The Tour de France lasts three weeks and covers more than 3,000km, which makes it one of the world\u2019s most demanding sports events.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As well as the number of days and sheer distance, the riders will average breathtaking speeds of around 50kph<\/a> on certain stages and this year they\u2019ve even ridden through temperatures touching 40\u02daC<\/a>.<\/p>\n This all adds up to an odyssey of endurance, power, rest, recovery and fuelling, which is unlike anything amateur cyclists will experience. There is, of course, a certain natural ability you must have to compete at the world\u2019s biggest cycling race.\u00a0<\/p>\n So with that in mind, here are the numbers behind a Tour de France cyclist\u2019s physiology.\u00a0<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Pro riders at the Tour typically produce 6 watts-per-kilogram<\/a> for a one-hour effort, whereas amateur cyclists might average half of that.<\/p>\n 34<\/p>\n Tour de France cyclists have incredibly low resting heart rates. Stage winner Mathieu van der Poel\u2019s is only 34bpm.<\/p>\n 51<\/p>\n They may have low heart rates off the bike, but the opposite is true when pro cyclists are racing. US rider Neilson Powless is said to have spent 51% of the four hours during stage 8 of the 2020 Tour averaging 165bpm.<\/p>\n 66<\/p>\n Cyclists who win the Tour typically weigh between 60 and 66kg. Tadej Poga\u010dar has said his natural weight is 69kg, but he dropped to 64.5kg for the 2024 edition.<\/p>\n 97<\/p>\n Two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard reportedly had a VO2 max<\/a> of 97ml\/kg\/min at 17. A healthy man in his 20s can have a VO2 max of 35-45, while a trained amateur\u2019s might be 50-60.<\/p>\n 442<\/p>\n A study in the Journal of Science and Cycling estimated<\/a> Poga\u010dar has a mean power output of 442W on 40-minute climbs.<\/p>\n