speed of pro cyclists?
- Thread starter wnowak06
- Start date
Lance, Tyler, Bobby, and other top time trialists can do a little more than 30 flat miles in an hour (or mid 30's on an hour TT in a velodrome).wnowak06 said:
I don't understand your question? I suppose the answer depends on weather the pro is racing, time trialing, doing a recovery ride, etc...
I'll go out on a limb and say if a pro is only doing 20-50 miles then the chances are that it's likely a recovery ride of some sort and they aren't going too fast... maybe high teen average? who knows. Your question really makes no sense.
It also depends a lot on what your definition of 'pro cyclist' is. And what gender said 'pro cyclist' is. I'll assume you mean pro-tour roadie or at least continental pro.
Yeah, it really depends on the conditions and what kind of race it is (road or time trialing). I would say most good time trialists can average pretty close to 30mph. Road racing can vary a lot if you figure in if there are any climbs, breaks, or sprints.
Couldn't it be a 40km time trial or some Olympic race or an hour record attempt?mattv2099 said:
wnowak06, I've read that Armstrong would do 4 to 5 hour rides at 65% of his max heart rate. His average speed for those training sessions would be 20 MPH. I've also read that while training for the 2004 TdF Jan Ulrich was doing daily 3 to 4 hour rides at 25 MPH. These are just training rides though and are not racing conditions. They are also substantially longer than 20 - 50 miles!!
I have it on good authority (magazine article on T-mobile) that small groups of T-mobile riders (3-8) would do 6 hr sessions at 33-34 km/hr, however I don't know the course profile, if it was mountainous or very hilly this would be quite fast.
Here's the whole schedule: this would be what I guess is base conditioning, apparently the training was even more difficult for the group that was to do their first tour in January.
day 1: 4-4.5 hrs; 1x10 km team at team time trial pace; 3x10 km individually at same power output as in a TTT.
day 2: 5 hrs aerobic workout
day 3: 6-6.5 hrs (33-34 km/hr) (about 200 km distance)
day 4: day off, maybe 2 hrs relaxed riding
day 5: 4-4.5 hrs; containing 60-80 minutes at TT pace in 30 minute blocks
day 6: 5 hr aerobic conditioning
day 7: 6-6.5 hrs aerobic conditioning 33-34 km/hr (about 200 km distance)
day 8: rest (or 2 hrs easy ride)
Looking at their workout, I could do part of it but my mileage is far less, my legs would get too tired even on only 500 km/week.
Here's the whole schedule: this would be what I guess is base conditioning, apparently the training was even more difficult for the group that was to do their first tour in January.
day 1: 4-4.5 hrs; 1x10 km team at team time trial pace; 3x10 km individually at same power output as in a TTT.
day 2: 5 hrs aerobic workout
day 3: 6-6.5 hrs (33-34 km/hr) (about 200 km distance)
day 4: day off, maybe 2 hrs relaxed riding
day 5: 4-4.5 hrs; containing 60-80 minutes at TT pace in 30 minute blocks
day 6: 5 hr aerobic conditioning
day 7: 6-6.5 hrs aerobic conditioning 33-34 km/hr (about 200 km distance)
day 8: rest (or 2 hrs easy ride)
Looking at their workout, I could do part of it but my mileage is far less, my legs would get too tired even on only 500 km/week.
there is NO point in talking about average speed unless it's on a velodrome, and the rider is doing a TIME TRIAL. that's not even to mention the differences in equipment, track surface, weather conditions, etc etc.
but just for the heck of it, a DIV 1 pro will ride a flat 40km TT at 30-33mph average, in most cases.
but just for the heck of it, a DIV 1 pro will ride a flat 40km TT at 30-33mph average, in most cases.
Notice they didn't say how fast/hard they rode on their TT or TTT workouts. I would imigane it's much higer than 33-34 kph....bikeguy said:
Replace "average" with "typical" then when you read the question. The OP just wants to get some idea how fast the big boys can ride under average conditions since you can't really tell how fast they're going on TV. Certainly the answer depends upon conditions, but the curiosity doesn't seem unreasonable.velomanct said:
I watched my RAI coverage DVD I burned again the other night and timed him. I was riding at the time so I could have been a second or two +/- on my timing but it came out 38 kph. You have to remember Cipo was pulled over in Italy for motorpacing at 75 kph on the freeway a couple years ago.velomanct said:
bikeguy said:
Local police car provided some great drafting in a recent century ride event which started downtown. With the cruiser at the front, the descent of the first mountain was a lot of fun for the leaders. The sargent in the lead car said he kept speeding up to get ahead of the riders on the descent, but was surprised to find that at 67 mph (in a 40), he still had riders on his bumper. (Usual speeds down this hill are 40-45 mph with a decent tuck.)
The event director explained to him that fast bikers will never pull out of a free draft. The great thing is that the policeman loved it and is looking forward to next year. Said he now has more respect for us bike riders...which is always a good thing.
From what I've read of Cipo's training he didn't stay in the draft but did sprints out in the wind starting from behind the pacer, and generally at the end of a long training ride.bikeguy said:
I am still surprised he got pulled over. It was in Italy. It's not like he was a graduate of the Pantani school of driving or something.
Similar threads
