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Heredity and Pro Cycling

Old 01-21-20, 01:04 PM
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Heredity and Pro Cycling

Is it possible to be a pro cyclist without superb genes from mom and dad?
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Old 01-21-20, 01:34 PM
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It may be possible to be a pro without the genes but not a long lived top pro. Top pros, no matter the sport, are not only superior athletes in the short term, they seem to suffer many fewer injuries. In tennis for example, Andy Murry is a top ranked tennis player but is prone in injuries keeping him off the court frequently.
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Old 01-21-20, 02:35 PM
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Like any sport, you’re looking at about 1/10 of 1% of the population who are even born with the athletic ability to compete. You don’t necessarily need to have inherited the genes from a parent or grandparent (for every Matthieu vdPoel or Dan Martin or Taylor Phinney with top level pro cyclists on both sides of the family, there are ten pros who have no family background in any sport at all), but if you don’t have lungs that can pull in enough air, or red blood cells that can carry enough o2, or muscles that can use that o2 and some glucose to turn pedals around, and then the hand-eye l-body coordination to steer a bike at high speeds, you’re not going to make it. Because no matter how hard the 95-percentile rider works at ALL of those things, there’s a 1-percentile rider who is working as hard or harder. And that 1-percentile rider will always have the edge.
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Old 01-21-20, 02:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Leinster
Like any sport, you’re looking at about 1/10 of 1% of the population who are even born with the athletic ability to compete. You don’t necessarily need to have inherited the genes from a parent or grandparent (for every Matthieu vdPoel or Dan Martin or Taylor Phinney with top level pro cyclists on both sides of the family, there are ten pros who have no family background in any sport at all), but if you don’t have lungs that can pull in enough air, or red blood cells that can carry enough o2, or muscles that can use that o2 and some glucose to turn pedals around, and then the hand-eye l-body coordination to steer a bike at high speeds, you’re not going to make it. Because no matter how hard the 95-percentile rider works at ALL of those things, there’s a 1-percentile rider who is working as hard or harder. And that 1-percentile rider will always have the edge.
this is what I believe
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Old 01-21-20, 02:59 PM
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If all sport were purely based on individual merit, then of course genetic ability would be a big factor; in some cases it is, there are some exceptional athletes succeeding out there who've worked very hard to achieve incredible things.

But it is far from the only factor, especially where politics and financial backing are important. This is very true in racing, and in cycling. What is your last name may be the difference between getting chosen for a seat, or not. It doesn't mean the person is not qualified, or didn't work as hard. But if two guys go around the F1 track at the same rate (or within a few hundredths of a second) and one brings millions of euros of funding... well, the choice is made, isn't it? Lance Stroll (F1) is a very talented driver, but certainly gets a lot of help from his billionaire father.

Add in that if your mom and dad can teach you things from a young age and put you literally years in front of your competitors as far as practice and training goes... you're not genetically superior, you've simply got the benefit of experience that others haven't had, and that might make you a better competitor. Or maybe they can put you in contact with the right coaches, sponsors, systems, teams, funding sources... again with F1, I think of Rosberg (Nico; dad Kiki), or with cycling, Roche (Nicolas; dad Stephen).

As is often the case with this sort of question, its "a bit of both", but depends very much on the structure of the sport.
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Old 01-21-20, 03:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Rajflyboy
Is it possible to be a pro cyclist without superb genes from mom and dad?
Yes (you don't need "superior genes from mom and dad"), but along with a genetic ability to be a professional cyclist, you also need a great deal of external help (financial and political), or an equally great deal of luck.
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Old 01-21-20, 03:58 PM
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It also helps to be born, raised, and to train at 3000 m. Just ask the Colombians.
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Old 01-21-20, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by ridelikeaturtle
Yes (you don't need "superior genes from mom and dad"), but along with a genetic ability to be a professional cyclist, you also need a great deal of external help (financial and political), or an equally great deal of luck.

for sure 👍
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Old 01-21-20, 06:11 PM
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Originally Posted by MinnMan
It also helps to be born, raised, and to train at 3000 m. Just ask the Colombians.
Based on the fact that a LARGE majority of top-level races are won by people who were not born in Coloumbia, or at 3000m, I would say that there's a lot more to it than that.
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Old 01-21-20, 06:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Leinster
Like any sport, you’re looking at about 1/10 of 1% of the population who are even born with the athletic ability to compete. You don’t necessarily need to have inherited the genes from a parent or grandparent (for every Matthieu vdPoel or Dan Martin or Taylor Phinney with top level pro cyclists on both sides of the family, there are ten pros who have no family background in any sport at all), but if you don’t have lungs that can pull in enough air, or red blood cells that can carry enough o2, or muscles that can use that o2 and some glucose to turn pedals around, and then the hand-eye l-body coordination to steer a bike at high speeds, you’re not going to make it. Because no matter how hard the 95-percentile rider works at ALL of those things, there’s a 1-percentile rider who is working as hard or harder. And that 1-percentile rider will always have the edge.
Yep. The top competitors in pretty much every sport are typically a combination of ridiculous talent, relentless hard work, and an absolute determination to succeed. If you have only two (or one) of those factors, you're going to reach a point where you struggle. I come across examples of this in youth sports every day. Most often, it's either talented athletes who don't want to do the work, or hard-working athletes who reach the limits of their athleticism.
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Old 01-21-20, 06:25 PM
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Famous cyclists are not born of famous parents. Most come from a background that where grinding it out on a bike is for many, just grinding it out to make a life in a way that's may be better than... e.g., picking tomatoes.
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Old 01-27-20, 12:45 AM
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Genes help, but the people with the absolute best genetics for cycling, bodybuilding, violin playing, brain surgery, tennis... may never know. What we see are the people who get exposed, are interested, work hard, get lucky, etc.
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Old 01-27-20, 05:36 AM
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Originally Posted by ThermionicScott
Genes help, but the people with the absolute best genetics for cycling, bodybuilding, violin playing, brain surgery, tennis... may never know. What we see are the people who get exposed, are interested, work hard, get lucky, etc.
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Old 01-27-20, 11:00 AM
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Lets say "good" genes = talent.
So the sport that has less rules needs more talent.
The sport with more rules needs less talent.
Obviously most sports require some talent I'm just using a simple way of expressing it.
For example, if it's a 100 meter Sprint, that will require a lot of talent and less strategy.
But if it's a MMA fight that's gonna require less talent and more skillset and strategy.
So where does cycling stand given my interpretation?
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Old 01-27-20, 12:21 PM
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https://www.amazon.ca/Sports-Gene-Ex...s%2C147&sr=8-1

This is a good book on the subject of nature vs nurture with pro athletes.
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Old 01-27-20, 04:32 PM
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Originally Posted by OBoile
https://www.amazon.ca/Sports-Gene-Ex...s%2C147&sr=8-1

This is a good book on the subject of nature vs nurture with pro athletes.
👍

thanks for posting
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Old 01-27-20, 07:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Rajflyboy
Is it possible to be a pro cyclist without superb genes from mom and dad?
"pro" means a lot of things. If you mean to buy a house/s, skip college and race and then support your family from racing after you retire - No.

If you mean get a USAC license that says pro - possible if your size specs out.
There are outstanding athletes that are not the body type. I doubt U Bolt could be a pro cyclist. His genes seem fine.

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Old 01-29-20, 11:07 PM
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at the very top level (Tour), you absolutely need genetics.
There is no effin way any average Joe who trains 5 days/wk will be able to climb anywhere close to any pro who decides to only train 2 days/wk.
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