Bike sprinters.....?

Westy5866
Westy5866 Posts: 37
in Fitness and Exercise
So im weeks away from buying my first carbon bike (this is just for road).
Unfortunately im built like a sprinter and was through most of my twenties (track and field). I'd like to know what average weight in either kgs or lbs should i aim for?
My first weightloss goal is 90 kg, this im pretty sure is too heavy for any king of competitive cycling. The problem is at 6' 2" it's gonna be pretty hard to get much lower than this.
By the way, i only want to compete at club level as im too old for anything else.......:grumble:

Cheers.

Replies

  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    try one of the cycling groups
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    What do you want to focus on? Sprinting? Climbing? TT? GC?

    Sprinting: Cavendish is 175 cm and 69 kg (thats 5'-9, 150 for us Americans)

    Climbing: Contador is 176 cm and 62 kg (5'-9.5, 137lbs)
    Andy Schleck is 186 cm and 68 kg (6'-1", 147.8 lbs)

    TT: Cancellara is 186 cm and 82 kg (6'-1", 180)
    Wiggins is 190 cm and 69 kg (6'-3, 150)
  • Westy5866
    Westy5866 Posts: 37
    Thanks guys, im aiming for sprinting or TT.

    The heaviest there is Cancellara weighing in at 82 kg, blimey thats light for a 6 footer!!!!

    Ha ha, i think the next time im anywhere near Contadors weight i'll be in a box six foot under....lol

    Thanks again .
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    Cycling is all about either total wattage or watts per kilogram. On climbs, watts/kg matter more. On flatter roads, the higher wattage numbers are vital and a higher weight will not hurt you.

    Tiny guys like Contador put out huge w/kg numbers and climb like it was a flat road.

    Bigger guys, like Cav, put out huge watts for just a few seconds.

    Bigger guys with endurance, like Wiggins or Cancellara, put out ridiculous number (but nowhere near as high as a sprinter) for an hour straight.

    But those are all pros who have reached the pinnacle of their training. At the normal club ranks, most people are barely strong enough to really tell what their genetic gifts are. People who win sprints think they are good sprinters, but it's only because they are racing against other club-level sprinters. They might be awesome national-level time trialists if they trained for it, but at that level they would be terrible sprinters.

    Think of it this way: a "huge" guy like Cav could still out-climb most club racers any day of the week.
  • Westy5866
    Westy5866 Posts: 37
    lol, 'huge' guy like Cav....That did make me laugh. His total body weight is 'one' of my legs....ha ha ha!

    Luckily i live in Norfolk UK, it's much the same as the Dutch topography, so not known for its hill's and mountians....lol. Im currently stuck on a rig in the Indian Ocean with a lot of time on my hands and a decent gym so im spinning as much as possible. My hill and pyramid training sessions are very painful but have noticed a lot of improvment. At the moment i can pump out 350 +- watts for about 3 minuits before having to rest etc. I know this is'nt much to a seasoned cyclist but it's certainly better than a year ago when i first started..:o).
    I understand the power to weight ratio aspect of it but not too sure where to look to find any reliable figures?

    Cheers.
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    What kind of reliable figures are you looking for?

    And what are you using to measure that 350 watts?
  • Westy5866
    Westy5866 Posts: 37
    Basicaly any figures that arn't guess work, I joined a club on my last leave but they where breaking up for christmas and i had to book to hire a bike for their sufferfest (turbo session). I couldn't ride that night and i think the other riders thought i was a bit of a weirdo when i was trying to check their Garmins..lol

    The Wattage is from the spinner on the rig, it measures cadence, watts, HR, distance and time. Im out of my seat and in a high gear for that kind of wattage.
  • dfquigley
    dfquigley Posts: 186
    Yep, if you want to be able to climb it's watts/kg so it's about getting as lean as possible while preserving the appropriate muscle :p

    It also helps if your upper body isn't huge too, Unnecessary weight ;)

    I'm 5'11" and I'm aiming for around 70 kg.
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    A good power meter (PowerTap, SRM, and so on) is an incredible training tool but they also cost an arm, a leg, and a couple internal organs. I have one and I love it, but I made a lot of progress training with just heart rate and perceived exertion (learning to tell when your heart rate is lying to you is a major skill to have!)

    I'm a sprinter who's nearing 40. I still have a decent sprint (I'm more of a snappy 5-second sprinter), but I've lost a lot of nerve in the group since I don't heal like I used to. I'm focusing more on time trials this year, so I'm going a lot of VO2 and threshold work. Most of the courses around here are rolling hills, so I need both a reasonable w/kg and a decent absolute power output.
  • Westy5866
    Westy5866 Posts: 37
    My upper body is too big, bugger. Still when i get down to 90 kg i'll have something to spur me on.

    Cyclink, what do you mean by your 'HR lying to you'? I thought only wives do that when we discuss wages...:o)
  • matsprt1984
    matsprt1984 Posts: 181 Member
    http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/powerprofiling.jpg

    Read all about it. However there is a lot more to this than watts/KG.
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    Cyclink, what do you mean by your 'HR lying to you'? I thought only wives do that when we discuss wages...:o)

    Heart rate is very easy to manipulate. If it's warm, cold, humid, if you are dehydrated, nervous, angry, tired... any of these can cause your heart rate to run higher or lower than normal.

    If you download your heart rate and speed data on a regular basis, you can very quickly see where that data is just all over the place.

    I've seen heart rates of 130 standing on the start line on a very nervous day. I've gone into workouts really tired and only gotten up to 140 BPM (while going full bore for 8 or 10 minute)
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/powerprofiling.jpg

    Read all about it. However there is a lot more to this than watts/KG.

    yeah, I oversimplified it a bit.

    Cycling fitness is mostly w/kg, but success in racing takes a lot of tactics and skills in addition.

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