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The most powerful cyclists in Team GB’s Olympics squad might not be who you think they are.
For many, the mind will instantly go to the track riders, particularly the sprinters, whose giant quads and explosiveness are among the most impressive in the sport.
Still, there’s a branch of cyclists who are even more powerful. Their bikes are smaller, and their quads are bigger. Meet the BMX racers.
Introduced into the Olympics in 2008, BMX racing consists of riders barrelling down an eight-metre high start ramp, and vying for positions around a 400m pump track. It’s a test of raw strength, and those who compete in the discipline for GB are capable of putting out over 2,500 watts – around 10% more power than the world’s best track sprinters.
“Obviously it changes from rider to rider,” BMX racer Ross Cullen told Cycling Weekly. “[My peak power] is definitely pushing over 2,500 [watts] on some testing we’ve done. Obviously we don’t know how accurate that is, but we’d like to think it is.”
Cullen will travel to Paris as a reserve rider for Team GB at this summer’s Olympics, where his teammate Beth Shriever will defend her gold medal from Tokyo.
For the reigning women’s Olympic champion, power is everything when setting off down the start ramp. “You’ve got to get moving fast and hard, as quick as you can,” Shriever said. “We’re doing a lot of power stuff, a lot of strength stuff. Then it’s about pedal efficiency as well around the track. You’ve got to be efficient. You’ve got to be able to spin, but also create power. It’s all very technical.”
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(Image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
Speaking in March this year, Shriever revealed that her power PB was 1,500 watts, with room for progress. “Maybe before the Games it will be 1,600 or 1,700,” she said. “I think I’d make some of those girls a bit nervous if I went on the track.”
Next month, GB’s track sprinting hopes will be pinned on world champion Emma Finucane, and her teammates, Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant, in the women’s sprint squad.
Finucane, although better known for her racing prowess and aero positioning, has a peak power of around 1,400 watts. Marchant is understood to put out the highest numbers in the team, with a peak of around 1,500 watts.
On the men’s side, Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen, a 13-time world champion, has hit powers of over 2,300 watts, setting a peak power of 2,338 watts at last year’s UCI Track Champions League. This is still 200 watts short of Cullen’s best.
“I’m going to try the track later this year, and I’ve told them all I’m going to try and smoke them,” Cullen said. Shriever, too, would like to go up against her friends in the track squad. “We’ll show them what’s what,” she smiled.
The BMX Racing at the Paris Olympics will start on 1 August, with the finals taking place on 2 August.
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