What Happens When The UK's Strongest Man Rides A Bike?

We're putting the UK's strongest man on a bike. We want to know whether 140 kilos of pure strength can generate record-breaking cycling power. Yes, Andrew. I'm actually smelling burning rubber. Or whether a top cyclist, the size of a matchstick, can beat our Goliath. Can you help me put it down? This is Andrew Flynn, 140 kilograms of pure strength. He can deadlift 400 kilos, that's 881 pounds, squat a 320-kilo car, and lift five Atlas stones ranging from 120 to 200 kilograms in just 24 seconds. Andrew's full-time job is a materials manager on the railway, and in his spare time, he is a strongman and has progressed all the way to the top, recently qualifying for World's Strongest Man in California, and was just crowned the UK's strongest man. Hey, Andrew. Oh, 991. Andrew, thanks so much for having us today. Welcome. Absolute honor. I've seen your incredible feats of strength. You also just won Britain's strongest man. UK's strongest man. UK's strongest man. You've come third in Britain. Still third. I'm just really curious to see how your strength translates to the bike and what sort of power you can put down through the pedals. Yes, I'm actually quite interested as well. Big old chunky legs on me. But first, what happens when a matchstick, I mean, ex-professional cyclist tries out as a strongman? Right, Andrew, we've got Si. Here he is. Specimen of a man. Thank you. Your biceps are almost as big as his. I was thinking they were bigger than his quads, actually. Talk us through what we're about to do now. In simple terms, you're going to pick it up off the floor and press it above your head. How heavy would you be looking to do this? In a competition, usually at the moment, you're looking for about 90 kilograms for reps in a minute, and we're probably looking at doing six or seven. Seven reps of 90 kilos. This is just 30. That's you. Up and down for a minute. We'll pick it up, bring it to our hips, and we'll push our hips through, up to our shoulder. At this point, we'll bring a hand away, and then we'll dip, press, nice straight arm, bring it down, under control. That's one. Oh, there we go. There we go. Rest it on your shoulder. A bit more. There we go. Okay, yes, right. That's all right. I'll just take this away. I know squatting is a real staple of a strongman. What are the things you're normally squatting? Well, we do squat cars. No, just for fun. Cars? Yes, you know. Cars. Okay, yes. I'm just imagining what part of car this is, 50 kilos. Probably a bumper. Well, it's a bit heavier, isn't it? Good. Stop sniggering. Well, crab's all right. Body weight, almost. Get inside. Sit. Out here, sorry. Yes, that's all right. Coming up. You just grab that sack for me, yes? Yes. Is that a handle? I think so. Do you want to get the bottom and I'll get the top? Just pick it up. Yes. Should we roll it? Do you need a hand? Yes, please. Yes. Okay, it is abundantly clear that the UK's strongest man is utterly superhuman, and it made us more eager than ever to get him on a bike to see just what power he could put out. We have even managed to find him some Lycra. Right, so this is your bike. There's a slight issue, right? Because you are so powerful and so built that you're above the limit for normal bikes. I mean, most things in life, I'm above the limit, yes. We've brought what's called a Zwift ride, which is bomb-proof. On this, you'll be able to unleash the fury. We want to see your max power. Obviously, a lot of it is technique. If I show you how it's done, and then- I'll take some tips. That's it. Yes, all right. You want to do a little bit of a warm-up. Right, ready? Three, two, one. Go on, Si. Go on. We got 8.66. It's a good guess. Yes, it's a good guess. Good effort. You see it's like that really explosive power. You need this for like five seconds is all it really is, and then you peak because you're not going to get any more after that, are you? Yes. Ballpark, Tour de France sprinter, Mark Cavendish, about 1,400 watts, but he's probably about, well, definitely half your body weight. Chris Hoy, 2,600 watts. That's literally the gold standard. All right, okay. That's something to aim for then, isn't it? 2,600. Yes. We're just working out how to make sure that the Zwift ride doesn't take off for Andrew's gym. I think we might nick some of your weights. Actually, yes. When you go down, you go down this bit, and then that's all up. Give it a little sprint up there. I'll tell you when. If you get yourself ready. Harder gear, go for it, and give it some welly. Smashing it. 955, 1009, 1030, 1020, 1000, 1020, 1000. Wait, where you and you are. All right, he's going for it. Here he goes. Go on, Andrew. Go on. Go on. Go on. Hardly any resistance there. Actually, I need more at the top. Then I was just going free spin. There was nothing for me to push against. I'm actually smelling burning rubber. Oh, yes, I'm smelling burning rubber. Now, at this point, we spotted a clear flaw in our plan. Indoor trainers are rated up to a certain power output. Now, if we're honest, we never pay attention because we have never known of anyone to come close to maxing one out. However, Andrew was so strong, the resistance unit on the trainer could no longer keep up with him. 1650, there's no easy feat. You just made that look easy. Fair play there, Andrew. I think next, though, we're going to get out on the roads and take on some hill climbs. There we go. Oh, my God. Sound all right? I feel the resistance in me. Very far from my comfort zone, I have to say. As you can see, very far. I think you're carrying it really well. Yes? I think it's, yes. Looking aero. I might wear this at my next competition. I think it'll go down well. How do you feel about taking it on now? Nervous. I'm not going to lie. That makes me very nervous. We're going to set Si off, though, and see what time he can manage, and then let's get to it. All right. Okay. Here we go. The climb that Conor has chosen is called Borstal Hill. Personally, I think he's been a bit cruel. At 1.4 kilometers, it is not overly long. While the average gradient is 8%, the key is that two sections of it are brutally steep and will punish Andrew's bigger frame. Now, I don't want to get my excuses in, but I'm going to get my excuses in. I am really, really sore after my attempts at squatting and lifting really heavy beanbags. really steep in places. That is going to be a tough test for him. There's no way of spinning up that. All right. You ready, mate? Really? This is it. Moment of truth. All or nothing. Bottom to top. I'll stick with you. Just pace it. I think you'll be fine. Yes. I'll pace it. Here we go. Right. Beep, beep, beep, beep. I'm right. Go on, Andrew. It's two up, one down, isn't it? The two biggest giants to ever grace this climb. What average wattage was he doing, you think? Si, probably around 400. What are you doing now? 500. 500? All about breathing. Keep riding, Andrew. You just take your own pace. You're flying, mate. It's just controlling my breathing. 430 there. Good job, mate. Keep it going. Up here, it's going to ease off a little bit. It's just try and catch your rhythm again, catch your breath. How are you feeling? Fine. I'm struggling to feel my legs. Really? Mate, you went off so hard. You actually smashed it. I see. Keep it going. Nice bit of recovery here. My legs are going to jelly. I was struggling to keep up with you. It's like pure power off the gun. This is experience, isn't it? Pays off when you know what you're doing. Do that. Use that weight. Use that weight. 140 kilos of speed. Keep on going. This is the last tilt now. Basically, the top's up here. This is where it kinks in again, good and proper. It's absolutely disgusting. I'm nearly, mate. Take it easy. Take it easy. Oh my God. I think I'm going to push you. Oh my God. Go on, mate. Si's got you on the right. I've got you on the left. Come on. You got it. It's all on Si's little biceps at this stage. Come on. Yes, mate. He's going to be close. What a legend. That's it, mate. Fair play. Take a breath. Andrew's Herculean effort was testament to just how hard this strongman can push himself out of his comfort zone. His time up Balsall Hill was 12 minutes 32 seconds, just over double my time, which is pretty impressive seeing as I couldn't lift even 20% of what he was able to. His power at the start was 500 watts for a minute, then 450 watts for two, but by the end, his average power was just 200 watts, not including the walking. I think he just about beat me. Just about on that one. I'm not too sure, but I think I just about picked him. How do your legs feel, honestly? I've got nothing left. Is it a bit like me with that 30-kilo dumbbell and I literally just didn't, I couldn't move it? Yes, I couldn't do it, no. It's canned, but it's like I don't feel anything. I didn't expect that. It's even just moving my legs, even just walking. It's just so heavy. I'm literally probably, what, five stone each leg? Is that an exaggeration? No, probably. Yes, each step is like lugging up. Yes, that was over my eyes. The car numbers I saw on your head unit at the end were absolutely- Yes, that's me. Strongman's all about that. It's about as much power in a minute, and then after that, it kind of just goes. Yes, your minute power at the start was incredible. I was doing like 450. If you had a minute dash, it might be okay. I think you'd have got me for the minute. Honestly, you took off like an absolute rocket. Experience pays off, doesn't it, guys? Yes, I guess this is slightly a version of technique, right? Yes, literally, because I went up that first incline. I was like, okay, it's going to flatten out a bit. Then it was just hell from then on. It literally didn't stop. I was like, oh, okay. It was like I was pushing, but I didn't feel my legs at all. I've been doing it over 30 years and I still make that mistake, Andy. Can I just say that we were talking earlier off camera about how incredible it is that human bodies can do such vastly different things. You can lift stuff and do stuff that even though I've seen you do it, I literally can't comprehend it. It's the same for me if you were doing this now. It's exactly the same. It's the specificity and what you train. Give me a month and I'd knock up. Each month I'd do, you'd get better and then I'd get to the point where I wouldn't have to fall off it. I just think it's incredible, isn't it? And competing over the weekend. Yes, one strongest man. One UK strongest man and then Tuesday coming out here and riding some bikes. Well, look at the view though. Look at that. Yes, it's a great view, isn't it? Yes, and thanks for being such a good sport. It's incredible to see what you do on a daily basis training. What can't I do? I'm on a bike. Fair play you get on a bike giving that a go. Hats off. I had to finish it. Yes, it's been a privilege hanging out. It really has. That's all right. I can go die now. Yes, please give the video a big thumbs up because I don't think you'll see a bigger effort today, that's for sure. And Andrew did really well as well. Yes, we got that, yes. Oh, thank you so much for watching. Right now, I think we just need to get you off the hill. You're going to rub my legs, aren't you? Oh, I did say- Only one each, really. I thought you were going to give me a little rub down. I thought that was the deal, wasn't it? No? All right. I thought my hands were strong enough, Andrew. Don't worry. It'll be fine.