Is one stage (130mi/200km) of the Tour de France equivalent to a marathon?

F off you twato, what do you think?

Is playing snooker for two hours equivalent to a marathon?

Is MMA fighting for two hours equivalent to a marathon?

It's nothing like a marathon. Anyone can go out and trudge through a marathon. 99% of even the world's best riders wouldn't make it to the end of a Tour de France stage. ONE stage!

I'm a nationally ranked Cat 1 and I highly doubt I'd finish. All it takes is one 5-10 minute hard section (and the first hour is usually run off at 30+ mph) to drop someone, and when you're dropped it's highly unlikely you'd finish within the time cut on your own if it's anywhere before 3/4 of the way through the stage.

And even if somehow you get the most tranquillo stage on record and manage tio make it to the last 10k, there's zero percent chance of you finishing in the pack because the last 5k are the craziest bike race miles on the planet.

Everyone would get time cut on the time trial stage. It'd be even more a mockery in the mountains,

Snooker is not equivalent for the marathon as it does not require a sustained effort for a long time. I doubt anyone would has trouble with recovery or finishing a snooker for two hours.

I would say it is closer than snooker because you have to train a lot before being able to fight for two hours. It is still vastly different from a marathon as the goal is to fight and not to finish a race.

you're seriously dumb wrote:

Is playing snooker for two hours equivalent to a marathon?

Is MMA fighting for two hours equivalent to a marathon?

No. Way easier.

Also no. Way harder

if you were doing it solo, maybe equal to marathon running effort

but cycling stage racing is a team sport, don't kid yourself, unless it's a single breakaway for the entire stage which never wins

the energy and effort saved by even a two person group is tremendous, you can even switch off every half minute or less, pulling and then recovering, pull and recover - once you get to eight elites in a group rotating, you can defeat almost any pack size

if you have fast-recover genetics it makes all the difference

This is complete cherry picking fantasy. I highly doubt you are nationally ranked Cat 1 rider as your tactical naivety and understanding of the sport is that of a noob.

Let's just go the opposite of what you said and say you tried to race Kipchoge over a marathon staying with him for as long as possible, 99% of even the world's best runners would get blown off and even struggle to finish.

anyone can trudge through a tour stage but racing against Kipchoge in a marathon would blow their doors off. all it would take is a single 5-10 minute section and they would be annihilated. We can all cherry pick like you.

Unlike you, I am actually a top Cat rider in my country and have had the pleasure to ride against pros in National road races and TT's. As a top Category rider, I've also had the pleasure of riding our national tour alongside pro teams. I can hang with the bunch and even get in breaks for single stages but where the huge difference is that the pros can do that for weeks whereas I can't. A tour stage is a measured effort for every rider at the very top, they do not ride it balls out because they need to be able to cover attacks the next day or day after, this is why a good nationally ranked rider can take a shot and get in breaks against the pros, he doesn't need to measure his effort as he's not going to be a factor in the GC and can go balls out to get a stage win.

Your comparison between riding against the pros and someone just jogging through a marathon is hilarious for it's foolishness. How about comparing the effort and effects of TTing a Tour stage and TTing a marathon? That is a fair comparison and the intent of the OP's question.

tdfrunning wrote:

And how many miles would be the equivalent of a running tour de France? And how many hours per day?

The 2017 edition is 3,540 km (2,200 mi) in 23 days and 21 stages (2 rest days).

- 17 stages above 100 miles

- 1 hard and short mountain stage

- 2 time trials

- 1 final stage for show

Would that mean 17 marathon-distance (at a reasonable pace) in 23 days?

There is no comparison since running is an impact sport and cycling isn't. There's a reason that elites do 2 or 3 tops marathons a year. Racing a marathon puts a tremendous toll on the body that a TDF stage doesn't. Granted there are stage running races but the stages aren't marathons and they guys aren't going all out day in day out.

Any top elite could run a marathon a day for 21 days at easy pace, but doing it hard every day, even tempo pace would not end well.

Primo Numero Uno wrote:

tdfrunning wrote:

And how many miles would be the equivalent of a running tour de France? And how many hours per day?

The 2017 edition is 3,540 km (2,200 mi) in 23 days and 21 stages (2 rest days).

- 17 stages above 100 miles

- 1 hard and short mountain stage

- 2 time trials

- 1 final stage for show

Would that mean 17 marathon-distance (at a reasonable pace) in 23 days?

There is no comparison since running is an impact sport and cycling isn't. There's a reason that elites do 2 or 3 tops marathons a year. Racing a marathon puts a tremendous toll on the body that a TDF stage doesn't. Granted there are stage running races but the stages aren't marathons and they guys aren't going all out day in day out.

Any top elite could run a marathon a day for 21 days at easy pace, but doing it hard every day, even tempo pace would not end well.

Who can do a marathon at tempo pace?

tdfrunning wrote:

And how many miles would be the equivalent of a running tour de France? And how many hours per day?

The 2017 edition is 3,540 km (2,200 mi) in 23 days and 21 stages (2 rest days).

- 17 stages above 100 miles

- 1 hard and short mountain stage

- 2 time trials

- 1 final stage for show

Would that mean 17 marathon-distance (at a reasonable pace) in 23 days?

No, even by Lance Armstrong's own account when he ran the NYCM , himself admitted the marathon was the hardest thing he ever done. Coming from a guy that won the Tour 7 times(we all know how that story ended) I would say it settles the argument.

If you're comparing finishing a stage within the time limit to a marathon, there should be a max time for marathon too. Let's say 15% more than winners time, which is typical for TdF stages. So if the winner runs 2:10, the time limit would be about 2:30.

I've come around the fact that this is like comparing apples and oranges.

I am a 'fragile' runner, unfortunately. If I go much above 40 mpw, I get injured and body breaks down. I love running, was a runner first - and I agree with Armstrong that running a marathon is probably the hardest thing I have done. But that is only because of the 'pounding'/impact nature of running. It isn't like it necessarily taxes your cardiovascular system that much more.

Biking, I can crank out 40 to 50 mile rides a day - really pushing too. Climbing 4000ft during those rides and on flats averaging over 20 mph. They are 'hard' rides, they just don't break me down, even thought I am tired by the end.

I'm actually coming around to preferring biking. I've managed to get in better shape biking because I can tax my cardio system more. With running, I am limited to 40mpw and even then most of it has to be easy mileage and I'll be walking around with some sort of annoying little injury that doesn't stop me from training but I have to pay attention to it. For those who can handle the impact of running - I am jealous. The flip side is biking is a pain in the ass in terms of time commitment.

Basically, I don't know how you compare - one beats the shit out of your legs due to impact so it limits how much you can do over time; the other you can really tax your cardio over longer and harder periods of time

If cycling in a group has never wiped you out you need to ride with a different group. If it's a hard breakaway in practice your legs will be wiped out. Everyone acts like they can hold 30mph for an hour if they are in a group. It's not easy to hold even 25 in a group.

Blitz, you misunderstood the OP's question, at least as he wrote it. It was TdF vs "a" marathon, not TdF vs a WR marathon. Or how about a WR marathon vs "a" bicycle race?

I agree that Armstrong has already answered the original question. And since a WR marathon is harder than a 2:40 or whatever thon, then we also know the answer to the hypothetical question of TdF vs WR marathon.

So feel good about yourselves, marathoners!

I don't think you understand what was written.

But it's cute that you tried so hard.

i don't disagree - i can get wiped out, but in general I can get back on the bike the next day and put in a good effort (not saying an all out effort) without risking injury. If i put in a race effort in running, i need more recovery.

Rme wrote:

If cycling in a group has never wiped you out you need to ride with a different group. If it's a hard breakaway in practice your legs will be wiped out. Everyone acts like they can hold 30mph for an hour if they are in a group. It's not easy to hold even 25 in a group.

Fair enough. If you the rider rides solo.

Group dynamics/aerodynamics negate that point, though.

You could apply it to the time trials, though. In which case, again, only the extremely top elite amateur and pro would make.

Face it, marathons are participation events with a race at the front. A tour stage is an out and out race for every single person. No holds barred, no punches pulled. Unless you're already at that level, there's no way in hell to compete.

Rme wrote:

If cycling in a group has never wiped you out you need to ride with a different group. If it's a hard breakaway in practice your legs will be wiped out. Everyone acts like they can hold 30mph for an hour if they are in a group. It's not easy to hold even 25 in a group.

Yes, this. You simply can't comprehend how fast these guys close a race, how hard they corner and sprint, how much banging goes on when fighting for position.

I race American prt crits and they are about the craziest thing you can imagine on a bike if you haven't done it. And from the mouths of pros that do that and then/later race against worldtour riders (the guys in the tour), THAT doesn't even compare to the level of leadouts and sprinting in worldtour races.

It's pretty simple to get on youtube and watch onbike videos of prt crit finishes and even world tour bunch finishes. It's absolutely gnarly; it gets your hair standing on end. And that's just watching a video.