Muscle fiber composition and riding strengths

[Owlie]

Does anyone know if there's a connection between relative amounts of each type of muscle fiber and riding strengths (climber vs. sprinter)? It makes sense that there would be one between type I vs type II amounts and being a spinner vs. a masher. I was just wondering if there was a more general connection.

I'd do a literature search, but no longer being a student means I no longer have journal access.

[Zen]

Sure there is but I'm too busy too look it up.
It's just individual physiology. Like in track, some people are fast twitch(sprinters) and some are slow twitch (distance).

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/a...eFiberType.htm

[Owlie]

See, that I knew, but what I can find gives a general "distance cycling uses predominantly type I fibers".

[Zen]

You want something like a percentage?
I doubt that's available. How would they obtain that information?
Cyclist cadaver donations?

[OakLeaf]

I'm always amazed when I read about these studies that involve multiple quadriceps biopsies. Who would volunteer for that? Ow! Ow! Ow! It's no wonder the sample sizes are usually so small.

[Owlie]

I'm always amazed when I read about these studies that involve multiple quadriceps biopsies. Who would volunteer for that? Ow! Ow! Ow! It's no wonder the sample sizes are usually so small.

Broke college students? I had a biochem professor who told us about a researcher at UT Austin who did a lot of muscle studies. Apparently this guy wouldn't put his subjects through a test that he wouldn't be willing to do on himself...the end result was that he had a lot of scars on his thighs...

It would make sense that cyclists tend to have a high proportion of type I fibers (although it's pretty true for humans generally). My question is: Within that, do sprinters possess a greater proportion of type IIb fibers and climbers a greater proportion of type IIa? Or is it general physique that makes a climber (you know, short and skinny)?

[Zen]

Or is it general physique that makes a climber (you know, short and skinny)?

Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador.
Discuss.

[Owlie]

Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador.
Discuss.

Huh?

[OakLeaf]

Evans
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 64 kg (140 lb; 10.1 st)


Contador
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Weight 60 kg (130 lb)


(Skinny you can see, the near-nonexistent head tubes give you a clue as to their height. The TT shots just give you a better view of their thighs than the climbing shots generally do.)

[redrhodie]

I'd like to see Cavendish in comparison to a pure climber.

[OakLeaf]

Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 69 kg (150 lb)



Chunky by comparison. That's those sprinter's thighs.

[Zen]

I'd like to see Cavendish in comparison to a pure climber.

"pure climber"?
If AC isn't a climber I don't know who is.

[redrhodie]

"pure climber"?
If AC isn't a climber I don't know who is.

Contador will do. He's a pure climber, for sure.

[redrhodie]

It's interesting to look at them all together like that. It looks to me, and this could be due to lighting, pedal position, or amount of force being used by each rider, that AC's muscles are the least defined.

[Zen]

I can't make a judgment until I see both with less pants