I don’t follow bobsled but I think Lolo Jones just won a bobsled world championship.
I’m also not a follower of Lolo but my youtube brought up this video where she gets lab tested (sorry this might be an old video but I literally have no idea when it was made)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkI4addFJLo
Check out 7:45 mark for the wattbike test. 1095 watts at her bodyweight! Wow!
She’s an extremely powerful athlete. Wonder what Usain Bolt could do?
She’s an extremely powerful athlete. Wonder what Usain Bolt could do?
I remember reading he produced around 2600w of run power in the first few seconds of the 100m
She’s 160lbs ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolo_Jones#cite_note-4 ). I’m thinking that a lot of pro female roadies who weigh a lot less could put out that power…which makes sense since it is their primary sport, and she is a bobsledder/hurdler.
On the men’s side, Cav put out 1600W+ at 154lbs. Elite track women typically push 20W/kg, so 1450W+ at 160lbs. (soure: https://www.uci.org/news/2019/track-sprinting-a-question-of-watts#:~:text=That%20means%20from%20a%20peak,around%2020%20watts%20per%20kilo.)
Lolo’s former teammate here. My wife ( @michelleihowe on Instagram & her Strava go follow her!) and I were Team USA Bobsled members and competed on the world cup circuit with Lolo. (top placing = 12th at World Champs for me)
Michelle, like Lolo, was a sprinter/hurdler before bobsled, then transitioned to triathlon after bobsled. She’s 63kg and has hit similar numbers seated and ~1200W out of the saddle. She catted up from Cat 5 to Cat 1 in 11 months of road cycling.
Katie Uhlaender (instagram here) is another sliding sport athlete who has excelled in track cycling. National champ in team sprint with Mandy Marquardt. Pretty sure Katie has hit >1300W at maybe 65-70kg-ish.
I’ve hit 2100W at 94kg.
My 2 cents is that USA Cycling should invest a LOT more time/money into talent transfer than they do. All the current pipeline development funding is going to juniors. Elite track and field athletes, who don’t mind suffering, make phenomenal cyclists.
Lolo’s former teammate here. My wife ( @michelleihowe on Instagram & her Strava go follow her!) and I were Team USA Bobsled members and competed on the world cup circuit with Lolo. (top placing = 12th at World Champs for me)
Michelle, like Lolo, was a sprinter/hurdler before bobsled, then transitioned to triathlon after bobsled. She’s 63kg and has hit similar numbers seated and ~1200W out of the saddle. She catted up from Cat 5 to Cat 1 in 11 months of road cycling.
Katie Uhlaender (instagram here) is another sliding sport athlete who has excelled in track cycling. National champ in team sprint with Mandy Marquardt. Pretty sure Katie has hit >1300W at maybe 65-70kg-ish.
I’ve hit 2100W at 94kg.
My 2 cents is that USA Cycling should invest a LOT more time/money into talent transfer than they do. All the current pipeline development funding is going to juniors. Elite track and field athletes, who don’t mind suffering, make phenomenal cyclists.
Mandy is a Type 1. Rides for my work’s team. Cool stuff.
My 2 cents is that USA Cycling should invest a LOT more time/money into talent transfer than they do. All the current pipeline development funding is going to juniors. Elite track and field athletes, who don’t mind suffering, make phenomenal cyclists.
Why not do both? I’ve wondered for a while what it would cost to run a talent ID and development program for track sprinters based in Southern California. There’s a giant potential talent pool of high school track and field athletes, even if you’re not likely to attract the very top few, who might already have Olympic aspirations. Run everything out of the Carson velodrome, which might be centrally located enough to solve the transportation problem by picking up kids from the high schools with buses. Use a fleet of shared bikes and wheels to keep costs for the athletes down. Combine a few days a week of track time with the rest done in weight training local to the high schools, and you ought to be able to build a killer squad. Once they’re older, plenty of local colleges to keep people around while they continue training. Especially with the Olympics for LA lurking over the horizon in 2028, why not grow a crop of hometown heroes and heroines? This might also work for the new Lexus velodrome in Detroit, but Carson was my home track for years, so I’m biased.
My 2 cents is that USA Cycling should invest a LOT more time/money into talent transfer than they do. All the current pipeline development funding is going to juniors. Elite track and field athletes, who don’t mind suffering, make phenomenal cyclists.
i was talking to one of our cycling WC time trialists once, kirsten armstrong or emma pooley. and i mentioned that it seemed like a lot of the good women time trialists came from triathlon. and she replied, “no. all of us came from triathlon.” she explained this thru the lens of accessibility, which is to say, triathlon is, and cycling isn’t. so, your only real way to get into bike racing is to start with a welcoming sport that has a cycling component to it.
probably NICA is welcoming. you basically have to find some kind of cycling activity that the USA cycling can’t control, like NICA, or zwift, or triathlon, and then find your talent there, in a place where they know how to make cycling fun and welcoming.
I’m not really following you what makes tri accessible, but not cycling.
The only thing I can figure is that tri you can actually compete at a much earlier age. I know of plenty of triathletes at even a 6-7 year old age. I think the youngest category for cycling is what 12+ ?
(correct me if I’m wrong).
I would actually say it’s the opposite. Anyone can cycle, that’s probaly one of the first activities that most kids do. They learn to ride a bike.
I’m not really following you what makes tri accessible, but not cycling.
The only thing I can figure is that tri you can actually compete at a much earlier age. I know of plenty of triathletes at even a 6-7 year old age. I think the youngest category for cycling is what 12+ ?
(correct me if I’m wrong).
I would actually say it’s the opposite. Anyone can cycle, that’s probaly one of the first activities that most kids do. They learn to ride a bike.
if you go to a road bike race they basically flip you the bird. socially. you go there, pay, get dropped, and go home. it’s just a rude experience. in triathlon, you go there, pay, you’re part of a family pretty much. you don’t get dropped, people are friendly, you get whatever help you need. yes, tri has its problems. but nothing like cycling. i can’t believe i’m even having to write this to you.
I’m not really following you what makes tri accessible, but not cycling.
The only thing I can figure is that tri you can actually compete at a much earlier age. I know of plenty of triathletes at even a 6-7 year old age. I think the youngest category for cycling is what 12+ ?
(correct me if I’m wrong).
I would actually say it’s the opposite. Anyone can cycle, that’s probaly one of the first activities that most kids do. They learn to ride a bike.
if you go to a road bike race they basically flip you the bird. socially. you go there, pay, get dropped, and go home. it’s just a rude experience. in triathlon, you go there, pay, you’re part of a family pretty much. you don’t get dropped, people are friendly, you get whatever help you need. yes, tri has its problems. but nothing like cycling. i can’t believe i’m even having to write this to you.
I think you’re right on, and 10x more for women. My wife and I moved to a part of NJ with a big roadie crowd. She went to some of the big group rides and the way they treated her specifically was comical - trying to drop her at every turn, not providing the route in advance, lying about the distance of the ride, all in hopes that the newbies get dropped in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, she’s a very, very strong cyclist and was able to barely hang ont. after the first few rides, they finally “accepted†her and they’ve stopped trying to ride her off their wheels.
Sorry I asked a question to get a better understanding ole wise one. I’ve never been around experiences where people are flipping people off. I’ve been around races where if you suck you get dropped, but that’s competition (cycling also has categories to prevent to keep the abilities similiar). I’ve brought in a few “newbie” cyclists on the female sides that were natural talents and never had a ton of “bad” experiences. I’m sure they had to be more badass than a male counterpart, but I’ve not had the experiences yall are suggesting.
Thus why I wanted clarification.
Sorry I asked a question to get a better understanding ole wise one. I’ve never been around experiences where people are flipping people off. I’ve been around races where if you suck you get dropped, but that’s competition (cycling also has categories to prevent to keep the abilities similiar). I’ve brought in a few “newbie” cyclists on the female sides that were natural talents and never had a ton of “bad” experiences. I’m sure they had to be more badass than a male counterpart, but I’ve not had the experiences yall are suggesting.
Thus why I wanted clarification.
it’s not just the racing scene, it’s the entire scene. the club scene. there’s a mountain, the high point in the whole socal area, to which you can ride on pavement. it’s called dawson saddle, and you can get to it from the compound here on the north slope in about 2hr riding. you can get to it from the LA side in a similar time frame or longer depending on where you start. it’s at about 8,000’ above sea level. i rode to it, and not so many people do, because you have to earn it. when i got there, about a dozen members of a well known club in LA were there, sitting down, talking, before the descent back to whence they came. none of them even acknowledged me. not a wave, a nod, nada. now, you’d think that you’d get some acknowledgement, because you need to work some to get to that point. some sort of simpatico, look, another cyclist, one of us, made it here. it’s not just a random intersection. but, not with these folks! and they’re kind of known for this. but this is the USCF road club scene for you.
Sorry I asked a question to get a better understanding ole wise one. I’ve never been around experiences where people are flipping people off. I’ve been around races where if you suck you get dropped, but that’s competition (cycling also has categories to prevent to keep the abilities similiar). I’ve brought in a few “newbie” cyclists on the female sides that were natural talents and never had a ton of “bad” experiences. I’m sure they had to be more badass than a male counterpart, but I’ve not had the experiences yall are suggesting.
Thus why I wanted clarification.
There is no way you’ve been around as a coach and athlete for as long as you have and NOT heard the stereotypes with regard to USAC racing. It’s a completely off-putting vibe, no matter WHERE in USAC you’re competing, or at what category. I think (but could be wrong) that Dan was being metaphorical about flipping the bird. Which I am sure you know, since you know how Dan likes to “speak.”
Triathlon is infinitely more welcoming than USAC. I’m lucky at got into racing bikes when I was a collegiate athlete, so a much more welcoming environment.
NICA can be very awesome. Really, REALLY wish that had been around a long time ago.
that’s when you KNOW you’re old school.
For the original video I can’t see the display. Is it ‘max’ or a 5 to 10 second?
I would hope a sprinter of any kind could do that. Still impressive. Not sure a lab gives that same competitive motivation. She could do more! Just put a person to chase or finish line in sight, another 200 for her!
I think at 155 lbs I’ve done 1400 peak and 1250 for 5, 800ish for 30. Zero sprint specific training. Cat 4/5 nobody. We’ve a few larger dudes in town that can hit 1000 for 15 sec or so.
She’s 160lbs ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolo_Jones#cite_note-4 ). I’m thinking that a lot of pro female roadies who weigh a lot less could put out that power…which makes sense since it is their primary sport, and she is a bobsledder/hurdler.
On the men’s side, Cav put out 1600W+ at 154lbs. Elite track women typically push 20W/kg, so 1450W+ at 160lbs. (soure: https://www.uci.org/news/2019/track-sprinting-a-question-of-watts#:~:text=That%20means%20from%20a%20peak,around%2020%20watts%20per%20kilo.)
I’d have thought she could do more than that. I’m 53 years old, 145 lbs and I peak out barely over 1000 and regularly do sprints in practice peaking in the mid 900’s. I’d have expected her to peak out near 1400 watts to be news-worthy
But then maybe a wattbike is different than a real bike?
I’m not really following you what makes tri accessible, but not cycling.
The only thing I can figure is that tri you can actually compete at a much earlier age. I know of plenty of triathletes at even a 6-7 year old age. I think the youngest category for cycling is what 12+ ?
(correct me if I’m wrong).
I would actually say it’s the opposite. Anyone can cycle, that’s probaly one of the first activities that most kids do. They learn to ride a bike.
In Australia, Under9 in cycling isn’t that uncommon
(Was just at a state track champs with a few u9’s, and a lot more u11/u13/u15 and had my arse handed to me by the u19’s)
Lolo’s former teammate here. My wife ( @michelleihowe on Instagram & her Strava go follow her!) and I were Team USA Bobsled members and competed on the world cup circuit with Lolo. (top placing = 12th at World Champs for me)
Michelle, like Lolo, was a sprinter/hurdler before bobsled, then transitioned to triathlon after bobsled. She’s 63kg and has hit similar numbers seated and ~1200W out of the saddle. She catted up from Cat 5 to Cat 1 in 11 months of road cycling.
Katie Uhlaender (instagram here) is another sliding sport athlete who has excelled in track cycling. National champ in team sprint with Mandy Marquardt. Pretty sure Katie has hit >1300W at maybe 65-70kg-ish.
I’ve hit 2100W at 94kg.
My 2 cents is that USA Cycling should invest a LOT more time/money into talent transfer than they do. All the current pipeline development funding is going to juniors. Elite track and field athletes, who don’t mind suffering, make phenomenal cyclists.
You are on to something and this is how Canadian Speeskating started dominating. The best future speedskaters were not in speed skating. They were just the top athletes who are in Hockey and Figure skating. They just started scouting those sports with the right sized athletes for long track and short track and pulling them over.
Probably the best athletes for cycling are in other sports. Cycling is not particularly technical, so the best athletes can likely be picked out of other sports. Especially the shorter duration track events migh have the best athlete pool in football, soccer etc because good youth athletes gravitate toward competitive sport. Probably the best DNA for swimming is not in the pool, but the problem with swimming is you have to cultivate that from scratch, you can’t just pull somone over. Same with downhill skiing. Almost no athletes who win track events of the same duration are from the countries that dominate downhill skiing. I bet if you put those kids on downhill skis from youth they would be superior to many downhill skiers, but they may just be wide receivers in the NFL instead or track stars with explosive fast twitch and killer coordination
My 2 cents is that USA Cycling should invest a LOT more time/money into talent transfer than they do. All the current pipeline development funding is going to juniors. Elite track and field athletes, who don’t mind suffering, make phenomenal cyclists.
i was talking to one of our cycling WC time trialists once, kirsten armstrong or emma pooley. and i mentioned that it seemed like a lot of the good women time trialists came from triathlon. and she replied, “no. all of us came from triathlon.” she explained this thru the lens of accessibility, which is to say, triathlon is, and cycling isn’t. so, your only real way to get into bike racing is to start with a welcoming sport that has a cycling component to it.
Yep.
Perusing age group nationals for former collegiate track athletes is probably the best possible way to find folks with the legs to sprint, and the will to suffer. Then find a safe space for them to jump into cycling without being ostracized.
Fount Cycling Guild in WA is running an amazing talent transfer women’s recruitment program unofficially. Jen Wheeler is leading the way. She’s a former collegiate middle distance runner and triathlete, now PanAm Bronze in individual pursuit on the track and former pro cyclist. She’s recruiting rowers and runners into the Fount family and teaching them to ride. Be on the lookout for that team to climb the ranks nationally. They’re a DET team this year but they’re as strong as a lot of the pro teams that race in the US.
I’m not really following you what makes tri accessible, but not cycling.
The only thing I can figure is that tri you can actually compete at a much earlier age. I know of plenty of triathletes at even a 6-7 year old age. I think the youngest category for cycling is what 12+ ?
(correct me if I’m wrong).
I would actually say it’s the opposite. Anyone can cycle, that’s probaly one of the first activities that most kids do. They learn to ride a bike.
if you go to a road bike race they basically flip you the bird. socially. you go there, pay, get dropped, and go home.** it’s just a rude experience.** in triathlon, you go there, pay, you’re part of a family pretty much. you don’t get dropped, people are friendly, you get whatever help you need. yes, tri has its problems. but nothing like cycling. i can’t believe i’m even having to write this to you.
Precisely. That entirely unwelcoming community in cycling caused my triathlete wife (now cat 1 roadie) to almost quit after winning her second or third crit. Had it not been for a good group of shop ride guys for her to fall back to and my encouragement, she’d have surely returned to triathlon and never looked back.