There is one reason this is true. Cycling is a team sport, and there are lots of teams. I'm not sure it says anything about our sport.

It says to me that cycling is easy. :)

I think it says that cycling takes less special genetic talent than swimming or running. If you want to be a world-class runner, in 99% of the cases, be an African and be skinny as a stick. To be a swimmer you have to have a 'feel' for the water, and other unique swimmer genetics.

To be a cyclists you need to have a high LT and a high Vo2max. Cyclists come in all sorts of sizes while the other sport's athletes are usually pretty similiarly built.

I'm not sure that you are right.

I'm also not sure that it means much if you are right. There are far fewer professional swimmers as there are professional runners, cyclists or even triathletes. I would be surprised if more than half of the finalists in swimming events at the Olympics were professional swimmers. So, it is incredibly hard to be a professional swimmer even if you are a world class swimmer.

But, if you are right, all that it probably means is that you spend more time riding a bike during a triathlon than anything else so triathletes should focus more on riding a bike than swimming or running.

That is a bit of a stretch, what are you basing that statement on? Normann Stadler, who right now has to be considered the best cyclist in the sport, trainined with T-Mobile last January, and injured himself trying to keep up with their paceline!

Scrubs (relative) in the back of the peleton, IMHO, would split 4 hours at Hawaii.

Follow the money freestyle. Why would a pro Triathlete not try to be a pro cyclist? Isn't the money in pro cycling more of a draw? Peter Reid said if he was offered a Cycling contract he would accept in a heartbeat because that is a dream. ????

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Fuck a duck and try to fly

Personally, it drives me crazy when people try and compare triathletes with athletes of single sports. It is extremely difficult trying to become extremely good at one sport when you can only train in that one sport for 1/3 of the amount of your total training time.
Someone that can train full time doing nothing but biking or running or swimming sure as hell better be a lot better than a triathlete trying to train all 3. Specificity. How many times have we heard that.

agree with the physiological aspect of your post. To say that cycling takes less special genetic talent than swimming or running... I wouldn't put it this way. With Swimming you need more time practicing the biomechanical movements to become efficient.


I think it has to do with technique. Although cycling consists of some technique, you are using a machine which is equal in efficiency for everybody. Of course, your pedal stroke influences the efficiency, but not that much when comparing with swimmind and running. In swimming, it's you and the water. Technique is so important.

Also, keep in mind that in cycling you have all this equipment. Interesting, fascinating, and addicting all at the same time. Most triathletes (me included) spend more time on the bike because it is more interesting. Of course one can argue about that one but I think that this plays a role as well.

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�The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.� -Michelangelo

MoodBoost Drink : Mood Support + Energy.

That's a myth. At best, a few of the top triathletes might be a domestique on some of the TDF teams, but the top pro cyclists are in a different catagory. Consider that Bjorn finished fourth (or was it sixth?) in the Swedish TT championship and non of the guys that beat him are cycling super stars.

The only triathlete that has shown any evidence of this is Lance.

"Scrubs (relative) in the back of the peleton, IMHO, would split 4 hours at Hawaii."

Several tour level cyclists have attempted Ironman, none have had the fastest bike split let alone riden close to 4hrs.

IMO, the single sport abilities of triathletes are significantly underestimated, due to 2 factors: generally they don't focus on and taper for the single sport events that do compete in (e.g. they have have a solid week in all three sports in their legs before doing a bike race or 10k for) and also they train in three sports, therefore spending significantly less time training each sport than a specialist.

Many national/international level triathletes that I know could compete at quite a respectable level in cycling.

Joel

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JoelFilliol.com - check out the Real Coaching Podcast

 "Scrubs (relative) in the back of the peleton, IMHO, would split 4 hours at Hawaii."

Several tour level cyclists have attempted Ironman, none have had the fastest bike split let alone riden close to 4hrs. "

Uto Bolts (spelling?) comes to mind... Interesting, he said that just finishing Hawaii was by far his biggest athletic accomplishment.

1. The best triathletes, who are also good cyclists( Walton et al), I think could make it to the very low end of the upper ranks of the pro -road cycling world. Consider that Spencer Smith, who was a triathlete who was an exceptionally strongcyclist, lasted not even a year on a what could be considered a B-Level pro road team in Europe. The top level of Road cyclists is really at a completely different level of cycling then even the very best triathlon cyclists.

2. That being said, cycling represents the sport where an athlete can grow and advance the most. Triathlon to a certain degree has been a giant testing zone for this as many people have taken up cycling and advanced to a very high level of fitness and performance in a relativly short order. Swimming and running are more challenging. Swimming is very technique oriented and the best swimmers have put in a huge volume of training by the age of 16. Running, can be very punishing on the body and having the right build and bio-mechanics are key to success.

Fleck

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

What about XC skiers? Do the elite XC skiers have extremely high vo2max because they cross country ski (which uses the whole body all the time), or the other way around (people with high vo2max get attracted to a sport where they'll use their full potential).

When I refer to the 'peleton', I'm referring to the TourdeFrance Peleton.

IMHO, a scrub in the TOUR peleton would split 4 hours in Hawaii.

If you try to counter this statement with Uto Burps, you will look silly.

I don't agree at all. I think the relative lack of timed events in pro cycling makes it look that way. In both running and swimming you an point to specific times at specific distances and make a pretty good arguement for whos world class and who isn't. Its not so easy in cycling.

Looking at anecdotal evidence I can think of 2 pro cyclists who have made the switch (male).

Chann McRae - Not really a top international cyclist. A fast, but not top level tri cyclist.

Steve Larsen - Again a very good pro, but not a top pro. One of the best tri cyclists in the sport at the end of his career, not the height.

Finally my best anecdotal evidence comes from this. Look at how top IM pros struggle financially. Maybe 6 are doing very well, the rest are likely not, but they are living a life they love. Now look at the top cyclists. While not making NBA money the top 5 are wealthy, the top 50 ranked cyclists are making big bucks, and any rider on a pro tour team is likely making more than any IM pro outside of the top 5. Do you really think these guys love IM so much that they are willing to forgo the money in pro cycling to struggle as a pro triathlete?



Styrrell

XC Skiers routinely clock the highest and the best numbers in the lab. I think former great Bjorn Dahlie has the record for the highest recorded V02 Max, ever. Makes sense as they use the major muscles of the upper and lower body for propulsion.

Anectdotally, I have found xc skiing to be an outstanding winter training option. After 3 - 4 months of skiing 3 - 4 times a week and no cycling and minilal swimming, I found that I had not lost that much come spring. I could be right back into long workouts almosr right away.

Strange that more of the top triathletes don't come directly from xc-skiing. I suspect that the current tope swedish guys may have skiied at some time.

Fleck

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

why would using the Udo Bolts argument be silly. He was definitely not a BOP in the Tour. One of the key lieutenants in Telekom and definitely a very very good bike rider...

a scrub in the Tour would not go 4h in Hawaii...they'd be nowhere near that actually.

First, cycling is a very different sport. It's not how much you can sustain for 1h, 2h or 4h but (as far as road races are concerned anyway), how many times can you cope with accelerations, slowing down, peak power output over 30', 1', 2' etc...

Second, indeed Spencer did not do great, but you have to consider that he was not given enough time for development to know what he could have done. I don't think he is anywhere near the top, but he could have been a good domestique rider in a top team for the tour, given enough time.

Running: well, several ITU guys could be very good runners...but not top runners...none of them are black :-) so forget it...Low 29' for some, maybe low 28' for the top guys if they are given enough time...maybe even high 27' which would place them in the top white runners.

That would be silly - Bolts was no scrub!

[reply]Could probably pro cyclists (if they focused only on cycling), but not pro swimmers or runners.

Does that say anything about our sport?[/reply]

I think it is easier for a second tier cyclist to come into triathlon and do well than a first tier triathlete to go into cycling and do well.

Frank

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

"Strange that more of the top triathletes don't come directly from xc-skiing"


Remember when they tried to turn some Kenyans into x-country skiers. They didn't make it because a lot of technique is involved a well as VO2 Max.

BTW, I x-country ski a lot myself and barely run at all in winter. It's good for my ego because I can smoke a number of friends who always easily beat me on the run.

I suppose it's too obvious to point this out . . . but there is one athlete who reached the top of both triathlon and one of its constituent sports (swimming, in this case). I'll grant you this, however - it does seem reasonably difficult to do

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Lew

Top swimmers and runners have to survive on their own merit...cyclists can be pros as a cog in the team...it doesn't take much beyond a strong engine and a tolerance for pain to be a domestique...close to none of these guys or girls would be a franchise cycling star either...and as someone already pointed out...there's a lot more spots for "pro" cyclists worldwide than there are for swimming or running...

Your logic is flawed freestyle...you aren't accounting for all the variables why this is so...