Tour de France

C06-0007. Bicyclists in the Tour de France are on the road an average of 4.0 hr/day, and their average speed is at least 20 km/hr. How much ground beef must a 55-kg bicyclist consume daily to maintain his weight If the cyclist ate fruit rather than ground beef, how much fruit would he require (Consult the tables in the. )... 

The great advantage of the technique is that the measurements do not affect normal daily activities in any way, so it can be used to measure energy expenditure in a number of different activities or conditions (e.g. by cyclists in the Tour de France race, climbers on Mount Everest, members of a trans-Antarctic expedition, women during pregnancy or lactation, obese animals including humans carrying out their normal daily activities) (Prentice 1988). 

Greg LeMond, who won the Tour de France cycle race three times, announced his retirement from competitive cycling in 1994 because of a mitochondrial myopathy . 

It might be considered that running an ultramarathon (various distances from 50 to >100 miles), completing a 24-hour race, racing in the Tour de France or climbing Mount Everest are the ultimate in endurance activities. However, these activities may seem physically insignificant when compared with transantarctic expeditions, such as that carried out by R. Fiennes and M. Stroud in 1992-93. Not only was it a remarkable endurance feat but they carried out smdies on energy expenditure, body composition and nutrition. To illustrate this feat, we can do no better than quote from Mike Stroud s paper. 

The Race Across America (RAAM) is an all-out 2900-mile solo bicycle race across the United States. Unlike the Tour de France, there are no programmed stops or rest periods. The winner typically rides across the entire country in 8 days. Smith et al. (5) studied a total of seven athletes over 3 years and reported that the winners averaged approximately 2 hr of sleep per day. It was concluded that some athletes have the remarkable ability to perform and win ultraendurance races in the face of severe sleep deprivation. 

Tour de France. Cyclists in the Tour de France (more than 2000 miles in 3 weeks) require about 200,000 kcal of energy, or 10,000 kcal dayi (a resting male requires —2000 kcal day ). 

These Tour de France cyclists generate a great amount of kinetic energy as they ride through the mountains. 

Cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong on his way to a Tour de France victory. Lance retired in 2005 after his seventh consecutive tour victory. 

Winner of the 1986,1989, and 1990 Tour de France, Greg LeMond was the first American to win the world s most prestigious bicycle race. 

The late Tour de France and Giro d ltalia winner Marco Pantani was disqualified from the 1999 Giro d ltalia for having an excessively high hematocrit. His career never recovered. 

Doping in sports came under intense scrutiny beginning on July 13, 1967, when professional cyclist Tom Simpson died during the Tour de France. Simpson, like many riders of the time, was using artificial stimulants, such as amphetamines, to allow him to ride longer, higher, and faster. Unfortunately, amphetamines... 

British cyclist Tom Simpson died on the slopes of Mt. Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France. His sacrifice brought the use of drugs in sports to light and was the beginning of the modern era of antidoping controls. 

Italian cycling star Marco Pantani was a former winner of the Tour de France. He was leading the Giro d ltalia in 1999 when he was expelled for having a hematocrit that was too high. His career and life in ruins, he committed suicide in 2006. 

The 2007 Tour de France was marred by several scandals, including the expulsion of Kazakstan cycling star Alexandre Vinokourov, who was accused of having taken autologous blood transfusions to boost his red cell count. 

Floyd Landis carried on where Lance Armstrong left off, winning the 2006 Tour de France. Unfortunately, on stage 17 Landis tested positive for an elevated level of testosterone. Samples were later shown to include synthetic testosterone. In September of 2007, the American Arbitration Association ruled that the evidence presented in May of 2007 was conclusive that Landis sample taken after stage 17 of the 2006 Tour de France indicated he had commited a doping infraction. Floyd Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title and is currently serving a two-year suspension. 

Finally, researchers have perfected techniques of using carbon isotope ratios to identify unnatural molecules of otherwise natural compounds. This ability has led to the detection of synthetic testosterone in several athletes. In 2006, American Floyd Landis took over where Lance Armstrong left off, winning the Tour de France after the former champion s retirement. Unfortunately, after stage 17, Landis tested positive for an elevated ratio of testosterone to its precursor epitestosterone. Subsequent tests of carbon isotope ratios showed that the samples contained synthetic testosterone. 

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