To climb the Alpe in under an hour

I’m studying my Strava records of ascents up the Zwift Insider verified Alpe du Zwift segment. My times range between 1:29:54 and 1:07:54. My average power ranges between 177 and 227 Watts. My VAM ranges between 691.3 and 915.3 meters/hour. My rider height and weight are constant across all ascents, only the bike frame and wheel set changed from time to time.

What’s interesting is that my VAM/Average Power holds fairly steady at about 4 meters/hour/Watt. Knowing that the Zwift Insider verified Alpe segment has an elevation difference of 3398 ft (1035.71 meters), can I use VAM/Average Power to calculate the average power I would need to produce to climb the Alpe?

I would need a VAM of 1035.71 m/hr to climb 1035.71 meters in 1 hour. So I would need to produce (1035.71 m/hr) / (4 m/hr/W) = 259 Watts to climb the Alpe in an hour. That seems reasonable to me.

Is this a legitimate calculation to make?

I could be wrong, but I do not believe so since it is not a constant gradient. Also, there are power ups.

If you’re trying to estimate what it will take to break one hour, looking at my own data, I would estimate ~3.3 W/kg. I am 73kg. These are the times closest to 1hr for me:

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It sounds like I’m in the ballpark. 260 watts/81.6 kg would be about 3.2w/kg. I have some work to do to gain strength and stamina.

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Intervals! Not sure how long you can ride at 260-270W now, but you can break it down into chunks and build up to breaking an hour on AdZ :mountain: 3x10min, 4x10min, 3x15min, 2x20min, etc… Also, dropping a kilo or two might help the cause. Watts :arrow_up: Kilos :arrow_down:

:facepunch::+1:

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Not sure if this will be much help but its the table I used to get up under an hour. You can use it as a good guide on each bend.

If you can hit these times on each section you will come in 59 minutes.

My actual time varied… I was almost two minutes behind schedule after the first two bends. But i made it up again after the gradient decreased.

Distance % Mins Total
1 5.737704918 03:23
2 5.737704918 03:23
3 1.639344262 00:58
4 2.459016393 01:27
5 2.459016393 01:27
6 2.459016393 01:27
7 4.918032787 02:54
8 3.278688525 01:56
9 6.557377049 03:52
10 4.098360656 02:25
11 3.278688525 01:56
12 4.918032787 02:54
13 4.098360656 02:25
14 5.737704918 03:23
15 3.278688525 01:56
16 9.836065574 05:48
17 4.098360656 02:25
18 4.098360656 02:25
19 6.557377049 03:52
20 3.278688525 01:56
21 4.918032787 02:54
Finish 6.557377049 03:52
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For me, the sub-1 hour average power-to-weight number is ~ 3.6 - 3.7 w/kg (see RP column in this table).

Note: these values are based on my weight in Strava at the time (62.6 kg). I need to update that. I’m closer to 61kg today… but anyway…

I think all of these efforts were on the same virtual bike. I haven’t switched bikes since unlocking the Cervelo S5 @ level 24.

Is the ZwiftPower Alp segment the same as the Strava segment?

Here’s a pull from ZwiftPower, for the last week on Alp segment, for riders 70-79kg, 73kg riders highlighted (all within 4 cms height), and all double draft events. I did the Alp segment sub 1 hour @ 2.8 w/kg. I hammered the switchbacks as much as I could and relaxed in between on that run.

Wow, there are some excellent resources for data analysis out there that I didn’t know existed. VeloViewer and ZwiftPower segment viewer. Who knew? Thanks, @Joe_Daknis_B and @_Pedals for those tips. I wonder now if my Strava premium subscription is worth it.

At any rate, looking at the ZwiftPower segment viewer, drilling down to my current weight and finishers at near 1 hour confirms what I was thinking. I will need to average around 250-260 watts to make it. The plan is to lose a bit of weight to help make it a little easier.

Thanks, also to @Lin_Alan and @Blane_O_Donnell for tips on breaking the climb down into bite-sized morsels. I can do this!

Oh man, I didn’t even think to sort by weight for my own viewing, we are all still learning how to extrapolate the Zwift data it seems.

I still remain a proponent of how and where you lay the power makes a good difference on segments like the Alp. I’ve been up the Alp over a dozen times and I believe laying power down on the switchbacks is the key to Alp efficiency. If you get a draft passing a rider on a switchback its like being shot out of a cannon, or there about in my experience, but I also tend to overplay insignificant events in an altered Zwift state. YMMV.

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Did this in RL. 66kg body weight, 8kg bike, 268w, 180bpm for 59.04

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Interesting. And how do your Zwift times up the Alp compare to IRL?

The problem with comparison is twofold. Heat and the ability to cool even when using a good fan and the motivation effect.

LOl yes, that’s the problem.

For the record since fans have been mentioned, I use no fans because I’m carbon efficient. 4 towels are all I need for a 5 hour ride. This is also how I’m able to maintain 73kg, I’m sub 70kg after every ride, row, ski.

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Right oh. Keep dreaming of the Alpe. IMHO, the real alpe requires 4w+ per kg to ascend in under an hour.

I do like to dream. And I appreciate your IRL experience. I only wish your IRL experience was backed with some Zwift Alp experience so I could see how far off I really am.

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Hours and powers, the rest is make believe…

The hours and powers are the make believe. The rest is real.

OK Zwifters, here’s your ADZ challenge. stage 7 with double draft is still live. Finish sub 60 and with less than 2.8 w/kg verified on strava or ZP or it didn’t happen.

I only look at efficiency after rides and races and hope to instill the same efficiency effort in all.

@_Pedals If you want to compare the real Alpe du Huez vs AdZ, you cannot compare to the TdF course. IIRC, AdZ is based on a shorter (couple kilometers?) version of the TdF version. That is a huge difference. Assuming you compare to the correct course, I do not know how well the times would match for a given effort. When the AdZ course was released, I remember there were numerous articles making comparisions. A quick Google search will probably turn up something.

@Aaron_Zwanzig I forgot to mention in my original reply. For those times, I was riding solo (i.e., non event) on the Tron bike which at the time was considered quick on AdZ. Post Drop Shop, according to @Eric_Schlange_ZI (ZwiftInsider)the Tarmac Pro w/Lightweight Wheels is now 20s faster than the Tron bike. Note, the Tron bike is also faster than it was pre-Drop shop. That said, if you pick the right bike, do an event with double draft and lots of riders, use power-ups, you can probably save quite a few watts.

Regardless of the comparison to the the real course I stand by my methods of time efficiency on the Zwift ADZ segment. For real I’ve never been to Europe and my challenge stands true for those on Zwift exclusively.

FWIW I was running the Zwift Aero frame (quad color enabled) with Lightweight wheels to go sub 60 at 2.8 w/kg.