Example: 2 men, same weight, rode the Ventop route in exactly 90 minutes. So they rode the same speed.
BUT: Man 1 rode with a much bigger gear (50-16) than man 2 (34-14). My friend says they delivered the same amount of watts but I doubt that because man 2 had an much higher cadance… So I believe man 1 produced a lot more watts (power).
So you can produce the same power with a high force(torque) and low velocity (cadence), or a low force and high velocity.
If you pedal up a hill in a high gear you’ll feel it is much harder. That the greater force. Someone else spinning the gears in a low gear will feel a lower force, but they’ll apply it faster.
Person riding in a bigger gear (but lower cadence) put out more torque, but lower angular velocity. Less RPMs @ More Newton Meters = More RPM @ Less Newton Meters.
Two similarly sized people getting to the top of a hill at the same speed, the average amount of power has to be (pretty much) the same.
There is no getting around this. And, trust me, cyclists have been dealing with this reality for a pretty long time.