10. THE MAGIC W AND W/KG NUMBERS TO EXCEL IN MEN PRO ROAD CYCLING
The power output (Watt and Watt/kg) required to excel in professional road cycling is a hot topic. There are dozens of social media accounts trying to estimate the power output produced during winning efforts in the most important races. However, only few athletes sometimes share on Strava their real data (not estimated!).
What are the actual power numbers required to be in the professional road cycling peloton and to excel in different race typologies?
Finally, in 2022 a research group composed by a bunch of sport scientists working with different professional teams puts together and published on International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance a dataset containing real (not estimated!) power output data of male professional road cyclists. (1)
WHAT DID THEY DO?
They retrospectively analysed the maximal mean power outputs recorded in training or races over different fixed duration (from seconds to hours) of 144 male pro road cyclists from 4 different teams (2 World Tour, 2 Professional).
The sample included multiple grand tours and monuments winners.
The timeframe analysed was between the 2013 and 2021 season.
WHAT DID THEY FOUND?
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