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De :Efficiency
By far the biggest change over the 7-year period was Lance’s mechanical efficiency on the bike, calculated as the actual work produced (i.e., power to the pedals) as a ratio of the total energy expended. No engine, mechanical or biological, is 100% efficient, and humans are generally about 20-25% efficient (i.e., you’ve used 4-5 units of energy and only got 1 to the pedals), with much of the “wasted” energy converted to heat. Good thing too, because that heat keeps thermophysiologists like me employed!
Over the studied period, Lance’s gross efficiency increased by an astronomical 8-9% Keep in mind that Ferrari spends millions to improve their F1 car’s efficiency by a fraction of 1%! So the absolute power that Lance could produce at a standard energy consumption of 5.0 L/min VO2 increased from 374-403 W. Combined with his weight loss from ~78 kg down to ~72 kg, this means an actual increase in efficiency of 18%!!