text: They've been doing it for a long time, and most likely focused on their training much more intensely and specifically than the average person. They now train with power meters and heart rate monitors, as well as doing specific testing with coaches and doctors to optimize their performance.\n\nMaximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) and Lactate Threshold (LT) are the things the pros work on religiously. Natural ability/genetics have some say in things, but LT is highly trainable.\n\n40 kph isn't all that fast for the pros. When riding in the pack, riders benefit from the drafting effect, saving up to 30-40% of the  effort of the riders taking the full brunt of the wind. The professional peloton can cruise along at well over 40 kph for hours on end.\n\nIn individual time trials (albeit the effort isn't necessarily long, per se), average speeds of over 50 kph have been recorded. Sprinters can get the speed up to over 70 kph in a finale of a race. The same can be said for track sprinters (the fastest kilo ever done was clocked at just under one minute, and that's from a standing start).\n\nTheir bikes, especially their time trial bikes, helmets and clothing, have all been designed to minimize drag and save time. Teams now regularly use wind tunnels to test equipment and fine tune riders' positions to further help in this endeavor.\n\nAnd yes, riders do dope up. Whether it's steroids, EPO (red blood cell producing drug), or blood doping (transfusion of blood into the rider's system) it's an ugly side of the sport that is a very real problem. It'll make riders fast, but it also puts their health at risk.\n\nThe theory is that blood doping or EPO makes more red blood cells. Red blood cells are what transport oxygen throughout the body. So the thought is that more is better. The only problem is that it also makes the blood thicker. When EPO started showing up in the early 90s, riders were dying in their sleep from heart attacks brought on by the thickened blood. One abused it so much that he said that he'd have to take an aspirin every night before going to bed to thin out his blood.