When the Tour de France winner’s “red” energy is worth 500,000 times more than electricity

Beyond their incredible engine, a Tour de France rider literally devours energy (up to 8,000 kcal in a single mountain stage)… and leaves behind a significant carbon footprint.

Food surplus: about ± 95,000 extra kcal over three weeks ≈ 2.4 t CO₂e
Flight surplus: ± 30,000 km of air travel per year, i.e., 4.5 t CO₂e

And yet, if you convert all of that to the actual mechanical energy produced on the bike (84 cumulative hours of racing), each human kilowatt-hour ends up costing 500,000 times more than the one you pay your electric utility for!

The power gap between the best male and female road cyclists is roughly 1 W/kg:

Aerobic power (70 kg):
- Elite man: 7.6 W/kg → 530 W
- Elite woman: 6.1 W/kg → 425 W
- Difference: + 105 W

Over the 83 h 39 min of the 2024 Tour:
E = P × t = 105 W × 83.65 h ≈ 8.8 kWh

The winner’s prize (€500,000) values each “red” kilowatt-hour at €57,000/kWh — that’s 500,000 times the average residential rate.

Over three weeks of racing:

- Total energy requirement: 145,000 kcal
- Basal metabolism: 50,000 kcal
- Extra due to the Tour: 95,000 kcal

With an estimated 2.5 kg CO₂e for every 1,000 kcal produced and transported:
95 × 2.5 = 240 kg CO₂e just to fuel the performance.

Adding up all travel over a season:

- Flights: 30,000 km × 0.15 kg/km = 4.5 t CO₂e
- Bus/cars: 10,000 km × 0.18 kg/km = 1.8 t CO₂e
- Total: 6.3 t CO₂e

For the 2024 Tour de France Femmes:

- 5.9 W/kg (≈ 413 W) for 24.6 h → 10.2 kWh
- Final prize: $50,000
- Each “pink” kWh is worth $5,000 — ten times less than the Yellow Jersey.
- Extra calories consumed: 60,000 kcal (~ 150 kg CO₂e).

Good news: you don’t need a podium or a publicity caravan to gain 1 W/kg by fall.

Here’s my favorite workout:

30/30 session
- 10 min progressive warm-up
- 5 × 30 s accelerations to open up the legs
- Main block: 2 × 10 repetitions:
- 30 s at 100% vVO₂max
- 30 s active recovery at 50%
- 5 min recovery
- 10 min cool-down

2 sessions per week for 8 weeks = +1 W/kg guaranteed

A simple +3.5 mL/kg/min VO₂max (≈ 1 W/kg), even after age 50, reduces mortality by 17%.

In economic terms:
2024 Value of Statistical Life = $13.7 M
13.7 M × 17% ≈ 2.3 M
The health value of 1 W/kg: $2.3 million.

Producing your own electricity by pedaling? Bad plan.
Human energy is precious… but very inefficient as a source of power.

On the other hand, investing in your watt/kg means:
- 17% lower mortality
- +10 extra years of life
- A health capital that no stock market can match.

So let the Tour make you dream: your power meter will be better for it… and so will your mitochondria!

(30 s at vVO₂max / 30 s at 50% vVO₂max for 15 min running, and 15 × 1 min at PMA / 1 min at 60% PMA on the bike):

- Electricity gain: equivalent to 8.8 kWh over a full Tour – a human energy output that would cost 500,000 times more than your utility bill.
- Dollar gain: $2.3 million “statistical value” for each watt/kg gained through improved VO₂max.
- Life gain: +10 years of life and –17% mortality after 50, just by improving your watt/kg.