# Typical top speed in sprint?



## Bob B

Here's an easy one:

All other things being equal (flat road, no wind, etc), what is a typical top speed for a sprint finish in the euro/pro peloton?


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## I am The Edge

approaching 50mph...


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## philippec

over 70 km/hr .... but less than 80.

75 km/hr for McEwen.... and he's won a few. http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/9392.0.html


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## JSR

philippec said:


> 75 km/hr for McEwen.... and he's won a few. http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/9392.0.html


Averaged 49.1Km for the race. I think that is just over my top end!

JR


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## Bob B

I guess that makes sense. Spinning a 53x11, which I'm assuming is a normal top gear these days, at 120rpm puts you at about 46mph (75kpm).

Thanks - Bob


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## bmxhacksaw

This is supposedly a picture of Team Highroad’s Greg Henderson's power meter after his stage 3 TdG win.


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## stevesbike

what's his max power - 1.25 (got to be more than 1250 watts)


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## Bertrand

Cadence of 176? Did he melt his bottom bracket?


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## SleeveleSS

stevesbike said:


> what's his max power - 1.25 (got to be more than 1250 watts)


Max power is on the top. Almost 3000 W


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## brujenn

I hit 43 once, going down a 5% hill, pedaling hard as I could, arms, knees, chin, ears and everything else pulled in as far as I could get them. I'm starting to doubt my dream of turning pro by the time I'm 52.


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## kbiker3111

SleeveleSS said:


> Max power is on the top. Almost 3000 W


No, thats KJ


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## zosocane

That 176 cadence is sick.

My thinking on top ProTour speeds in a sprint where there's a lead-out train is the train is pulling at 35 to 37 mph (assuming no tailwind or downhill, of course) to control flyers, etc. and then the sprinters launch and duel it out over the last 200 meters at top speed around 40 to 42 mph. There was a thread about this on this forum during last year's TdF.


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## asgelle

fornaca68 said:


> That 176 cadence is sick.


If the SRM works like the Power Tap, high cadence numbers are easy to get by moving the feet up and down with the magnet near the sensor. The switch reads each up/down as a full revolution giving greatly exaggerated rpm's.


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## Einstruzende

asgelle said:


> If the SRM works like the Power Tap, high cadence numbers are easy to get by moving the feet up and down with the magnet near the sensor. The switch reads each up/down as a full revolution giving greatly exaggerated rpm's.


Yea I doubt he's doing that in a sprint.

FWIW I believe the SRM "makes a calculated guess" at cadence. Maybe it's another PM i'm thinking of though.


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## Einstruzende

SleeveleSS said:


> Max power is on the top. Almost 3000 W


That's total amount of work for the ride, expressed in kJ.


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## uzziefly

176 ain't sick actually coz honestly, it's very possible to spin at that for a very short while on a lower gear.

And in a sprint, given the speed he went at, it's not too far off perhaps. Add that to the easy to get a high cadence by moving up and down, there you go - 176


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## SleeveleSS

Einstruzende said:


> That's total amount of work for the ride, expressed in kJ.


Sorry, I guess the -eek- smiley didn't convey that I was joking. I should have used another normal smiley afterward. Damn internet and it's lack of voice inflection.


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## iliveonnitro

Powertap has virtual cadence...


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## MaestroXC

This was a downhill sprint, and Henderson's a fairly accomplished track rider, so he's used to sitting down and spinning his legs very, very fast. 

I remember McEwen hitting 79 km/h on the opening crit for the Tour Down Under 2(?) years ago, with the benefit of a tailwind.


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## Bob B

My money says that the 176rpm number is indeed bogus. 

Just do the math - I suppose you have to guess at his gearing. Let's say he's in a 54x11. That puts him in the neightborhood of 128 rpm. Pretty reasonable.

If he were actually doing 176rpm at that speed, he'd be in a 54x15. I think that is unlikely.

Some trackie please chime in - is 176 rpm anywhere near realistic? I know I'm pretty nervous on my fixie at anything approaching 150 rpm, but that's just me...


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## jollydriver

*Match Sprinters Spin at 160+*

Hi

FWIW, in Keirin and Match Sprint, at the highest levels guys hit 70+ KPH. The big ring is usually a 49-50 with a 14-15 sprocket in the back. That equates to 160+ RPM in the final 250 meters of a sprint. 

For the Pro road-racers, especially those with big lead-out trains, the designated sprinter sits behind 2-4 guys, conserving energy and spinning until the final leap. With either a slight down-hill finish, tail-wind, or both, does 176 RPM seem so far out of reach for the final 100 meters/few seconds of a sprint?

For reference, I also attached an interview from Marty Nothstein where he talks about winning the Match Sprint Gold in 2000, and he notes he was on a 50x14, had spun over 160, and thrown down 2200+ watts to reach 50 MPH (80KPH).

http://www.cyclingnews.com/interviews/nothstein012.shtml

Regards


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## bill

the best sprinter I know packs an 11 in the rear but uses it only on long downhills and not in a sprint. for a sprint, he spins up a lighter gear (maybe a 13 or so).


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## FTM

Bob B said:


> Some trackie please chime in - is 176 rpm anywhere near realistic? I know I'm pretty nervous on my fixie at anything approaching 150 rpm, but that's just me...


I've maxed out at 220rpm going down hill on my fixed gear. My Garmin cadence sensor maxes at 180rpm but since it is fixed and my max speed was 46.2 and my gearing was 49:19... I thought my bike and body would disintegrate; never again will I try that. I can comfortably hit 180rpm with gravitational assistance but I'm no sprinter.


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## bmxhacksaw

That must have been truly scary!


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