I was browsing a site and found this exerpt

" Tour de France riders literally have the
bone density of elderly women. Brand X can help you
also achieve healthier bones."

Is it desirable to have low bone density if you are a pro cyclist? I would think that a low density would shave off weight. But is it detrimental to performance on the other hand by having brittle bones?

That sounds very tongue-in-cheek, I can't imagine they were serious.

I don't know whether the quote above is true or not. However, I doubt that these guys do much of any load bearing activity, except perhaps a small amount in the off season if at all. This will naturally have an impact on bone density.

From what I've read, low bone density can occur in cyclist that put in lots of miles over a long period of time - such as professional riders or ultra marathon types. Load bearing, impact type, activities help build bone density which cyclist don't get much of.

I try to take a calcium supplement since I cycle a fair bit and don't drink milk (lactose intolerant). Can't hurt (I don't think).

Yet another reason to throw some resistance work into your routine. That is, unless your career depends on it.

There was a great article about this in Bicycling (I know using the term great article and Bicycling the same sentence doesn't seem right) a few years back. Because of the lack of load bearing work during cycling the body seems to let one's bones suffer.

Most of the pro peleton has extremely low bone density. That helps to make sure that when they touch the ground something ends up breaking. The takeaway from the article for me was that some form of weight bearing activity a week will go a long way towards fending off bone density issues.

As a result I try to run on a treadmill at least once a week. Helps my knees develop enough strength to avoid ITB problems on the bike as well.

You know, every time I wreck I think "thank god I workout". Just this April I came down really hard on my right cheekbone (yes, I said cheekbone), shoulder, and side with no breaks/fractures. I got something caught in the front fender of my rain bike and it threw me right over the handle bar onto the pavement. Bad enough my face was black and blue for a week, plus the road rash etc. I would still be dealing with it if something broke.

Of course, I can imagine that riders whose climbing ability pays their bills would prioritize this lower than a candy-ass amateur like me...

What workouts do you use to strengthen your cheekbones?

He just told you: impact

I've heard stories of Euro pro's taking drugs to lower their bone density to reduce their body weight further.

YOU BETTER BELIEVE it's true, I've posted it in the forums also. If I told you the % of bone mass loss they suffer,you wouldn't believe me, so I won't. Comparing to an elderly lady is an understatement. Their bone mass isn't permanently lost nor is their health compromised in the long run, ussually.

IT's serious ,I read it years ago, a man involved with team racing in Europe first told me that in the '90s

Oh - boxing!

I sold my right kidney on ebay.

I can believe that their bone density is low since I've read that too in several places, but I was talking about the phrasing of the quote: "...literally have the bone density of elderly women. Brand X can help you also achieve healthier bones". Now this would imply that the bone density of the elderly women is the desirable 'healthy' feature which the product will help you achieve. Or maybe the whole spiel was longer and poorly written, and I'm taking it out of context.

I would be interested to know how their bone density becomes so low though (again not disagreeing). I know that one of the upsides of weight bearing exercises such as running is that your bones become denser and stronger from the repeated impact, but I can't see why this in itself would be a downside to sports such as cycling and rowing - do they actually lower your bone density? Or do they simply not raise it, leaving you in the same situation as the sedentary majority of the population who do no exercise of either type anyway?

smartass

My shoulder really took it on that fall, but didn't break. Other than that, I guess I just have a head like a bowling ball.

There is nothing healthy or good about low bone density. If you're getting older and bone density is an issue, make sure you're supplementing your cycling with some type of weight-bearing exercise.

As for the pro peloton, they do very little besides eat, sleep, and ride, so it's not entirely surprising. There are also some "special vitamins" that, if used, will lower your bone density...