2021 has been a cycling season with several impressive performances. The explosion of Mathieu van der Poel in Strade Bianche, the GrandTour-Monument double of Pogacar and the Tour de France trilogy of Wout van Aert. Many stories can be told at an individual level, but what if we take a broader view? Which cyclists won most races? Who raced most kilometers at WorldTour level? Which team was most succesful throughout the year? What is the WorldTour race with the oldest top-10? These and several other questions will be answered in a series of articles on the 2021 male cycling season.
Enjoy the 2021-cycling season statistical overview based on results of ProCyclingStats, written and analysed by @statsoncycling.
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In these articles, stats on the 2021 cycling season are published. They have been input for the ‘end of season-edition‘ of the Dutch cycling magazine ‘Wieler Revue – edition 9 2021 (purchase here)’, published in November 2021 (see picture below). Results of riders, countries, teams and races are analysed and the highlights are presented. Source of all results: ProCyclingStats. Notes on the used classifications and population can be found below.
1. 2021 peloton – general overview
In the first article ‘2021 pro peloton‘ a general overview is provided of the 2021 pro-peloton. What was the average age of winners? Which teams had the heaviest riders? And how many races were ridden at WorldTour level?
These and more facts and statistics will be published in an article with a general overview of the 2021 male pro-peloton.
2. Cyclist perfomances
In the second article ‘cyclists performances‘ results at the level of individual cyclists are presented. Which rider won most races? How many kilometers raced Ethan Hayter for every top-10 finish? Who raced most kilometers at WorldTour-level?
The performances of cyclists in 2021 are topic of the second article.
3. Special achievements
In the third article ‘special achievements‘ the focus is on specific, special performances and unique achievements. Who finished top-10 in all Monuments after 2021? How many riders won both a one-day and a stage race this season?
Special and unique achievements will be presented in the third article.
4. Performances by teams
In the fourth article the performances of teams will be analyzed. Which team was most succesful in 2021? And how many different riders have won a race this season?
The focus will be on the WorldTour and ProContinental teams in this article.
5. Performances by nationality
In the fourth article the performances of riders per nation will be analyzed. Every cyclist represents a country. Men from which countries have raced most days at WorldTour level? And which nationality was most succesful in GrandTours?
These and more statistics are presented in the fifth article in the 2021- end-of-season series.
6. Specifics of races
In the sixth and final article several specifics of the races in 2021 will be highlighted. Which race had the youngest top-10, and in what race was the top-10 on average the lightest?
These and some more details will be revealed in the article on the specifics of 2021-races.
Notes:
Population – Statistics are made up off all results of cyclists in 2021, who have been riding a professional race and were under contract of a ProContinental or WorldTour team at some point during the year.
Categories of races – All pro-races are divided in three levels: UWT-level (.UWT races, World Championships and Olympics), Pro-level (.Pro races, Continental Championships and Regional Games) and .1-level (.1 races and National Championships). Individual Time Trials and Road Races on championships were classified as one-day races. Team Time Trials and other Team Events were not counted in results, but were included in number of racedays and raced kilometers.
Classifications – Statistics on performances are based on individual results: GC’s, one-day races and stages in stage-races. 50% of kilometers in races with a DNF are counted with the total number of kilometers ridden. Days with a DNF are counted as a full raceday. To calculate an average result, DNF’s are counted as a 206th place (maximum result in 2021-database). Talking about team-performances, all performances of the team’s cyclists are counted even those races in which a cyclist represented his country instead of the team.
Cycling Statistics / @StatsOnCycling 