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I respectfully disagree, the genetic probability of having any one of these perfect factors is extremely low, let alone having the holy trinity of lung, heart and metabolic perfection.
Not near perfection - just the best right now riding his bike up French hills. Someone has to be.
miro_o-
Exactly
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Not near perfection
Dr Hutch discusses the genetic side of things in his book Faster. From memory there are something like 21 different key parts of the human genome most related to increased performance (at the biochemical level). The average pro is likely to have the 'right' genes in something like 3 or 4 of these at once, so not expressing any of the other 17 or 18. If someone is lucky enough to have 6 or 7 of them they'll blow the existing pros away completely (proper training will still be required to make the most of it of course).
Examples are these genes might be:-
- the body produces right mixtures of muscle fibres (slow/fast/medium)
- the body can process lactic acid faster than 'average' which leads to a higher LA threshold
- etc
The reason Dr Hutch can push out 300W+ with little or no training is down to his naturally huge VO2max, but the underlying reason he has such a high natural VO2max is due to expressing a few more of these special performance genes than the average person.
I'd expect the next level of bio-passport will include some form of genetic testing to see just how well each athlete is expected to perform based on a theoretical max given the number of performance genes they express.
Genetic manipulation will be the next huge thing in doping, and it has the potential to make the sport way more inaccessible for amateurs...
- the body produces right mixtures of muscle fibres (slow/fast/medium)
dan
Greenbank
I respectfully disagree, the genetic probability of having any one of these perfect factors is extremely low, let alone having the holy trinity of lung, heart and metabolic perfection.