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What makes pros so much quicker?

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What makes pros so much quicker?

Old 09-29-15, 12:33 PM
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Originally Posted by PepeM
They probably do well in other endurance sports. Didn't Lance win a few triathlons?
Yup, Lance was a triathlete before he was a professional cyclist, and went on to win triathlons afterwards as well.

Last edited by CdaleNike21; 09-29-15 at 12:39 PM.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by puddinlegs
Sure, they'd hang in a Cat 4/5 with some work. Maybe cat 3 even, but it's extremely* doubtfull they'd ever be paid to ride a bike unless there was an appearance fee involved.


* extremely.
How far would a pro cyclist get in basketball, baseball or football? The results would surely be embarrassing. Why? They're not very good athletes aside from their level of endurance.

It's routine for nfl, mlb and nba players to be decorated athletes in multiple sports, and not rare for these athletes to have opportunities to become a professional in more than one sport.

When's the last time you heard of a pro cyclist having an opportunity to compete in a professional sport outside of a bicycle race? That's right. Never.

Pro cyclists are very narrow specialists. NFL, MLB, and NBA players can and do compete in a wide variety of sports. Cyclists can check off one or a few boxes in which they excel athletically. NFL, MLB, and NBA players can check off many boxes in which they excel athletically: run, jump, throw, hit, take hits, etc etc etc.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:39 PM
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Originally Posted by calimtb
Pro cyclists are very narrow specialists.
Yes, essentially everyone has been saying that. What are you having trouble with exactly?
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Old 09-29-15, 12:40 PM
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Originally Posted by CdaleNike21
Yup, Lance was a triathlete before he was a professional cyclist.
So, he was an endurance athlete. That's my point. That's all pro cyclists excel at.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:40 PM
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Originally Posted by PepeM
Yes, essentially everyone has been saying that. What are you having trouble with exactly?
Why do you have trouble understanding that pro cyclists are inferior athletes overall compared to nfl, mlb and nba players?
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Old 09-29-15, 12:40 PM
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Originally Posted by calimtb
How do you know nba players could not become excellent gymnasts? I would bet that nba players would become a lot better at gymnastics than pro cyclists given comparable training for both groups.

Why do you keep comparing completely different athletic skills that aren't really transferable? A pro cyclist doesn't need to hit a 95mph fastball. Most probably can't. Michael Jordan wasn't even very good at it. Kirk Gibson was, and he was also an excellent college wide receiver who if I recall was in the NFL draft. There are no 6'4" world class gymnasts, and no, there are probably only a small handful of pro tour riders with strong enough upper bodies to do an iron cross, but they don't need to. Sure, NBA guys are great athletes, but with different skills more suited to basketball than cycling. I don't know why this is difficult to understand. If I were picking a major sport where the athletes might have the genetic stuff to ride a bike for money, it'd be soccer. And no, I don't think too many 1% cyclists would make pro soccer players, though I'm sure a handful of the Euro guys can probably play a respectable pick up game. Anyhow, life calls. I'm out. Argue on.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:40 PM
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So endurance athletes excel at endurance sports? All right, we get your point. Please move on.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:41 PM
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Most American sports require a similar set of attributes. Being big and strong are 2 of them. Cyclist can and do succeed at sports where the desired attributes are similar to cycling. Cross country skiing, triathlon, speed skating, etc.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:41 PM
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Originally Posted by PepeM
Yes, essentially everyone has been saying that. What are you having trouble with exactly?
To be exact, he's having trouble explaining why all the nonsense he posted yesterday wasn't really nonsensical at all, because cyclists aren't baseball players, but most baseball players can ride a bike.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by calimtb
Why do you have trouble understanding that pro cyclists are inferior athletes overall compared to nfl, mlb and nba players?
Issue here is that you are making up a definition of 'athlete' and then deciding that the skillset of a subset of athletes is more important than the skillset of others.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by therhodeo
Wow the delusions get better.
Uh, no, jordan stole 30 bases, and drove in 51 runs in 127 games. Those are very good numbers individually, and excellent for a single player to combine both. This is for an athlete who hadn't played any form of competitive baseball in at least a decade.

It was obvious to anyone with even an inkling of knowledge about the game of baseball that he could be a legit pro prospect in a season or two.

What type of numbers would a 31 year old Miguel Indurain post in AA ball? 30 stolen bases? No, zero. 50+ RBI's? Uh, no, zero.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:47 PM
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Originally Posted by PepeM
Issue here is that you are making up a definition of 'athlete' and then deciding that the skillset of a subset of athletes is more important than the skillset of others.
You don't have to "make up" a definition. The more athletic skills possess, the better an athlete you are.

Sitting on a bicycle seat and pedaling for a long time is a single, narrow skillset.

NFL, MBL and NBA players possess a much wider athletic skillset.

If a "chef" is only capable of making one dish, how good of a "chef" are they? If another chef can make dozens or hundreds of dishes which are all excellent, and at the same level of quality as the other chef who can only make one, then the latter is by definition, a better chef.

Very easy to figure out. Except on bikeforums.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by calimtb
What type of numbers would a 31 year old Miguel Indurain post in AA ball? 30 stolen bases? No, zero. 50+ RBI's? Uh, no, zero.
Basketball - Skill sport with strong emphasis on hand-eye coordination
Baseball - Skill sport with strong emphasis on hand-eye coordination
Cycling - Endurance sport with strong emphasis on well endurance.

It makes sense that a person good at the first would be good at the second. It also makes sense that a person who is good as the third may not be good at the first 2. We really have no way of knowing given our sample.

Read this and get back with us.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic
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Old 09-29-15, 12:49 PM
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An athlete (American and British English) or sportsman (British English) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed and/or endurance.
Look, I'm as much of an athlete as Lebron James!
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Old 09-29-15, 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by BillyD

Many, many of you guys need to stick with cycling, because you don't know squat about the ball sports.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by puddinlegs
Why do you keep comparing completely different athletic skills that aren't really transferable? A pro cyclist doesn't need to hit a 95mph fastball. Most probably can't. Michael Jordan wasn't even very good at it. Kirk Gibson was, and he was also an excellent college wide receiver who if I recall was in the NFL draft. There are no 6'4" world class gymnasts, and no, there are probably only a small handful of pro tour riders with strong enough upper bodies to do an iron cross, but they don't need to. Sure, NBA guys are great athletes, but with different skills more suited to basketball than cycling. I don't know why this is difficult to understand. If I were picking a major sport where the athletes might have the genetic stuff to ride a bike for money, it'd be soccer. And no, I don't think too many 1% cyclists would make pro soccer players, though I'm sure a handful of the Euro guys can probably play a respectable pick up game. Anyhow, life calls. I'm out. Argue on.
NBA players don't just have different skills, they have MORE skills.

And Jordan as I said, was good enough to drive in 51 runs in 127 games in his first season. The guy could play pro baseball at a high level. If he had stuck with it, he'd have played in the major leagues.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:52 PM
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Originally Posted by calimtb
If he had stuck with it, he'd have played in the major leagues.
You don't seem to get that "sticking with it" really doesn't cut it at that level.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:53 PM
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Yeah, that's a rather incomplete list of skills required to excel at basketball. Nice try though.


Originally Posted by therhodeo
Basketball - Skill sport with strong emphasis on hand-eye coordination
Baseball - Skill sport with strong emphasis on hand-eye coordination
Cycling - Endurance sport with strong emphasis on well endurance.

It makes sense that a person good at the first would be good at the second. It also makes sense that a person who is good as the third may not be good at the first 2. We really have no way of knowing given our sample.

Read this and get back with us.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic
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Old 09-29-15, 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by therhodeo
You don't seem to get that "sticking with it" really doesn't cut it at that level.

You don't seem to get that you know nothing about baseball or basketball.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by PepeM
Look, I'm as much of an athlete as Lebron James!
Only you are not one of the top 6 players in the history of basketball, nor were you a championship caliber football player in high school and a legit NFL prospect.

You do however, have 851 posts in bikeforums, along with 1 post mention.
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Old 09-29-15, 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by calimtb
You don't seem to get that you know nothing about baseball or basketball.
At what level did you play baseball? I would like to compare our resumes.
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Old 09-29-15, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by calimtb
So, I claim that an nba athlete would kick ass in a crit race with a bit of training and a few come along and post a roll their eyes emoticon claiming I said these guys would excel in one month stage racing.


Fail.
You claimed NBA or NFL. I gave you two specific examples of NFL players trying to race bikes Dhani Jones, and Jeff Kopp. Neither one of them tore it up.

A "big" crit racer is 6'2" 170. It's a different body type.
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Old 09-29-15, 01:09 PM
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Why is this argument still going on? Every sport selects for a specific set of physical traits. If you have those traits then you're more likely to succeed in it than those who do not.

Basketball--height
Cycling--aerobic capacity
Gymnastics--diminutive size

Trying to compare a cyclist to a basketball is a pointless exercise.

What makes pros so much quicker? Good genes. End of story.
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Old 09-29-15, 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by big chainring
Cycling is one of few sports where poor diet is a benefit. The euro rider eats moldy cheese, fish caught out of polluted waters, pasta and bread. And they eat stuff like hearts and kidneys, gizzards, and lamb tripe. The average euro rider is much smaller in stature compared to his american counterpart.

The average American is feasting on corn fed beef. Packing on the pounds at an early age. Growing beyond normal size. Those early years of soda, hormone enriched milk, and sugar, lots of sugar, are a detriment. 6 foot 4 inches, 250 pounds, size 15 feet, football or basketball are the sports of real men.

Then you have your British riders. Tea and scone types. How Tommy Godwin could ride 75,000 miles in a year on tea and crackers is a wonder.
lol..need to hang around Durian Rider
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Old 09-29-15, 01:14 PM
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You know, this thead is in the best traditions of the 41. The OP asks what it is that makes pro cyclists so fast, and we end up with about eight pages on the fact that they don't play pro basketball. You couldn't make it up.
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