whats the speed of a road racer

[photography27]

whats the speed of racers like cavandish....wiggins etc? how fast do the go

 

[JonnyBlade]

Surely they are only as fast as the rider

 

[Smokin Joe]

A sprinter like Cavendish can reach nearly 50mph flat out.

 

[ianrauk]

The winner of the 2010 Tour De France average speed over the complete course (3641km's) was 39.58kph (24.59mph). Of course this includes all the mountain stages.

 

[buggi]

50mph flat out! i can't even get that downhill LOL

 

[photography27]

wow thanks for the answers, 50 mph flat out.......bloody hell!!!

 

[iAmiAdam]

Generally speaking, on a flat day, the peleton can average around 30 mph for hours.

Mountains, 14ish would be fair I think.

 

[zigzag]

The winner of the 2010 Tour De France average speed over the complete course (3641km's) was 39.58kph (24.59mph). Of course this includes all the mountain stages.

it would be interesting to find out their average speed riding solo. 33-35kph? still bloody fast

 

[frank9755]

They're quite a bit faster than that!

The 25 mile time trial record is 45h 54mins, which equates to 32.7mph or 52.3 km/h. That's on an aero bike, but no drafting.

The 24 hour record is 525 miles, which works out at 21.9 mph or 35km/h

Info here

Edit - For info, even I am faster than that for an hour - my best time for a 25, which is nothing special for a club rider, equates to average speed of 38.4 km/h. I am sure you would be 40+!

 

[Will1985]

How about perhaps the most extreme example? Stage 6 of the 2007 Tour de France (a scorching day) - Wiggins was out on a solo break for 190km. His average speed for the day was 36.87km/h! If you look at the time he was alone, it was probably more like 38km/h as he got blown straight out the back when the catch was made and sat up a bit.

 

[iAmiAdam]

So long story short, they're in a whole different league to us mere mortals.

 

[zigzag]

it's always hard to compare the speeds without having a point of reference. was stage 6 hilly or flat(-ish)? what was the wind (or no wind) direction?
i was told that the fastest c&m hilly50 done by an elite rider with an average speed almost 29kph . as i've ridden the course, it makes it easy to understand and compare the differences.

 

[HLaB]

I can't remember the exact figures but I'd guess on a hilly course a good club rider would average 18-21mph, a good amateur would average 23-24mph an average pro would average 25mph+ in the mountains and folk say Cav (and other sprinter) cant climb!

 

[darth vadar]

A sprinter like Cavendish can reach nearly 50mph flat out.

Almost as quick as me then.

 

[HLaB]

Almost as quick as me then.

On a motor bike?