Laggard

Having watched racing since 1990 I've never really gotten a true sense of how fast pros can ride. So many things come into play when watching them race. Slightly downhill roads, tail winds, drafting etc that I don't quite know what these guys are capable of.

So, on a flat surface, alone with no wind and on his normal road bike, what type of speed is a Cancellera able to maintain for say 15 minutes?

Caretaker

With a team drafting for him I'd say 65-70km/h

Laggard

As I mentioned, riding alone.

Caretaker

You'd need to check back and find an ITT that fitted your description.

Laggard

As I mentioned, on their standard road bike. I want to know what they can do in the absence of hills, other team mates, wind etc.

NYMXer

That's almost TWICE as fast as I can go for that length of time, those pro's are amazing athletes and their conditioning is incredible.

You have to respect the work ethic it took to get them there and then admire their determination and ability to ignore pain and discomfort.

bjtoolmaker

I know what you mean. I just got into cycling this spring, and this is the first TDF I've watched. Its hard to get a gauge on how fast they are really going. But some certain camera shots show them flying up a hill its crazy, and you can get an idea of how powerful they are!

I'm always more interested to see what actual gear they're pushing. I'm definitely going to follow the tour for a week sometime in the future, what an amazing experience that would be!

PepeM

Those are very specific conditions that don't really ever occur.

But just to give you an idea:

- This year's Collegiate TT (where TT equipment is not allowed) was won with a 28.4mph average speed. It was not completely flat and there was probably some wind, but close enough. Of course, these are college kids, not pros. The winning time was slightly over twenty minutes.

- On that famous 1989 TT, Fignon averaged 33.3mph. He was using disk wheels, but otherwise no other aero equipment. That was a 15 mile long, slightly downhill course.

- Last year's TdF prologue was won by Rohan Dennis (on full TT gear of course) with an average speed of 34.4mph, the fastest ever recorded in a TdF. It was a nine mile course.

Again, I don't have an answer to your question, but it would be somewhere in the 30mph range.

Playing with bike calculator a bit and using Jens Voigt's data (a bit old, but still) we can estimate that if he were to put down those same 390 watts for 10 minutes he used to drop his rivals in the conditions you describe, he would be going at 27.5mph. At his FTP value, he would be going ~28.7mph. A hard 500 watt effort would get him to 30mph. To go the 34.4mph Dennis went, he would need 735watts, which is pretty out there, hence the importance of aero equipment.

So yes, somewhere in between 28 and 32mph lies your answer, I believe.

Laggard

Thanks Pepe. 30 was my guess. Holding 30 for 15 minutes is amazing.

Lazyass

Well, Merckx rode 30.7 miles in one hour on this.

PepeM

Yup, and so did Boardman. Current record is 33.88. Aero equipment does make a difference.

EDIT: Those are not 'normal road bikes' though, plus there is the whole drafting yourself thing in the velodrome.

PepeM

It is. Also, with the way wind resistance increases exponentially with speed, we won't see much faster than that unless the rules get laxer to allow for improved aerodynamics.

mercator

The peloton is fast. A few julys ago, I did a riding holiday in France and got to stand on the side of the road on a hill I had ridden the day before. I think my speed was around 14km/hr here. These guys went by at about 35.

They did not appear to be working very hard. It did not take long.

Leinster

They're definitely not pushing yet if Cavendish is riding uphill alongside Voeckler. And is that Anacona in the Euskatel jersey?

Laggard

I ask this cause it's really hard to gain an understanding of what these guys can do. Heading towards a finish Phil may say they're doing up to 40 mph. Well they're in a group maybe going down hill and there may be a tail wind and each pull may be only for 2k so you don't get a sense of what they can do as individuals.

Uphill is a different story though I suspect it's hard to comprehend just watching tv. A guy I used to race with was in France once for the tour and said "dude, you have no idea just how fast these guys can go uphill. Tv doesn't do it justice."

PepeM

This one might give you an idea:

https://www.strava.com/activities/633545225/overview

Check the segments and you can see other riders.

mercator

Sprinters stage.
I think that might be one of the Izaguiirre boys.

dstrong 

Without any real evidence (or conviction) I've always thought that my 16 mph riding alone on the flat is a pro's 24 - 26 mph.

On Saturday's group ride we were cruising on the flat (or maybe a "false flat" that was slightly downhill), we had about a 10 mph tail wind and we were cruising about 26 mph. I thought "this is what the pro's AVERAGE on a "lumpy" stage. Good grief.

Leinster

There's a climb hereabouts that has a prevailing uphill wind through the valley. It gets up to about 6-7% in places for just over 2 miles. Last time up I flew up on the big ring touching 20mph at times. I could only think "this is what climbing feels like for the pros..."

atbman

Just checked this year's fastest times in the UK's Cycling Time Trials results over 50 miles, 100 miles and 12 hours. Speeds are: 50 miles - 30.5mph, 100 miles - just over 28 mph and for 12 hours (311.26 miles) - 25.95mph.

All done on Time trial bikes and on favourable (flat) courses and these aren't by pros, but by, most probably, sponsored riders.

atbman

Even more depressing: first 4 riders in UK national 24-hour championships covered 500 miles plus. Winner averaged 22.3mph to finish with just over 535 miles.

Not strictly comparable with Spartacus, I know, but....

caloso

I'm not familiar with this concept. How does that work?

PepeM

Ah, you'll have to ask @RChung for more details, but basically as the rider goes around the track over and over he creates a bit of a slipstream, which reduces his drag slightly, compared to what he would encounter riding on a flat road. I recall him mentioning that they need to account for that when doing aerodynamic testing on the track.

caloso

Seems theoretically possible, but I'd think the volume of air would just be too big to have any measurable effect. Huh.

Leinster

I'd say since an indoor velodrome is a closed system, it's quite possible that, on a small enough circuit, a rider doing constant laps could find himself riding through his own disturbed air, whereas in an open system like out on the road, atmospheric conditions and prevailing winds will erase any advantage when you're 250m behind someone.

Obviously riding 250m behind himself will have not as much effect as riding 1m behind another rider, but I can see it affecting data when you're talking about the marginal gains of deciding which water bottle or chain catcher is more aero.