On Sunday, September 28th, Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski won the Road World Championships with a daring breakaway in the final kilometers. The 24-year-old rider from Poland bridged to a breakaway, then attacked out of that break to hold off a charging group containing many of the day’s favorites. With the right mix of tactics and talent, Kwiatkowski was able to produce an amazing ride. Here is an inside look at the data from his Quarq for Specialized power meter over the 253km course and six and a half hours of racing. This file was provided to TrainingPeaks courtesy of SRAM and Quarq through the Omega Pharma – Quik-Step Pro Cycling Team.
See his full Quarq power file.
The 14 lap course of 18.2kms each had a total of 4,200 meters of elevation. Kwiatkowski’s Polish teammates did a lot of work in the early part of the race. In the first six hours and twenty minutes of racing, Kwiatkowski was well protected by his teammates, but he still did plenty of work.
- Normalized Power of 306 watts
- 3.54 w/kg Average Power
- Peak 1 hour power of 300 watts, or 4.42 w/kg
- Average heart rate of 148 bpm
- 5490 calories burned
The Winning Moves
With 7km to go and a group of four riders off the front, Kwiatkowski set off on what would eventually be his winning move.
- For 34 seconds, Kwiatkowski averaged 436 watts, or 6.43 w/kg.
- His peak power during this burst was 928 watts
- His average heart rate was 161 bpm
- He was able to average 53 km/h (33mph) to reach the group
- His average cadence was 83 rpm.
Not only are these impressive numbers, but keep in mind the workload he had already put out for over six hours in the saddle.
After catching the group, Kwiatkowski took a very short break and sat in. With a narrow lead over the approaching peloton that included many of the favorites, Kwiatkowski couldn’t afford to wait too long. After less than a minute of rest from his big effort, he once again hit the pedals hard and went for the win. His attack lasted around 3 minutes.
- His peak wattage occurred 1 minute into the attack at 706 watts
- Kwiatkowski held a Normalized Power of 501 watts for the entire attack
- His w/kg for the full attack was 7.02 w/kg
- His average heart rate was 179 bpm
- His average cadence was 93 rpm
Again, these numbers are incredibly impressive on their own, but are made more so when you take into account how late in the race they occurred.
The Final Push
In the final stretch, Kwiatkowski was being chased by a formidable group looking to catch him on the line. While he was able to coast the final few meters, the last 1.7 kilometers were not a procession for the eventual winner.
- He held an average power of 415 watts
- Kwiatkowski held an average speed was 59.9 km/h (37mph)
- His average heart rate was 179 bpm
- His average cadence was 102 rpm
His overall peak values for the day:
- Peak 1 minute: 552 watts
- Peak 20 minute: 336 watts
- Peak 1 hour: 300 watts
- Peak Speed: 86.1 kh/h (53mph)
- Peak HR: 185bpm
- Peak Cadence: 128rpm
- Total Calories Burned: 5670 kj
A rider that regularly uses his Quarq in training and racing, Kwiatkowski knew exactly what he would be capable of on race day. With strong teammates, a smart plan and of course tremendous fitness, Kwiatkowski was able to make the most of this rare opportunity.
