twizzle wrote:Derny Driver wrote:twizzle wrote:
Vander is a sprinter.
Arrrrrrrrggg
Trying to restrain myself and not say anything.
My 3 pet hates all in the one thread
1. Average speeds in training
2. Cadence
3. Putting oneself in a box with a label
Im logging off
O.K. I'll change that to " Vander, based on his power numbers, is genetically blessed with a larger amount of Type-II fast-twitch muscle (compared to the average) AND an awesome cardiovascular system (compared to the average)".
Sent from my iThingy...
Same thing twiz, different semantics. You said earlier "you cant fight genetics" and now you are gonna take a young guy, keen, new to the sport, with obvious potential, and tell him he is a certain type of rider based on a couple of good results in bunch sprints in club races. Not based on actual genetic tests but on observation.
From what I read about vander on here, he just seems like a big strong guy who has the ability to unload his power at the end of a race. I would be very careful about calling him a sprinter or a fast twitch man especially since he admits he doesn't like high cadences.
Eddie Salas was mentioned on vanders thread as a rider to aspire to, well theres a guy who wins a lot of bunch sprints in high level races. Next time you see him, walk up and tell him he's a sprinter. Then duck. Yes he knows how to finish a race but its not because he has a certain type of muscle fibre or because his power numbers lined up that day, its because he has 25 years of experience to draw on, racing every weekend ...hilly races, flat ones, time trials, whatever. If its a race, he does it. John Forrest from Canberra is another bloke who comes to mind. Him and Eddie went to the photo in the Dinnerville 2 years ago but neither would give themselves a label. Good cyclists don't do that.
I think you place too much emphasis on genetics, and this can be self limiting for people. Ive had 15 year old kids tell me they have to break away to win a race because they cant sprint. Ive seen blokes with potential give the sport away because they've been told by someone that they will never be a good time trialler ...too heavy to be a good climber ... are an enduro who wont be able to win a sprint finish. Garbage.
You can fight genetics. Or ignore them. John Tressider was a world sprint champion who became one of the worlds best 6 day riders in the days when it was 6 days and nights of non-stop racing, the ultimate endurance event. Same with Sid Patterson. Eric Zabel.
Labels do nothing except limit peoples possibilities.
One example to finish:
Young A grade rider with obvious potential wins a lot of sprint finishes in notable races because he is nippy and fast from a track background. Gets asked by one of these silly teams to ride with the big boys so he accepts, thinking it will help his development. Gets told his job is to be the "team sprinter" and he is to just sit in the bunch and do nothing until the sprint where he will be given a lead out. So every race he sits there and watches the breaks go, come back, new breaks form, groups go off the front, and after a year of just rolling around in bunches and never having the hoped for sprint finish, he is very disillusioned.
So I put him and a couple of other guys on a plane and take them to an international 12 stage tour. He is given free rein to do whatever he wants and is encouraged to believe in himself and try a few things. At the end of the Tour he is 5th on GC, picked up most of his GC time on the big mountain climbs, realises he can time trial with international class riders, and of course he can still sprint. He got on the podium twice, once in a crit and the other a mountaintop finish. Comes home and now he's out of the box people put him in, he is starting to achieve great things including riding a couple of world level races recently.
So this is why I dislike the genetics talk and the labelling of young riders as being 'endurance', 'sprinter' or whatever. Not having a go at you either twiz, as I enjoy your posts. Just explaining myself.
cheers, DD