# Biggest Riders in the Peloton



## MojoHamuki

Just wondering who the larger riders are in the peloton?


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## 55x11

MojoHamuki said:


> Just wondering who the larger riders are in the peloton?


Magnus Backstedt who recently retired was 6'4" and 207 lbs.
Boonen and Greipel are both at 180+ lbs. 
Johan Vansummerren is 6'5.5" - possibly one of the tallest in pro peloton.


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## Cinelli 82220

*Eros Poli*

Despite being 6'3" and over 185 pounds, he won a mountain stage of the Tour.

Eros Poli's Ventoux Love Affair - BikeRadar


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## kbiker3111

Ondřej Sosenka is 6'7" and raced for Acqua e Sapone in the mid 00's before setting the hour record.


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## chase196126

Some of the biggest riders in the current pro pelotons: 

Tom Zirbel of Kelly Benefits/Optum Health: 88 kilos/192 pounds

Jens Mouris of GreenEDGE: 91 kilos/200 pounds 


Big guys! Zirbel can climb damn well when he wants to :thumbsup:


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## Creakyknees

how big is Hushovd?


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## easyridernyc

this is a wonderful excuse for me to remain fat.


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## bmxhacksaw

me...


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## chase196126

Creakyknees said:


> how big is Hushovd?


His quoted weight is usually around 83 kilo/180 pounds, but many people who have raced with him say he looks quite a bit lighter. Some of the bigger guys can be deceptively heavy, though. The opposite goes for the middle sized and small guys, they are often lighter (or claim to be) than they really are. 

I think Danielson is a good example of this. In person he looks like he should be around 140-145ish, but his quoted weight is 130. 

A general trend I have noticed is that pro tour rider listed weights are often higher than their actual race weight, whereas domestic guys generally list an accurate or lower weight than reality. Just a little thing I have picked up on


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## foto

Creakyknees said:


> how big is Hushovd?


about 9 or 10 inches. Plenty big.


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## spade2you

foto said:


> about 9 or 10 inches. Plenty big.


Thor's hammer?


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## JCavilia

Miguel Indurain was the largest ever to win the TdF. Big Mig was usually listed at 6' 2", 175 pounds.


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## stevesbike

Michael Zanoli was the biggest rider in the pro peloton I can recall. 6'5 over 200 lbs. A good wheel to get on - as long as he didn't punch you in the face (famous altercation with Davis Phinney). Won the junior world championship, but his temper was his undoing. Died at 35. Michael Hubner (or Huebner) was the biggest person I ever saw on a bike (track rider). Unbelievable legs (East German...).


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## foto

stevesbike said:


> Michael Zanoli was the biggest rider in the pro peloton I can recall. 6'5 over 200 lbs. A good wheel to get on - as long as he didn't punch you in the face (famous altercation with Davis Phinney). Won the junior world championship, but *his temper was his undoing. Died at 35*. Michael Hubner (or Huebner) was the biggest person I ever saw on a bike (track rider). Unbelievable legs (East German...).


Did he die of bad temper?


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## moonmoth

I've gotta believe that Bert "the white whale" Grabsch has weighed-in at higher than his listed 78 kg.

Not peleton related but Sir Chris hits the scale at around 92 kg.


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## 55x11

foto said:


> Did he die of bad temper?


no but he lost part of his career due to it:

www.cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling

"Former Dutch professional Michel Zanoli, who died of heart failure aged 35 on December 29, has been cremated in the Netherlands. Zanoli, who in recent years suffered from mental problems, was active in the late '80's and '90's, winning the gold medal in the Junior World Championship in 1986 before turning pro in 1989 with ADR. He went on to ride for Tulip and Motorola, but was sacked from the latter after a punch up with Davis Phinney during the Tour du Pont in 1992. Zanoli eventually retired in 1996 with 13 wins to his credit, including the First Union USPRO Championships and a stage in the Vuelta in 1991."


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## Cinelli 82220

stevesbike said:


> Michael Hubner (or Huebner) was the biggest person I ever saw on a bike (track rider). Unbelievable legs (East German...).


Him and Lutz Hesslich were like Hulks on bikes. 
There are a lot of really buffed sprinters, even Victoria Pendleton had a wicked weigh-training routine.


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## JustTooBig

JCavilia said:


> Miguel Indurain was the largest ever to win the TdF. Big Mig was usually listed at 6' 2", 175 pounds.


Indurain was the biggest to win the modern Tour.

Francois Faber, known as "The Giant of Colombe", won in 1909. He was also 6'2" but outweighed Indurain by about 20lb. 

Granted, a totally different era. Only 14 stages (but avg stage length = 320km, so they raced every other day). Faber's winning avg speed was just over 17mph.


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## jlandry

How about Big George (Hincapie)? What do they call him BIG for???


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## BAi9302010

Damiano Cunego is 6'3" & 220lbs. They call him the "little prince" with tongue planted firmly in cheek.


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## den bakker

jlandry said:


> How about Big George (Hincapie)? What do they call him BIG for???


the veins on his calf obviously


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## foto

den bakker said:


> the veins on his calf obviously


That's where he keeps his weed.


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## dwc032

Fabian Canellara is 6''1' 6''2' and 185.


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## mik

Marcel Sieberg (Lotto) 6'6" 177LBS

George Hincapie (BMC) 6'3" 170lbs

Marcus Burghardt (BMC) 6'2" 170lbs

Maarten Tjallingii (Rabo) 6'2" 180lbs

Marcel Kittel (1T4i) 6'2" 177lbs

Gert Steegmans (QST) 6'2" 185lbs

Jens Mouris (Greenedge) 6'6" 200lbs


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## atpjunkie

*I met Thor*



Creakyknees said:


> how big is Hushovd?


he's big for a cyclist, which means 'not that big' 
he looked downright dainty next to me, maybe 175


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## tom_h

Keep in mind the pros are typically 4-6% body fat. 

"Not that big" still means they are mostly made of lean muscle mass, not blubber on their abdomen, and are ferociously powerful.

A hard training amateur is likely to be 10-20% body fat.


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## igotyofire

Lars Bak on the HTC team is 6ft'3inches that's pretty tall


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## T0mi

Boonen is 192cm/6'4" and around 82kg/180lbs


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## MUFC6668

Nobody has added to this thread for a couple of years, so here is something to start you talking. Not a World Tour rider yet but young Irish rider has just signed for An Post/Chain Reaction/Sean Kelly Continental Team for the 2014 season, from Belgium team VL Technics/Abutreik. Conor Dunne, 21 at 6' 8" and 198lbs. If he makes World Tour could be the tallest in history.


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## looigi

Interesting. Mass and metabolic demands go as the cube whereas strength, area of lungs, blood vessels, air drag etc go as the square. Based on the simplistic analysis, you'd think bigger should be worse.


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## steelbikerider

Nobody mentions Taylor Phinney?? I think around 6-4 or 6-5. No clue on weight.


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## troutmd

Thor, Tony Martin, and Sparticus look a tad more robust then some of those in the peloton. From the vintage perspective, Mario Cipollini (some report he was 6'2" or taller) looked --- well we all know how he looked --- and Eros Poli (6'4" 198 lbs) merit attention, then there is Big Mig.


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## 3DKiwi

steelbikerider said:


> Nobody mentions Taylor Phinney?? I think around 6-4 or 6-5. No clue on weight.


6'5" and 82kg according to the wikipedia page. That seems a little high. I'm 80kg and 6ft tall and could comfortably lose a few kg's.


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