The Power Behind a Tour de France Sprint Win: The Champs-Élysées

In the 2023 Tour de France, Jasper Philipsen, riding for the INSCYD partner Alpecin-Deceuninck team, has demonstrated his sprinting prowess by securing four stage wins and six podium finishes. Philipsen’s victories don’t stop there. He has been utterly dominant in the 2023 Tour de France, especially in the bunch sprints. Here’s what it takes to win these historical stages of a 3-week bike race.

In addition to his stage victories and podium finishes, Philipsen was the winner of the points classification, making him the holder of the green jersey. He was the strongest figure in the bunch, taking a clean sweep of the green jersey competition. Standing on the podium in the green jersey was an amazing feeling for him.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck team has a unique approach to preparing for key races like the Tour de France. They leverage the power of INSCYD’s performance analysis to understand the physiological capabilities of their riders, like Jasper Philipsen, and tailor their training programs accordingly.

"INSCYD helps us to map the physical capabilities of our riders and to apply targeted training accents in the individually optimized training schedules"

Alpecin-Fenix Cycling Team USE PERFORMANCE TESTING

Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team

Performance Department and INSCYD partner

Coaches, are you interested in understanding how INSCYD can help improve your athletes’ training programs? Book a free call with the INSCYD team to learn more.

This preparation is crucial in achieving victories in such demanding stages. Watch the virtual lecture about how Alpecin-Deceuninck preparation strategy in INSCYD College.

Despite his impressive performance, Philipsen did not win the sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées in 2023. The sprint was won by Meeus, with Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen, and Mads Pedersen following. So let’s dive into the insights of winning cycling’s most prestigious sprint.

Before you can even participate in the Tour de France sprint on the Champs-Élysées, you need to survive 20 other stages that include long days in the saddle and hard, steep climbs. Obviously, this is not something pure sprinters eat for breakfast. But once arrived on the Champs-Élysées, the sprint is all that matters.

Let’s gain a unique INSCYD into the energetics of winning cycling’s most prestigious sprint…

Power data

Up to 1900 watts of maximum power, or Tour de France sprint watts, is what sprinters like Jasper Philipsen need to produce to win a sprint. How can this be done? How do those top athletes produce this high power output?

Thanks to being the secret weapon in the arsenal of high performance sports organizations in the past decade, INSCYD has exclusive access to data of worlds best sporting performances.

Today we’re going to dive deeper into the sprint of the Tour de France 2016. André Greipel allowed us to share his data of his winning performance on this final stage.

To recap the sprint, here’s a short video:

The sprint power numbers are as follows:

Before the actual sprint

In the final 4 minutes before the sprint, André Greipel averages 424 Watt. More important then the average value are the many spikes of power. For a few seconds, he had to push up to 920 Watt to fight for his position and accelerate out of corners.

The actual sprint itself

A first push of 1000W can be seen before André turns off behind the man in front of him and starts his own sprint. André uses a double punch technique: his 1st acceleration sees him reaching 1510 Watt. The 2nd punch follows 4 sec later and shows a massive 1700 Watt of peak power.

How can an endurance athlete produce such high power numbers?

Lets have a closer look into Andrés muscle energetics during the last sprint of the Tour de France.

Energetics before the sprint:

424 Watt is an effort that is covered mostly be aerobic energy supply. At 80kg of body weight and a VO2max of approx. 78 ml/min/kg , Andrés aerobic power equals approximately 525 Watt.

The 424 Watt during the final 4 min before the sprint start, accounts for approx. 81 % of his aerobic capacity (424 ÷ 525 x 100%).

The frequently occurring spikes of high power are covered mostly by the use of creatine phosphate. Only a small amount of energy is covered by glycolysis and thereby lactate production.

Here’s how to determine the best training intensity to increase your (athlete’s) VO2max

Measuring VO2max is not confined to the lab. With the right approach, it can be calculated outside the lab, providing valuable insights into an athlete’s aerobic fitness. This information is crucial for athletes like Jasper Philipsen, who need to maintain high levels of endurance throughout the Tour de France. Discover how to measure VO2max outside the lab here.

Energetics during the sprint

During the first 4 sec of the sprint, the usage of creatine phosphate still contributes to 30% of the power output. However the energy supply from glycolysis rapidly increase, contributing to 60% of the power output by the end of the sprint.

Here are 5 tips to increase your (athlete’s) glycolytic energy system

What it takes to win a cycling sprint

Here are 2 take home messages:

1. Although the high aerobic capacity of 525 Watt (which equals a VO2max of 78 ml/min/kg) is important, it would not be possible to cover the required power output before the sprint by aerobic metabolism only, because of the power spikes.

2. The sprint took about 60% power supply from glycolysis. Which at 1700 Watt equals approximately 1000 Watt of energy production under the formation of lactate. This is possible with a comparable high VLamax of 0,8 – 0,9 mmol/l/s. Such a high glycolytic capacity (VLamax = maximum lactate production rate) can be seen only in sprinters.

Check out our VO2max and VLamax articles to better understand energy contribution and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date!

In conclusion, winning a Tour de France stage, especially the sprint on the Champs-Élysées, requires a combination of endurance, high power output, and strategic use of energy. Jasper Philipsen’s wins in the Tour de France is a testament to his mastery of these elements.

Coaches, are you ready to transform your athletes’ training with INSCYD’s performance analysis? Book a FREE call with us NOW and let’s get started on this journey together.