News : How much do cyclists weigh in the Tour de France? Are they as thin as they say?

We enter the bosom of the platoon of Tour de France to clarify one of the topics that generates the most debate among fans of this sport. How much do professional cyclists weigh? Do they really present a thinness as extreme as some comment ?. To clear these doubts we have analyzed the Team templates world tour thoroughly and with it we have been able to draw some interesting conclusions not without first bringing us some surprise!

Alejandro Valverde arrives finer than ever but I fear that others will "weigh your ass" when the road goes uphill.

Question of height, age and specialty

The first thing one realizes is that there is no single cyclist profile since 30 kilos of difference appear between the lightest runner and the heaviest of the Tour de France.

The French team Groupama FDJ has the privilege of having both runners in their ranks. The honor of being the most "skinny" runner of this Tour de France corresponds to David Gaudu that weighs only 53 kilos for its 1.73m height. On the opposite side of the scale we have the Swiss locomotive Stefan Kung that according to the team's official website registers 83 kg for its 1.93m height, which makes it the heaviest runner of this edition tied with German Roger Kluge (1.92m and 83kg)

Other cyclists are very close to these runners. Among the heaviest we find another FDJ rider, William Bonnet, who weighs 80 kg for a height of 1.85 m to Alexander Kristoff 1.81 m and 78 kg, Tom Scully (83 kg for 1.88 m), Andre Greipel (80 kg for 1.83m), Lukaz Wisniowski (80kg for 1.90m), Jens Debusschere (79kg for 1.83m) or Lars Bak (1.90m and 80kg).

Among the lightest runners in this edition, the great climbers stand out as always. Brokers that have to maximize their power weight ratio when the road itches up. The Spanish Alejandro Valverde arrives finer than ever, newspaper sources claim that he is down 58 kilos, something that for his height of 1.76-1.77m rubs or even exceeds the medical line of danger.

Alejandro Valverde is not the only cyclist who, in view of the long and hard mountain passes, puts his health at risk. Romain Bardet slightly exceeds 60 kilos in weight for his meter and eighty-four centimeters in height, while Egan Bernal does not reach 60 for his 1.74m and Enric Mas arrives with 60 peeled for his 1.77m.

The weight is evident in relation to the height of the corridor. The taller runners are heavier but at times visually their extreme thinness is even more shocking. Wout Poels for example is one of the most chilling corridors to watch live. The Dutchman of Tema Ineos, who attends the Tour as one of the capped, weighs 65 kilos but his height of 1.85m makes him one of the most spiky and "thin" cyclists in the peloton. A very similar case is that of Ilnur Zakarin. The Russian "sputnik" weighs 66 kilos (13 kilos more than David Gaudu) but its 1.87m height makes it authentic wire.

The age of the runners is another important factor. It may seem silly but over the years the runners get heavier. This is mainly due to the fact that they accumulate more muscle tissue and that the basal metabolism is reduced over the years. Alberto Contador himself has stated on more than one occasion that the sacrifices to keep the scale at bay were much greater in his final years of professional career.

Another important issue that you probably have already noticed is the cyclist's specialty. The sprinters are always the heaviest in the peloton since to impose its tip of speed in the massive arrivals they require of a great power in the inferior train, which is translated in much muscular mass.

On the opposite side we find the climbers and the aspirants to the general classification that, as I said, try to lighten any gram of weight to make a difference.

In a medium term we find the wheelers and the time trialists. Heavy runners who perform well on the flat but do not have the raw start of the best sprinters.

As we can see, it is evident that many cyclists are at the limit both in weight and percentage of body fat and that in these conditions their body is especially vulnerable to any alteration of the environmental temperature. To catch a cold when they arrive soaked of sweat to 2000 meters of height is one of the main preoccupations of the assistants of the teams that are in charge quickly of sheltering the runners as soon as it crosses the line of goal.

If the result of the scale has impressed you I do not want to think about what this happy device can mark after 21 days of competition knowing that each cyclist gets to consume more than 100,000 calories throughout the race.

As a curiosity to say that some cyclists weigh more at the end of the Tour de France than before starting it because the body is "bloated" and fluid retention makes a dent in the weight of the athlete.

If you want to know the exact weight of other cyclists like Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana or Alberto Contador do not miss our special "how much professional cyclists weigh" a mine of information for all those who for example criticize the "overweight" of Peter Sagan.