xfimpg

As I was watching the TT Stage 12 of the Giro, I was wondering at what percentage heart rate these guys are going, especially with a 61km TT stage.

Does anyone know what there HR %target is?

How do they manage the lactate?

And manage to not blow their engine? or do they and then recover?

Thanks for your insights...
Mike

tadawdy

I'd guess they're close to 90% hr max. They manage the lactate by having trained their lactate threshold very high, and after the effort lactate is eliminated very quickly anyway. It's actually recycled and turned back into pyruvate. lactate isn't the waste people used to think it is. The heart and certain skeletal fiber types actually metabolize it preferentially during exercise. It's a high-energy molecule that can still be used.

xfimpg

Hmmm... interesting... if lactate isn't the waste we think it is, and I remember reading something very similar in Base Building for Cyclists, then that would mean that we no longer need to spin our legs at the end of a long ride.

ModoVincere

Lactic acid is a waste product for some muscles. Other muscles have the ability to use this "waste product" as a fuel source. If its not pumped out of the legs, it can contribute to sore, achy muscles. And why not go ahead an pump it out, it will help fuel the heart.