How much faster does a tailwind make you?

On a flat road, aerodynamic drag consumes most of your power, and drag depends on your speed through the air, not over the ground. A 20 km/h tailwind can raise a 250 W rider’s speed by 5–7 km/h — an improvement you would otherwise need well over 50 extra watts to match. That is more than most riders gain from a year of training.

Are KOMs set in windy conditions unfair?

They are simply the conditions of the game. Strava does not adjust for weather, so standing records on exposed roads were very often set with wind assistance. That cuts both ways: the same assistance is available to you if you time your attempt instead of riding the segment whenever you happen to pass it.

Should I try for KOMs on climbs or flats?

Steep climbs are decided almost purely by watts per kilo, so only attack them if your power-to-weight is genuinely competitive. Flat and rolling segments are decided by absolute power, aerodynamics and — above all — wind, which means an average-powered rider on a well-chosen day can beat a stronger rider who went on a normal one.

How do I know if a KOM is beatable for me?

Convert the KOM time to an average speed and estimate the power it took; compare that to what you can hold for the duration. Tailwind KOMpass automates this: it estimates the watts the record required, predicts your own time from your FTP and weight, and tells you the exact tailwind at which the two lines cross.

What is the easiest KOM to get?

A segment with few total efforts, a record set casually rather than all-out, terrain that suits your strengths, and an orientation that catches a strong forecast tailwind. Segments meeting all four exist in almost every area — the problem is finding them, which is what a KOM finder is for. If you race the women’s leaderboard, thinner fields make soft and even unclaimed QOMs common.

How to Get a Strava KOM: Pick the Segment, Then Pick the Day

Most advice about taking Strava KOMs boils down to "get fitter and try harder". That works, slowly. But the riders who collect crowns consistently are doing something else: they treat a KOM attempt as two separate decisions — which segment to attack and which day to attack it — and they win the second decision before they ever clip in. This guide covers both, with the physics to back it up. Everything here applies equally to QOMs on the women’s leaderboard.

1. Know what you’re actually up against

A KOM time is not a measure of the strongest rider who ever passed through — it is the best combination of rider, pacing and conditions that ever hit that stretch of road. Strava does not correct for weather, so on any exposed or flat segment the standing record was very likely set with wind assistance, sometimes a lot of it. That sounds discouraging until you flip it around: the record holder chose (or lucked into) a great day, and the same assistance is available to you on the next one. Your competition is not their legs; it is their legs on their day. Beat the day first.

2. Pick a segment that fits you

Terrain decides what kind of engine wins. On a steep climb, speed is low, aerodynamics barely matter, and watts per kilogram decide the leaderboard almost outright — attack climbs only if your power-to-weight is genuinely competitive. On flat and rolling roads the calculus inverts: absolute power, aerodynamics and wind dominate, and this is where an ordinary engine on a well-chosen day beats a stronger one on a normal day.

Beyond terrain, three properties make a record soft. Fewer total efforts means fewer chances someone has already produced a freak ride. A duration that matches your strengths — a track sprinter should hunt 30-second segments, a time-trialist 10-minute ones. And segments you have already ridden near the record: if your PR sits within a few percent of the KOM, ordinary conditions nearly closed the gap, so favourable ones will. Tailwind KOMpass’s KOM Finder automates this triage: it ranks every segment around you by how achievable the record looks for your FTP and weight, and its proximity filter surfaces the segments where your own history says you are already close.

3. The wind is worth more than your training block

Here is the physics that makes day-picking rational rather than cheeky. Above about 30 km/h on a flat road, most of your power goes into aerodynamic drag, and drag grows with the square of your speed through the air — not over the ground. Ride at 40 km/h into still air and you fight 40 km/h of airflow; ride the same road with a 20 km/h tailwind and you fight 20. The watts freed up go straight into ground speed. For a typical rider holding 250 W, a solid tailwind is worth roughly 5–7 km/h — matching that in still air would take more than 50 extra watts, which is more than most amateurs gain in a year of structured training.

The catch: what matters is not wind speed but the component of the wind blowing along the segment — the effective tailwind. A 30 km/h wind at 90° to the road does nothing for you. So a real wind strategy needs each segment’s bearing matched against wind direction, which is tedious by hand and exactly the calculation Tailwind KOMpass runs for every segment on the map, colouring each one by its current effective tailwind.

4. Pick the day, don’t find the day

Strong, well-aligned wind on your target segment might happen a handful of days per season. Checking the forecast every morning is how you miss them. Work the other direction: shortlist a few target segments, then let the forecast come to you. Tailwind KOMpass does this with a watchlist — add your targets and it watches the 72-hour wind forecast, sending a push or email alert when the effective tailwind on one of them crosses your threshold. When the alert fires, you plan a proper attempt: rested legs, warmed up, right equipment — instead of an impulsive dig mid-training-ride.

5. Pace the effort like it matters

Most failed KOM attempts die in the first 30 seconds. Adrenaline says sprint off the line; physiology says you just spent your anaerobic reserve on the cheapest metres of the segment. The aerodynamic math prefers the opposite: extra watts buy the most speed where you are slowest, so on rolling segments push hardest into the slow uphill stretches and recover slightly where the road is fast. Enter the segment already at speed — a flying start is free time — and budget the effort so you empty the tank at the line, not before halfway. For longer targets, Tailwind KOMpass’s power analysis builds a section-by-section pacing plan from the segment’s actual elevation profile, telling you what to hold on each stretch for your target time.

6. The unglamorous details

Everything else is marginal but stacks: ride in the drops or on clip-on extensions (position is worth far more than equipment), tight clothing over flapping jackets, no unnecessary luggage on the bike. Check the segment for stop signs, junctions and traffic before committing — never ride an attempt you would not ride safely at normal pace, and skip segments where the record obviously required running lights. And check the leaderboard date: a record set years ago on old equipment by a rider who has left the area is far softer than one refreshed last month.

Frequently asked questions

How much faster does a tailwind make you?: On a flat road, aerodynamic drag consumes most of your power, and drag depends on your speed through the air, not over the ground. A 20 km/h tailwind can raise a 250 W rider’s speed by 5–7 km/h — an improvement you would otherwise need well over 50 extra watts to match. That is more than most riders gain from a year of training.
Are KOMs set in windy conditions unfair?: They are simply the conditions of the game. Strava does not adjust for weather, so standing records on exposed roads were very often set with wind assistance. That cuts both ways: the same assistance is available to you if you time your attempt instead of riding the segment whenever you happen to pass it.
Should I try for KOMs on climbs or flats?: Steep climbs are decided almost purely by watts per kilo, so only attack them if your power-to-weight is genuinely competitive. Flat and rolling segments are decided by absolute power, aerodynamics and — above all — wind, which means an average-powered rider on a well-chosen day can beat a stronger rider who went on a normal one.
How do I know if a KOM is beatable for me?: Convert the KOM time to an average speed and estimate the power it took; compare that to what you can hold for the duration. Tailwind KOMpass automates this: it estimates the watts the record required, predicts your own time from your FTP and weight, and tells you the exact tailwind at which the two lines cross.
What is the easiest KOM to get?: A segment with few total efforts, a record set casually rather than all-out, terrain that suits your strengths, and an orientation that catches a strong forecast tailwind. Segments meeting all four exist in almost every area — the problem is finding them, which is what a KOM finder is for. If you race the women’s leaderboard, thinner fields make soft and even unclaimed QOMs common.

See which KOMs near you are within reach — and which day the wind will hand them to you.

Open the KOM Finder