Teams & Riders Cian Uijtdebroeks - From the wetlands to the top of cycling

[shadowrider]

I'd be inclined to totally accept opposing views here (especially because I'm literally just posting a benign 'opinion' here) but since you accused me of spreading 'fake news', how about no?

I'm not a news outlet, I'm just a random poster on cycling forum. You don't get to police opinion like that. My point stands because there's quite a few examples in the history of this sport of riders riding a GT with a condition which some might call 'irresponsible' under certain circumstances.

Visma meanwhile have riders dropping like flies all over the place, i.e. Laporte for the same reason during Milan-Sanremo (from which he still hasn't recovered irrespective of his Giro crash, aka his form has been nonexistent since March) & now Kooij + Uijtebroeks.

I have no idea what's going on over there.

I challenge you to post a scientific work here demonstrating that top-level sport with a fever is not dangerous. Strenuous exercise (toplevel cycling) with a viral infection and fever will not always lead to (long term) physical and heart damage. But it sometimes/often will. Deny this is irresponsible.

There are plenty of examples of top athletes who never reached their best level again. Some even had to quit top sports. Some even died from it.

 

[shadowrider]

It depends. Sinusitis is basically a viral infection caused by prolonged allergies, but of course if the body is fighting allergies while racing at 100%, viral defence can weaken as is happening anyway in stage racing and illness is all interlinked with various causes.
Of course I don't know the cause for him, my comment was just a general observation from several riders including Pogacar saying pollen and allergies/asthma are causing riders issues through the peloton.

A viral infection caused by allergies ??????
Viral infections are often the reason of sinusitis. But not everyone with viral infections gets sinusitis. Good thing, too.

"pollen and allergies/asthma are causing riders issues through the peloton". Yes, causing symptoms which may initially resemble the first symptoms of a viral infection. But "pollen" have nothing to do with viral infections. Allergies are annoying and can affect performance. But in themselves they are not dangerous for the body and heart (unless the reaction is very extreme due to intolerance of certain foodsubstances or after wasp stings). But competitioncycling with a (severe) viral infection and fever is irresponsible.

 

[ManicJack]

Seriously though I don't know what's going on with pro cycling anymore. I think teams need to be a little bit more open about the level of sickness which leads to a DNF because a GT was

LOL. It's none of your or my business.

 

[Rackham]

There are plenty of examples of top athletes who never reached their best level again. Some even had to quit top sports. Some even died from it.

My knowledge of cycling history might be a little hazy but I'd be curious to see a list of pro cyclists who actually died from riding a GT with a fever.

If there were any (certainly in recent memory), I shall stand corrected.

 

[ManicJack]

My knowledge of cycling history might be a little hazy but I'd be curious to see a list of pro cyclists who actually died from riding a GT with a fever.

If there were any (certainly in recent memory), I shall stand corrected.

Put words in someone's mouth much? 🙄

 

[Rackham]

Put words in someone's mouth much? 🙄

It's literally in his post I quoted. He said some athletes had "died" from it. I simply wondered which ones.

 

[ManicJack]

It's literally in his post I quoted. He said some athletes had "died" from it. I simply wondered which ones.

LOL

 

[SHAD0W93]

It's literally in his post I quoted. He said some athletes had "died" from it. I simply wondered which ones.

I’ll tell you one who didn’t, Michael Jordan.

 

[AmRacer]

I once had a GT with fever.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I think what Rackham is argueing is a perfectly fine argument. You might disagree, and I don't know jack on this topic, but I have noticed the trend as well

 

[Bolder]

Visma getting ready for Vingegaard to be absent from the Tour team.

Calling cadet GC Kuss, report for duty!

Uijtebroeks was clearly ill yesterday.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Likely the illness was rather severe as lets not forget a day back Kooij abandoned the race too. I assume they both got the same thing.

 

[ManicJack]

Likely the illness was rather severe as lets not forget a day back Kooij abandoned the race too. I assume they both got the same thing.

Wouldn't surprise me if we see more of them in the coming days.

 

[tobydawq]

LOL

What's your problem? That is what shadowrider wrote...

 

[Red Rick]

Abstract​

Context: Acute febrile illnesses are common in athletes over the course of training and competition seasons. Complete recovery and rapid yet safe return to participation are critical for competitive athletes. Alterations in thermoregulation, metabolism, fluid homeostasis, muscle strength, and endurance, as well as potential complications for the athlete and others, must be considered.
Evidence acquisition: The PubMed database was searched (1970-2013) for all English-language articles related to febrile illness in sport, using the keywords fever, febrile, body temperature, thermoregulation, infection, illness, disease, exercise, athlete, sport, performance, return to play, metabolism, hydration, and dehydration.
Study design: Clinical review.
Level of evidence: Level 4.
Results: Limited data confirm that febrile illness is correlated with alterations in the body's thermoregulatory system, with increases in metabolic rate, and with effects in fluid homeostasis. Human and animal studies demonstrate a decrease in muscle strength and endurance secondary to muscle catabolism in febrile illness. However, indirect evidence suggests that regular exercise enhances the immune response. No strong clinical research has been published on return to play during or following acute febrile illness, excluding mononucleosis and myocarditis.
Conclusion: Fever is correlated with an increase in insensible fluid losses, dehydration, metabolic demands, and dysregulation of body temperature. Fever can have detrimental effects on the musculoskeletal system, including decreasing strength and endurance, generalized muscle catabolism, and increase in perceived fatigue. Participating in strenuous exercise during febrile illness can worsen the illness and has demonstrated increased lethality in animal models. No consensus recommendations support return to activity before resolution of fever, and training should be resumed gradually once fever and dehydration have resolved.

Febrile Illness in the Athlete

Acute febrile illnesses are common in athletes over the course of training and competition seasons. Complete recovery and rapid yet safe return to participation are critical for competitive athletes. Alterations in thermoregulation, metabolism, fluid ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[wansteadimp]

I had once a GT with fever.

I once had a G&T with fevertree. It was good but expensive.

 

[peterfin]

I once had a G&T with fevertree. It was good but expensive.

Me too

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

What's your problem? That is what shadowrider wrote...

Lord knows i'm not a fan of shadowrider, but the point he was making was not that they die from it, but that it can become a long-term problem, in rare cases causing death. I have no knowledge of these cases, maybe he's talking out the side of his neck, but his main argument sounds plausible enough not to dismiss it by ridiculing by proxy.
He also spoke of "athletes" not cyclists.

 

[Rackham]

Lord knows i'm not a fan of shadowrider, but the point he was making was not that they die from it, but that it can become a long-term problem, in rare cases causing death. I have no knowledge of these cases, maybe he's talking out the side of his neck, but his main argument sounds plausible enough not to dismiss it by ridiculing by proxy.
He also spoke of "atletes" not cyclists.

The 'problem' wasn't even relating to the disagreement, i.e. people can feel free to post some truth bombs about illnesses & their effect on cyclists (I'm obviously not a doctor) - the issue was right back in his first reply, i.e. way too aggressive as per usual.

It's not 'fake news' (which is what he claimed) for me to say teams are very selective with regard to the information released to the public about the actual illness involved which leads to a DNF (riders ride GT's with flu, upset stomachs & fevers all the time aka it's nothing new... so why is this one different?) Also what happened to Laporte in MSR because he hasn't really been the same since? So it's fair to say Visma in particular seems to have been hit by the same issue this season to a notable degree (Laporte + Kooij + Uijtdebroeks off the top of my head).

Then of course there was last year's pre-Giro covid bloodbath in Jumbo where half the team got sick (& Kuss even finished the race after testing positive).

It seems like the same sh*t keeps on happening to the same team.

 

[ManicJack]

What's your problem? That is what shadowrider wrote...

You conveniently added GT riders to your demand for examples.

 

[tobydawq]

You conveniently added GT riders to your demand for examples.

Me? Wut?

 

[ManicJack]

Me? Wut?

Sorry, wrong poster. They, not you.

 

[shadowrider]

Lord knows i'm not a fan of shadowrider, but the point he was making was not that they die from it, but that it can become a long-term problem, in rare cases causing death. I have no knowledge of these cases, maybe he's talking out the side of his neck, but his main argument sounds plausible enough not to dismiss it by ridiculing by proxy.
He also spoke of "atletes" not cyclists.

I'm not a fan of Logic-is-your friend, but the summary he gives is indeed correct. As so often happens, a text/reaction is only half read, and some do not understand it at all. The scientific text Red Rick has published is one of the many about the subject and is correct. It completely refutes what Rackham writes. What Rackham has written has nothing to do with an opinion. But it is scientific nonsense. So, indeed, fake news.

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

My knowledge of cycling history might be a little hazy but I'd be curious to see a list of pro cyclists who actually died from riding a GT with a fever.

If there were any (certainly in recent memory), I shall stand corrected.

There was a Belgian amateur somewhere around the 2010s who kept on training with the flu and he got rushed to A&E one day because his heart decided enough was enough. It happens, and you better be safe than sorry. Furthermore nearly every specialist will tell you not to do it. So if that isn't reason to not do it, I don't know what else is.

These types of discussions also remind me of the story of Bart Wellens, he got rushed to the hospital with heart failure. The media jumped on it like vultures, claiming it was doping (he tested negative obviously), then they said it was the flu but it ended up being a small tooth-infection. Which arguably is less serious than the flu and yet he nearly died because he combined it with being a pro athlete

 

[CyclistAbi]

So any news if Cian is doing Tour 2024 as co leader or not?