Data nerds rejoice, the newly announced Strava Effort Comparison tool has taken analysing segments to a whole new level. With the new tool, athletes can see how their efforts match-up second by second with others who have ridden the same segment.
The comparison tool displays live speed, heart rate, power, time gaps and position on a mix of charts, maps and graphs for each athlete competing on the segment.
Regular Strava members can compare up to two athletes, while Strava Premium members can customize and compare up to five rivals on any given segment.
Users can also compare the efforts of professionals or other athletes at key points in races or popular segments. You can see what Tim Johnson’s heart rate was on the Maroon Bells climb near Aspen Colorado or how many watts Laurens ten Dam’s was doing when he set the KOM on the RockStore segment during the 2014 Tour of California.
“It’s kind of like getting an MRI of your ride. You know your knee hurts but an MRI shows you the reason. And that’s what this does. You know you hurt really badly during that segment but you don’t know why or how you got beat and you can dig in and figure it out. It will either confirm or motivate you to change things next time around.” Johnson said on the Strava blog.
The Effort Comparison is working now and can be accessed on the web from any segment or activity page.