Whoop data gives insight into how the heat affects Pogačar and Van der Poel at the Tour de France

The Tour de France is now more than halfway through. During the first eleven days of the race, the focus was mainly on the heat, but also on the performances of top riders like Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel. Whoop has the pleasure of analyzing the health data of these two athletes and shared some insights on social media.

A Whoop is a wristband measures data such as heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and more. Van der Poel and Pogarčar have partnerships with Boston-based Whoop, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Virgil van Dijk, LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Rory McIlroy, Carlos Alcaraz, and Charles Leclerc, among others.

Van der Poel has spoken on several occasions in the past about how he uses Whoop. Earlier this year, he was a guest on the company’s podcast. “HRV and resting heart rate (RHR) are the most important metrics I track on my Whoop. My average resting heart rate is 38 beats per minute, but it has sometimes been as low as 34.”

"My HRV is really high," he said at the time, referring to that value, which can exceed 200 for him—incredibly high. HRV is a measure that indicates your stress and fatigue levels. “It’s genetic, but your fitness level helps too. It makes me stronger and helps me recover better,” he explained.

At the Tour de France, where the heat took its toll on the riders, Van der Poel’s HRV wasn’t particularly high. While the average amateur cyclist has an HRV of 57 milliseconds, the Dutch rider’s was 143. Pogačar has averaged 98 so far, which immediately demonstrates that HRV varies from person to person.

Pogacar and Van der Poel’s resting heart rates were also shared. The average amateur has a resting heart rate of 55 bpm (beats per minute), while Pogacar’s is 43 bpm and Van der Pol’s has been 38 so far in this Tour de France: exactly the number he mentioned in the podcast.