Professional cycling was faster than ever in 2025. After the quickest Tour de France in history in July, by the time the men’s WorldTour season reached its denouement after the Tour of Guangxi, the story was much the same – a record-breaking average season speed of 42.9 kilometres per hour.
Just what does it take to keep up with those speeds and compete for victories? “Adapt or die” is how one former Grand Tour winner, Jai Hindley, puts it simply.
‘It never gets easier, you just go faster’
The Australian describes the acceleration as all-encompassing, not just at the biggest races, as he sits down to speak with four journalists at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s media day back in December.
Almost as famous for his one-liners as he is for winning the Giro, Hindley approaches the subject with a degree of humour, but his words are serious, and his prediction about the future generations of racers is stark.
“It’s not only the Grand Tours that are more brutal, it’s everything. Everything, every race is harder than the last,” Hindley tells a small group of media, before quoting an icon of cycling, three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond, to sum it up best.
“As LeMond said, ‘It never gets easier, you just go faster’. It’s really like that – you feel the sport is evolving rapidly. The races are getting more and more fast, and it’s not getting any easier, that’s for sure. So adapt or die, basically.”
The number one rider in the world’s status as an already all-time great highlights that too, with Pogačar’s almost complete domination of the entire calendar making it impossible to miss any percentage point if you want to compete.
For someone trying to win Grand Tours like Hindley, improvement year…
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