Who are the most powerful cyclists in the world?

Power lies at the very heart of performance, but it comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

From the likes of stick-thin Tour de France climbers like Jonas Vingegaard to the bulkiest track stars like Robert Förstemann – aka ‘Quadzilla’ – each cyclist has their own power niche.

But who are the most powerful cyclists in the world?

In this video, GCN's James Lowsley-Williams runs through the past and present powerhouses of the sport, covering road, track, and BMX.

Road riders

In road racing, it’s not necessarily your total number of watts that counts, but that hallowed equation of watts per kilo – how much power you can produce relative to your bodyweight.

Watts per kilo itself comes in a range of shapes and sizes, depending on the length of the effort your measuring it on, but as a benchmark, Jonas Vingegaard, winner of the past two editions of the Tour de France, can put out 6.5w/kg for 13 minutes towards the end of a big mountain stage.

When it comes to raw power, it’s hard to forget Mathieu van der Poel’s astonishing acceleration on the final climb of Strade Bianche in 2021, where he hit 1,362 watts.

That put him in the range of the true road racing powerhouses, who are of course the sprinters. Jasper Philipsen, winner of four stages at this year’s Tour de France, has a reported 1,900-watt sprint, while Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen isn’t far behind on 1,500.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

The best sprinters at full pelt during a Tour de France stage finale

The 2,000-watt barrier is a lofty target, but not unheard of. In the recent past, German star Marcel Kittel posted 1,940 watts on a training ride, but it was his compatriot Andre Greipel who reportedly put out 2,000 watts in a road sprint.

On the women’s side, the most successful rider of all time, Marianne Vos, still packs a mean sprint with more than 1,000 watts, but the most powerful right now is her fellow Dutchwoman Lorena Wiebes, who can pump out 1,200 watts.

Track riders

Given they only launch their sprints after several hours of racing, roadies are never going to be among the top riders when it comes to raw power. For that, we head over to the track, and specifically to the sprint events, where the need for endurance fitness is shelved in favour of brute force.

Harrie Levreysen is the current boss of track sprinting, with 13 titles under his belt and a peak power above 2,000 watts. His fellow Dutchman Jeffrey Hoagland, who recently broke the long-standing Kilo world record, has been recorded hitting 2,271 watts.

On the women’s side, the German duo of Emma Hinze and Lea Sophie Friedrich can produce 1,500 watts - some 300 watts more than their road racing counterparts.

All of that, however, pales in comparison to one of the greatest track sprinter of all time, Sir Chris Hoy, winner of six Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles. The Scot reportedly packed a mind-blowing 2,600 watts, significantly more than today’s sprinters.

Not even the German giant Robert Förstemann, aka Quadzilla, can get close. Despite having quadriceps 86cm in circumference, he ‘only’ hit 2,400 watts in a peak power test in 2022.

BMX riders

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

BMX racers have to put serious power through their pedals

The trackies are comfortably more powerful than the roadies, but they may not be the most powerful riders in the world. Step forward, BMXers.

In the heat of competition, these riders burst out the traps and pedal furiously in between the bends and the jumps, at high cadence but with some eye-watering power numbers.

Two-time Olympic champion Nic Long has been recorded at 2,700 watts, while 1990s star Jamie Staff was able to produce 2,600 watts. Meanwhile, Wattbike tests have shown that many of the stars of today, such as Kye Whyte, sit between 2,200 and 2,300 watts.

So there we have it, an overview of the most powerful cyclists in the world and the sort of numbers they’re hitting. Let us know your power numbers, and any other pros we may have missed, in the comments section below!