Teams & Riders The Remco Evenepoel is the next Eddy Merckx thread

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proffate

proffate

Jul 10, 2012
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Divergence said:
There is no reason why body fat should give one power. Therefore, in order to perform at one's absolute best, one should have as low a body fat percentage as possible.
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Your line of reasoning reveals a very deficient understanding of human physiology.
 
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Divergence

Feb 27, 2023
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proffate said:
Your line of reasoning reveals a very deficient understanding of human physiology.
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The physiology is spot on. What is playing a role is the psychology. Many people find it hard to be super disciplined with the nutrition and, for some, it is better to be a little bit overweight and in a happy psychological state than forgoing the treats they like to consume in order to be at their leanest.
 
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Divergence

Feb 27, 2023
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Red Rick said:
The theory that subcutaneous body fat is only there for energy storage and has no other function and that you can go without it with no other problems is definitely a theory.

It's not a good theory. It's not a modern theory. But it is absolutely a theory
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Oh, for sure it has its uses. Most of them are particularly desirable if stranded on a desert island, but during a cycling race it does not add much. In all honesty, some is definitely needed, but many cyclists are a bit overweight. And those who are not are the ones performing best.
 
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shadowrider

May 18, 2023
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Extinction said:
Apart from this, it's the current regime. Either you maximize power to weight ratio, with the necessary talent to win, or you get dropped.
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Froome's poor performances are not only the result of his serious injury a few years ago and his older age. It is common knowledge in the peloton that Froome no longer uses "reinforcing" substances. But which are also dangerous to health.

Because he was paid millions for years without performance pressure from his team, these medical products are no longer needed. For whatever. Why continue to use after such a career to only end up in the top ten of a GT? Furthermore, well paid (still the top earner in the peloton in recent years) and no health risks anymore. And no risks to be caught performing only a top ten in a GT.
 
Extinction

Extinction

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shadowrider said:
Froome's poor performances are not only the result of his serious injury a few years ago and his older age. It is common knowledge in the peloton that Froome no longer uses "reinforcing" substances. But which are also dangerous to health.

Because he was paid millions for years without performance pressure from his team, these medical products are no longer needed. For whatever. Why continue to use after such a career to only end up in the top ten of a GT? Furthermore, well paid (still the top earner in the peloton in recent years) and no health risks anymore. And no risks to be caught performing only a top ten in a GT.
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Sure the laboratory methods engineered Froome, who has since cashed in on a sucker. Now Skeletor is the latest version, while it seems to me Evenepoel is a long way off.
 
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houtdffan

Jul 20, 2019
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shadowrider said:
Froome's poor performances are not only the result of his serious injury a few years ago and his older age. It is common knowledge in the peloton that Froome no longer uses "reinforcing" substances. But which are also dangerous to health.

Because he was paid millions for years without performance pressure from his team, these medical products are no longer needed. For whatever. Why continue to use after such a career to only end up in the top ten of a GT? Furthermore, well paid (still the top earner in the peloton in recent years) and no health risks anymore. And no risks to be caught performing only a top ten in a GT.
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Clinic...
 
proffate

proffate

Jul 10, 2012
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Divergence said:
Oh, for sure it has its uses. Most of them are particularly desirable if stranded on a desert island, but during a cycling race it does not add much. In all honesty, some is definitely needed, but many cyclists are a bit overweight. And those who are not are the ones performing best.
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The problem is that even bike racers have to do things besides race bikes, such as build muscles and arrive at start lines well-recovered from their training or other efforts.

The body is a wondrous machine, but unfortunately it's not quite smart enough to know whether you have a gel flask in your pocket and if you're smart enough to use it at the right moment. It does raise the alarm (a bit early sometimes) with a blast of ghrelin. But some deranged individuals ignore that because of a mental illness called body dysmorphia (your line of reasoning is symptomatic of this condition, I might add). So then the body begins to shut down energy-intensive processes like anabolism as it diverts energy to mission-critical functions such as those provided by liver and brain. And at a macro level, that surfaces as impaired recovery.

Since we are only allowed to discuss endogenous processes on this sub-forum, all I can say from here is that some humans' bodies must have more proactive self-defense mechanisms than others.
 
Andre

Andre

Feb 1, 2020
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I am very curious to see how Remco will do in La Fleche Wallonne. It will be interesting to see what odds they give him to win it.

​

 
Extinction

Extinction

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proffate said:
The problem is that even bike racers have to do things besides race bikes, such as build muscles and arrive at start lines well-recovered from their training or other efforts.

The body is a wondrous machine, but unfortunately it's not quite smart enough to know whether you have a gel flask in your pocket and if you're smart enough to use it at the right moment. It does raise the alarm (a bit early sometimes) with a blast of ghrelin. But some deranged individuals ignore that because of a mental illness called body dysmorphia (your line of reasoning is symptomatic of this condition, I might add). So then the body begins to shut down energy-intensive processes like anabolism as it diverts energy to mission-critical functions such as those provided by liver and brain. And at a macro level, that surfaces as impaired recovery.

Since we are only allowed to discuss endogenous processes on this sub-forum, all I can say from here is that some humans' bodies must have more proactive self-defense mechanisms than others.
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All today's bike racers have to do is follow the nutritionist's orders. Every meal and gel is planned for them. It must be a tremendous lifestyle.
 
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D

Divergence

Feb 27, 2023
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proffate said:
The problem is that even bike racers have to do things besides race bikes, such as build muscles and arrive at start lines well-recovered from their training or other efforts.

The body is a wondrous machine, but unfortunately it's not quite smart enough to know whether you have a gel flask in your pocket and if you're smart enough to use it at the right moment. It does raise the alarm (a bit early sometimes) with a blast of ghrelin. But some deranged individuals ignore that because of a mental illness called body dysmorphia (your line of reasoning is symptomatic of this condition, I might add). So then the body begins to shut down energy-intensive processes like anabolism as it diverts energy to mission-critical functions such as those provided by liver and brain. And at a macro level, that surfaces as impaired recovery.

Since we are only allowed to discuss endogenous processes on this sub-forum, all I can say from here is that some humans' bodies must have more proactive self-defense mechanisms than others.
Click to expand...
Yes, the point is to not raise the alarm. However, quite a few cyclists are very far off of this threshold. I will not use technical jargon and I agree with your post. The main point is to be disciplined with nutrition. This entails eating a lot and never feeling hungry (especially during races). It also entails not eating certain things (mainly fatty things) and this is where many cyclists and so called nutritionists make a mistake.
Edit: BTW this is not even about Remco (even though it is in this thread). He was quite lean for the Vuelta22 imo.
 
proffate

proffate

Jul 10, 2012
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Divergence said:
Yes, the point is to not raise the alarm. However, quite a few cyclists are very far off of this threshold. I will not use technical jargon and I agree with your post. The main point is to be disciplined with nutrition. This entails eating a lot and never feeling hungry (especially during races). It also entails not eating certain things (mainly fatty things) and this is where many cyclists and so called nutritionists make a mistake.
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Well I'm glad we agree on something, but it seems to me that salmon, avocados, certain dairy, nuts, pulses, and many other "fatty" foods are a part of a healthy diet regardless of whether you're a bike racer or a bird watcher.

The end result of the peloton's weight obssession is threefold:
a) we're testing and rewarding whose body has the weakest safeguards (not strength, speed, coordination, cunning, or anything else that sport is supposedly about)
b) amateurs assume they're supposed to look like Froome or there's something morally wrong with them (such as a lack of discipline)
c) "professionalism"

This is certainly not limited to cycling. A lot of marathoners bob along with the appearance of a meth addict...
... and sports like MMA or American football are obviously not healthy just by their nature.

I would actually be in favor of a minimum bodyfat for cyclists, although I'm sure that idea will get reflexively shouted down. It would somewhat remove the incentive for unhealthy behavior, clinical or otherwise, and while you could claim it's not fair, all rules are both totally fair and totally arbitrary as long as they're applied equally. Combat sports tend to have classes where a certain weight is enforced, and oftentimes participants do very unhealthy things to "make weight". But in some federations, the rules also stipulate a certain hydration level at the time of weigh-in to protect the fighters' health, so why not also require 6% body fat to protect cyclists' health? The UCI has already mandated certain other health parameters (blood values, hormone levels) in the past, so why not body fat or BMI? As a fan, this detracts absolutely nothing from the spectacle, and we don't have to ask our favorite riders, be they Remco or anyone else, to toe the line of mortality just to be successful.

Well I know that idea will never go anywhere, so in the meantime I will just keep rooting for the riders who I wish I could be like, and that's not the skeletors of the pack.
 
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