Sadly, even if we did have that expertise at our disposal, most of us still couldn't quit the day job, because professional cyclists are also blessed with the right mix of genetic potential that enables them to respond to such a high training stimulus and recover quickly enough to go again the next day, day after day, week after week. But wait, before you quit your nine-to-five job and start cycling all day, know that these riders aren't just riding their bike for fun, they are completing highly tailored structured training programs designed by some of the best physiologists and coaches in the world. The Tour de France is ridden by the world's best road cyclists, all of whom are full-time professionals that ride for around 20 to 30 hours per week. Descending like this takes a large amount of skill and concentration, it is hard to begin to imagine the amount of focus this requires and the cognitive load it creates. He also hit a huge maximum cadence of 200rpm during the stage. Although he actually clocked his maximum speed later on in the stage on the descent of the Croix de Fer / Glandon. Stage 18 will long be remembered in particular for the jaw-dropping descent of the Col Du Galibier that Pidcock executed on the way to a solo win atop Alpe D'Huez. In addition, while it's easy and obvious to focus on the difficulty of going uphill, there's a level of difficulty involved in coming down the other side too.įor us average Janes and Joes, coming downhill might seem like the easy part – you can often stop pedalling and simply let gravity do the work – but let's not forget these riders are in a race so will be sprinting out of corners and pushing the limits of physics to go as quickly as possible, which in itself takes an enormous amount of mental energy and focus.Īs an example of this, according to that same data from Pidock, the maximum speed he hit during Stage 18 of last year's Tour was 62.7mph (100.91km/h). That's almost five times the height of Mount Everest. For the 2023 edition this year, riders will cover 3,404km (2,115 miles) including ascents of the Puy de Dôme and the Grand Colombier in the Pyrenees.Īccording to data published to Strava by Tour debutant Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), in the 17 stages leading up to his impressive Stage 18 victory atop Alpe D'Huez last year, he had ascended a total of 43,110m. Throughout this distance, riders face a whole host of climbs, from small hills to enormous mountain passes. If you were in Australia you'd make it from Melbourne right over to Perth on the western coast. If you were to get onto a plane in London, you could get to Paris and back again five times. ![]() ![]() Put plainly, if you were to get in a car in New York and head west, that'd get you as far as Salt Lake City. The 2022 edition of the race was actually ever so slightly shorter with a total of 3,328km (2067 miles) of racing. Stage 18 of the 2022 Tour de France included ascents of the Col d'Aubisque, and Col de Spandelles before finishing atop Hautacam (Image credit: ASO) The terrainĪt its close, the riders in the 2021 Tour de France covered 3,414 kilometres (2,121 miles) – not including the riding they did on the two rest days.
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