Sprinter's Power Output

[Davesta]

I just read this story - http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/abu-dhabi-tour-in-numbers/ - and it got me wandering...

The article quotes Giacomo Nizzolo's sprint power in the first stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour (the stage he won) to be 882 watts.
It doesn't state the time period for which this power was held, but it seems low to me. Even for a 30 second power, I'd expect a pro sprint specialist to be putting out much more than this...

I've read/heard a couple of examples of sprinters putting out x amount of watts (Kittel puts out 1600w, Cav peaks at 1200w etc), but these never feel accurate and I suspect are either made up, or widely estimated...

So, does anybody know of any documented power outputs for the top road sprinters - both power and duration - when sprinting to victory/podium in WT races?

 

[Vroome.exe]

I've recently read that Gaviria reaches 1200 watts in sprints and it's more than Cav can do (stated by trainer who tested it), but Cav stated himself that he peaks at 1500-1600w so we can just keep guessing.

 

[Catwhoorg]

As a rule never trust a cyclists self-reported power, let alone a maximum in a short effort.

 

[kingjr]

Kittel and Greipel peak at about 1900.

 

[mojomonkey]

For reference, Power Analysis: Andre Greipel's Tour of Flanders: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-analysis-andre-greipel-s-tour-of-flanders

Going for the line, he hits his Peak 2, 5, 10, 12, 20 and 30 second values with a Peak 2 second power of 1613W, or 19.4w/kg!

 

[Red Rick]

Very, very large difference between 30s and 2s power outputs. I'd be very suprised if top sprinters couldn't do more than 1500W tbh.

 

[hazaran]

Sprint power values are always pretty meh, no one tests their power meters at 1.5kW and the durations are very very short. Not to mention that it doesn't actually tell you much because of the overwhelming influence of drag at speeds of 60km/h.

 

[May0maniac]

Greipel is able to produce +1900W for a few seconds in a sprint.
http://www.srm.de/news/road-cycling/tour-down-under-stage-6/
In an interview with a German cycling magazine Kittel said that his numbers are between 1900 and 2000W.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

These riders are not sprinters. They are aerobic endurance athletes with some pretty decent neuromuscular power capabilities. To put it into context, masters age category track sprinters up to 50 years old are often in the 1500-2000W range for peak power.

There is also quite a difference in sprint capability when fatigued compared to when fresh. Neuromuscular power responds really well to freshness, which is why doing as little work as possible is key to good road sprint power.

Real sprinters are hitting more like 23-25W/kg for ~5 seconds, perhaps a bit more for a full revolution peak power. Sprinters are not aerobic athletes and instead compete in sprint events on the track (track TT, team sprint, match sprint and 200m TT qualifying) or in BMX.

Speed is a different equation as well, as it requires physiological capability matched with the physics, especially aerodynamics.

Winning road sprints is a function of all those things + race craft (and often courage).

In any case, one doesn't need to be the best sprinter in the race, just the best of who is left at the end. But you still have to execute well.

 

[Davesta]

Re:

These riders are not sprinters. They are aerobic endurance athletes with some pretty decent neuromuscular power capabilities. To put it into context, masters age category track sprinters up to 50 years old are often in the 1500-2000W range for peak power.

Yup, that's why I asked about "top road sprinters" in the "Professional road racing" forum...

And whilst there's obviously a difference between what riders can do when fresh vs fatigued, it's still interesting to understand what their capabilities are in different circumstances.

 

[Davesta]

Re:

For reference, Power Analysis: Andre Greipel's Tour of Flanders: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-analysis-andre-greipel-s-tour-of-flanders

Going for the line, he hits his Peak 2, 5, 10, 12, 20 and 30 second values with a Peak 2 second power of 1613W, or 19.4w/kg!

Greipel is able to produce +1900W for a few seconds in a sprint.
http://www.srm.de/news/road-cycling/tour-down-under-stage-6/
In an interview with a German cycling magazine Kittel said that his numbers are between 1900 and 2000W.

Thanks both, these are just the sorts of things I'm after, rather than self-reported numbers (which are hard to trust as Catwhoorg points out), or hearsay/unsubstantiated claims (such as kingjr's post).

 

[kingjr]

Re: Re:

For reference, Power Analysis: Andre Greipel's Tour of Flanders: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-analysis-andre-greipel-s-tour-of-flanders

Going for the line, he hits his Peak 2, 5, 10, 12, 20 and 30 second values with a Peak 2 second power of 1613W, or 19.4w/kg!

Greipel is able to produce +1900W for a few seconds in a sprint.
http://www.srm.de/news/road-cycling/tour-down-under-stage-6/
In an interview with a German cycling magazine Kittel said that his numbers are between 1900 and 2000W.

Thanks both, these are just the sorts of things I'm after, rather than self-reported numbers (which are hard to trust as Catwhoorg points out), or hearsay/unsubstantiated claims (such as kingjr's post).

Apologies.

Greipel
http://blog.ligney.com/2014/02/la-puissance-de-greipel-en-video.html

Kittel
I can't find the interview or comment anymore, but iirc it was made in the wake of this post on his Website

http://www.marcelkittel.de/de/66-mit-neuem-wattrekord-in-die-türkei.html

I only found this which says 1800, that's from 2011 however, so not very recent.
http://inrng.com/2011/08/marcel-kittel-a-sprinter/

 

[Davesta]

Re: Re:

For reference, Power Analysis: Andre Greipel's Tour of Flanders: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-analysis-andre-greipel-s-tour-of-flanders

Going for the line, he hits his Peak 2, 5, 10, 12, 20 and 30 second values with a Peak 2 second power of 1613W, or 19.4w/kg!

Greipel is able to produce +1900W for a few seconds in a sprint.
http://www.srm.de/news/road-cycling/tour-down-under-stage-6/
In an interview with a German cycling magazine Kittel said that his numbers are between 1900 and 2000W.

Thanks both, these are just the sorts of things I'm after, rather than self-reported numbers (which are hard to trust as Catwhoorg points out), or hearsay/unsubstantiated claims (such as kingjr's post).

Apologies.

Greipel
http://blog.ligney.com/2014/02/la-puissance-de-greipel-en-video.html

Kittel
I can't find the interview or comment anymore, but iirc it was made in the wake of this post on his Website

http://www.marcelkittel.de/de/66-mit-neuem-wattrekord-in-die-türkei.html

I only found this which says 1800, that's from 2011 however, so not very recent.
http://inrng.com/2011/08/marcel-kittel-a-sprinter/

Much more useful, thanks

 

[jens_attacks]

Cipollini for sure above 2000 watts peaks.

 

[Nirvana]

Re:

Cipollini for sure above 2000 watts peaks.

I remember an interview during a race on Bike Channel where he said that he peaked at around 2200 watts in training but he never used power meters in the races and added that with the new bikes that are better than the ones used when he was in the peloton he could have peaked even more.

 

[King Boonen]

Does anyone actually believe, or even listen, to a word that comes out of Cipo's mouth?

 

[HelloDolly]

Surely the issi is not the poweer output but how long it can be maintained ...30 seconds or 10 seconds are big differences

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Re:

Surely the issi is not the poweer output but how long it can be maintained ...30 seconds or 10 seconds are big differences

The issues, as I mentioned before, involve a whole range of factors.

 

[Nirvana]

Re:

Does anyone actually believe, or even listen, to a word that comes out of Cipo's mouth?

Cipollini is all but a liar, his problem is that he says every time what he thinks, no matter the implications that has.

 

[orangerider]

Chris Hoy, at his peak, could do 2600 watts for about 1.5 seconds. What's more impressive is how much force he could apply to the pedal - 516 lb-ft of torque. That's far more torque than most cars. But since he can only maintain it for a second.

 

[Stephen_Lane_Official]

I love the comment below about real sprinter being track Sprinter’s... road sprinter are really endurance athletes with a good kick. To give you an idea of my power output for road.. after I retired from Elite Track sprinting where my max was 2300w and my 1min average was 1101w, I now do 1939w for my max and 736 for my 1 min... but my 5 Sec is 1730, 10 Sec is 1487w and 30 second is 1128w.... this is after 2 years of transition to road. I have also dropped 16 KG.
Enjoy ;-)

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

MvdP did 1400W peak at Amstel Gold Race after 250km. Sprinters can peak much higher for a very short period (few seconds) in road sprints. Probably around 1800/1900W as reported earlier.

Track sprinters go way above (+2200W peak power perhaps even higher)

 

[Red Rick]

This vid has some really nice analysis also on sprinter outputs

 

[tobydawq]

I just read this story - http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/abu-dhabi-tour-in-numbers/ - and it got me wandering...

I'm seriously disappointed that RHD hasn't asked you where you ended up when your wandering came to an end

 

[Davesta]

I'm seriously disappointed that RHD hasn't asked you where you ended up when your wandering came to an end

My sprint power isn't that high, so I'm afraid I didn't wander very far...