With all the talk about how Lance with his superior cardiovascular fitness and VO2max could if he trained run a 2:20 marathon, how come there is no talk of the reverse, i.e., how well the top marathoners could do cycling.
These guys likely rival Lance’s VO2max and endurance. They are light as can be and would be great on climbing stages.
While I believe Benjamin Parides was mexican he went from running to duathlon. Crushed them on the runs but lost enough on the bike to not really threaten the top three too often. Went back to running and was second at NYC (if memory serves me correct) where he started to go off course and that negated his lead that he held at that point. Was second by :01 or :02, again banking on memory.
They could definintely be pretty good . . . the ability to push oxygen to your muscles works for all sports. Still, there are optimal body types for each sport and I wouldn’t assume they could compete with the big boys in a climbing stage of a real pro race, just like Lance could never compete with them.
Yawn.
DUDE, how dense can you be?!?! If you haven’t realized by now that Lance Armstrong is an entity so superior to the rest of humanity that he can potentially dominate any sport. 2:20 marathon would just be a start. Noone talks about the Kenyans cycling because there’s no Lance in Kenya, dummy! Maybe you should get your candy-ass off the internet. Lance craps bigger than you, and no poop comes out, just little miniature Sergios, complete with Team Timex Skinsuits and racing flats.
I’m not sure how much power world class marathoners can/do generate, but I suspect it’s not much. I’d bet, however, that they are incredibly efficient.
For bike racing, there are two primary considerations:
While I wouldn’t be surprised to see some marathon runners be able to excel at “1”, I think they would absolutely suck at “2”.
They could definintely be pretty good . . . the ability to push oxygen to your muscles works for all sports. Still, there are optimal body types for each sport and I wouldn’t assume they could compete with the big boys in a climbing stage of a real pro race, just like Lance could never compete with them.
Huh?! How many epic climbs has he won dropping climbing specialists (including Pantani) one by one on the way up? Granted he was “escorted”, but so were the other climbers. Lance can climb with the (little) big dogs.
It’s about specificity. You don’t ride a bike to be a fast runner. You need to run more to be a better runner (not saying you need to log a 100 mile per week…but you need to put the time in). What sorts out after this is genetics.
I actually ran with Lance from mile 16 to the finish line. He seemed fine fitness wise. Breathing was good (much less than the folks around him…including me…impressive). He was hurting (and still is I suspect) because he didn’t put the run time in. It was his legs that went… He started to waiver a little at the end…but don’t most runners at this point who are not elite marathoners. I don’t care who you are…if you don’t do the appropriate running…you won’t be a fast marathoner. Lance did not look the part of a runner. He was looking a little jacked in the upper body. I was surprised how big he was (having seen him before at Tour weight). I read somewhere that he was pushing 180lbs (I would have guessed 170-175). If he had put in the run work necessary to do better than he did, I don’t think he would have looked like he did.
As a runner first, then triathlete, then cyclist, I feel pretty confident from my own experience in saying that nothing hurts more than a LONG run that you haven’t trained your legs for regardless of time on the bike, in the pool, etc. Lance just learned this the hard way. Although his breathing was perfect (seemed non-existent), Lance looked more like a guy who goes to the gym and uses running to keep body fat down than someone trying to run a marathon. I think if he really wanted to do better in NYC, he could have.
In any event, pacers definitely helped keep him with his goal. We were actually slowing a little toward the end…a combination of leg fatigue and increased runner traffic due to narrower roads. There was also a final push to the line to make the sub 3hr goal…lead first by his pacers…probably more like a 6 minute mile pace as we re-entered the Park for the last segment. I am sure his legs were begging for mercy…
Sorry, my post was poorly written. The kenyans could not compete with the best climbers in cycling just like Lance could not compete with the best marathoners in running.
Sorry, my post was poorly written. The kenyans could not compete with the best climbers in cycling just like Lance could not compete with the best marathoners in running.
Yes, but if the Kenyans focussed their aerobic gifts on cycling instead of running could they become the best in the world? Who knows, but I would not dismiss it as impossible.
I had limited experience riding with an Ethiopian and was blown away by his ability to crush me and some very strong riders on an old, beaten up Bianchi that probably wouldn’t fetch $50 on craigslist.
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