"PRO" Cycling Discussion

[airwise]

What did Nibali say??.Got a link?

To paraphrase, he said he was surprised and that the Vuelta "often throws up surprises". That he felt really good on the stage and that he was hoping to make time on his competition but when Horner accelerated he was simply too strong. Far too strong. I think Valverde's summation was very similar, saying that Horner was simply so much stronger than all of the others.

A pretty fair question would be if Horner were that incredibly strong, why was he dropped on all the big cols of the Tour last year and why has he not got a Trek contract given that they must have all of his physiological data?

[Liggero]

"Regularly hammered PED users in the states"??? Sure, he won a bunch in the states but he could never really make a mark in the world tour....ever think that was because he wasn't doped?? What makes you think that American racing scene was doped to the gills? More likely it wasn't and that's precisely why we are under-represented in the WT.

I absolutely agree, us riders are under rated cause they don't dope, they never did and never will... LOL

Horner is on the juice, crystal clear, and we all know it. Journalist, riders, team managers, uci, everyone knows. We will have to just shut up and wait a few years for his blood re-tested.

[savechief]

Here, this can be more fuel for the doubters fire:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gazzett ... the-vuelta
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/09/ ... lta_302720

Hopefully his power data from yesterday will be released shortly. Horner seems like an exceptionally nice guy, and I do hope that these performances are truly legitimate.

Slightly different topic, but I'm perplexed that cycling seems to be the only sport where the natural limit of human performance has been established (via the 6.2 W/kg figure), or even discussed. I'm a runner originally, and have never heard anybody claim that there is a physical limit to the times that can be produced for the various distances run competitively. Why would it be different for cycling versus running, swimming, etc.?

[Liggero]

Amazing not only that this is so ridiculous, but how not a few but a lot can't see the truth;

- Power to weight ratio could be an indication, for let's say, a 27 y.o. rider. Horner is 42 y.o.!!!! his W/Kg is quite irelevant, cause it's just too big, considering his age. Is like LA doing his last tour podium. With the same gasoline, Horner could race 2023 Vuelta, and finish in a 100th position overall.
- As it happened with Froome this year, he just don't have to ride at a 100%, cause he is is so way ahead of the rest. Therefore, his W/Kg will never be his maximum possible.
- Again, Nibali knows it, Valverde knows it, Purito knows it. They just have to keep their mouths shut, cause Horner never ever tested positive... yet. I remind you all, there are a ton of riders who never tested positive, and were juiced.

We either speak out or this sport will continue been shited.

[Imaking20]

Didn't you just get done saying you'd stop with the dope talk?

[DanW]

Comments from Nibali...

"Chris is doing well. He's got an extra gear compared to the rest of us, and we've still got two very difficult mountain stages to come"

"Horner was so strong there and going at such a pace, he didn't just drop me, he dropped all the favourites, he was going up the climb at a pace that was impossible to follow."

“I can’t climb at 500 watts. I was going at 430 watts and that guy accelerated. What could I do?”

Asked if he was surprised by the level of Horner's performance given his age, Nibali, 28, responded with a laugh: "I think when I'm 42 maybe I won't be racing".

I think these might be the comments others refer to in previous posts. Most likely there is nothing in it and they are select comments to illustrate a certain story in the media but you never know

[HillRPete]

Slightly different topic, but I'm perplexed that cycling seems to be the only sport where the natural limit of human performance has been established (via the 6.2 W/kg figure), or even discussed. I'm a runner originally, and have never heard anybody claim that there is a physical limit to the times that can be produced for the various distances run competitively. Why would it be different for cycling versus running, swimming, etc.?

Not in the (semi-)mainstream media at least.
The physiological implications of a sub-2h marathon were discussed on the fantastic http://www.sportsscientists.com weblog a while ago.

[Pharmstrong]

How different this would be were Horner wearing a Sky jersey.

[savechief]

Not in the (semi-)mainstream media at least.
The physiological implications of a sub-2h marathon were discussed on the fantastic http://www.sportsscientists.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; weblog a while ago.

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/10 ... athon.html

Thanks for the article, I found it very interesting. It was written in 2008, when the marathon WR was 2:03:59, and the author said that he would be very surprised if anybody ran a 2:03:30 within the next ten years. Yet 3 years later, Makau ran a 2:03:38 (yes, not quite 2:03:30, but pretty dang close).

Progressions these days are smaller and take longer to make, but I would prefer to live my life thinking that there aren't any hard lines in (clean) athletic performance that can't be crossed at some point in time.

[KWalker]

I've ridden with some masters national champions that could throttle 99% of this board. Dudes that have been racing on and off the domestic pro level for 2 decades. Some are pretty close to 5.5 w/kg-5.8 w/kg on climbs. I can believe Horner hitting low 6's, but not high 6's and definitely not recovering at the rate he is. For masters its not necessarily about speed, but quality of recovery. Sure, he hasn't raced much this year, but its not because he was out training its because he had a serious injury that kept him off the bikes for months.

[savechief]

I found this article interesting because it discusses Horner from a few years back at the Tour during the Contador/Schleck battle at the Col du Tourmalet:

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/07 ... nyone.html

Analyze away...

[pastronef]

https://twitter.com/NathanPeterHaas/sta ... 92/photo/1

Garmin bus stuck under finish line banner

[pastronef]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

Gesink with a Garmin, not a team sponsor (just as Vanmarcke at Roubaix)

[airwise]

Again I find it interesting that Trek have not offered a contract despite, one assumes, being in posession of remarkable training stats.

That is of course if it's available to the team. I guess having nigh on six months out of competition and training in hard to find locations high up in the mountains might make it difficult to keep an eye on him. That of course, wouldn't only go for the team.

[Liggero]

go nibali, go!!!!!!!!!!!!