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Liege - Bastogne - Liege 2005

25 Apr 2005

70 minutes for the last 52 km of Liege-Bastogne-Liege: an average speed of 44.5 km/h with the famous climbs of Redoute, Sprimont, Sart-Tilman, St-Nicolas and Ans, at the end of 260 km – 12 Côtes – 3000 m of total climbing!

Jens Voigt was not alone, that’s true, but his breakaway companion Vinokourov conceded only a few pulls, seeming to go on the front more to “slow” the pace down rather than give a full pull.
I do not know many other champions who may be able to imitate Voigt currently; maybe no other one.

To make such performances it takes average power outputs of between 450 and 470 watt, considering the course and the body size of Jens.
The German has an excellent aerodynamic position in the flats that allows him to pedal at 50 km/h for long distances, as he clearly demonstrated during the Tour of Pays Basques and the recent Fleche Wallonne.
Uphill he’s able to maintain high speeds with a constant pace.
A hard task for the chasing riders to gain ground on him again.

Voigt utilizes very long gear ratio’s, pedaling with rather low cadences: considering the power he develops, the force peaks at every stroke is decidedly high, between 70 and 80 kg. 
This is probably possible due to an elevated percentage of white fibers in his muscles, making him able to sustain so intense contraction.

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