The build-up to Il Lombardia marks the end of the traditional road racing season. Following the World Championships, it consists of a series of one-day races throughout the rolling hills of Northern Italy. Tre Valli Varesine is one of these races, and comes the Wednesday before Lombardia. It is a 203 km (126.3 miles) race which features 2,780 m (9,160 feet) of climbing, and starts in Saronno, Italy, just outside of Milan. After more than five hours of racing, it finishes with a two-mile, downhill dash into Varese.
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If you don’t know who Toms Skujins is, then you’re probably not a fan of pro cycling. He is originally from Latvia, but made it into the World Tour after a few years of racing in the US with Team Hincapie. His stage win at the 2015 Tour of California showed his potential – he couldn’t just ride with the best riders in the world; he could beat them. Toms is a lovable character. He’s funny (he named this Strava ride: “Guess it’s chicken for dinner”), honest, and has great victory celebrations.
As I watched him win Tre Valli Varesine, I almost couldn’t believe it. I was super happy for him – of course! But I also thought: How??? He beat Grand Tour winners, Tour de France stage winners, and the current world champion. Toms even surprised himself, and said after the race, “I’m not the strongest, so I have to come up with other ways to win.”
Well, even if he doesn’t think he is that strong, his power numbers say otherwise:
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Opening climb at mile 16: 3:12 at 5% gradient; averaged 452 W
8 x up the main climb, a two-part climb: ~5 minutes at 5%, 2 minutes downhill, and ~4 minutes at 6%:
The first three laps were “easy”, or <350 W for the uphill sections.
Lap 5 was the fastest up the second part of the climb: 4:20 at 409 W; average heart rate of 165 bpm (nowhere near his max of 185 bpm)
Lap 6 was the fastest up the first part of the climb: 3:21 at 468 W(!) – followed by 4:43 at 370 W up the second part of the climb
Lap 7 and 8: all of the uphill sections were climbed at over 400 W. This is what separates pros from amateurs: repeatability. Keep in mind, by Lap 8, they are four and a half hours into the race!
Finishing circuit with bonus climb: this is where the race truly kicks off. Winning attacks are made, and hundreds of riders get spit out the back. When the dust finally settles, only a handful of riders are left to contest the sprint for the win.
On the penultimate lap up the new two-part climb, Toms did 460 W for 4:03 up the first part, and then 420 W for 3:23 up the second part.
On the final lap, he produces even more power! 467 W for 4:05, and 440 for 3:20!! This is the winning move; he actually had to chase back on to the lead group, but he did just enough over the top of the climb to stay within touching distance. Needless to say, he hit his max HR on the final climb: 185 bpm.
Last mile: two miles, slightly downhill, make for a chaotic finishing sprint. Toms produced over 400 W for the last two minutes, and opened up his sprint inside 200 m to go. 1,100 W for 13 seconds is what it took to win. And a max speed of 42.3 mph!
Whole ride: 203 km in 4 hours 56 minutes
Average Speed: 40.5 kph (25.2 mph)
Calories burned: 4,666 kcals
Average HR: 135 bpm
Max HR: 185 bpm
Average power: 262 W
Weighted average power: 321 W