Ultra endurance performance: lessons from pro cyclists

April marks the beginning of the 2024 cycle racing season, and by the time you read this, the famous and incredibly demanding 260km Paris-Roubaix race will already have a winner. However, of all the major cycling tours, it is the Tour de France that is regarded as the pinnacle of cycling performance and drama. The 2024 and 111^th Tour de France starts in Florence in Italy on June 29^th, and finishes 21 stages and two rest days later, in Nice on July 21 (see figure 1). This year’s race covers over 3,400 kilometres (2,112 miles) transiting through Italy, San Marino, Monaco and France, with a total of 52,230m (171,360ft) of elevation gain!

This tour in particular has a heavy focus on hills and mountains. The opening few days in Italy involve a lot of hill climbing and the transit to France requires riders to tackle the Alpine pass known as the ‘Col du Galibier’ – a 38km climb topping out at 2,642m (8,668ft), with an average gradient of around 6%. But that’s only the start because as the race enters its second half, back-to-back summit finishes await in the Pyrenees before the riders return to the Alps with summit finishes at Isola 2000 and La Colmiane likely to play a deciding factor in the overall standings. In short, only riders who possess the highest levels of fitness and are proficient climbers are in with a shout of winning the overall race!

Figure 1: Route of the 2024 Tour de France