advice on sprints
10-15-11, 10:43 AM
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advice on sprints
Hello fellow BF members! I looked through previous thread and did not see any "Sprint" threads so I thought I'd start one. Any advice on how to sprint and increase your sprint endurance? 
What's the highest speed you've ever pedaled going on a flat road?
What's the highest speed you've ever pedaled going on a flat road?
10-15-11, 11:27 AM
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How to sprint? Haul ass. sprint endurance? Sprint out of the saddle in the biggest gear that you can turn at 135 rpm for as long as possible and do it over and over again
10-15-11, 12:05 PM
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10-15-11, 12:41 PM
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10-15-11, 12:52 PM
#13
Banned.
10-15-11, 12:54 PM
#14
Banned.
10-15-11, 01:07 PM
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You're getting silly answers because your second question is one of the silly questions that gets asked here on a regular basis. Your first question, however, is a good one and caloso's link is the right answer.
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10-16-11, 09:08 PM
#20
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For any weight you're doing very well if you can do:
45-46 mph off of a 38-40 mph leadout in a slight tailwind, could be flat or even slightly uphill. Subtract 3-4 mph for a slight headwind. Aero wheels. Take 2-4 mph off for box section rims.
42 mph from a dead stop in one gear (light wheels, not necessarily aero).
30-35 mph on a 6-8% uphill (light wheels, preceded by flat road).
Body weight is somewhat irrelevant, at least on the road. Once you reach launch speed it's more about explosive, fast power, and that's mainly genetic. You have it or you don't; you can have it even if you're small (think of the smaller speed skaters like that Ohno guy); big guys have to move a lot more mass but have ultimate power (think track riders). I discovered by accident I could sprint; at my lighter weights (103-112 lbs in college) I thought I'd be a climber. I could consistently hit 42 mph from a dead stop on a wind-dead flat road, and that was at 112 lbs.
I'm stronger, heavier, and much, much, much slower now.
45-46 mph off of a 38-40 mph leadout in a slight tailwind, could be flat or even slightly uphill. Subtract 3-4 mph for a slight headwind. Aero wheels. Take 2-4 mph off for box section rims.
42 mph from a dead stop in one gear (light wheels, not necessarily aero).
30-35 mph on a 6-8% uphill (light wheels, preceded by flat road).
Body weight is somewhat irrelevant, at least on the road. Once you reach launch speed it's more about explosive, fast power, and that's mainly genetic. You have it or you don't; you can have it even if you're small (think of the smaller speed skaters like that Ohno guy); big guys have to move a lot more mass but have ultimate power (think track riders). I discovered by accident I could sprint; at my lighter weights (103-112 lbs in college) I thought I'd be a climber. I could consistently hit 42 mph from a dead stop on a wind-dead flat road, and that was at 112 lbs.
I'm stronger, heavier, and much, much, much slower now.
10-16-11, 10:27 PM
#21
Banned.
Another expert.
70kph (43-44mph) for 300 metres at a time is the training standard, apparently. If you happen to weigh 150lbs while wearing a green jersey, that is...
Interesting to read what you say, cdr. Personally I could never sprint out of sight on a dark night, but class in sprinters seems to be very similar to class in racehorses. It isn't just the top speed, it's the ability to quicken off a fast pace.
70kph (43-44mph) for 300 metres at a time is the training standard, apparently. If you happen to weigh 150lbs while wearing a green jersey, that is...
Interesting to read what you say, cdr. Personally I could never sprint out of sight on a dark night, but class in sprinters seems to be very similar to class in racehorses. It isn't just the top speed, it's the ability to quicken off a fast pace.
Last edited by chasm54; 10-16-11 at 10:33 PM.
10-17-11, 07:07 AM
#22
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I think sustained speed is a fitness/power thing, and I don't have that, at least not now. The acceleration or jump, that's what differentiates sprinters from non-sprinters (at least for me), and that cannot be trained. There are three riders I know of who can outjump me every day of the week, regardless of fitness; two of them don't race anymore. It was very depressing when I learned, the hard way, that my insane sprint was useless against a guy who hadn't raced in 5 years, at least for the first 25-40 meters. I annihilated him after that, but he was 2 lengths away from me before I could start catching him. We jumped in identical gears, sprinted for a garbage can about 100 meters away, both of us knew how to shift at 100% sprint, etc etc. We were evenly matched; he was my first mentor.
So...
In the old days (SUNY Purchase Tuesday Night Sprints), I lived and breathed cycling (worked in a shop, rode, ran a club/team, promoted races). I sold a fellow competitor (and customer and long time friend - we just talked about this a few weekends ago, 20+ years later) a 12T cog. He and I clashed the next Tuesday. He doesn't have a jump so he had to go early. He hit 40 mph, sustained it, and rode me right off his wheel (and no one could get around me to get on his wheel). He won that sprint. He never jumped, he never did any snap acceleration, he just ramped it up to an insane speed and held it until everyone behind him blew up.
On other sprints I could sit in, get my leadout (typically starting at 35 mph since we started on a short downhill, ramping up to about 38 mph), and accelerate to about 42-46 mph (slight downhill, speeds varied based on headwind/tailwind).
Pro sprinters are a different creature altogether. I got a chance to talk to a decent domestic pro. He had just come over from Switzerland, was still wearing the Swiss team kit, and he considered himself an okay climber, at least once the climbs got more than 10k long. He told me about a time he was in some Euro race, suffering like a dog, in the group, on exactly such a climb, and turned to look at the rider to his side. Olaf Ludwig, an enormous (for a pro) sprinter, climbing right beside him. He decided to come to the US where the racing was "easier".
So those pro sprinters can do this stuff but they do it after 200k of racing, 50k of it flat out. I have a hard time going hard for a minute at the end of 100k, forget about 200k.
Cav's peak power is apparently in the 1600-1800w range. That's a realistic number at least. Taylor Phinney's is something in the 2000-2200w range. A former national team track member admitted his max power is about 2400w, his good minute is a touch under 1000w avg. Mine is about 1500 (minute is under 600w). In races I'm usually limited to about 1200-1250w peak due to fatigue. For Cav to hit 1600-1800w at the end of 200k, after an insanely fast leadout... that's impressive.
Of course it is. He's world champ. I'm just on BikeForums
So...
In the old days (SUNY Purchase Tuesday Night Sprints), I lived and breathed cycling (worked in a shop, rode, ran a club/team, promoted races). I sold a fellow competitor (and customer and long time friend - we just talked about this a few weekends ago, 20+ years later) a 12T cog. He and I clashed the next Tuesday. He doesn't have a jump so he had to go early. He hit 40 mph, sustained it, and rode me right off his wheel (and no one could get around me to get on his wheel). He won that sprint. He never jumped, he never did any snap acceleration, he just ramped it up to an insane speed and held it until everyone behind him blew up.
On other sprints I could sit in, get my leadout (typically starting at 35 mph since we started on a short downhill, ramping up to about 38 mph), and accelerate to about 42-46 mph (slight downhill, speeds varied based on headwind/tailwind).
Pro sprinters are a different creature altogether. I got a chance to talk to a decent domestic pro. He had just come over from Switzerland, was still wearing the Swiss team kit, and he considered himself an okay climber, at least once the climbs got more than 10k long. He told me about a time he was in some Euro race, suffering like a dog, in the group, on exactly such a climb, and turned to look at the rider to his side. Olaf Ludwig, an enormous (for a pro) sprinter, climbing right beside him. He decided to come to the US where the racing was "easier".
So those pro sprinters can do this stuff but they do it after 200k of racing, 50k of it flat out. I have a hard time going hard for a minute at the end of 100k, forget about 200k.
Cav's peak power is apparently in the 1600-1800w range. That's a realistic number at least. Taylor Phinney's is something in the 2000-2200w range. A former national team track member admitted his max power is about 2400w, his good minute is a touch under 1000w avg. Mine is about 1500 (minute is under 600w). In races I'm usually limited to about 1200-1250w peak due to fatigue. For Cav to hit 1600-1800w at the end of 200k, after an insanely fast leadout... that's impressive.
Of course it is. He's world champ. I'm just on BikeForums
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