Stage 4 of the Wahooligan Tour brings Angels, where eight minutes suddenly feels like a very long time. These steady, grind-it-out efforts demand focus, resilience, and the kind of quiet determination that defines this community. It’s the kind of session where you settle in, lift each other up, and remind yourself why you showed up in the first place. As the minutes tick by, you’re not just building strength — you’re sharing the challenge with Wahooligans everywhere and riding with purpose in support of the Davis Phinney Foundation and everyone living with Parkinson’s.
RIDE WITH TEAM DPF
Don’t ride it alone — join the live Zoom and take on the stage with Team DPF. It’s a straightforward way to stay accountable, share the effort, and connect with others who are showing up for the same reason. No pressure — just a group of people doing the work and supporting the Davis Phinney Foundation together. Log in, ride your ride, and be part of it.
Wednesday, March 4 at 8:30 AM MST (Boulder, CO, USA)
One tap mobile:
US: +13126266799,87165180662#,*135976# or +17866351003,87165180662#,*135976#
The Wahooligan Tour prize pool is packed with incredible gear and exclusive swag — our way of celebrating riders who show up and rally their communities for a cause that matters. For every $10 you raise, you earn an additional entry into the prize pool, so every share and every donation boosts your chances to win while driving real impact in support of the Davis Phinney Foundation.
Stage 4! Two days of the legendary mists in a row. This final tour is blessed.
I reveled in yesterday’s stage. Today was closer to groveling. Late fall/early winter I started riding cyclocross. I drew on the suffering late in a lap ti get through these 8 min segments. Put away the pain. Just breathe and pedal.
Stage 4 done. Couldn’t sleep last night but dragged myself out of bed at 6am again and got it done. Currently hanging in there at 100%. Think team scream tomorrow will be the crux; in my head if I can get through that at 100% I’ll finish the whole tour at 100%. Quite possibly a flawed logic given I’ll be more fatigued still when I get to nine hammers, but I’m sticking with it.
I did this at 4am yesterday as I needed to commute into the office, not sure how I motivated myself to get up that early but I didn’t want to do it in the evening. Did Stage 5 this morning, legs getting tired now. Still managed to get through at 100%, will see how tomorrow turns out. Not sure if I’ll be 100% on Stage 7
This is the furthest I have ever gone in a TOS with all the workouts at 100%.
Either I am getting stronger, or the Tour is getting easier, or some combination of both.
Due to scheduling constraints I may have to double up the next two days, so I doubt I will last at 100% all the way through.
Loved Fight Club yesterday; so much that I jumped straight onto a race on Zwift* - my first race in a year!
Optimistically hoped for something left in the legs for Angels - those over/unders are a beastly start and I kept promising myself that I could always reduce the intensity for the last interval IF I just kept going a little bit longer…
Found myself repeatedly going that little bit longer time and time again, and I recall thinking (during a brief moment of clarity) what a stonkingly well put together workout Angels is. Just enough suffering to make it hurt… and when it did hurt I was reminded that EVERYBODY hurts…
We’re all in it together!
I think I enjoyed it.
*Note to self: Fight Club is not a suitable warm up for a race.
My 4DP numbers are still at the level I was shortly before my KOS in November. I’ve had a lot of time off since then so those numbers aren’t currently sustainable. So I’ve been riding at 85-90% which is about 100% of my current actual fitness.
Low cadence climbing is my bread and butter, so it was fully managable at 100% with not a hint of breaking, although those opening Over Unders stung! Legs are definitely feeling the last few days…I don’t normally get muscular soreness from riding.
Tomorrow, on the other hand…that’s gonna be rough.
Today was Bardic Folk, and Heather Alexander’s Courage Has No Bounds stood out.
Garmin TL 1292 to 1450, and recovery hours from 50 to 47?
I always enjoy Angels… except for the over unders. They always give me pause and make me question my choice to ride it.
My legs take a little longer to wake up in the mornings and I often need extra warm up. Angels as precious little warm up before throwing you to the wolves.
Right around the 6 minute mark or so my legs finally started to wake up, and then finally loosen up and feel good for the rest of the workout.
Looking back to the pre-COVID Tours, this year’s route is definitely ‘easier’. Those had a lot more long double days with some really hard rides. I never made it through a week without turning down the intensity.
In the past, I would train for the tour. I didn’t this year (Jan and Feb were more of an off-season). I rode Half Monty last week and my FTP was down 5% but MAP hadn’t changed and I’m still at 100% (bigger jumps on those intervals). I thought I might need to go to level mode for Cash Register or Fight Club’s sprints but made it through those okay. Honestly, I just look at this as an ‘overload’ week but one that I’ll recover from pretty easily.
Like you, I had to double up (Revolver+Fight Club). It seemed like the best pairing vs doing a triple (Coll de Rates+Nine Hammers+GOAT) for the last day… I start the outdoors season with the Tour De Cookie on Saturday (50km, 16 cookie stations).
i am going to try and double up Costa Blanca and Team Scream. I will try Costa Blanca first at 100%, and then if I have to dial down Team Scream I will since I never really liked it.
Anyone feel that the reprofiled Angels is tougher than the original ?
Personally I’d always manage to get through the last 8 mins with the tempo / micro-bursts mix, but the reprofiled last two 8 mins sections with sustained bursts 10-15% above threshold destroyed me.
