Pro Cyclist Mortality Rates

[fmk_RoI]

Not that odd perhaps. Cycling and cricket both involve guys spending a long time with the team on the road and not much time at home. As such, the team can represent a kind of family. Then, when retirement occurs, its not just the cheering crowd and centre of the action that they miss but also the personal/social side. That's a theory anyway.

Or sport in general - and these two sports in particular - attract individuals of a certain mental type who are, in the main, predisposed toward suicide.

Or (here's a real Clinic explanation) there's a big conspiracy going on and the head of the sport is having them offed in order to stop them revealing the sport's truly dark secrets.

 

[Orinda8]

These reports from the conference repeat prior studies that show that exercisers have lower mortality than non-exercisers, however the study does not address the new controversy, namely that extreme exercises reduces mortality compared to moderate exercise. This study only compared TDF participants to the general population but did not separate out the group of moderate exercisers in the general population. Also it is assuming that after retiring from racing the TDF participants continue high levels of fitness. But looking at Armstrong who still cycles and remains at his competitive TDF weight, vs Lemond who is almost double his TDF weight the group is so non-uniform as to be meaningless.

 

[martinvickers]

Not that odd perhaps. Cycling and cricket both involve guys spending a long time with the team on the road and not much time at home. As such, the team can represent a kind of family. Then, when retirement occurs, its not just the cheering crowd and centre of the action that they miss but also the personal/social side. That's a theory anyway.

A theory I've a lot of time for - "loneliness of the long distance sportsman"

 

[fmk_RoI]

it is assuming that after retiring from racing the TDF participants continue high levels of fitness.

You got a quote for that?

 

[del1962]

I guess some athletes will maintain high levels of fitness and others won't,

 

[Briant_Gumble]

Why am I so sure? Because even in the mega dope/painkiller league NFL, players actually live longer than the average american.

And this league also have a ton of guys who died young b/c of suicide, accidents, heart attacks and ...

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...and-illness/YTbnGypzJXb1VkZSr1hbdP/story.html

I did some basic investigating into this myself. The sources I have read the average life expectancy of an NFL player is around 55.

"'It appears that professional football players both in the United States and in Canada have life expectancies in the mid to late fifties' Harvard researchers wrote in summary of their project"

 

[horsinabout]

I guess some athletes will maintain high levels of fitness and others won't,

One of my all time heroes Jens Fiedler, great sprinter now 43 jahre alt. He was never as bulky as the other sprinters and as supple as a gymnast.

So where is he now? Fat and Fishing!

The before



Everyone say Ahh



The after

Get with the German superlatives "schnell", "Achtung Fiedler", "Jawohl"

http://youtu.be/oecMSEMXpqU

Top tip, when you retire from being a World class sprinter with an office job, take up something less leisurely than fishing. Try putting a pad lock on your fridge and cutting down on the Kuchen. I also personally recommend some early morning jogging. Very good to start the day.