Over on Bicycling’s website, I chatted with UnBound winner Ian Boswell, and dug into his power file with sports scientist and coach Neal Henderson, to figure out how to win UnBound. And some of the info was fairly straightforward: To win UnBound, Ian had a 1000-watt sprint. But what was super interesting was how his files compared to another guy who finished 74th overall. In relative terms, most people who are racing UnBound (meaning working towards a result, rather than a finish) have incredibly similar relative efforts. This article gets nerdy AF, so if you love data, you’ll find it super interesting.
PS: Yes, you’ll need a subscription to access this article—but Bicycling is well worth the few $$, and supporting cycling journalism is super important if you want to see coverage continuing. (As someone who works in the cycling media world, I can tell you that none of us are getting rich off of these subscriptions, they’re just keeping the lights on as magazines pivot and try to exist in a digital world.)
Molly Hurford is a journalist in love with all things cycling, running, nutrition and movement-related. When not outside, she’s writing about being outside and healthy habits of athletes and interviewing world-class athletes and scientists for The Consummate Athlete. She’s the author of multiple books and her most recent project, Shred Girls, is a young adult fiction series and online community focused on getting girls excited about bikes. She also writes regularly for publications including Bicycling magazine, Outside, Map My Run, and Nylon. Molly is a little obsessed with getting people—especially women—psyched on adventure and being outside, and she regularly hosts talks and runs clinics for cyclists and teaches yoga online and IRL… And in her spare time, the former Ironman triathlete and cyclist now spends time racing ultra-runs on trails. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @mollyjhurford