Personally, based on observation of riders in Grand Tours, I would have said that the pros were getting a little heavier, but the results of a new study seem to show that the BMIs of those riders have significantly declined over the past decade.
Are the riders taking the watts per kilogram metric to its extreme? There’s no argument that, all other things being equal, a skinnier cyclist is going to be faster than a rider that weighs 5 or 10 pounds more. And, despite the weight weenies that try to reduce their bike to the lowest possible weight, it’s easier to reduce weight on your body versus on your bike.
At least in the modern era of cycling, weight-related issues and unhealthy weight-reduction methods, such as fasting, overexercising, and extreme dieting, are major concerns in cycling. A previous research project found that 46% of surveyed elite-level cyclists felt pressured to lose weight.
Researchers at the University of Bern conducted a study to investigate Body Mass Index trends in elite-level cycling. Using data from the ProCycling Stats website, they analyzed height and weight data of the top five male finishers in the General Classification (GC) category of the UCI’s Grand Tours between 1992 and 2022.
The study calculated the BMI of 156 unique top-five finishers, yielding a total of 445 BMI values. This included cyclists with multiple top-five finishes in different races and years. The researchers found that, although individual data points varied, there was a general decline in the average BMI of these cyclists between 1992 and 2022, a decrease from 22.12 to 20.13.
For a 69 inch tall cyclist like me, that translates to a drop from 150 pounds to 136 pounds! I last weighed that much sometime in my college years.
“Our findings support existing anecdotal and academic evidence, suggesting that BMIs are declining within the top finishing positions in the men’s Grand Tours over these years”, says researcher Alexander Smith of the University of Bern, “It should be noted that a BMI of 20.13 is not unhealthy in itself or indicative of any future health problems. However, the decreasing BMI trends of the top five finishers in these races since 1992 may raise broader concerns against the backdrop of unhealthy weight-management issues in the sport, as demonstrated by accounts from riders and academic research. This could have consequences for athletes and regulators, as the pressure to perform may lead to harmful behaviors, with potential negative effects for both the short- and long-term health of the athletes”.
Weight issues are well known in cycling. Lots of riders have already spoken about it. “I pushed my weight loss too far ahead of the Tour de France”, Geraint Thomas told CyclingNews in 2016. “Looking back I could see the mistakes that I made with losing too much weight, too quickly, while doing a load of training. That just took me a while to regroup mentally as well as physically. My weight had been up and down and it wasn’t what I was used to.”
Rohan Dennis shared similar concerns with The Adelaide Advertiser in 2020. In 2017, he started a four year plan to transition from a time trial specialist to a Grand Tour contender. Dennis said he dropped down to 68kg from his ideal time trial weight from 70-71kg before the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire. He said he feared developing disordered eating habits. “I’ll be honest with you, I started to eat and not eat and was on that slippery slope of a complex or disorder. It got to a point where I was putting on weight, I would have one beer but then feel guilty and wouldn’t eat at training the next day, so then I couldn’t train properly, I wouldn’t do a good session, eat minimal and bonk again. Then you think you’re s**t, you feel down and you keep going.”
The governing bodies of other sports have introduced proactive measures to promote health and safety. “For example, in Formula One, changes were made to the calculations involving car and driver weight”, explains researcher Michael Liebrenz. “In ski jumping, a rule was introduced meaning that the length of an athlete’s skis was based on their BMI. In rowing, minimum body fat guidelines have been introduced.”
Elite cycling does not have such policies. “This lack of regulation could jeopardize the well-being of cyclists and the sport’s image in the long run”, state the researchers. “The UCI has made fantastic progress in supporting the integrity of the sport and in helping to protect the health of riders through various initiatives. In this area, they could consider implementing similar interventions, taking inspiration from other weight-sensitive sports. These may include prevention and awareness campaigns, screening programs, and BMI-based guidelines for elite-level riders.”
The study results are available pre-print form via the following link: https://www.researchsquare.
Lou Gubrious loves to talk about bikes. Especially over a beer. Likes to ride bikes, too. Then drink a beer.