If you've ever wondered what sort of numbers the world's top sprinters are able to produce, and also how you measure up, then Velon has pulled together the stand-out sprints which it measured over the course of the 2018 season.
The top spot for max power came early on in the year from veteran sprinter André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal), as he raced to victory on stage six of the Tour Down Under, beating home favourite Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott). The German hit an incredible 1903w as he reached a peak speed of 76.8kmh averaging in 1,326w in the entire sprint.
Ireland's Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) had the next best peak power in Velon's pick of the sprints, hitting 1,480w on his way to his maiden Grand Tour victory at the 2018 Giro d'Italia. With average of 1070w over the 17-second sprint, Bennett was able to just shade the on-form Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) to the line on stage seven of the race.
Watch: Caleb Ewan's guide to sprinting
Despite missing out on that win, Viviani took four stages at the 2018 Giro, and his effort on stage 13 also saw him make the list. The Italian champion beat Bennett on that occasion, and despite having raced for almost two weeks, was able to pull out an average power of 1,100w for the 16-second sprint that concluded the stage, hitting a max of 1,310w and 69.2kmh to take his third victory of the race.
Sam Bennett and Elia Viviani sprint on stage seven of the 2018 Giro d'Italia (Sunada)
(Image credit: Yuzuru SUNADA)
Viviani's team-mate Fernando Gaviria was also pushing out some big numbers before his Tour de France debut, beating world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) on stage two of the 2018 Tour de Suisse.
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The Colombian surged ahead of Sagan with a 1,200w effort for 22 seconds, hitting a maximum output of 1,440w.
Three-time world champion Sagan didn't feature in the list year as a winner, but his power numbers for stage three of the Tour de Suisse (1,070w average, 1,420w max) weren't enough to catch Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) who took the victory.
Sonny Colbrelli out-sprints Fernando Gaviria and Peter Sagan (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Sagan started his sprint further back and actually put out bigger numbers than Colbrelli (1,050w average, 1,190w max), but was unable to get ahead of the Italian before the line as he found himself boxed in. It was second place Gaviria though - who beat Sagan to third - that put out the best stats, averaging 1,130w with a maximum of 1,380w as he hit 63.2kmh compared to Colbrelli's 63kmh.
Unfortunately the data doesn't cover all races in the calendar, but gives a glimpse of some of the amazing power numbers that the world's top professionals are able to pump out.
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Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.
An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).
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