From featherweight mountain goats to power-packed track sprinters, there is no catch-all shape and size for professional cyclists.
But particularly pro road cyclists are the rarity – hauling your body over the mountains of the Grand Tours generally favours lighter riders.
ProCyclingStats crunched the data in 2017 and found the average weight of riders on the men’s WorldTour was 68.8kg and their average height was 1.81m.
So, who are the riders at the extremes of the data? Who are the tallest and shortest riders at the 2022 Tour de France? And does it have any impact on performance?
Who is the tallest pro cyclist ever?
Conor Dunne, 2.04m
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Conor Dunne, the 2018 Irish champion, never rode in the Tour de France, but he was at the 2017 Vuelta a Espana and the 2019 Giro d’Italia, and completed both.
He was the lanterne rouge at the Vuelta with Aqua Blue Sport and finished the Giro in 135th place overall for the Israel Cycling Academy… which is no mean feat considering the Irishman is 6ft 8in (2.04m) tall and towered over the peloton.
I am 2.04m tall everyone. Which is equivalent to 82 chocolate smarties stacked on each other. I also am able to eat all the smarties.
— Conor Dunne (@conordunnealot) August 19, 2014
Dunne started his career at An Post Chain Reaction and also spent a year with JLT Condor, before getting his Grand Tour chance with Aqua Blue Sport and the Israel Cycling Academy. He ended his career after the 2019 season, after being unable to find a team for the new year.
At An Post, bike sponsors Vitus had to create a new XXL 62cm (yes, sixty-two!) frame size to accommodate Dunne, with a longer top tube allowing extra reach.
Guillermo Brunetta, 2.04m
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Dunne isn’t the only 6ft 8in rider to have enjoyed a career on two wheels.
While it seems no pro rider has ever been taller, Guillermo Brunetta is the same height as Irishman at 2.04m.
Brunetta was not just tall, he also weighed in at 97kg – a product of his track-cycling upbringing.
Brunetta’s career was spent in South America in the 2000s, where his powerful frame was put to good effect in winning four Argentinean national time-trial titles.
Keeping record
Conor Dunne (2.04 m) y Samuel Dumoulin (1.59 m). El irlandés estuvo ayer en una de las fugas de #Richmond2015. pic.twitter.com/oqKWe7PDd6
— Respira Ciclismo (@RespiraCiclismo) September 28, 2015
The UCI actually maintains a list of all riders taller than 1.90m (6ft 2in) – for reasons outlined below.
While the accuracy of the height data in the list is questionable – Dunne, for example, is listed at 1.91m – the tallest riders in the peloton are all recorded.
Three riders are registered at 1.99m (6ft 5in) – Stijn Vandenbergh, Andrew Levitt and Dion Beukeboom – but, like Dunne, none of the trio are still active in the peloton.
Vandenbergh is the best known and, it’s little surprise with his frame and 85kg weight, he preferred the cobbles throughout his career, where the more powerful riders thrive.
The Belgian finished fourth at the Tour of Flanders, E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem, but only rode two Grand Tours. He completed the 2009 Tour de France in 93rd place and did not finish the following year.
Tallest order
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Mathias Norsgaard is the tallest rider in the men’s WorldTour peloton, measuring 1.98m on the UCI list and 2.02m according to his team Movistar.
The young Dane, who started with the Spanish climbing outfit in 2020, was 29th at Paris-Roubaix in 2022, but did not make the Tour de France squad.
Therefore, the tallest cyclist at the 2022 Tour de France is Max Walscheid, as he has been for three years running.
The Cofidis rider is 1.97m on the UCI list, but actually stands two centimetres taller.
The German finished 134th overall in his debut tour in 2020 and came 121st in the 2021 edition.
Walscheid has also ridden the Vuelta a Espana twice (2018, 2019) and finished the 2021 Giro d’Italia to round off the Grand Tour trinity.
Who are the tallest cyclists at the 2022 Tour de France?
- Max Walscheid (Cofidis) – 1.99m
- Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost) – 1.97m
- Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE Team Emirates) – 1.95m
- Kamil Gradek (Bahrain Victorious) – 1.94m
Who is the shortest pro cyclist?
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At the other end of the scale, Samuel Dumoulin – a veteran of 12 Tours de France before his 2019 retirement, and a stage winner in 2008 – stood at just 1.59m.
His retirement in 2019 means Caleb Ewan (1.65m) and Nairo Quintana (1.67m) are the shortest riders at the 2022 Tour de France.
Quintana’s Columbian countrymen Esteban Chaves and Miguel Ángel López are each recorded at 1.64m, but were not on the start line.
They are not the shortest male WorldTour cyclists, however. That title is held by Laurens Huys of Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux, who measures just 1.62m.
The smallest male cyclist ever recorded appears to be Vicente Belda at 1.54m.
Why does the UCI maintain a list of the tallest riders?
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So, why does the UCI need to know about riders taller than 1.90m? The answer relates to equipment regulations and the reach allowed on aero extension bars.
Since tightening up on regulations (outlawing the Superman position developed by Graeme Obree), the horizontal distance between the centre of the bottom bracket and the tips of the extension bars must be no more than 75cm for most riders. Those riders over 1.90m get extra scope – theirs can be 85cm.
That’s not necessarily enough for all, however. Dunne appealed – to no avail – for even more leeway earlier in his career, arguing his aero position still saw his knees hit his handlebars.
Does height matter?
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In short, yes, height does matter for professional cycling… sort of.
ProCyclingStats’ 2017 study found the top time-triallists were, on average, taller than the average WorldTour pro.
Further down the tape measure, climbers were much shorter; the top climbers were, on average, 1.6cm shorter than the top sprinters and 2.7cm shorter than the average WorldTour pro.
There are exceptions to the rule. The Fourth-placed rider in the 2021 Tour de France, Australian Ben O’Connor, is 1.88m and 2012 Yellow Jersey winner Sir Bradley Wiggins (1.9m) is taller still.
But the key to cycling performance is power, not height – and, for climbing, the power-to-weight ratio.