How Fast Do Pro Cyclists Ride In Training? + Dumoulin Retires | GCN Racing News Show

How fast do professional cyclists ride in training? We’re used to seeing their exceptional speeds in bike races, but are they much faster than us outside of them? This week Tom Dumoulin is taking a break from cycling, plus we round up the UCI Cyclocross World Cup from Overijse, the Flandrian Cross in Hamme and a chance for you to join Team Movistar.
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[@gcnracing]

Who do you think will win the cyclocross world championships next weekend?

[@HappyMealDeal]

That’s a tough one between Van Aert & Van Der Poel and other contenders... 🙄

[@xv587]

I think van Aert

[@phillippitts6294]

MVDP , unless it’s seriously muddy. Then Wout

[@Workaholic42]

Nobody, Corona wins... 😥

[@nickw6175]

the combined presenter cyclo cross commentary is a highlight throughout the season really creates a great atmosphere even with the lack of crowds

[@iansutton8802]

Good old Tom D. It’s one of the things I most like about cycling - that racers are so demonstrably human. I’m sure other sports wouldn’t recognise the fact that pressure brings unhappiness. Most people would say, youre paid well so shut up and put up and give us wins. But the cycling community seems to put people first and treat them like humans. I doubt he’s completely lost to the sport but it’s great that he’s allowed by his team and us as fans to take his time to find where he fits best. He’s still part of the family. Good luck Tom.

[@timwalker3987]

I’m relatively new to watching cyclocross thanks to GCN, and now I’m hooked. I’d love to see some videos from JP and Marty covering some of the finer points of the sport; it’s history, tactics, competition rules, etc.

[@badbitecrew]

Thank you for your compassionate approach to tom’s time off.

[@leighharwood9415]

Ooh .. Dumoulin said he'll make his rides on Strava public when he retires .. say goodbye to your KOMs people 😬

[@whatwelearned]

Joke's on Dumoulin; I don't HAVE any KOMs!

[@danieldillon268]

Bold of you to assume we have KOM's

[@leighharwood9415]

@@danieldillon268 rush out tomorrow and get one before it's too late 😉

[@TheUsername1302]

What's a KOM? And should I have one?

[@leighharwood9415]

@@TheUsername1302 surely you should have loads 🍻

[@PistolPC007]

Thanks for making me feel better about training rides!

[@CartarioTheFarmer]

Looking good! Nice camera angle - good to see all three riders behind you. Great show as always.

[@tccycling]

Ha! Those avg speeds with that much climbing is crazy.

[@staypufft80]

Exactly!!

[@RobertoHerreraPeres]

Indeed

[@richardstewart5499]

Marty, absolutely enjoy your commentary at the races, pre-, during and of course, in-race. Thanks for the top-notch reporting!

[@speedbird4576]

Pros go fast, climb alot and ride lots of miles an average speed af around 30 kph is fast for most of the long hilly rides they do per week.

[@user-yn5sk5ru5g]

Relatively speaking, its fast for us, its not fast for them. The majority of the time they ride at a very low intensity

[@dave_xc]

I can mantain 30 km/h for 10 minutes on flat, but I have a ~12kg cross-country bike

[@geisslersonMC]

They train according to the 80/20 principle, so yeah, most time they ride at an easy pace

[@mattschm5486]

It’s not about absolute speed but effort. I do some trail and med distance running ( up to 40 k with 2400m elevation). Most of the training are relatively slow runs or runs where you mix fast parts with very slow rest periods

[@speedbird4576]

Sure , you can also gauge effort by average speed for a road or loop you are used too eg 30 kph full gas , 25 moderate pace and 20 kph easy for a loop you used to riding .This applies if you dont have power meter

[@GorgiRistovski]

You need to make Tom Dumoulin part of the GCN crew

[@rintje6507]

This NEEDS to happen!

[@judaciousrugby6062]

Start a petition

[@luukrutten1295]

Need? hmm that is probably not the right word to use. Tom actually seems to hate publicity or fame...

[@matthewlewis2072]

I think TDM is shy

[@RichardMigneron]

Thanks Dan for the positivity, alone I push myself and ride a bit over 30 Km/h for over 70 Kms with lots of wind almost every ride last Summer. I feel a lot better now.

[@drouleau]

So yeah, that Froome ride here in Malibu, on that particular day it was CRAZY windy, 30-50 mph winds (we had gusts up to 80 mph here in Santa Clarita with some large trees toppling over).....so his average speed would have been lower than normal.

[@LeonIneke]

Good to hear the pro's don't ride so fast alone in trainings, makes me feel less bad about my own rides :-)

[@timvanmonero2720]

they spend 30 hours a week in Z2... we amateurs don't have the time for this, so then we go for sweetspot training instead.

[@LSF000]

Excellent points about speed, Dan. It was actually really good to get that straight from an ex-pro. It's a little mental that, while not having aspirations of going pro even if it were still possible at the age of 53, comparing my speeds with the pros prompts me to put unnecessary pressure on myself. Quite frankly, I didn't even notice that I was thinking that way, and I think it's taken some of the enjoyment out of riding for me at times. Thanks!

[@MrBillboeing]

I always try to catch a fast e-moped and use his slipstream 😁 it helps especially with headwinds

[@PrzemyslawSliwinski]

7:00 - What was the Durbridge's average speed during his 'TT' effort at the Santos Festival?

[@dul22]

Maybe...but their first annual "get the engine starting" ride after hibernation is by far better than most of our best summer peak form rides... cheers

[@roadglide]

Dumoulin. Huge Respect for his achievements, hope he gets his pathways cleared for the next chapters of his life because they are waiting. Getting “paid well” for any Sport, comes with an incredible amount pressure and high expectations. It’s a business. Your team’s livelihood with Sponsor dollars live and die/exist by your teams results and you are integral to that success. At the end of the day, always business first and foremost. That’s the reality and but ugly side of the conversation. With the fast advancement of young talented riders with demonstrated big results, his being billed as a Co-leader also may have played with his ego just a bit. Responsibilities that you can not hide from and only you can deliver are tough when your hearts really not in it. Alway do what’s best for you and your family first. Peace.

[@johndef5075]

I remember pros training on their mtbs back in the Norba series races in 90s. I was decently fast but they absolutely flew by and were out of sight within seconds.

[@japphan]

I can also ride below 25km/h on average. And by a lot at that.

[@matthewlewis2072]

Me too! Are you a pro MAMIL as well?

[@secretagent86]

My fastest average ride was 25 km/hr this year (usually 23-24) ... there are a few short STEEP hills (like 12-18 percent) in there. time in the 1-2.5 hours range. i might need to drop 25 kg to be a pro though lol

[@paulwebster2856]

Dan, check out Connor Swifts Strava ride last Saturday. When you look at it in awe, please do not forget that the ride was completed in the South Yorkshire and Derbyshire hills at 2 degrees, all the local guys are saying that they couldn't have done that ride on a moped!

[@robbchastain3036]

Thanks for a quality show and isn't another reason for faster speeds in races the show-off factor? You don't want to be slow when everyone s watching, even if it hurts to go fast. And the sweet spot is when the joy of shedding the field outweighs the pain of the pursuit, especially when the crowd goes wild.

[@farrier53]

Dumoulin seems like a good guy & reasonable about his life.

[@johnmanuel7561]

The numbers of these pros are mind blowing!

[@mohdhafizabdulghaffar8564]

This makes me feel good about my solo training ride 🚴🏼‍♂️😅, thank you!

[@sinan6713]

Dumoulin was one of the kindest pro cyclists I've known. Always positive, and at the same time a serious racer. I'll miss him (at least for a period of time)

[@Pratalax]

YEP! yepyepyepyepyep. Canyon sram lookin like superheroes. Winner. Happy to hear Tom explain his decision so eloquently, as one might expect - i think his words would no doubt be incredibly useful for a great number of people. Glad we still got Wout around to show everyone how to be a great sports personality (along with also being an exceptional athlete).

[@jordanschwartzberg]

Really enjoy GCN’s commentary, however in this particular clip, regarding training speeds, I feel that it’s essential to mention that the majority of Pro training sessions (as should amateurs) are within 60% of their Max HR (in other words reasonably comfortable). With only 1-2 training sessions per week exceeding that (ie. Intervals &/or time trialing). That being said, the speeds in which pro riders train (on their leisure rides) are substantially quicker than most of us are capable of achieving at 80% of our Max HR. The obvious difference is genetic - in addition to age, years in the saddle and weight, which are key factors to be considered. I’ve observed Stefan Küng, Swiss National Champion & 2020 Bronze medalist at the WorldsTT) training solo to be incredibly intense (purely on the basis of avg speeds reported in strava / including serious climbing), but factoring in they are Pro’s, they are likely training at only 60-70% of their Max HR.

[@paddychamp6069]

I think I could join Movistar for sure. With my bike skills and power figures, I could be in the team car or working in the feed zone.💪

[@csizmas392]

8:56 Covering the chimney with a helmet, clever...

[@Pedreone]

Lots of credit goes to the advantages of hiding in the peloton. All the greater are the efforts of solo breakaways of +100k and keeping out of reach of said peloton. E.G. Thomas De Gendt!

[@tbone-ip5fi]

It would, perhaps, also be good mentioning that pro endurance athletes, including pro cyclists, often spend the majority of their training time at lower intensities. For cyclists at this level, as much as 80% to 90% of the total training is done at low intensity, with only 10%-20% of the time spent at medium- or high-intensity work. This factor is an additional important contributor to the "low" training speeds of pro cyclists.

[@jordanschwartzberg]

My thoughts exactly. Just noticed your comment after my post.

[@joes3703]

Thanks for the insight Dan !

[@hatzefugsingah]

Those climbing numbers are insane, did 200 km // 2700 m of elevation once, absolutely brutal.

[@GrayFox-xd9ww]

Ride up long hills everyday it won’t b brutal anymore

[@Bayo106]

@@GrayFox-xd9ww true

[@secretagent86]

i really enjoyed the bit about average speeds. i agree 40 km an hour in a bunch is easy if fit. in the 1970s i raced as a junior. in one race we went "out" with the senior men into a headwind, and juniors turned around earlier with a decent but not huge tailwind. two of us broke away (i lost the sprint unfortunately). but we averaged 40 km / hr for 3 hours.. at that time and place it was super amazing. (flat roads)

[@nathanielconwi5060]

It is the emotion that makes cyclist faster. Your emotions while training is different while in race. I’ve proven that competing in serious race makes me faster and I’m even amaze that I can do all those things.

[@petinka721]

Good see Jeremy again!

[@johntrussell7228]

Pro racing is so incredibly hard and these riders do not get properly paid. They do not have the support networks around them that professional athletes deserve.

[@embuscadochifreinexplicaca5960]

Thats because they dont give the proportional profits to the companies paying them

[@devidia]

@@embuscadochifreinexplicaca5960 Cycling has one of the biggest input/output ratio's from all sports around the world. The amount of publicity they get for the little amount of money they pay is absolute bonkers. So no, you couldn't be more wrong.

[@embuscadochifreinexplicaca5960]

@@devidia What do you mean by publicity? In contrast with TV channels or cycling events, cycling teams are not something 'exclusive' (theres not only 3 or 4) so who decides how much to pay, normally is the company, and as you may understand, that will vary by how much profit you give the company, mainly the big teams are the ones giving that profit. If you see these teams, the main guys receive extremely well.

[@devidia]

@@embuscadochifreinexplicaca5960 Wtf are you on about? Cycling has a massive return, literally a hundred million people can see your brand during the Tour de France. So basically every rider in that team is worth a lot more than they are gettind paid for. As you might be aware of, it's the cyclist doing the riding, not the company's on the shirts...

[@matthewlewis2072]

@@embuscadochifreinexplicaca5960 Bora and Hansgrohe have both said that sponsoring a pro team has been hugely beneficial, and a very sound investment. I had never heard of Quick Step before they sponsored a team... It's a massive opportunity to get significant coverage. Why do you think DS' go nuts when they win a big race? Partly, it's because they know that means they'll have a job next year.

[@noskillzdad5504]

you DID make me feel better about myself, thanks!

[@jatojo]

My experience is that races with big groups that are allowed to spread out on the road make me go around 4 k faster than races where the riders are riding behind each other in the groups (one and one).

[@briansteele2723]

Here near Monaco I’ve ridden along behind Sagan Deignan and others and not been stressed but the main reason seems to be that they are just cruising on way to the hills where they put their efforts in rather than me being strong!!!

[@thepie4052]

20:30 - Well said Dan 👍

[@andrewwilkerson9758]

I saw that Jumbo line up and all I can think is "oh my stacked"

[@user-yn5sk5ru5g]

The CX world championship course looks interesting. If the wind picks up the beach section can be brutal

[@NoahStephens]

This is a great explanation of why pros are much faster in races than most of us are on our own.

[@mathisdhondt1520]

Watch Deceuninck-QS this week. Averages of 35 kmh.

[@robhangen2639]

Don't know if Marty Mac is a regular, but great to hear him. Miss his cycling.tv cyclocross commentating!

[@gcnracing]

Marty has been doing excellent cycling commentary with us for 2 years or more now! We love having him on board

[@erichj7236]

Did you see Sepp Kuss's Strava? He is really good at Nordic Skiing as well!!!

[@leebender7463]

"king gammon!" anyone else listen to merciful fate or king diamond?!?! too good

[@markgueren9633]

That’s what I heard too!!! Lol grandma!!!! Welcome home!!!lmao

[@Simonewhitesim-1music]

Yes king diamond

[@vinileyro]

so the pros make "easy" training that would be by far the ride of my life lol

[@InternetLaser]

now I feel a lot better about my 18.5 mph average speed when I´m out on the road.

[@teuast]

Whoever's designing the women's kits should have a word with whoever's designing the men's ones. The only men's kit that even comes close to Canyon-SRAM is EF.

[@facediaper09]

Mental Health and family should take precedence over racing.

[@metuka12]

agreed! Leffe is a Prince amongst beers

[@kmcm2680]

You should have checked out a few of Ryan Mullen’s training camp rides 🚀

[@Ezza-1]

Ritchie Porte has been training at above 32 kph in Tasmania during January.

[@umaduro]

What about fitness building in zone 2?

[@bloodsord9]

Adrenaline and competition also make you ride faster

[@assadmoney]

How do they reach speeds of 70kph or more on the flats especially when sprinting is wt i always ask myself 🤔

[@rwenger567]

Next GCN video: How long can Dan maintain 40kph in a group since it is "not that difficult"

[@stnnrt7562]

Well..... It really isn't

[@MsPietpaaltjes]

@@stnnrt7562 it is hard on your own without a tailwind

[@HTB6493]

Triggered 🤣

[@TGShunai]

I mean, he isn't wrong.

[@bobfoster687]

Have done it years ago, for 100 miles.Huge group.

[@kamucho]

Wout can do Out (said in Yorkshire/Northern)

[@Hurricanefuckface]

Richie Porte has been dropping the hammer on Strava pre TDU!

[@melbcyclist9236]

Did you see his ride on the 29th

[@Hurricanefuckface]

@@melbcyclist9236 YES! SAVAGERY!

[@rewaspa]

Any chance to get the graphic/diagram (by TU Eindhoven)? A link, website,...? Thanks a lot and ride on?

[@stevedevine7393]

On March of last year I could do 28k an hour up 12 percent grade. I then had a bad injury and now I do 20k an hour average. hope! I get back...

[@jamesbarber6375]

Last few vids appear to have the wrong colour space or something and have lacked saturation and contrast?

[@NanoDex]

Remember, they are the best of the WILLING. They are still human. Let that be motivation!

[@cliffcox7643]

unfortunately, they're human, but have blessing of superior genetics.

[@kyleos100]

Leffe is not from Overijse, but from the region of Dinant.

[@whitt5676]

Richie Porte did a 33kmph 130km ride in Launceston tasmania

[@HkFinn83]

Australia is pan flat

[@whitt5676]

@@HkFinn83 yes 2000 meters plus of climbing is pan flat. Tasmania is a small island south of Australia. which is all very mountains and not pan flat

[@RobBelanger]

Cervelo sponsors sunweb, Dumoulin leaves. Cervelo sponsors Jumbo Vismo, Dumoulin leaves. Coincidence??? Probably. What do i know 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@frazergoodwin4945]

And Cevelo sponsors, well, the Cervelo test team and one of their riders - a certain Dan Lloyd - then ends up on the couch more than the bike - hhmmmm - you're onto something!

[@neelsahay5227]

Tommy D isnt a fan of creaky BBs, it seems!

[@bossg2817]

That's the reason! He don't like Cervelo bike.

[@johnandrews3568]

@@bossg2817 Can't blame him. To go from an awesome Bianchi to well... those... would be enough to make me quit. :)

[@foodbag312]

Had us in the first half.

[@anagamin6793]

May i know if the total time is an inclusive of resting time ??? Or they did it continuously without any stops ??

[@samgooding-matthews3175]

If Wout Van Aert joins the 5 vs 1 I look forward to Hank Connor and Alex’s Why WE got dropped video 😂

[@matthewlewis2072]

...and the Council asking who melted the tarmac

[@itarry4]

If it's muddy for the Cyclocross World Championships then I'd definitely place my money on WVA, if dry then it'd be MVDP. Either way those would be my first 2 with Pidcock coming in 3rd. Unfortunately he's just still not quite got the power or the handling skills quite yet but from everything I've seen this season it won't be long before the 3 of them are battling it out not just the 2 who have dominated for so long now. Considering his age Tom is amazingly strong and has stunning bike skills I'd imagine thanks to his MTB racing. As for my original point so far this season WVA has seemed to have the edge when it's really really slippy mud and it's when it's like that that WVA has beaten MVDP.

[@Whistler4u]

Dumoulin didn't retire. He announced he quit cycling temporarily.

[@woutervl]

I'm still on the fence of him returning to cycling after this. I read some articles in the national newspaper, this has been a topic for him for years. The man doesn't cope with the pressure. Wouldn't be surprised if he just wanted to be a domestique IF he returns.

[@gustaylor240]

@@woutervlI agree he wont come back but to say he "doesn't cope with pressure".....he won the Giro Ditalia from behind FFS. ...

[@woutervl]

@@gustaylor240 I know, but he said in an interview (Dutch newspaper) that after that the pressure to perform was getting bigger and bigger. That took the pleasure/fun out of it.

[@blackpaint9093]

Just like marcel kittel 😂🤣

[@ankurapte1808]

13:52 jeremy hiding his chimney after all those trolls calling him out 😂

[@goomaboi]

What is this in response to? Haven't looked at GCN in a couple weeks.

[@ernestpaul6444]

Lets all hope that during his break from cycling big ol' Tom considers the idea of having a go at the hour record and absolutely demolishes the current time

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

It is a sand cross, so I'd say Van der Poel. But Van Aert is extremely strong at the moment and he impresses me on the technical front. I am hoping for a no accident/flat tyre race with a good duel. Hopefully with the likes of Michael Vanthourenhout, Toon Aerts and Laurens Sweeck thrown in. Hopefully Tom Pidcock has overcome his fear for sand.

[@jurestiplosek3018]

If you only jump out when a car pas you, you can get a lot of wind shield. But if they are training endurance I think sometimes is harder to ride slower than fast. That means they must spent more time in saddle :)

[@merckxy54]

Nice tan Marty!

[@AaronGoodTimes]

Good to see Marty

[@johnandrews3568]

interesting to see JPow hide his overly high 'chimney' with his helmet. :)

[@yules_3000]

Jeremy showing up after Dan is like sun popping out of the clouds.

[@yules_3000]

See! He even likes the blond beer! Dan's probably a guiness person ;)

[@tomasdevaney5739]

I ride 25km/h on average on a gravel bike with big fat wheels and peddles because I'm afraid of clip-ins! can I get much fast if I get an aero bike? and brave up and clip my feet in??

[@efrenochoajaysiman1216]

Come on #Carapaz knows how disciplined you are, with faith, you win the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France, you are the big favorite and we started well against the clock🚵‍♀️🥇👏

[@allthingsTechrelated]

Come back Tom, it won’t be the same without you

[@simonandrachelperchard5779]

This video really made me feel good about my own riding :-)

[@animatetheidea7945]

I feel better now:)

[@sham2bam]

Pardon my trolling but Jeremy's headset is giving me proper aerospace vibes 😅

[@farrier53]

Yea, totally goofy if you ask me...

[@whatwelearned]

Leffe Blond team STAND UP

[@dgregoryherschell7300]

How fast is relatively meaningless since the weather, terrain, intervals, etc. aren't included. Probably a better measure would be the average watts/kg that the pro averaged over the ride.

[@georgewilson19]

The numbers you keep citing about riding behind a motorcycle are from a study measuring in a wind tunnel, not in the real world. Wind, turns, other riders/vehicles, and all other things that create wind turbulence make the actual effect much smaller.

[@GrinderMagee]

I’ve been riding 6hrs a week for 3 years and can’t even avg 32kph(20mph) on a 90min ride on flat tarmac!!

[@audreybonin1335]

I would love if GCN cover a bit more women pro cycling with Canyon/Sram and Liv racing namely

[@HkFinn83]

Nobody watches it

[@andreiarama8745]

My average when I ride solo it's way lower than when I ride with friends

[@phoenixaroui8712]

U gain like how much purcent ?! 🤔

[@marcolukasanne]

You should try a Leffe Rituel 9 next time

[@Andykerrsailtraining]

You know your a cyclist when you get the Wout Van Aert video

[@richs4678]

These rides all have insane climbing, and the average power is always over 250W for over 6 hours, definitely not slow at all.

[@Juan0003]

I see "GCN Netherlands" on the horizon. Do you?

[@matthewlewis2072]

See what you did there

[@thomasvanassche5346]

Did you mean gcn BENEL?

[@tsdtom81]

Train low - compete high!

[@siaranulanganvlogs]

Dan always funny as usual