Although Chris Froome made public the data of his physiological tests in an attempt to silence his critics, the information published in Esquire magazine only served to raise more questions about the missing pieces.
Cyclingnews spoke to Dr Andrew Coggan, a professor at Washington University School of Medicine and co-author of Training and Racing with a Power Meter, about what the data could tell us about what makes Froome such a dominant rider.
In addition to agreeing with what other experts like FDJ performance director Frederic Grappe told Cyclingnews - that Froome shows the exceptional physiology of a Grand Tour winner, that his VO2max was comparable between 2007 and this year, Coggan raised a few additional points.
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A strong heart
The body needs to be able to get oxygen to the exercising muscles to keep them putting out power. That oxygen is carried by the hemoglobin on the red blood cells, which are pumped by the heart through the arteries to the legs. Once there, the oxygen is used to create energy for the muscles to use. So there are several factors at play: the amount of hemoglobin, heart rate and the amount of blood that moves with each beat of the heart, or stroke volume.
Froome has a rather low heart rate. In his test at GSK, his heart rate at the top effort level tested - 425 watts - was only 138bpm. Froome's maximum heart rate has been reported to be 174, although the researchers did not note the maximum in their report. Froome's hemoglobin was reported to be 15.3g/100mL in samples taken on July 13 during the 2015 Tour de France and on August 20, the day after his physiological test at GSK.
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