A resting heart rate of 37 and an FTP of 415: seven remarkable numbers behind Tadej Pogačar's Tour de France success

Tadej Pogačar is one of the greatest riders the Tour de France has ever seen.

The young Slovenian has won the Tour three times, and he's the overwhelming favourite for the 2025 edition of the race, which gets underway this weekend.

But what makes Pogačar so good?

Here, we explain what you need to know about the Tour champion in numbers, from his resting heart rate to his incredible power output, via the nutritional needs of Tour de France riders.

6.98

The 26-year-old produced a power-to-weight ratio of just shy of 7W/kg for 40 minutes when he obliterated the Plateau de Beille climb during the 2024 Tour de France.

• Read more about power-to-weight ratio (and why it's the number that matters for Tour de France contenders)

37

Pogačar’s resting heart rate is 37bpm when asleep. As a junior, he had a max heart rate of 213bpm and still frequently hits more than 200bpm.

64.5

Pogačar arrived at the start of the 2024 Tour de France weighing 64.5kg, but that rises to 69kg
during the winter off-season.

120

Tour de France riders may now consume 120g of carbs per hour or more, when 60g was previously thought to be the ceiling, helping to fuel Pogačar’s superhuman efforts.

• Read more on how pro cyclists are super-charging their fuelling to ride faster than ever

340

The watts Pogačar can push for five hours (zone two) on a hilly training ride.

415

Pogačar’s Functional Threshold Power has been estimated at 415 watts, based on ride data shared in late 2024. That’s the power output the Slovenian can sustain for around an hour – try that and see how long you last.

8,000

This is how many calories can be consumed by a rider during the most demanding days of the Tour. That’s the equivalent of Pogačar chomping on around 76 bananas.