Mathieu van der Poel has helped Sam Gaze smash Flippo Ganna's Strava record on the Tarbena climb in Spain in a show of form as they prepare for their season debut on the road.
The new cyclocross world champion and former mountain bike World Cup winner are both staying at the Syncrosfera altitude hotel on the Spanish Costa Blanca coast for a final pre-season training block with several Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates.
Gaze has clocked up over 500km and 10,000 metres of elevation gain in the last week after winning the La Nucia Shimano Super Cup mountain bike race two weeks ago.
Ganna beat Remco Evenepoel's record of 10:11 by a single second for the south approach to the Colle de Rates, known as 'Tarbena climb to Rates' in early February as he tested his form. The climb is 4.97km long with an average gradient of 5.6%.
Thanks to Van der Poel's lead out, Gaze smashed Ganna's time by 16 seconds, setting a new record of 9:54.
Mathieu van der Poel leads Sam Gaze as the two take the Strava record (Image credit: Alepcin-Deceuninck)
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) smashed the prestigious Coll de Rates record in December in an organised effort with several UAE Team Emirates teammates at the end of a training camp.
Alepcin-Deceuninck also went Strava record hunting in Spain, with video footage from other riders and the team showing Van der Poel leading Gaze for a long section of the climb.
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Gaze set the new Strava record for the 'Tarbena climb to Rate' sector during a four-hour and 131km ride in the hills behind the Costa Blanca.
Gaze called the ride 'Big W', without explaining the meaning, adding "Thanks Mathieu van der Poel for the lead out."
The Kiwi will make his season debut next week at the Samyn Classic in Belgium on Tuesday, March 4. Van der Poel has delayed his start to the 2025 season after his cyclocross campaign and will begin his spring campaign at Tirreno-Adriatico on March 10.
Sam Gaze's record breaking Strava ride (Image credit: Strava)
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
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