Riders Build

Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld that was on
TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would struggle on the climb
because he was short and stocky.

"Abel" wrote in message
...
Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld that was
on
TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would struggle on the climb
because he was short and stocky.

Maybe that was nice terminology for "fat". Power/Weight
ratio is key so this will often favour smaller riders when it
comes to hills. There is a chart around of the heights and
weights of the tour riders.. I can't find it but I'm sure most
of the riders were on the shorter side..

hippy

Robbie McEwen is 5'7". Struggles on climbs, comparitively. But he got the
TdF green jersey.
I don't think the climbers are necessarily tall. Just light. That's why
stocky might have been the problem.



"Abel" wrote in message
...
Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld that was
on
TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would struggle on the climb
because he was short and stocky.

Here is the list from the 1997 Tour de france

BMI measures which is weight (kg) divided by the square of the height (m).
This measures the build of the rider.

'normal' body weight is usually defined as 18.5-25, overweight 25-30, obese
30+. The problem with this definition, is it doesnt take in to account the
muscle on a person.

With the riders, very few in the entire field are 23 or above. None are over
25.

With the climbers.
- Tony Rominger 21.22
- Richard Virenque 20.28
- Marco Pantani (probably the greatest climber of all time) - 1.72m, only
56kg, BMI=18.92
http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/feb98/feb6.html

Paul



"hippy" wrote in message
...
"Abel" wrote in message
...
Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld that was
on
TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would struggle on the climb
because he was short and stocky.

Maybe that was nice terminology for "fat". Power/Weight
ratio is key so this will often favour smaller riders when it
comes to hills. There is a chart around of the heights and
weights of the tour riders.. I can't find it but I'm sure most
of the riders were on the shorter side..

hippy

Katharine & Paul Wrote:
Here is the list from the 1997 Tour de franc

BMI measures which is weight (kg) divided by the square of the heigh
(m)
This measures the build of the rider

'normal' body weight is usually defined as 18.5-25, overweight 25-30
obes
30+. The problem with this definition, is it doesnt take in to accoun
th
muscle on a person

With the riders, very few in the entire field are 23 or above. None ar
ove
25

With the climbers
- Tony Rominger 21.2
- Richard Virenque 20.2
- Marco Pantani (probably the greatest climber of all time) - 1.72m
onl
56kg, BMI=18.9
http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/feb98/feb6.htm

Pau



"hippy" wrote in messag
..
"Abel" wrote in messag
..
Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld tha
wa
o
TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would struggle on th
clim
because he was short and stocky

Maybe that was nice terminology for "fat". Power/Weigh
ratio is key so this will often favour smaller riders when i
comes to hills. There is a chart around of the heights an
weights of the tour riders.. I can't find it but I'm sure mos
of the riders were on the shorter side.

hipp


very interesting data

I do feel that certain body types are predisposed to have certai
strengths but in the end you need to be capable in all types of riding
If climbing is your weakness then learn how to hang on and maximise you
strengths when you can.

Im 1.95m and 87kg so while climbing isnt my strength, ive managed t
ensure its not a great weakness and it has allowed me to utilise m
strength which is sitting on a TT pace for long periods

--
byron2

6'5", curly hair, bit like krusty the clown i spose

Another thing is that this is TDF data. If you cant climb a bit, you wont
get selected (unless you are Mario Cippolini pulling out before even the
slightest rise in the road level)

Magnus Larsson did pretty well staying out in front for as long as he did in
the Olympic Road race. I dont know his data, but his BMI would have to be
higher.

Paul


"byron27" wrote in message
...

Katharine & Paul Wrote:
Here is the list from the 1997 Tour de france

BMI measures which is weight (kg) divided by the square of the height
(m).
This measures the build of the rider.

'normal' body weight is usually defined as 18.5-25, overweight 25-30,
obese
30+. The problem with this definition, is it doesnt take in to account
the
muscle on a person.

With the riders, very few in the entire field are 23 or above. None are
over
25.

With the climbers.
- Tony Rominger 21.22
- Richard Virenque 20.28
- Marco Pantani (probably the greatest climber of all time) - 1.72m,
only
56kg, BMI=18.92
http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/1998/feb98/feb6.html

Paul



"hippy" wrote in message
...
"Abel" wrote in message
...
Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld that
was
on
TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would struggle on the
climb
because he was short and stocky.

Maybe that was nice terminology for "fat". Power/Weight
ratio is key so this will often favour smaller riders when it
comes to hills. There is a chart around of the heights and
weights of the tour riders.. I can't find it but I'm sure most
of the riders were on the shorter side..

hippy


very interesting data.

I do feel that certain body types are predisposed to have certain
strengths but in the end you need to be capable in all types of riding.
If climbing is your weakness then learn how to hang on and maximise your
strengths when you can.

Im 1.95m and 87kg so while climbing isnt my strength, ive managed to
ensure its not a great weakness and it has allowed me to utilise my
strength which is sitting on a TT pace for long periods.


--
byron27

6'5", curly hair, bit like krusty the clown i spose

On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 16:01:10 +1000, Abel wrote:

Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld that was on
TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would struggle on the climb
because he was short and stocky.

Funny they should say that, 'cause all the TdF folklore
you read says that the best hill climbers are always the
shorter guys. Same power but less weight I guess.

-kt

"kingsley"
Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld that was
on
TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would struggle on the climb
because he was short and stocky.

Funny they should say that, 'cause all the TdF folklore
you read says that the best hill climbers are always the
shorter guys. Same power but less weight I guess.

The short part is fine.. the "stocky" part means
you're heavy.. heavy + hills = slow(er).

heavy hippy

"hippy" wrote in message

"kingsley"
Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.
I am short and stocky, and was upset to hear in the Tour of Qld
that was on TV, the commentators syaing that one rider would
struggle on the climb because he was short and stocky.

Funny they should say that, 'cause all the TdF folklore
you read says that the best hill climbers are always the
shorter guys. Same power but less weight I guess.

The short part is fine.. the "stocky" part means
you're heavy.. heavy + hills = slow(er).

So the ideal physique for being a hill climber is Hervé "Da plane! Da
plane!" Villechaize?

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

Abel wrote:

Do you have to be tall to be a pro rider.

The guy in The Triplets of Belleville (se
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/t...bellville.html ) ha
the perfect build for cycling.

Huge quads, massive calves, and bugger-all else.

Regards,

Suzy (wondering whether to give the egg-beater a go for massage

--
suzyj