Vingegaard and Pogacar clear Mont Ventoux record with a monstrous 6.5 W/Kg performance

When a large breakaway arrived under Mont Ventoux with 6 minutes of advantage, it seemed clear that the men in leading group would battle it out for the prestigious stage win. But numbers 1 & 2 in the GC; Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard had other plans and nearly caught the leaders with what will go down as one of the most superhuman climbing displays in history.

According to data expert Karlis Ozols who dived into the data files for La Flamme Rouge, we have witnessed a performance that breaks imaginable and sets a new standard of what is possible to achieve on two wheels.

Jonas Vingegaard did Ventoux in 54 minutes and 32 seconds, averaging an estimate of 6.52 W/Kg. Tadej Pogacar, who spent much of the climb shielded from the wind in the wheel of Vingegaard, was two seconds faster, but his estimated power is thus slightly lower at 6.44 W/Kg. Ozols goes as far as to claim this might've been the best long climbing performance ever.

The long-standing record of Iban Mayo, who rode up the windy mountain in a time of 55:51 during an individual timetrial at the 2004 Critérium du Dauphiné, was beaten by a few more men on Tuesday.

Primoz Roglic continues his upward trend set with a strong timetrial last Friday by crossing the line as a third of the GC men, pushing 6.35 W/Kg for 55 minutes and 38 seconds. His teammate Florian Lipowitz who arrived shortly afterwards would also beat the historical time of Mayo.

Already impressive, the performances gain an extra dimension when he take into an account that Mayo didn't have race for three hours before Mont Ventoux. Yes, it was relatively easy day for the GC men, but it was from a fresh effort.

Meanwhile the fastest road race effort was another decade older. Marco Pantani rode up Ventoux in 57 minutes and 33 seconds back in 1994, full three minutes slower than Pogacar and Vingegaard. In fact, such performance would hardly even allow Il Pirata to finish among 10 best riders today.