January 22, Stage 3: Tilisarao - Juana Koslay 175.8km
Trek Factory Racing Team's young Italian professional, Giacomo Nizzolo, outkicked some of cycling's best in the Tour de San Luis stage 3 sprint finish. Giacomo, racing with Trek since 2011, was the overall winner at Tour of Wallonie in 2012, and last year earned multiple stage wins at the Tour of Luxembourg with podium finishes at GP Ouest France-Plouay and the Giro d'Italia.
The training and performance team at Trek Factory Racing shared Nizzolo's SRM race file in an effort to illustrate the physical demands of elite stage racing under extremely harsh conditions with high winds and temperatures exceeding 40C (104F). Giacomo races at 184cm with approximately 72kg on the SRM Shimano 9000 11-Speed PowerMeter.
In stage 3 of Tour de San Luis, riders battled the Argentinian heat and wind for 175.8 kilometers. In total, Giacomo averaged over 170 watts with a cadence average of 66rpm and 40kph average speed. After climbing just over 1,000 meters and burning nearly 2,200 kilocalories, Nizzolo out sprinted the group for victory in 4:14:19.
(above) Giacomo Nizzolo powers through the final sprint for Trek Factory victory!
"For Trek Factory Racing, SRM is the spine of the training system built to support the riders and is used as a basis to communicate with them and to develop strategic approach to racing. The SRM data allows the trainers to test the rider's fitness, track their evolution, describe the race specific efforts and define the way to assemble the rider's and race's profiles at the right time reaching the maximum performance." - Josu Larrazabal, Trainer/Sports Director
Race leaders were caught with roughly 40km to go. In this remaining portion Giacomo held over 200 average watts at an average speed over 45kph, an outstanding 52 minute effort in 42C (107F) conditions.
Inside the final five minutes the Trek Factory Racing squad was prepared to unleash Giacomo. The tenacious Italian had averaged over 350 watts in this last 4km stretch. Accompanied by Ventoso (Movistar), Boonen (OPQS), and Farrar (Garmin), he delivered a sprint effort reaching over 1,200 watts and crossed the line first for Trek's second consecutive stage win in Tour de San Luis.
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