spetsa said:
First off, thanks Ben for your hard work day after day. You are giving some really good insight to those that are unfamiliar with the areas that are being used for this race.
you are most welcome - my efforts are merely an offspring of my passions.
One of the things I have been trying to stress is how difficult things are at altitude. No, climbing from sea level to 12,000ft is not nearly as stark as diving from sea level to 200ft below. The difference is far more subtle. The physics are the same however. Outside of Colombia, the pro peloton will not face the scarcity of oxygen so abundant in this race. Cracking at altitude is far different than bonking. Oxygen debt hits fast and hard and unpredictably. But unlike lower elevations, there is not enough oxygen in the atmosphere to replenish your system.
Yes, the gradients are low for all the climbs, they will be, never-the-less, just as difficult as your average Tour HC climb.
And cheers to Shack Tracker for changing protocol from yesterday and actually netcasting real time coverage.