Mishrak said:
Doping is probably the reason. I'm not saying Nibali is clean.
But advances in tactics, technology and training would certainly make a difference. You're going to get a much more efficient power transfer on a state of the art carbon bike versus old steel downtube shifter bikes they used to use. Aerodynamics and the like.
Also Nibali has not been under a lot of pressure in this Tour. He has barely had to respond to attacks, he has never had to go into the red from what I've seen. He hasn't crashed. He's arguably about as fresh as a person can be at this stage of the tour.
Edit:
How can you compare unrelated climbs? That doesn't even fit.
Then explain this:
http://www.climbing-records.com/2014/07/impressive-ascent-times-on-pla-dadet.html
Pla d'Adet
2014:10,3 km@8,3%---30:32---average speed 20.24 km/h(Nibali-Peraud)
---31:50---average speed 19.41 km/h(Rafal Majka)
1982:10,4 km@8,3%---33:13---average speed 18.79 km/h(Beat Breu)
---33:48---average speed 18.46 km/h(Robert Alban)
---33:53---average speed 18.42 km/h(Alberto Fernandez)
---34:04---average speed 18.32 km/h(Bernard Vallet)
---34:05---average speed 18.31 km/h(Raymond Martin)
---34:06---average speed 18.30 km/h(Bernard Hinault)
---34:12---average speed 18.25 km/h(Joop Zoetemelk)
1981:10,4 km@8,3%---33:40---average speed 18.53 km/h(Lucien Van Impe)
---34:04---average speed 18.32 km/h(Sven-ake Nilsson)
---34:07---average speed 18.29 km/h(Hinault-Anderson)
---34:28---average speed 18.10 km/h(Jos De Schoenmaecker)
---34:33---average speed 18.06 km/h(Alberto Fernandez)
---34:33---average speed 18.06 km/h(Alban-Martin)
---34:43---average speed 17.97 km/h(Lucien Didier)
1978:10,4 km@8,3%---33:29---average speed 18.64 km/h(Mariano Martinez)
---33:34---average speed 18.59 km/h(Bernard Hinault)
---33:34---average speed 18.59 km/h(Michel Pollentier)
---33:48---average speed 18.46 km/h(Joop Zoetemelk)
---34:57---average speed 17.85 km/h(Joaquim Agostinho)
---34:58---average speed 17.85 km/h(Hennie Kuiper)
---35:50---average speed 17.41 km/h(Christian Seznec)
1974:10,4 km@8,3%---33:20---average speed 18.72 km/h(Raymond Poulidor)
---34:01---average speed 18.34 km/h(Vicente Lopez-Carril)
---34:22---average speed 18.16 km/h(Michel Pollentier)
---34:37---average speed 18.03 km/h(Alain Santy)
---35:09---average speed 17.75 km/h(Eddy Merckx)
---35:25---average speed 17.62 km/h(Wladimiro Panizza)
---35:54---average speed 17.38 km/h(Roger Pingeon)