Post by Al Olsen on Jul 20, 2010 13:39:06 GMT -8
The comes from today's edition of the terrific, daily Tour de France blog of Chris Carmichael.
Today was a good day for old guys. I’m an old guy now, nearing my 50th birthday, and it was great to see two 38-year-old men and the only rider older than them in the Tour de France off the front, leading the charge up some of the hardest mountain passes in the Pyrenees, and battling for the stage win – which none of them won. Nevertheless, it was a good day for all aging cyclists, if for no other reason than serving as a reminder that as endurance athletes, age is not nearly as detrimental to performance as we once believed.
Perhaps the most remarkable performance in Stage 16 was that of Christophe Moreau. He’s the oldest rider in the 2010 Tour de France at 39 years old, and he’s competing in his 15th Tour. It’s likely his last year at the race, but all that experience has enabled him to stay reasonably close in the race for the King of the Mountains competition. By riding himself into today’s breakaway and crossing the summits of the Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aubisque first, he moved all the way up to second in the King of the Mountains standings. There’s only one day left containing climbs that count in that competition, meaning that one more strong performance on Thursday and a 39-year-old rider could win the polka dot jersey.
One of the other old men in today’s breakaway was Team Radioshack’s Chris Horner. Horner is 38 years old, but seems to have the energy of a man 10 years younger. He’s been a pro for a long time, but he’s not as well known to a lot of European fans because he spent a good portion of his career racing as a pro in the US. For American cycling fans, though, he’s a huge favorite, in part because so many US fans and racers got to know him as he competed in and won races all over the country. He’s been riding very consistently during the Tour de France this year and supporting Levi Leipheimer, and as a result of today’s breakaway Horner moved up to 14th overall to become the second-highest-placed Radioshack rider, about three-and-a-half minutes behind Leipheimer.
But of all the old guys in the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong is the one that gets the most attention. The 2010 Tour has not gone as planned, and although he came into the Tour with very good form, it wasn’t enough to overcome or avoid a series of crashes and flat tires. But Lance is a competitor and he loves the Tour de France, so he kept looking for opportunities to win a stage and found one on Stage 16. “Found” is probably the wrong word, because all of the men who reached the finish line as part of today’s breakaway group earned their way into that break and worked very hard to stay there. In the end, Armstrong didn’t have the legs to win the sprint for the stage victory – and neither did Horner or Moreau – but I think that had more to do with the strength of Pierrick Fedrigo and less to do with the advanced ages of Armstrong, Horner, and Moreau.
Not too long ago, sports scientists, coaches, and athletes all believed that athletic performance dropped precipitously once an athlete reached his or her mid-30s. It just made sense: how many great champions did you see who were older than 35 years old? And for a long time, I don’t think people gave it much more thought. They just accepted that going slower was a price of growing older. In more recent years, though, we’ve seen more and more examples of endurance athletes achieving championship performances into their late 30s and even early 40s. In amateur competitions, we’re seeing a dramatic improvement in performances from athletes in their 40s, 50s, and 60s!
Since the majority of athletes working with CTS Coaches are older than 35, and Lance Armstrong was 37 when he returned to competition following his retirement, I get a lot of questions about athletes and aging. I think the reason we’re seeing improved performances from a larger number of older athletes (there have always been successful older athletes, there just seem to be more now) is due to a greater understanding of training, nutrition, recovery, and injury prevention/treatment. Put simply, athletes are taking better care of themselves now because there are more resources available and they have more access to information about how to use those resources. For instance, access to and utilization of physical therapy by endurance athletes – of all ages – can help keep small injuries from becoming chronic problems. Learning to supply your body with better fuel helps maintain energy levels and the motivation to get out there and train with the intensity necessary to build and maintain optimal fitness. And in my experience, older athletes actually have the best recovery habits. They tend to be more settled in their lifestyles and careers, meaning they have more manageable work schedules, have the finances to purchase healthier food, and don’t feel as much need to stay up late. All of these things can keep athletes engaged in their sports longer, and in endurance sports, training benefits accumulate over time. Even as athletes age, I believe the benefits of continued training lead to performance improvements that can equal or surpass the declines brought on by growing older (to a point... VO2 intervals are not the fountain of youth).
But, you say, the old guys didn’t win! Well, you’re right, they didn’t. But to say that they were beaten to the finish line today just because they’re older than the winner would be to discredit the strength and power of Pierrick Fedrigo. He didn’t win because he was younger, he won because he was the strongest rider at the end of a 200 kilometer stage in the mountains and he positioned himself best in the final sprint to the finish line.
And with that, I’m taking my 49-year-old self out for a hard training ride. I have a 4-day mountain bike stage race in Costa Rica to train for!
Today was a good day for old guys. I’m an old guy now, nearing my 50th birthday, and it was great to see two 38-year-old men and the only rider older than them in the Tour de France off the front, leading the charge up some of the hardest mountain passes in the Pyrenees, and battling for the stage win – which none of them won. Nevertheless, it was a good day for all aging cyclists, if for no other reason than serving as a reminder that as endurance athletes, age is not nearly as detrimental to performance as we once believed.
Perhaps the most remarkable performance in Stage 16 was that of Christophe Moreau. He’s the oldest rider in the 2010 Tour de France at 39 years old, and he’s competing in his 15th Tour. It’s likely his last year at the race, but all that experience has enabled him to stay reasonably close in the race for the King of the Mountains competition. By riding himself into today’s breakaway and crossing the summits of the Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aubisque first, he moved all the way up to second in the King of the Mountains standings. There’s only one day left containing climbs that count in that competition, meaning that one more strong performance on Thursday and a 39-year-old rider could win the polka dot jersey.
One of the other old men in today’s breakaway was Team Radioshack’s Chris Horner. Horner is 38 years old, but seems to have the energy of a man 10 years younger. He’s been a pro for a long time, but he’s not as well known to a lot of European fans because he spent a good portion of his career racing as a pro in the US. For American cycling fans, though, he’s a huge favorite, in part because so many US fans and racers got to know him as he competed in and won races all over the country. He’s been riding very consistently during the Tour de France this year and supporting Levi Leipheimer, and as a result of today’s breakaway Horner moved up to 14th overall to become the second-highest-placed Radioshack rider, about three-and-a-half minutes behind Leipheimer.
But of all the old guys in the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong is the one that gets the most attention. The 2010 Tour has not gone as planned, and although he came into the Tour with very good form, it wasn’t enough to overcome or avoid a series of crashes and flat tires. But Lance is a competitor and he loves the Tour de France, so he kept looking for opportunities to win a stage and found one on Stage 16. “Found” is probably the wrong word, because all of the men who reached the finish line as part of today’s breakaway group earned their way into that break and worked very hard to stay there. In the end, Armstrong didn’t have the legs to win the sprint for the stage victory – and neither did Horner or Moreau – but I think that had more to do with the strength of Pierrick Fedrigo and less to do with the advanced ages of Armstrong, Horner, and Moreau.
Not too long ago, sports scientists, coaches, and athletes all believed that athletic performance dropped precipitously once an athlete reached his or her mid-30s. It just made sense: how many great champions did you see who were older than 35 years old? And for a long time, I don’t think people gave it much more thought. They just accepted that going slower was a price of growing older. In more recent years, though, we’ve seen more and more examples of endurance athletes achieving championship performances into their late 30s and even early 40s. In amateur competitions, we’re seeing a dramatic improvement in performances from athletes in their 40s, 50s, and 60s!
Since the majority of athletes working with CTS Coaches are older than 35, and Lance Armstrong was 37 when he returned to competition following his retirement, I get a lot of questions about athletes and aging. I think the reason we’re seeing improved performances from a larger number of older athletes (there have always been successful older athletes, there just seem to be more now) is due to a greater understanding of training, nutrition, recovery, and injury prevention/treatment. Put simply, athletes are taking better care of themselves now because there are more resources available and they have more access to information about how to use those resources. For instance, access to and utilization of physical therapy by endurance athletes – of all ages – can help keep small injuries from becoming chronic problems. Learning to supply your body with better fuel helps maintain energy levels and the motivation to get out there and train with the intensity necessary to build and maintain optimal fitness. And in my experience, older athletes actually have the best recovery habits. They tend to be more settled in their lifestyles and careers, meaning they have more manageable work schedules, have the finances to purchase healthier food, and don’t feel as much need to stay up late. All of these things can keep athletes engaged in their sports longer, and in endurance sports, training benefits accumulate over time. Even as athletes age, I believe the benefits of continued training lead to performance improvements that can equal or surpass the declines brought on by growing older (to a point... VO2 intervals are not the fountain of youth).
But, you say, the old guys didn’t win! Well, you’re right, they didn’t. But to say that they were beaten to the finish line today just because they’re older than the winner would be to discredit the strength and power of Pierrick Fedrigo. He didn’t win because he was younger, he won because he was the strongest rider at the end of a 200 kilometer stage in the mountains and he positioned himself best in the final sprint to the finish line.
And with that, I’m taking my 49-year-old self out for a hard training ride. I have a 4-day mountain bike stage race in Costa Rica to train for!
