Originally Posted by
B1KE
Hey everyone,
September marks my first year in cycling so I apologize in advanced if it's a newbie or stupid question.
I've managed to up my avg speed to around 27-28km which I'm happy with. I follow a lot of quick roadies on Strava who average 32-33km per hour which I think was fast until I was watching some stages of the Tour De France and the pros their average 44-47km an hour over 100km+ of terrain.
Keep in mind the roadies are also guys who train, eat properly and have a dedicated riding scheduled so what do the pros do that make them so much quicker than the talented roadies?
There's no question they're faster but the vast majority of the difference in speeds you've mentioned is due to riding in a pack. An avg Cat 3 crit is 42-45 kph. Good amateurs are in the 5W/kg range. Pros more like 5.5 to 6+.
Training 25 hrs/wk for years helps. Talent, like many things in life follows a bell curve. Pros are far to the right side of that curve.