REF-884 · Lucía et al., 2001 · Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol. · Paper · PubMed

Preferred pedalling cadence in professional cycling

Blimited evidenceMeasured on elite to world-class athletesWritten before October 2026, being re-checked

The cadence and heart rate of seven professional cyclists were recorded during three-week stage races (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España) across three competition demands: long high-mountain passes, flat individual time trials, and long flat group stages.

Mean cadence on the climbs was significantly lower than on the flat stages and in time trials, although heart rate on the climbs was as high as in the time trials.

The authors conclude that professionals spontaneously ride at around 90 rpm on the flat and in time trials, higher than the most economical cadence reported in most lab studies, but adopt a more economical rate of about 70 rpm on high mountain passes, possibly because of the specific demands of climbing.

Participants

n=7 professional cyclists (abstract: "seven professional cyclists"), 28 ± 1 yr, men (MEDLINE indexing).

Protocol

Cadence and heart rate recorded during 3-wk road races in three situations:

HM: uphill cycling on high mountain passes of approximately 15 km
TT: individual time trials of approximately 50 km on level ground
F: flat, long (approximately 190 km) group stages

Key Results

High mountain passes (HM)Time trials (TT)Flat stages (F)
Mean cadence71.0 ± 1.4 rpm92.4 ± 1.3 rpm89.3 ± 1.0 rpm
Mean HR157 ± 4 bpm158 ± 3 bpm124 ± 2 bpm
Cadence was significantly lower on HM than on F and TT (P < 0.01).
HR was similar on HM and TT and in both cases higher than on F (P < 0.01).

Practical Application

In seven professional riders racing Grand Tours, mean cadence was about 90 rpm in flat time trials and flat stages (92.4 and 89.3 rpm) but 71.0 rpm on long high-mountain climbs, at the same heart rate as the time trials (157 vs 158 bpm). To "my cadence drops on long climbs — am I doing something wrong?": no — the best riders in the world also pedalled clearly slower on long climbs (about 70 rpm) than on the flat (about 90 rpm) at the same effort.
A lower climbing cadence is what professionals chose, not evidence that it is optimal; the study did not test whether a higher cadence would have been faster.
Inference, not tested here: gearing, gradient and body mass all set the cadence a rider can hold on a climb; the passes here were long (approximately 15 km), and amateurs with lower power per kilogram may be pushed to lower cadences still.
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: SYNTH-55 expects cadence to fall on climbs and late in long rides and does not treat that as a fault.

Limitations

Seven professionals; observational race data, so gradient, gearing, drafting and tactics were not controlled.
Describes chosen cadence, not optimal cadence; no power data in the abstract.
Grand Tour riders of that era; gearing and racing have changed since.
Written from the abstract and record metadata only (full text not read).
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level

elite case series, n=7