Ganna appears to be preparing for Tour de France’s first week with special hill training, but also shines in high mountains

Just two days ago, Ganna completed a mountain training ride of 156 kilometers near the Swiss border, racking up 3,300 meters of elevation gain in nearly 5.5 hours, as shown on his Strava. One of the key climbs was the brutal Frazione Cresti, a 1.5 km climb with a punishing 14.5% gradient. And Ganna? He did it five times. It looks like focused preparation for the opening week of the Tour, which features several hilly stages. To round off the ride, Ganna climbed a 10 km ascent at 7.8% and headed back toward his base in Macugnaga. To get there, though, you still have to overcome a 25-kilometer climb....

Quite an ordeal, but the next day, the two-time world time trial champion was back for more. To take it up a notch, Ganna added another 45 kilometers to Monday’s session. That meant a 200-kilometer ride through the Italian Alps, with over 4,300 meters of elevation gain. Ganna’s powerful build isn’t exactly tailored for this kind of terrain, but the Italian seems to be defying nature. Because once again, his performance was jaw-dropping.

Take the Monte Ologno, for example, a 10-kilometer climb at an average gradient of 9%. It featured in the 2015 Giro d’Italia, where Steven Kruijswijk, then wearing the mountains jersey, set the KOM in 33 minutes and 48 seconds. Ganna missed that mark by only 8 seconds, and even more impressive, he recorded the fastest time on the final kilometers of the climb. That’s seriously impressive.

And on the more rolling ascents, the time trial powerhouse showed he’s in top shape. He set new records on a 3.6 km climb at 4.6%, another 4 km climb at 6%, and a 2.4 km stretch at 5%. When Ganna drops it into the big ring, there’s no stopping him. It’s looking very promising for the Tour…