Richie Porte - what do we know about him?

[Dear Wiggo]

Re: Re:

for the weight loss without loss of power we can speculate about AICAR again.
but it's a fair question: going out there without an ounce of body fat you would expect it would make him more susceptible to simple deseases like a cold/fever/chestinfection.

Nah, he lost all that weight because he finally stopped eating pizza
According to Belgian newspapers that is

That was Geraint wasn't it?

 

[sniper]

Uli Fluhme @ulif · 24h 24 hours ago

Porte claims swimming was key to become better cyclist. triathletes around the globe laughing hard. drugs OTOH...

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Re:

Uli Fluhme @ulif · 24h 24 hours ago

Porte claims swimming was key to become better cyclist. triathletes around the globe laughing hard. drugs OTOH...

I've seen him quoted a few times. Can I be lazy and ask why his tweets bear repeating vs googling who he is?

I know from personal experience swimming improves breathing - and in turn strengthening your diaphragm / breathing muscle chain, etc, can help with (cycling) performance.

Just did not think it would have an effect at the elite level of cyclists who train full-time on the bike.

 

[Night Rider]

Re: Re:

Uli Fluhme @ulif · 24h 24 hours ago

Porte claims swimming was key to become better cyclist. triathletes around the globe laughing hard. drugs OTOH...

When I saw that article I thought these guys don't even try to make decent excuses for doping these days. It's like a competition between dopers of who can take the most p1ss.

 

[sniper]

Re: Re:

Uli Fluhme @ulif · 24h 24 hours ago

Porte claims swimming was key to become better cyclist. triathletes around the globe laughing hard. drugs OTOH...

I've seen him quoted a few times. Can I be lazy and ask why his tweets bear repeating vs googling who he is?

I know from personal experience swimming improves breathing - and in turn strengthening your diaphragm / breathing muscle chain, etc, can help with (cycling) performance.

Just did not think it would have an effect at the elite level of cyclists who train full-time on the bike.

one part laziness: if i find somebody tweeting my thoughts, quoting him/her is cost-effective.

other part: he runs the New York Gran Fondo. He was interviewed by a serious journal about his Gran Fondo (I posted a separate thread a few weeks ago with a link). He spoke mainly about how he tries to keep his race clean, and about two or three positive EPO tests during the 2013 edition of that Gran Fondo.
In the interview he made some intelligent remarks about anti-doping.
He sounded how you'd expect somebody to sound who's genuinely antidoping.
Not the JV kind.
Since then I started following his twitter feed, where, amongst other things, he's been pointing out JV's hypocricy on a regular basis, turning me into an instant fan.

 

[Night Rider]

Re: Re:

Just did not think it would have an effect at the elite level of cyclists who train full-time on the bike.

I'm not aware of any studies where endurance athletes used swimming to increase performance in another sport. It's worth mentioning as well that little richie used to be a tri geek. If it (swimming) improved his breathing so much why did it take him so long to work that out again.

 

[msjett]

Totally lol'd when I saw his blurb about swimming - who'd have thunk it? They have been getting kids with asthma to swim to help them breathe better for decades. BTW a few australian elite level swimmers got into swimming cause they had asthma as kids....anyhoo I agree with Night Rider it does seem a bit of a competition to see who can take the most psssss...

 

[Gung Ho Gun]

Re: Re:

for the weight loss without loss of power we can speculate about AICAR again.
but it's a fair question: going out there without an ounce of body fat you would expect it would make him more susceptible to simple deseases like a cold/fever/chestinfection.

Nah, he lost all that weight because he finally stopped eating pizza
According to Belgian newspapers that is

That was Geraint wasn't it?

The article said it was Porte, but I can't find anything about it in other languages, nor about Geraint, so our newspapers may have simply invented that story

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Re: Re:

Uli Fluhme @ulif · 24h 24 hours ago

Porte claims swimming was key to become better cyclist. triathletes around the globe laughing hard. drugs OTOH...

I've seen him quoted a few times. Can I be lazy and ask why his tweets bear repeating vs googling who he is?

I know from personal experience swimming improves breathing - and in turn strengthening your diaphragm / breathing muscle chain, etc, can help with (cycling) performance.

Just did not think it would have an effect at the elite level of cyclists who train full-time on the bike.

one part laziness: if i find somebody tweeting my thoughts, quoting him/her is cost-effective.

other part: he runs the New York Gran Fondo. He was interviewed by a serious journal about his Gran Fondo (I posted a separate thread a few weeks ago with a link). He spoke mainly about how he tries to keep his race clean, and about two or three positive EPO tests during the 2013 edition of that Gran Fondo.
In the interview he made some intelligent remarks about anti-doping.
He sounded how you'd expect somebody to sound who's genuinely antidoping.
Not the JV kind.
Since then I started following his twitter feed, where, amongst other things, he's been pointing out JV's hypocricy on a regular basis, turning me into an instant fan.

Not your account then? ;-)

Thankee kindly. I had a look at his twitter feed and understand completely.

 

[Catwhoorg]

Re:

that's ca. 4kg below his usual weight.
that's still a reasonable body mass index of 19.9.
Wiggins' body mass index when he weighed 69kg was 19.1.
didn't Froome weigh 64kg at some point? would have put his BMI at 18.7, just 0.2 away from being underweight.

(have there been riders riding with underweight, i.e. BMI below 18.5?)

Yes, but bear in mind BMI is a sledgehammer approach best suited for populations not individuals.(I checked a few using published height/weights on websites a few years ago, but don't have the data to hand)

Using a body fat % scale, probably half the peloton would be significantly underweight.

 

[blackcat]

like how Ferrari uses "fragile" in coded term.

well, little richie is off the paleo diet and onto the AICAR and soda water chaser diet

 

[Catwhoorg]

With the usual caveat of not trusting explicitly anything riders say about their weight,

Richie did say he was at the TDU 7Kg lighter than last year.

He does seem slimmer, but by how much is up in the air.

 

[More Strides than Rides]

Re:

With the usual caveat of not trusting explicitly anything riders say about their weight,

Richie did say he was at the TDU 7Kg lighter than last year.

He does seem slimmer, but by how much is up in the air.

Maybe he was standing in a pool when he weighed himself...

...

It's easy to make assumptions about the best elites, about their awareness for the sport, and their general wherewithal as professionals. But then if you think about people you know, and just how nutzo they are, it makes a lot more sense the way someone like Porte can do what he does, and say what he says. Like a guy that will change his training every month the fitness magazine comes out with a new 12-Week Plan To Your First Century

 

[sniper]

7kg?
that would be in the Wiggo 2009 range, i.e. weight loss which e.g. Eric Boyer said was impossible to achieve at this level without illegal PEDs.

AICAR is, by the way, rather common in Australia.
Link about AICAR abuse in Australian horse racing:
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/horseracing ... 2671y.html

In the bust of Alberto Beltran's doping ring in Spain in 2012, TB-500 from Australia was intercepted.
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/11406 ... ducts.aspx
"TB-500 is based on the peptide hormone thymosin and is reported as increasing muscle growth and its repair, as well as causing new blood vessels to grow."
"
The latter product made the news just before last year’s Tour de France when the former pro rider Wim Vansevenant, three times Laterne Rouge in the race, was linked to the illegal importation of TB-500.

The product was sent from Australia and intercepted at Zaventem airport by customs officials."

 

[JimmyFingers]

Re:

http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/ais

I really don't think Sky have even a fraction of 1% of the data or experience that these guys do. 30 years of state sponsored research and an entire catalogue of publications. PhD candidates, post-docs and career scientists as far as the eye can see. You'll notice that Australians are generally quite successful in cycling, but by no means could you cobble together an all Australian team and dominate the sport. Sky as a creation of British Cycling, showing the world how it's really done, is just silly.

John Swanson

So Britain is 99% behind Australia in the realms of sports science, according to you, and despite so much more people with PhDs and scientists generally than Britain, and being quite success at cycling, because Britain has produced a 'dominating' pro-team and Australia hasn't, they must be doping?

I've read some drivel in this forum but this takes it too all new levels. Chapeau

 

[Catwhoorg]

7kg?
that would be in the Wiggo 2009 range, i.e. weight loss which e.g. Eric Boyer said was impossible to achieve at this level without illegal PEDs.

That would be specifically 7kg at a particular point in the year away from his normal low point.

Even if you trust that weight number, a good portion of it would be simply not building up the usual off season "fat".

Taken in isolation its not evidence for or against weight loss drugs.

In January 2015 he was leaner than the was in January 2014. That may or may not be lighter than July 2012.

 

[sniper]

That would be specifically 7kg at a particular point in the year away from his normal low point.

Even if you trust that weight number, a good portion of it would be simply not building up the usual off season "fat".

Taken in isolation its not evidence for or against weight loss drugs.

In January 2015 he was leaner than the was in January 2014. That may or may not be lighter than July 2012.

Rupert Guinness' take on it:
"It’s interesting how much lighter he was coming into the season. When you look back at photos from last year, he is like five kilograms lighter and when you look at some of those mountains in Italy that makes a huge difference. "

btw, Guinness also mentions that Richie is in a 'contract' year (i.e. up for sale next year).
Richie's motivations to tank up are obvious.

 

[ScienceIsCool]

Re: Re:

http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/ais

I really don't think Sky have even a fraction of 1% of the data or experience that these guys do. 30 years of state sponsored research and an entire catalogue of publications. PhD candidates, post-docs and career scientists as far as the eye can see. You'll notice that Australians are generally quite successful in cycling, but by no means could you cobble together an all Australian team and dominate the sport. Sky as a creation of British Cycling, showing the world how it's really done, is just silly.

John Swanson

So Britain is 99% behind Australia in the realms of sports science, according to you, and despite so much more people with PhDs and scientists generally than Britain, and being quite success at cycling, because Britain has produced a 'dominating' pro-team and Australia hasn't, they must be doping?

I've read some drivel in this forum but this takes it too all new levels. Chapeau

Well, my post was in response to the notion that Sky is dominant because British Cycling have so much experience and are so scientifically inclined. And I think that is very silly. I used an example of AIS with 30 years of explicit dedication to studying science in sport and a catalog (yes, catalog - online and fully searchable) of published research. I used that example to explain why it's silly to think that Britain could just whip together a team (Sky) and dominate the sport when other nations with more capability and resources couldn't.

I never mentioned doping, but I am of the opinion that Froome and Porte are dopity-dope-dopers. That's mostly from their rapid and entirely unbelievable transformations. Their performances are unexplainable except via doping.

John Swanson

 

[The Hitch]

Re: Re:

http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/ais

I really don't think Sky have even a fraction of 1% of the data or experience that these guys do. 30 years of state sponsored research and an entire catalogue of publications. PhD candidates, post-docs and career scientists as far as the eye can see. You'll notice that Australians are generally quite successful in cycling, but by no means could you cobble together an all Australian team and dominate the sport. Sky as a creation of British Cycling, showing the world how it's really done, is just silly.

John Swanson

So Britain is 99% behind Australia in the realms of sports science, according to you, and despite so much more people with PhDs and scientists generally than Britain, and being quite success at cycling, because Britain has produced a 'dominating' pro-team and Australia hasn't, they must be doping?

I've read some drivel in this forum but this takes it too all new levels. Chapeau

Well isn't the idea he was responding to- that sky have through connections with a track team acquired some massive data advantage over everyone else in the sport, equally ridiculous?

 

[nayr497]

I can't imagine having the nerve to get caught and go down as the best Tasmanian cyclist of all time...who also happened to be doping. Fear of forever looking like a dirtbag would cause me to not take the risk.

 

[JimmyFingers]

Re: Re:

http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/ais

I really don't think Sky have even a fraction of 1% of the data or experience that these guys do. 30 years of state sponsored research and an entire catalogue of publications. PhD candidates, post-docs and career scientists as far as the eye can see. You'll notice that Australians are generally quite successful in cycling, but by no means could you cobble together an all Australian team and dominate the sport. Sky as a creation of British Cycling, showing the world how it's really done, is just silly.

John Swanson

So Britain is 99% behind Australia in the realms of sports science, according to you, and despite so much more people with PhDs and scientists generally than Britain, and being quite success at cycling, because Britain has produced a 'dominating' pro-team and Australia hasn't, they must be doping?

I've read some drivel in this forum but this takes it too all new levels. Chapeau

Well, my post was in response to the notion that Sky is dominant because British Cycling have so much experience and are so scientifically inclined. And I think that is very silly. I used an example of AIS with 30 years of explicit dedication to studying science in sport and a catalog (yes, catalog - online and fully searchable) of published research. I used that example to explain why it's silly to think that Britain could just whip together a team (Sky) and dominate the sport when other nations with more capability and resources couldn't.

I never mentioned doping, but I am of the opinion that Froome and Porte are dopity-dope-dopers. That's mostly from their rapid and entirely unbelievable transformations. Their performances are unexplainable except via doping.

John Swanson

I think you need to quantify what you consider Britain's lack or resources and capability compared to other nations, and it would be helpful it you back that up with numbers perhaps. Also it would be useful to quantify 'dominant' as I thnk Movistar and EQS might take exception to being told they are 'dominated' by Sky. For someone with a user name 'ScienceisCool' you make some very unscientific assertions.

 

[Gung Ho Gun]

Why do you keep interpreting John Swanson's posts as standalone when they are in reality a reply to someone?
He's not saying Britain lacks resources
He's responding to another member claiming Sky is dominant because they have data that nobody else has

 

[JimmyFingers]

Re: Re:

http://www.ausport.gov.au/information/ais

I really don't think Sky have even a fraction of 1% of the data or experience that these guys do. 30 years of state sponsored research and an entire catalogue of publications. PhD candidates, post-docs and career scientists as far as the eye can see. You'll notice that Australians are generally quite successful in cycling, but by no means could you cobble together an all Australian team and dominate the sport. Sky as a creation of British Cycling, showing the world how it's really done, is just silly.

John Swanson

So Britain is 99% behind Australia in the realms of sports science, according to you, and despite so much more people with PhDs and scientists generally than Britain, and being quite success at cycling, because Britain has produced a 'dominating' pro-team and Australia hasn't, they must be doping?

I've read some drivel in this forum but this takes it too all new levels. Chapeau

Well isn't the idea he was responding to- that sky have through connections with a track team acquired some massive data advantage over everyone else in the sport, equally ridiculous?

Well firstly I am glad you think it is a ridiculous assertion. I'm not claiming a massive data advantage for Sky, do they? It may be we end up debatng semantics but I'm unsure BC or Sky claim ''massive data advantages", what I do see them claim is that they are very experimental and always looking for edges that others are yet exploiting. Do I believe they are ahead of the curve? Maybe, but I am sure they are not alone in lookng for any advantage, they just use it as a marketing tool. Transformations aside, Sky have the resources to buy talent, and bought talent they have. To use John Swanson's term, it's silly to say that money doesn't talk. Plenty of Sky's successes come from foreign talent, not just British. They have bought established, talented riders. Money talks, the teams with the most of it tend to be successful. That is a truth. S

 

[JimmyFingers]

Re:

Why do you keep interpreting John Swanson's posts as standalone when they are in reality a reply to someone?
He's not saying Britain lacks resources
He's responding to another member claiming Sky is dominant because they have data that nobody else has

Whoever said that was wrong, however his counter to that was deeply flawed as I have pointed out

 

[Archibald]

Re:

Uli Fluhme @ulif · 24h 24 hours ago

Porte claims swimming was key to become better cyclist. triathletes around the globe laughing hard. drugs OTOH...

yep.
if this was such an advantage, triathletes would be switching over in their droves and caning the current peloton...