A sprinter is a

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by

accelerating In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Acceleration is one of several components of kinematics, the study of motion. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnit ...

quickly to a high speed, often using the

slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or water) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving object, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is moving. The term slips ...

of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy.Menaspà Paolo et a
''Performance analysis of a world-class sprinter during cycling grand tours.''
Int J Sports Physiol Perform, 2013 Apart from using sprinting as a racing tactic, sprinters can also compete for intermediate sprints (sometimes called ''primes''), often to provide additional excitement in cities along the route of a race. In stage races, intermediate sprints and final stage placings may be combined in a points classification. For example, in the

points classification in the Tour de France The points classification () is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, which started in 1953. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and these are recorded in a points classification. It is co ...

, the ''maillot vert'' (green jersey) is won by the race's most consistent sprinter. At the Tour de France, the most successful recipient of this honor is Slovak sprinter Peter Sagan, who has won seven

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

green jerseys (2012–2016, 2018–2019).

The road sprinter

Sprinters have a higher ratio of fast-twitch muscle fibers than non-sprinters. Road cycling sprinters sometimes tend to have a larger build than the average road racing cyclist, combining the strength of their legs with their upper body to produce a short burst of speed necessary in a closely contested finish. Some sprinters have a high top speed but may take a longer distance to achieve it, while others can produce short and sharp accelerations. Aerodynamics plays a key role in sprints. A sprinter is usually heavier, limiting their speed advantage to relatively flat sections. It is therefore not uncommon for sprinters to be dropped by the

peloton In a road Cycle sport, bicycle race, the peloton (, originally meaning ) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting (racing), drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The ...

(also known as the 'bunch' or 'pack') if a race is through hilly terrain. Sprinters may have different preferences. Some prefer a longer "launch" while others prefer to '

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

' or

behind their teammates or opponents before accelerating in the final meters. Some prefer slight uphill finishes, while others prefer downhill finishes.

Sprinter tactics

In conventional road races, sprinters may bide their time waiting until the last few hundred metres before putting on a burst of speed to win the race. Many races will finish with a large group sprinting for the win; some sprinters may have

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

-mates, so-called domestiques 'leading them out' (i.e., keeping pace high and sheltering the sprinter) so that they have a greater chance of finishing in the leading positions. These teammates tend to "peel off" one by one as they tire; the last teammate is known as the "lead-out sprinter" and the best of them are excellent sprinters in their own right. Several of the

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

one day races, for example

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...

, tend to favour sprinters because of their long distance and relatively flat terrain. A long day of racing does not benefit a sprinter per se, but very long stages or one day races tend to preclude successful breakaways and otherwise aggressive racing, ensuring the race will come down to a bunch sprint. Most editions of these races end in a bunch sprint, often won by racers also successful in the points classification at stage races. Stronger sprinters with abilities in hilly terrain or on cobblestones also have good prospects of winning the Ardennes classics or the

Cobbled classics The cobbled classics are four cycling classics held in March and April. Cobblestones, like mountainous terrain, are important elements in courses of cycling. Many classic cycle races in northwestern Europe contain cobbled sections. The two Monumen ...

respectively.

Famous sprinters

The first great pure sprinter in the

was Frenchman Charles Pélissier who won eight stages in the 1930 Tour de France, still a record (shared with

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

and Freddy Maertens). A year later, Pélissier battled with Italian sprinter Raffaele di Paco in one of the first major sprinter clashes. Both won five stages. In the 1941 Vuelta a España, Delio Rodríguez won 12 stages, followed by 8 the next year. He even managed to win the Overall Classification a few years later. Another successful sprinter of the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

was French allrounder

André Leducq André Leducq (; 27 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a French cyclist who won the 1930 and 1932 Tour de France, Tours de France. He also won a gold medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in the team road race event and the 1928 Paris–Roubaix ...

. Although he could do more than sprint alone, including winning stage races (winning the

twice) and classics, 15 of his total 25 stage victories in the Tour were in bunch sprints.

André Darrigade André Darrigade (born 24 April 1929) is a retired French professional road bicycle racer between 1951 and 1966. Darrigade, a road sprinter won the 1959 World Championship and 22 stages of the Tour de France. Five of those Tour victories were on ...

is considered as the greatest French sprinter of all time. He won 22 stages in the

and twice the Points classification. He also built his legend by winning titles ahead of major cyclists, as the 1955 French National Championship ahead of

Louison Bobet Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 – 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 195 ...

and the 1956

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

ahead of

Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...

. He finished on the podium of the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

4 times in a row and won the title in 1959. Freddy Maertens only participated in six grand tours but took home the Points Jersey on four occasions, winning 12 of his 15 Tour de France stage wins in a bunch sprint. His only participation in Vuelta a España in 1977 resulted not only in a record 13 stage wins, but also in the win of the general classification. Just five days after finishing the Vuelta, he went on race the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

, where he won 7 stages before having to abandon the race after a crash halfway through the race. As the sport of cycling progressed into one of more specialized riders in the 1980s, bunch sprints became the arena of specialists – pure sprinters like Guido Bontempi, Jean-Paul van Poppel and Mario Cipollini, all focusing primarily on sprint stages, with other riders (classics specialists, time trialists, climbers etc.) aiming for victories in other types of stages. Cipollini holds the record for most stage wins in the Grand Tours as a sprinter; 57, of which 42 were in the

. Fellow Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (48 stage wins) won stages and the Points Classification in all three grand tours, including 20 stage wins in the Vuelta. The record for stage wins in the Vuelta belongs to Delio Rodríguez, with 39 wins.

Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...

was named the Tour de France's best sprinter of all time by French paper ''L'Équipe'' on July 15, 2012. His tally currently stands on 52 individual stage wins in Grand Tours, 35 of which have been bunch sprints in the Tour de France.

Erik Zabel Erik Zabel (; born 7 July 1970) is a German former professional road bicycle racer who raced for most of his career with Team Telekom. With 152 professional wins and 211 wins in his career, he is considered by some to be one of the greatest Germ ...

won a record nine points classifications: six in the

and three in the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

. Of the five riders to win the Points classification in all three Grand Tours, three were pure sprinters: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Alessandro Petacchi and

. The other two were all-rounders

and

Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert (born 30 November 1968) is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as ''"Jaja"'' (slang for a glass of wine; when he continued drinking wine as a professional, the nickname stuck ...

. Peter Sagan won a record seven

Points classification in the Tour de France The points classification () is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, which started in 1953. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and these are recorded in a points classification. It is co ...

. He won three consecutive

, one European Championship, two Monument races

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

and

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

. The only three riders in cycling's history to win stages at all three grand tours in the same calendar year were all sprinters: Miguel Poblet in 1956, Pierino Baffi in 1958 and Alessandro Petacchi in 2003. A good sprint can also secure several victories for other specialists, such as Classics riders and GC-contenders. Seán Kelly won 21 stages in the Tour and Vuelta, and the Points Classifications of both races four times each, in addition to his nine major

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

wins. Likewise, Belgian classics specialists

Rik Van Steenbergen Hendrik Van Steenbergen (9 September 1924 – 15 May 2003) was a Belgium, Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists. Early life Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk into ...

, Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck were very successful due to a good final sprint, as were Italian

-winners Bepe Saronni and

Francesco Moser Francesco Moser (, ; born 19 June 1951), nicknamed "Lo sceriffo" (The sheriff), is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He finished on the podium of the Giro d'Italia six times including his win in the 1984 edition. Moser was dom ...

and their compatriot and two-time World Champion,

Paolo Bettini Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classic cycle races, classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of th ...

. Conversely, many sprinters use their abilities to win more than just stages, and were successful in classics such as the

(like Rudi Altig and Jan Raas),

(

Eddy Planckaert Eddy Planckaert (born 22 September 1958) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. In 1988, Planckaert enjoyed perhaps his best year by capturing the green jersey (points competition) at the 1988 Tour de France a ...

) and the

(like

) or even stage races (in addition to the aforementioned Leducq, Rodríguez, Maertens, Saronni and Moser, they include Rudi Altig, Sean Kelly and

who all won the Vuelta, as did

1968 Tour de France The 1968 Tour de France was the 55th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 27 June and 21 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Eleven national teams of 10 riders competed, with three French ...

winner and all-rounder

Jan Janssen Johannes Adrianus "Jan" Janssen (born 19 May 1940) is a Dutch former professional cyclist. He was UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, world champion and winner of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, the first Dutch rider ...

. The ultimate sprinter classic due to its relatively flat course is

, won four times by Zabel and three times by three-time World Champion Óscar Freire. Other "flat" one day races considered important sprinter classics include

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

, Scheldeprijs, Vattenfall Cyclassics, Paris-Brussels and

List of successful sprinters

; Men * Djamolidine Abdoujaparov * Rudi Altig * Pierino Baffi * Marino Basso * Guido Bontempi * Tom Boonen *

* Mario Cipollini *

* Arnaud Démare * Raffaele di Paco * Caleb Ewan * Urs Freuler *

Fernando Gaviria Fernando Gaviria Rendón (born 19 August 1994) is a Colombian professional road and track racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is well known as a sprinter (cycling), sprinter. Riding for the Colombian national cycling team, ...

André Greipel André Greipel (born 16 July 1982) is a German cyclist, who rode professionally in road bicycle racing between 2005 and 2021. Since his retirement from road racing, Greipel has worked as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental teams and , and in ...

* René Le Grevès * Dylan Groenewegen * Thor Hushovd * Fabio Jakobsen * Gerben Karstens * Sean Kelly * Marcel Kittel * Alexander Kristoff *

Rik van Linden Rik Van Linden (born 28 July 1949 in Wilrijk, Antwerp) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer. He won the points classification in the 1975 Tour de France, ahead of Eddy Merckx. Van Linden also won several stages in all of the three Grand ...

* Olaf Ludwig * Freddy Maertens * Robbie McEwen * Tim Merlier * Charles Pélissier * Alessandro Petacchi * Jasper Philipsen * Miguel Poblet *

Guido Reybrouck Guido Reybrouck (born 25 December 1941) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer. He is an older brother of Wilfried Reybrouck and the cousin of Gustave Danneels. Major results ;1964 : 1st Paris–Tours : 1st Züri-Metzgete : 1st Stage 2 To ...

* Peter Sagan * Patrick Sercu * Tom Steels * Wout van Aert * Rik van Looy * Jean-Paul van Poppel *

Rik van Steenbergen Hendrik Van Steenbergen (9 September 1924 – 15 May 2003) was a Belgium, Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists. Early life Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk into ...

Elia Viviani Elia Viviani (born 7 February 1989) is an Italian professional Cycle sport, cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . On 10 May 2015, Viviani won his first Grand Tour stage victory at the 2015 Giro d'Italia, Giro d'Italia, win ...

* Dino Zandegù ; Women * Anna Meares *

Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is a British former Track cycling, track cyclist who specialised in the Sprint (cycling), sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Cycling at the Summer Olympics, Olympic, Wo ...

* Kristina Vogel *

Giorgia Bronzini Giorgia Bronzini (born 3 August 1983) is an Italian former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2017. She won the women's road race in the UCI Road World Championships in both 2010 and 2011 and the women's poi ...

* Lorena Wiebes

The track sprinter

Sprinting on a cycle track or

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

ranges from the highly specialised sprint event (where two or more riders slowly circle the track looking to gain a tactical advantage before launching a finishing burst over the final 200 metres, which is timed), to massed-start events decided by the first across the line after a certain number of laps (similar to road racing). The sprint specialist may also ride short

track time trial The track time trial is a track cycling event where cyclists compete individually against the clock to record the fastest time over the specified distance from a standing start. Time trial bikes Track time trial bikes differ from normal track b ...

s over 1000 metres, the

team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The riders use a ...

and

Keirin – "racing track" – is a form of Motor-paced racing, motor-paced cycle racing in which track cycling, track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan ...

events. In Madison racing, a team may comprise a specialist sprinter, for when sudden bursts of speed are required, and another rider able to ride at a more consistent high tempo.

References

''The Complete Cycle Sport Guide'', Peter Konopka, 1982, EP Publishing

External links

How to win a sprint in road cycling
{{Racing cyclist types Sprinter