Bulging, carved quads are like flashing neon signs announcing that you are a cyclist, and you’ve come to kick some ass. And those diamond-cut cannons are more than just aesthetically pleasing in your spandex. The four muscles collectively called the “quads” are the primary movers when you push through the pedal stroke, so stronger quads equals more watts.
“Cycling is a power sport,” says David Ertl, Ph.D., a USA Cycling Level 1 Coach with Peaks Coaching Group. “You need leg strength to crank out power. That means building all the muscle fibers you can. If you can get 10 or 20 percent stronger than the next guy or gal, you won’t fatigue as quickly, and you’ll have that much more in reserve when you need to give a burst up a hill or off the line at the start.”
This size of yours depends on a host of factors including your height—shorter riders’ legs tend be (or appear to be) stockier; your genes—some people, like sprinters, have more fast-twitch “anaerobic” muscle fibers, the ones that really pop, giving track racers those Lycra-busting quads; and how and where you ride—spinning easy at a high cadence develops less muscle than pushing harder on those pedals. Of course, powerful quads come in many shapes and sizes. After all, Chris Froome’s legs are downright willowy compared to the tree trunks on Mark Cavendish, yet both do an admirable job of getting a bike to the line fast and often first.