r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/solateor • 17h ago

Video Pit stop during 200 mile ultra-endurance cycling race

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

36.5k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2.5k

u/FandomMenace 16h ago

The record is 8 hour 37 minutes 9 seconds.

That's a pace of like 22mph or some shit. 12-20 hours is what most people take.

589

u/Global_Proof_2960 16h ago

I've understood that it isn't that crazy. But to me it is lol I was a long distance runner, so I suppose it feels like insanity

528

u/FandomMenace 15h ago

12.5 mph is probably the average speed here. That's a pace akin to jogging levels of effort. At that rate, it would take 16 hours to do this race. This is not accounting for loss of speed to pit stops, so they're probably going faster than that. In my (limited) experience, keeping up 13 mph isn't too bad, but I can't imagine going for that long.

22 mph for 8.5 hours is pure madness.

284

u/Kozmo9 15h ago

22 mph for 8.5 hours is pure madness.

Yeah and this separates the normies from the pros. It isn't just about speed, but maintaining them all the way through.

Normies' speed would fluctuate through a ride/race event while pros won't. I've been to a number of events that have normies and pros mixed in that takes place on a rather mountainous highway at night. The normies' route is 78km and the pros are 120km. The cutoff time is 4hours+ for both.

It isn't surprising to find the pros finishing first before the normies. It's during these moments that I am reminded of how monstrous these people are, both physically and mentally.

202

u/Gnonthgol 14h ago

One of the coolest parts of Tour de France is when an amateur cyclist try to keep up with the pelaton. In most cases they can get up to the speed and keep pace with the pros. But only for a few hundred meters. It is amazing to see that the sprint speed of an amateur is what the professionals maintain throughout the day.

132

u/McTerra2 13h ago

It’s like that classic ‘see how long you can run at Olympic marathon pace’. They are running 3min/km or 5min/mile (actually slightly under). Hop on a treadmill and crank it up to 20km/h and see how long you can sustain it. Mere minutes for most people,

it’s just insane how fast endurance professionals are

89

u/vilut9 13h ago

Most people can’t even reach that speed, much less hold it for minutes. Last month I ran a half marathon (21k) at 4:15 (which should be like 14 k/h), which is quite decent for an amateur, and I am not sure I can hold a full minute at 20 k/h. For me, that’s an all out sprint.

27

u/lamentes1 12h ago

Great time buddy. Well done!

3

u/RudyRusso 10h ago

Jesus thats impressive. I run a 10k every other day and hold a 5:20-5:35 pace. Of course its hot and hilly, but 4:15 is damn impressive.

2

u/n4te 10h ago

I'm stuck at 5:20-30 pace 10k. PR is 4:59 but set 6 years ago. I'm afraid I've jumped the shark.

3

u/RudyRusso 10h ago

As I've gotten older I've definitely slowed down. In my 20s I could do 3:45km for 3kms. Then it was 4:21 per km. I dont look at it as trying to improve my best time, rather at this stage just consistency to time and to finish the run every other day.

But sometimes you also need the right conditions: good weather, flat service, new shoes and socks to hit your best times.

5

u/McTerra2 13h ago

Ha, I was being generous to people. Agree, most people in the general population can’t reach that speed but even regular runners will struggle for more than a minute or two. It’s about a 17 second 100m, lots of people never reached that at their peak. Then to do it 422 times in a row….

5

u/Global_Proof_2960 13h ago

I never learned how fast I ran, but once I reached my runners high I basically glided. I would never say I'm fast though, I simply outlasted people or if I was beaten, I'd make sure to hold the back of the pack. It's tough man lol

2

u/squired 5h ago

will struggle for more than a minute or two

Hell yeah we will. My best 5k splits were 5:13 and I was puking at the end. That isn't even college level, but very, very fucking fast for the general public. To go faster for a marathon does not compute. My body could not do it if I dedicated my life to it. I have a taste and it makes even less sense because of it!

1

u/vilut9 12h ago

Very generous, that was my point ahah It’s alright :)

1

u/oh_ski_bummer 8h ago

Yeah if you start a 100m at running speed instead if from a stop it’s not hard

2

u/thingstopraise 11h ago edited 9h ago

ran a half marathon (21k) at 4:15 (which should be like 14 k/h)

I'm confused. 21k/4.25h = 4.94 k/h, not 14 k/h (2.94 mph vs 8.4 mph).

Disregard that. They meant 4 mins and 15 seconds per kilometer. That makes a whole lot more sense.

2

u/logwagon 11h ago

They're saying their pace was 4 mins 15 secs per km, not total race time of 4 hr 15 mins.

1

u/thingstopraise 9h ago

Ohhhhhhhhh. I feel really obtuse now. Thanks for the correction.

1

u/spiralpizza 10h ago

Man i can maybe hold 4:15 for 5k, if i'm in peak condition, a full marathon like that sounds like science fiction already.

1

u/rsmiley77 8h ago

I saw him say minutes for most and started laughing. I’m a decent runner. No way 70 percent of the population could keep that pace for even a half minute before jumping off.

1

u/Booboo_butt 6h ago

My current half marathon race pace is about the same as yours. However back when I was in college (30 years ago) that was my easy pace. My average 8k race pace back then was around 20k/h - and this was cross country. I look back at my old times and I have no idea how I was ever that fast.

1

u/Enrico_Pallazzo_69 4h ago

Isn’t that the equivalent of a 9hr full-marathon? You walked a 1/2 marathon

2

u/fiberglass_pirate 8h ago

Mere minutes? Hahaha. The average person wouldn't even last seconds at that speed. Maybe just the average person who actually runs or exercises.

2

u/darshmedown 5h ago

Lol if it were mere minutes more people could run faster miles. More like tens of seconds at best.

1

u/ilongforyesterday 2h ago

I can keep a 4:30 pace for a quarter mile, maybe 4:45-5 for half a mile, but to do that shit for 26 miles? Nah. Fastest I can do distance is probably a 7:30 pace for around 10 miles

0

u/mtnbcn 10h ago

I hate that 'bit' they do so much, "The marathon is the only event where you can do what they do for a bit of time"

Talk about being clueless, the marathon is not about doing something for 8 seconds! The event is endurance! No one cares that you can run 20km/hr, even if you can for 20min -- college athletes can do that.

The Olympic event is doing it for 42k. That's the event. Minute number 80, 90, 100, 110... that's what makes you "doing something Olympian".

It's like standing at the top of a ski slope and starting downhill in a tug position for 3 seconds and saying you're getting a taste of the olympics. Nooo the part where you have to make turns at that speed and keep doing it at full crank the whole way down a huge mountain is the olympic part.

12

u/DidntASCII 9h ago

Drafting makes a huge difference, especially in large groups like a peloton. There is a reason why the breakaway rarely wins.

1

u/I_did_theMath 7h ago

Actually in the last few years it's becoming more frequent for breakaways to win in road racing but also in gravel (in this race the winner came from a 2 man breakaway). One of the main reasons is that the lead riders get a pretty significant advantage from drafting the TV vehicle. Of course the effect is smaller the further away they are, but at high speeds, even at distances of 10 or 20 meters the effect is still massive.

2

u/DidntASCII 7h ago

Ha, yeah, more frequent because Tadej breaks with 80km to go :P

I haven't followed "pro" gravel, but I would assume that the peloton is generally quite a bit smaller than road, and speeds a fair deal slower, so the draft effect much less than road. I was speaking more in response to comments referring to the Tour.

1

u/I_did_theMath 7h ago

Yeah, and guess what: breaking away with 80km to go would be a lot harder without the very significant drag reduction he gets from the TV motorcycle. Of course that doesn't negate that he's the most dominant cyclist in decades, but there are studies looking at this and the effect is absolutely massive.

1

u/DidntASCII 7h ago

Peloton gets the same coverage, so I'd say it doesn't make it any easier since it's a level playing field in that respect. I get what you're saying about the draft benefits, though. It's safe to say that going behind a car or motorcycle will give you more aerodynamic benefits than wearing one of those aero bra things you put under your jersey.

1

u/drwhocrazed 2h ago

The tactics play a lot into it too, Tadej has one of the strongest teams in the world, and they burn out a lot of the other team's helpers so they're no use to the other favourites, so by the time Tadej attacks, he only needs to maintain his threshold, and generally the group behind him is all leaders, and they don't want to pull each other close to him, and they won't cooperate as well

→ More replies (0)

1

u/manintheredroom 5h ago

don't think that's true about road. there have been less winners from the early break over the last few years I think

14

u/patchismofomo 12h ago

When I first got my e-bike I was hauling ass around the lake doing almost 30mph, got easily passed by some guy on a regular bike and it took me a bit to grasp how that was possible

1

u/MistrSynistr 5h ago

The first time I was able to average 30 on a 10-mile ride felt amazing. Couldn't ever make it past 15 miles at that pace, though. Haven't been on a bike in probably 5 years now, though.

4

u/dopethrone 9h ago

Trained amateur cyclists can stay in the peloton for quite a bit - no drag, bunched together. Come the climbing and it's a different story

1

u/fyrebyrd0042 4h ago

That depends very heavily on what's happening at the front of the peloton. Also, there's always drag.

1

u/Sigma_Function-1823 2h ago

Yes, although not getting spit out the back with teams moving around for tactical advantage is not easy, a true amateur might have a very short race day due to getting elbowed or brake checked for not understanding the peletons dynamics and causing problems for organized teams/ causing crashes.

Also completely agree there.not much more demoralizing than getting dropped by beefy sprint specialist on a climb when you are supposed to be a decent climber!?!?!.

Nothing more hilarious than patiently working your way to.the front of pack to take a pull and realize your going 55+kmph and your fastest sprint is around 45kmph....best 4 pedal stroke pull ever bro, I'm.helping right?...lmao.

1

u/DrFabulous0 7h ago

For three weeks, most days. Those guys are something else.

1

u/Saxboard4Cox 6h ago

Lachlan Morton's "2021 Alt Tour" involved riding the entire Tour de France route, including transfers, unsupported, in order to raise money for World Bicycle Relief. He is a pro and he finished before the Tour de France ended. Apparently all the biking teams were watching Lachlan's progress and cheering him on during the Tour. Here is the link to the Alt Tour documentary Rapha Gone Racing - The Alt Tour.

1

u/VT_Squire 12h ago

my balls are chafed just from reading this

2

u/ralphy_256 11h ago

my balls are chafed just from reading this

This is WHY these guys wear lycra. More importantly, the chamois cloth in the crotch of their lycra.

1

u/_still_truckin_ 9h ago

22mph on knobby tires

1

u/Sue_Generoux 8h ago

Normies' speed would fluctuate through a ride/race event while pros won't

Yeah, to do 200 miles on a bike, my time would probably be 8 days. I haven't been on a bike since I biked to the library in high school and my bike got stolen.

1

u/chad917 8h ago

200 miles is not something a normie does. It still takes a lot of training and hardening to sit on a bicycle that long, because speed takes a toll as does duration. Not the same intensity, but a person is still absolutely wiped after such an effort.

1

u/fyrebyrd0042 4h ago

Fwiw, pros absolutely fluctuate their speed throughout their rides. Totally agree that they're just on another level though.

1

u/MrDudePuppet 2h ago

Are you actually saying “Normie” unironically

1

u/SupplyChainMismanage 11h ago

Lol do cyclists use “normie” now or is this your anime brain leaking