“I'm gone” (I went/finished) so Tadej pogacar he raised the white flag against jonas vingegaard, as the road rose under his wheels in the direction CourchevelA simple sentence, but one that contains many nuances. The Slovenian pushed things too far in this one Tour de FranceThe first creaks came in the time trial of Combloux, while his Pandora's box was finally opened a few hours later.
The crisis that has hit the two-time winner of the Grande Boucle has raised many questions. We therefore consulted Dr. Emilio Magni, so as to have an authoritative opinion on the matter.
Doctor, what happens in a crisis like this?
These moments of crisis are multifactorial, Pogacar said he felt the problem of nutrition mostHe ate but couldn't integrate, finding himself with no energy. But this is only one aspect of a more or less sudden crisis.
In what sense more or less?
These situations arise from a state of acute fatigue. It is an adaptive response of the organism, which is taking measures to protect itself. It's a warning to ensure the situation doesn't worsen further.
What happen?
Performance drops, the body reduces performance, In medicine it is called the homeostatic mechanism. It is the organism's tendency to maintain its starting conditions.
Could inadequate preparation be a cause?
As mentioned, it is a multifactorial situation, Inadequate preparation could be a causeAnother important factor is the performance load, which in Pogacar's case may have been excessive. The Slovenian may have suffered from it in terms of muscle, metabolism, and energy.
Or again?
Another cause can be found in insufficient recovery time. This last cause in particular prevents the muscle from re-establishing the glycogen level., which is its main fuel. Sometimes 24 hours aren't enough, and the cyclists don't even have that, since they finish the stage at 6:00 PM and leave again at 12:00 PM the next day.
So the lack of a warm-up race, like the Dauphiné, is a factor?
A basic preparation is needed so that the body can get used to it and increase performanceThere are also other “alarm bells”.
Which?
From a symptomatic point of view there are subjective signs such as: loss of strength, stamina, leg pain and muscle achesThese are all things that the athlete experiences and which can also lead to mental symptoms: difficulty concentrating, loss of appetite, and worsening sleep patterns.
Even though Pogacar won the Le Markstein stage, how do you explain that?
This is a rider of absolute quality. Even in a crisis situation it maintains high performance, even higher than other athletes who are actually in good shape. Pogacar made a great effort, in my opinion. The Markstein it was the last stage, he gave everything, considering that vingegaard had a reassuring advantage.
Are there any objective data that can predict these crises?
Absolutely. One of these is resting heart rate, which tends to be higher when you're tired. For example, if an athlete at rest has 40 heartbeats when they first wake up, they might go up to 48. This also applies once they're in the saddle, but in reverse. There is difficulty in increasing the heart rate under stressThis is because the muscle is less productive, providing less force, and consequently the heart rate doesn't increase. Heart rate variability must also be considered.
Or?
Heart rate variability offers excellent insights into recovery. Basically, you control the variability from one beat to the next.You should know that the beats are not equally distant in time from each other; the tempo varies. For example, one beat takes 1,2 seconds, the next 0,8, and so on. If the variability is high it means that the heart is reactive and “brilliant”.
The staff of the UAE Emirates, most likely, was aware of this data…
I definitely think so. But sometimes you take the data and analyze it, without talking to the rider, so as not to influence him psychologically.
