Wattages In closed field
At a moderate pace on the flat stages of the Tour de France, the peloton is spread out. The captain (1.80 metres tall; 70 kilos) is shielded by his helpers and hardly has to exert any power on the flat, i.e. low wattage, as the air resistance is greatly reduced in the middle of the group.
The helpers pedal harder on average as they defend their position in the peloton and try to keep the captain out of the wind. While the team captain pedals at around 140 watts in this situation, the rider at the front of the peloton (1) has to pedal at around 245 watts.
Captain's wattage in the yellow jersey of the Tour de France
If the captain of a team wears the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, the unwritten laws of cycling demand that his team rides a lot at the front of the peloton in order to control the race and defend the leader's jersey. This also means extra work for the man in yellow, because the slipstream effect at the front of the peloton is less than in the middle of the pack (see diagram above).
The situation shows that during the Tour de France, the helpers often produce more power over the overall distance than the winners. While the captain in the slipstream, for example, produces around 250 watts, his helper at the front of the peloton (1) has to produce 355 watts.
Wattage on a wind edge at the Tour de France
If the wind blows from the side during the Tour de France, the cyclists have to stagger themselves to the side to provide each other with a slipstream. Anyone who can no longer find a place in the relay because of the side of the road rides "on the wind edge" (racers in grey), as the pros call it. The slipstream effect is weaker there. As a result, the field is easily torn apart if a racer is inattentive or lacks power.
Here too, a helper at the front (1) pedals at 420 watts maximum power, the captain can take it easy in comparison - a competitor (2) at the end of the peloton, i.e. on the windward edge, has to do significantly more to move forwards with 380 watts.
Wattage in the individual time trial at the Tour de France
In the individual time trial at the Tour de France, the captain has to show what he can do. No team-mate can provide him with a slipstream. To do this, the rider has to deliver a high continuous wattage - which translates into even more riding speed thanks to good aerodynamics.
Many racing cyclists therefore go into the wind tunnel to optimise their riding position in the battle against the clock. As a rule of thumb, if you need more than 300 watts to reach 45 km/h, you will lose time compared to the best riders. In our example, the captain is pedalling with 460 watts of power in the conditions mentioned. Converted, he needs 288 watts for 45 km/h.
Watt performance in the team time trial at the Tour de France
Very high speeds are achieved in the team time trial at the Tour de France. The main opponent is air resistance. Even in the slipstream, you have to pedal pretty hard depending on your position. In the lead, 500 to 600 watts are required for around 30 seconds at a time.
The resistance decreases towards the rear - in our example: rider 1 delivers 520 watts, rider 2 370 watts and the captain in sixth position 320 watts. A slight tailwind in the example results in an increase of 1.4 km/h.
Wattage during uphill battles at the Tour de France
The favourites are among themselves on the climbs: uphill resistance dominates. As the best riders also ride at high speed on the Tour de France climbs and the wind often blows, there are slight slipstream effects.
Those in the lead (our captain in dark blue) therefore have to invest a little more energy and may end up losing out. As soon as you start to climb, your performance depends on your weight (watts per kilogramme of body weight).
Wattage output on the final climb of the Tour de France
Tactic for the final climb of a Tour de France stage: the captain has his helpers ride up the mountain at full steam and high wattage. At lower gradients of up to three per cent, there is still a clear slipstream effect given the usual riding speeds of the professionals. Nevertheless, the boss has to pedal hard as the uphill resistance is already predominant.
The aim of this driving style: To thin out the field of riders quickly and thus keep the race situation clear. Possible attacks are largely prevented by the high speed. Disadvantage: The helpers quickly "burn out" during such actions - the captain is then isolated and alone with his opponents.
