In this extract from The Road Book 2022 (opens in new tab), André Greipel examines the current generation of sprinters in the men’s professional peloton and picks out the finest exponents of the art for a closer analysis. The fifth edition of The Road Book is the definitive cycling alamanac, supplying data from every single WorldTour race across the Men’s and Women’s calendar, as well as essays and editorial from leading figures within cycling.
In the current peloton, it is nice to see so many sprinters battling for the win race after race. This is my pick of the top ten sprinters from the current generation. I could have written about another five – but these ten riders are always consistent, with a track record of delivering wins over years or even decades – and I had to make a choice. I hope all the sprinters I have omitted are understanding of my picks. So, here is my top ten.
Caleb has his roots in Sydney. The son of a Korean mother and an Australian father, he spent his childhood in Australia. He started training on the bike at the age of eight, and by the time he was nine he was already competing. Having switched a lot between track and road racing as a young rider, he was conscious of developing a very high leg speed, and that helped him win lots of races in both disciplines.
I first became aware of Caleb when he won the Jayco Bay Criterium Series in 2012. At the age of 17, he won ahead of Robbie McEwen. I was impressed by his body mass and explosiveness during the sprints – he looked like the ultimate ‘pocket rocket’.With his aerodynamic style of sprinting, he could make the difference even coming from a bad position in a sprint. After he finished fourth at the World Championships in Florence in 2013, he showed himself to be not just a good sprinter: he can also climb with the best when he sets his mind to it and has prepared well.
His early career results came very fast. The way he positions himself with his body size is quite insane. He isn’t scared to take risks or open the sprints from a long way out, often finding gaps nobody else could. Think of the Tour de France 2020 stage 3, when he won ahead Sam Bennett. Caleb isn’t a rider who needs a lead-out train. His peak power – around 1600 watts at 69kg (more than 23 watts/kg) – is outstanding. Mostly the team delivers him to the last kilometre and then Caleb follows his instinct to position himself on the wheel he wants.
During uphill sprints…
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