cycling, training

The most famous cyclist in history has made a shock decision to come out of retirement and race in the 2009 Tour de France. Lance Armstrong has announced that he will be returning to challenge for his eighth Tour de France title after spending three years in retirement.

The sporting legend will be 37 by the time the tour comes around and there are already questions being raised whether he will have the legs to win. There is no doubt that he is doing it for the right reasons, to raise global awareness of cancer, but the question remains- is he too old?

Well you would be foolish to rule him out simply on the premise of age. Armstrong himself famously overcame testicular cancer early in his career before going on to dominate the Tour de France for over half a decade so his fight, determination and ability are plain to see. The recent successes of athletes like Dara Torres and Tomescu-Dita at the Olympics, both older than Armstrong, and the fact he recently finished second in a Leadville mountain bike trail in Colorado (USA) shows that age doesn’t necessarily rule him out.

Nevertheless a cycling tour is no normal one off race and at 37 there will be factors playing against him as a result of his age. The Tour de France is a gruelling 21-stage road race usually covering more than 3,500K. Amongst other things this will require high levels of recovery and endurance. Endurance is something Armstrong can recapture through strength training and resistance training but recovery is something his body will have the main say in.

A one off race is one thing but Armstrong will be racing for 23 days with only two days rest and at 37 that will put more strain on his body than it will someone in their peak of 28. Factors he will need to consider for recovery include carbohydrate and protein intake for maintaining muscle mass and the timing of when to take proteins, carbohydrates and other supplements. He will also need to have an effective post race recovery programme combining light exercise with rest to ensure the removal of lactic acid from the circulation. He may also investigate the latest recovery practices which in include hot and cold water immersion.

Armstrong has spent a great deal of his time since retirement publicising and working with his cancer charity the Lance Armstrong Foundation and regardless of where he finishes it is a great credit to him that he will put himself through this gruelling ordeal once more.

	Author:	The Sports Nut (The Sports Nut's profile, The Sports Nut's blog)
	Posted On:	Thu, 2008-09-11 11:18
	Tags:	cycling and training
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