You can’t really use climbers as an example when you are looking for high wattage. They’re good for high W/kg, but not if you’re looking for high power, short durations.
I’ve done >1000W for 23sec, 880W for 30sec and 1min power at 620W (all within the past year). I’m not an elite rider - just a local A-Grade club racer who doesn’t ride/train consistently or do any significant volume. BUT I am 88kg and for bigger guys, it’s easier to put out bigger raw watts!
For interests sake, my peak 23sec was at the end of a 3h coffee ride over a short rise. Avg. cadence 108rpm with peak power at 1479W.
Just looked at the details of some of the top level guys over here in Aus from some recent nationals races, bay crits & TDU for comparison. Stand out numbers are:
461W for 6min 11s on the first ascent of Mt. Bunningyong in the Nationals Elite RR.
794W for 50sec on final lap of a Bay Crits stage (after 1h racing).
1296W for 19sec - Andre Greipel on a pre-TDU training ride.
Those numbers are from some of the biggest and strongest guys in the field. All of those numbers are around 15% better than I can do.
The difference between a top WT pro and the top domestic pro’s is typically that they can still produce high power at the end of long races. When they are both fresh, difference can be pretty minimal. So, assuming the gap between a top domestic rider and a WT pro is less than between a them and I (for peak 1min power), 1 min at 1000W may be achievable for the BIG world tour level sprinters/roleurs when they are fresh.
I reckon it would be pretty close to the absolute limit of what is possible though for an endurance road rider?
Honestly I think it’s perfectly possible to hit a 1000W for 1min, not just for pro athletes but for ‘normal’ cyclists. There are some freaks out there that could kill horses with their legs
I’m not sure whether I could do 1000W for 30sec as I never actually went all out for 30 sec. Normally the sprints I do are up to 20 sec. But I think I might be able to do it. I’ll definitely try this season for the sake of curiosity
Regarding 1 min, this season I will be aiming at breaking 850w. Having a 1min bomb is useful in the local races I do due to the nature of the courses, sort of like a ‘long sprint’ finish effort.
900w @ 1min for an 80kg sprinter is on the 99th (best) percentile (see fft.tips/rankme) where the sample is riders who record their data with a power meter
According to the old maximal power duration tables (forgot who did it - Coggan?) - 11.5W/kg is the top of the table and absolutely world class. I’m sure there are a few exceptions above it… but they would be extremely rare.
Most WT athletes are below 80kg, so on that basis the peak 1min power would be around 920W. Someone like Kittel was reported to be about 86kg - making it 989W… so it is feasible to break the 1000W/1min mark as an endurance road rider…
850W is still a pretty big target for any rider… if 85kg, that’s still 10W/kg for 1min, which referring to the same table puts you at the level of a domestic pro! In terms of personal improvement - you’ll need to add almost 14% to your previous best? Kudos to you if you can get there!!
Aim big or go home For sure 850 is already at he super top end, but who knows, maybe. I think after my last season, doing at least 800 is doable.
In terms of pure W/kg it wouldn’t be that impressive though (well it still would be but it wouldn’t put me in World Class or anything). My optimal peak race season weight is 90 kg, so if even doing 850W that would give me 9,44W/kg so a mid Cat.1 at best according to the table below.
OH yeh for sure, legs like tree trunks. I could be wrong and he could be 80KG. I just can’t imagen anyone that heavy winning a hill climb in the UK no mater the power they are doing.
when I first got my kickr, I tried to ride out the spiral of death. I noticed I hit 1000w just as the bike fell off the trainer. Had to be at least a couple of seconds.
Unless I had the power file, I wouldn’t believe a word about x watts over x duration for any pro rider. It’s estimated. And I have extreme doubts that GVA can do 900w for 60+s especially after 120 miles 12 days into a tour.