Fitness is a term that refers to five traits: cardiovascular efficiency, muscle to fat ratio, strength, agility and flexibility. The preferred unit of measurement when comparing different athletes’ fitness is ‘VO2 max-the maximum volume of oxygen that one can consume while exercising. Of all sporting codes, cycling boasts the fittest. Lance Armstrong’s VO2 max is 83.8. He also boasts a resting heart rate of 32 beats per minute -compared with 60-70 for the average man-which rises to 201 at full exertion. According to his biographer Dan Coyle, these attributes make him ‘the world’s greatest human power plant’.
As Coyle put it:
“the tour is the hardest event on the planet, nothing comes close. Studies have shown that tour riders spend more daily energy than Everest climbers. During those three weeks they spend energy at a rate that exceeds the capabilities of all but four animal species. Imagine running a marathon a day for 20 days. The food alone is ridiculous: on big days, they eat an equivalent of 28 cheeseburgers.”
As Coyle put it:
“the tour is the hardest event on the planet, nothing comes close. Studies have shown that tour riders spend more daily energy than Everest climbers. During those three weeks they spend energy at a rate that exceeds the capabilities of all but four animal species. Imagine running a marathon a day for 20 days. The food alone is ridiculous: on big days, they eat an equivalent of 28 cheeseburgers.”
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