Thank you for taking part and supporting the Davis Phinney Foundation!
What was your favorite part of this year’s Wahooligan Tour?
What was your favorite part of this year’s Wahooligan Tour?
2 Likes
It was a good tour, well thought through which made it hard as a whole package even though every single stage wasn’t super hard. I have been doing all stages on 100% of my 4DP.
The hardest stage was Rollercoaster, with l’Alpe d’Huez and Team Scream just behind. The Burgberg is very good technical, neuromuscular training but it requires quite a proficiency in riding on level mode. Maybe not the best type of course in a tour like this.
From a POV perspective Proride courses are the best for a virtual tour like this, then you also visually feel like you’re riding a Tour.
I am satisfied with the Tour, it has given me a good amount of heart and lung training and it has been a decent challenge. I am tired but not wasted. Thanks!
6 Likes
Rollercoaster was great. Always love a new SUF workout.
2 Likes
Tour report. A long read.
The road to Huez is paved with good intentions and, in my case, some great underestimation. This years tour route easy? Riiiight.
Day 1. Stage 1 and 2. Team Scream is a mouthful on it’s on. EF All Access over-unders immediatelly after? Biting off a little more than I could chew. All of this on top of a 5h ride the day before? Let’s just say I got what I (de)served. Dragged myself over the finish line. Happy at least to have swopped the EF commercial for a French tv documentary about Sigourney Weaver. Fluffy’s no match for her! And no one can hear my legs scream in space.
Day 2. Bounce back quickly? I dare say I intended to dial up Who Dares a notch or two. Changed my mind after the first two pedal strokes. Happy to make it through stage 3 alive - still mourning the loss of the classic C. Riviera ending. Watched a documentary about Swedish country music (it’s a thing!) instead.
Day 3. Finally time to make up some lost ground on GC. As a climber raised in the deep forests, AWW I. Boswell’s wood chopping power intervals were just my trick. Music documentary part 2.
Day 4. Double trouble and a sprint stage at that! Cash Register, cha-ching. Short and sweet, fueled by extra DPF motivation. Then I lost the point jersey again the second we left Burgberg. Didn’t hit a single target, but still put in a brave effort in level mode.
Day 5. Rest day. Making full use of the 50 hour window, in anticipation of…
Day 6. The Queen Stage, in my mind this tour’s Cima Coppi: a brand new SUF vid!!! Others have said it better elsewhere (sir Evan said it all), all I’ll say is I’m very pleased having nailed this one. Doubt began during the second interval. Wasn’t sure until only two remained. Rollercoaster sure pushed me to the limit.
Day 7. Too tired to remember much after the lower slopes of the Alpe d’Huez.
Highligts
- This forum. It’s what makes me feel part of something bigger. You rock!
- The Rollercoaster. I know not everybody agrees, but I thought I saw some promise. And the workout is a killer.
- Team Scream. One of the best. Great way to get a grand, ehr, tour rolling.
- The Knights ride on Zwift. Nice company and SUF jokes. Wish I could bike and type like that.
Bottom line
Overall a good weeks training, many entertaining reads and of course the greater cause. I’ll be back. I’m told no one ever leaves.
10 Likes
You were told right!
Great recap. Thanks for being part of the team. This forum kept me going!
6 Likes
Another tour in the bag 
I always pencil the tour in as a huge training week so this time I decided to add 2 x climb portals (on another inferior platform 
) after each stage. Very nearly broke me but I managed all vids at 100% (apart from Burgberg because NO-ONE can hit those sprint targets 
). The cadence targets for Rollercoaster and Alpe were also wildly optimistic for my battered legs so they turned into more of a low cadence grind!
One thing though… I couldn’t start the tour on day 1 as I was travelling all day so doubled up today to complete it on time but in 6 days instead of 7. This means I didn’t get my badge as the stages are down as missing. You can see I’ve done them and I’ve clearly suffered enough so @Rupert do I get my badge?? I promise to do the chores (when my legs have recovered)!
11 Likes
A) Completing the Tour
B) gwydion’s Handrawn stage charts.
12 Likes
Glad you could join us this week, @Utan. You’re always welcome back!
4 Likes
My favorite part of this tour was the comraderie here and on Facebook.
All of of us commiserating and supporting.
7 Likes
Best parts:
- This lovely forum community - you beautiful bunch of lunatics
- @jlewis63 lending me his bike set-up for Stage 5 & 6 and keeping me fuelled and rolling…
- Davis Phinney’s “Yes!” at the end of each video as a nice reminder that the money is going to a great cause and can make a difference to people’s quality of life
11 Likes
This was my first TWT, having skipped it last year. I have mixed feelings on it. I’m used to the camaraderie on the Facebook Sufferfest group during previous tours. I skipped it this year, just found it hard to reconcile the alt tours and all the negativity.
Team Scream and Cash Register were the highlights for me. The intern getting thrown into the time trial, winning the primes, saving the team from financial ruin.
It was nice only having to commit an hour each day, and I was surprised at how much fatigue I accumulated over the week. That’s one of the goals, so it was beneficial for jumpstarting my fitness after recovery from pneumonia.
I’d love to see a few more Sufferfest or Pro Ride videos as opposed to the less engaging stages 2, 4 or 7.
Having the same ending each day though was beyond redundant. Future tours need some varied trailers. I’m sure that DPF has lots of footage and promotional materials they can share.
Rollercoaster could use some tweaking. A bit edgier music, some more Sufferfest references.
Alpe de Huez was difficult but boring.
10 Likes