Amazing recoveries at the Grand Tours

[el_angliru]

I'd like to see some examples of unbelieable recoveries when a rider bonked or cracked at a Grand Tour. Floyd Landis 2006 springs to mind. He cracked at the La Toussoire stage but won the Morzine stage the next day.

Another example could be Lance Armstrong at the Cap'Découverte TT 2003 where he was dehydrated or lacked carbon or something like that. A few days later he was able to win the Luz Ardiden stage.

Basso was sick at the Stelvio stage of the 2005 Giro (stage 14 where Basso was 2nd on GC). He lost 42 minutes, but was able to win a mountain top finish stage a few days later.

 

[roundabout]

Basso probably got a bad bag.

No surprise that he flew with a good one.

On that note. ****head in the 2007 Tour. Lost 30 minutes to Plateau de Beille, crushed everybody in the break the next day

 

[Cloxxki]

I'd like to see some examples of unbelieable recoveries when a rider bonked or cracked at a Grand Tour. Floyd Landis 2006 springs to mind. He cracked at the La Toussoire stage but won the Morzine stage the next day.

Another example could be Lance Armstrong at the Cap'Découverte TT 2003 where he was dehydrated or lacked carbon or something like that. A few days later he was able to win the Luz Ardiden stage.

Basso was sick at the Stelvio stage of the 2005 Giro (stage 14 where Basso was 2nd on GC). He lost 42 minutes, but was able to win a mountain top finish stage a few days later.

Floyd's case, I think many of us have experienced that first hand on training camps. You bonk, lose a lot of time, them reaaaallllly take care of yourself, eat and drink LOTS, and yes alcohol is OK then. Next day, you can feel reborn. Plus, you "saved" your legs from the moment you were dropped by the others. You gave it your all, but that just wasn't a lot. Less damage done. More left for the next day.

The sicknesses...that's a different story. You have to wonder what they were sick of. Bad bloog bag? Body rejecting something?

 

[el_angliru]

Yeah, Vino is obvious. Caught even before the Tour was over. Porte 2013 is a borderline case. I'm not sure he really bonked during the 2nd stage of the Pyrenees. But he's certainly in good form now.

 

[el_angliru]

The sicknesses...that's a different story. You have to wonder what they were sick of. Bad bloog bag? Body rejecting something?

I don't know. But I'm quite sure BB was a part of his recovery (like with Vino 2007, when Vino won two stages after having bonked).

 

[Almeisan]

If you don't have fuel, you can't burn out your engine. It puts less stress on the system.

 

[frenchfry]

If you don't have fuel, you can't burn out your engine. It puts less stress on the system.

Any argument that bonking saves energy is patentedly ridiculous.

 

[Almeisan]

Why? Less stress is put on muscles, red blood cells, etc. Sugar levels can recover quickly.

 

[hfer07]

Why? Less stress is put on muscles, red blood cells, etc. Sugar levels can recover quickly.

Will SKY management release the brand of those infamous "Sugars"-cuz i'm so buying them for my next century ride

 

[User Guide]

Tommy V last year.Couldnt turn a pedal hardly,rest day then BAM riding like superman.

 

[TheBean]

Why? Less stress is put on muscles, red blood cells, etc. Sugar levels can recover quickly.

Your theory isn't terrible, but it's more of a metaphor than an explanation of how the human body works.

I suggest buying an undergraduate exercise physiology textook and checking it out. One by Scott Powers is pretty good, easy enough to read, and touches on a variety of variables and associated physiological processes.

You could probably findit used for under $5.

To be a fan of cycling is to be a fan of human performance. Understanding performance physiology can make being a fan even more fun!

 

[D-Queued]

Why? Less stress is put on muscles, red blood cells, etc. Sugar levels can recover quickly.

Blood sugar?

You realize what bonking involves, right?

Dave.

 

[burning]

Tommy V last year.Couldnt turn a pedal hardly,rest day then BAM riding like superman.

This is what happens when he couldnt turn a pedal
http://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/race.asp?raceid=21639

Lets not forget that he was taking easy in all of the stages apart from 4 stages that he cared

 

[Almeisan]

Blood sugar?

You realize what bonking involves, right?

Dave.

Not sure if serious. Simply put, glycogen is stored in muscles and liver. Muscles use sugar that is in the blood. Once blood sugar drops, glycogen is released through the hormone glucagon.
Once glycogen reserves are depleted, blood sugar levels are going to drop without being restored and muscles have to stop burning energy.

Once food is eaten, glucose is absorbed in the small intestine and into the blood. Once blood sugar rises, insulin converts sugar back into glycogen and glycogen levels are restored.

This is not an issue of muscle damage or red blood cell loss.

If there are more questions, feel free to ask. I am not an expert, but this was part of my uni education.

Maybe bonking means something else to some of you, but to most endurance athletes it means running out of glycogen.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Not sure if serious. Simply put, glycogen is stored in muscles and liver. Muscles use sugar that is in the blood. Once blood sugar drops, glycogen is released through the hormone glucagon.
Once glycogen reserves are depleted, blood sugar levels are going to drop without being restored and muscles have to stop burning energy.

Once food is eaten, glucose is absorbed in the small intestine and into the blood. Once blood sugar rises, insulin converts sugar back into glycogen and glycogen levels are restored.

This is not an issue of muscle damage or red blood cell loss.

If there are more questions, feel free to ask. I am not an expert, but this was part of my uni education.

Maybe bonking means something else to some of you, but to most endurance athletes it means running out of glycogen.

My experience with bonking is pretty horrible. Its a situation where the muscles in your legs feel like jelly. You want to push but you simply can't. The mental & physical stress is pretty extreme. You are simply not aware of your surroundings. The next day there is no way one can be chipper enough to go back to previous performance. The legs they feel like lead. After the muscle glycogen is emptied, it takes a long time for the muscles to return to feeling normal (~2 days of complete rest).