being 10kg heavier could only match Yates’s watts per kilo.
After the brutally tough Stage 10, many expected the following stage to be an easy affair however it was anything but.
Take the data of breakaway ride Alessandro De Marchi (BMC Racing). He averaged 44.4km/h for the 156km stage covering the distance in just over 3 hours 30 minutes.
To do that, the Italian had to average 305w (345w normalised) which included a four minute spell at 420w in order to make the break stick.
Joining the day’s break also saw De Marchi expend 4,200kcal over that period.
While De Marchi was able to make the break, Remi Cavagna (Quick-Step Floors) did not despite his best efforts.
Covering the first 20km in 24 minutes, the young Frenchman held 405w covering attempted breaks and even attacking himself. He even managed to max out at 1280w, an output higher than was needed by Yates to win the stage.
While Cavagna did not reach De Marchi ahead, Fausto Masnada (Androni-Sidermec) did. Making sure Gianni Savio’s boys were represented at the head of affairs for a 10th straight stage, the Italian produced some impressive numbers.
For 11 minutes, Masnada rode at 390w with a cadence of 82rpm. For six minutes, he rode solo averaging 29.8km/h and even hit harder at points to 520w to make his move stick.
Eventually, Masnada joined De Marchi and Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana).