what can a TDF cyclist run in the 5k without training for it?

Global sports wrote:

Runningart2004 wrote:

What could a pro distance runner do in the TdF?

Alan

Provided they were given experience and training on their bike handling skills, someone like Bekele or Geb would win the Tour de France convincingly by an hour or so. If East Africans were seriously into cycling the sport would change completely. As it is right now, cycling is a very soft sport in terms of global competition, It is just too expensive and too impractical to practice for most of the world's population. Running, in contrast, is the most competitive sport globally and is several orders of magnitude more competitive in terms of numbers of serious comeptitors.

If they were surrounded by a good team, for sure. Third world athletes don't compete in expensive endurance sports like cycling or swimming because of the expense and lack of support so those sports are watered down talent-wise. Individually, though neither Bekele nor Geb could win by themselves without a good team around them. TDF is a team sport, not an individual sport. They'd be exhausted by trying to cover every move by every team. Nor could they win by an hour or so without a team. The peloton moves so much more efficiently than the individual rider that nearly all breakaways are caught.

spacedkifger wrote:

Did 4x15minutes FTP 3 times a week as part of a diet. Couple months in I did a 5k without a single run...19:40

Yeah, I do wrote:

Google "cyclists and bone health," moran.

Google "Issac Newton and kinetic energy", you heliocentric luddite.

Guys- search Pass me the Kombucha's past posts on here. He races professionally in the US. This answers the question. Should probably make most posters happy to know that they're faster than pro cyclists.

Claritin Clear wrote:

Guys- search Pass me the Kombucha's past posts on here. He races professionally in the US. This answers the question. Should probably make most posters happy to know that they're faster than pro cyclists.

Don't bring running shoes to a cycling race.

I would be surprised if the king of the mountain contenders couldn't run close to 14:30 after three months of running.

Said the Virgin wrote:

I would be surprised if the king of the mountain contenders couldn't run close to 14:30 after three months of running.

That is a very different question from what could they run

a.) if they don't normally run at all even in the off-season

b.) if they played soccer or ran for years as a child

c.) after 1-2 years of running

d.) combinations of the above

exactly

Depends on a couple of things as I see it. Some riders probably could (and not necessarily the best).

1 - some people, no matter how "fit" they get will never be great runners because they just don't have the right mechanics to move in the most efficient way. Most runners will know someone who does everything right but is limited in races because they're too big/awkward/inefficient.

2 - what type of rider are you? In the TDF context, you've got a few basic types of rider.

Sprinters e.g. Cavendish who have a specific ability to turn it on for less than 30 seconds when it really matters after a long stage.

GC guys - Froome etc. Strong recovery and very good at riding hard for maybe 40mins at a time when it really matter on the MTFs.

Then a bit of a crossover to some of the classics specialist who can go very fast over a shorter distance - e.g. 10mins or so - someone like Philip Gilbert/Joaquim Rodriguez maybe or even some of the cobbled guys like Van Avermaet or Sagan who can put in huge bursts over shorter distances.

Domestiques - your ultra guys - lower intensity sustained work over many hours.

I think you're probably looking at someone in the GC/hilly classics guys - those who can go ballistic for 15mins at the end of a stage, particularly the lighter, smaller ones.

But better still - cyclo cross guys - used to high intensity 45-60min races with some of it on foot.

Not sure what the potential time might be but I've seen a couple of completely untrained runners get down to 15mins 5k within a few months - real talented guys. I'm sure that there'll be trained cyclists with the right attributes who could manage that but probably not all that many. The running efficiency/style challenge is significant.

Wise One wrote:

Why would I run when I can just ride my bike?

No reason except satisfying a taste for hard work.

Middle aged, doughy guys like myself run 18 min for 5k off of casual, 4 day per week training in the early morning before work. A pro cyclist would almost certainly run faster just based on aerobic ability, low weight, and lean muscle mass. 16-17 min easy with the true genetic freaks in the 15's of better.

Some years ago I coached a 14-15 years old guy able to run 18:08 on road for 5k without much training (10 mpw, not more than 15 mpw). He was already more a cyclist than a runner. He eventualy quitted running, then became a pro cyclist, what he is right now for one of the top TDF team. He did'nt yet biked in the Tour the France, but did some Grand Tours, such a Giro, Vuelta... Was in Rio last summer... Well, during the past few years, before he got too engaged with cycling all year round, he sometimes ran a bit, not much tough. From all I know of him, I am 100% sure he could run a 5k without any training Under 17:30. I am 60% sure he would do it Under 17:00. 30% sure he could do it Under 16:30. And I would not believe a time under 16:00 without seeing it with my own eyes. That said, give me 6-10 months with this guy to train him running, with specific stuff for a 5k, and I bet whatever you want I get him (if he stays injury free) under 16:00, and more probably under 15:30.

But this only one guy, not all cyclist. This one is not a sprinter, not a climber. He is at his best on time trials. Could have been a pretty good runner.

TdFittest wrote:

TdF racers going @ LT for 6 hours day after day after day plus climbing and sprinting??? With no running ever, perhaps they wouldn't break 18 but most would have no problem shuffling to a 15.xx if they've ever done running sports before. The grand tour guys, hands down, have the biggest engines in all of sports.

6 hours at LT, huh?

So you don't quite understand what LT means, then. Better learn before throwing it out there again.