Do professional cyclists ever run as part of training?

thechanger

Watching some videos on Youtube I know Armstrong starting running marathons to get back into fitness after his cancer. However I've never once noticed it mentioned in several cycling biographies I've recently read.

After my popular previous query, I ended going for a jog ever second morning and also did lots of hiking around Japan. I thought I was fit, and I didn't have any problems running for 30 minutes at a reasonably pace but my legs ached in new places.

So my question is do pros run, and would they feel any pain after a 10km run if they only ever train on the bike?

Colonialboy

Reading Nico roches bio, he tried running 2 years ago, and after upping his distance he damaged his kneerunning on roads and wrecked his season.
A few cyclists do alot of sking and mountain biking off season to stay fit but Ive not heard of any using running as a part of their pgm .

Ive heard of a couple of cyclists using WALKING as part of their pgm.
Long long walks, 3-4 hours, you dont have the jarring of running but you have good aerobic exercise , and it builds stamina and good for the head too Id say.

sav1980

As far as I know Armstrong started out as a triathlete in his teens, and has recently gotten back into that again.

senordingdong

I think it's worthwhile for building stamina and endurance but I fear the the shin splints and other damage from all the impact.

ashleey

sav1980 wrote: »

As far as I know Armstrong started out as a triathlete in his teens, and has recently gotten back into that again.

Please don't post that photo!

sav1980

Am i missing something here? What photo?

kincsem

Don't

Chartsengrafs

In general I would be very surprised if any of them run to a great extent (going by bios I have read, interviews etc). Would they feel pain after a 10km run? Well that would depend on the person very much. Cardio-wise any pro could jog 10km without too much difficulty but the impact would be new to them and the effects would vary. Different muscle groups too for the most part.

on_the_nickel

My understanding is most of them barely walk, nevermind run when they're off the bike during the season. Lazy feckers.

thechanger

Basster wrote: »

In general I would be very surprised if any of them run to a great extent (going by bios I have read, interviews etc). Would they feel pain after a 10km run? Well that would depend on the person very much. Cardio-wise any pro could jog 10km without too much difficulty but the impact would be new to them and the effects would vary. Different muscle groups too for the most part.

My suspicions confirmed – thanks.

Mycroft H

One should only run if being chased

rab!dmonkey

If they don't they probably should. Low bone density is a well documented problem amongst road cyclists. The 'jarring' effect of running is important in promoting adequate bone density.

seamus

My suspicion is that any cycling pro would likely have the stamina and strength to run a 10k in 30-35 minutes (pro runners are closer to 27 minutes) but they'd be unable to walk for a couple of days afterwards.

As said above, because their bodies wouldn't have built up muscles in all the same places, the main issue would be stabilisation at the ankles, kness and hips which would put a lot of stress on the ligaments in those areas. The pace and power they would have would put them at high risk of injuring themselves first time out.

thechanger

Colonialboy wrote: »

Reading Nico roches bio, he tried running 2 years ago, and after upping his distance he damaged his kneerunning on roads and wrecked his season.
A few cyclists do alot of sking and mountain biking off season to stay fit but Ive not heard of any using running as a part of their pgm .

Ive heard of a couple of cyclists using WALKING as part of their pgm.
Long long walks, 3-4 hours, you dont have the jarring of running but you have good aerobic exercise , and it builds stamina and good for the head too Id say.

Nico's book is on my must read list. I thoroughly enjoyed his Indo articles (By the way, has he written any this year yet. independent.ie has a terrible archive/search functionality) – how did you find it?

Interesting take on walking, do you remember what cyclists? Nothing like a good long walk, ideally up a wooded mountain, for half a day.

RobFowl

kincsem wrote: »

Don't

MuHaHaHaHa

GlennaMaddy

Although not a pro, Sé O'Hanlon was a top amateur the in the black and white days. He used to go hill walking in the winter and would run backwards over the dunes on bull Island. Saw a piece in the indo on running backwards just yesterday. Haven't the cajones to try that myself.

Chartsengrafs

RobFowl - Don't think that's the one he meant
Nasty nonetheless.

thechanger

GlennaMaddy wrote: »

... would run backwards over the dunes on bull Island. Saw a piece in the indo on running backwards just yesterday. Haven't the cajones to try that myself.

Saw a lot of people do this in Japan recently.

fondriest

I did read an article a while back about one of the French pro teams using running as training in the off season , think it was Bougyes telecom , the coach said it was a better way to keep control of weight .

d4r3n

I saw some tweets from Cancellara about going for runs during the winter

el tel

Am sure Lance did a fair bit of running to the fridge when the doping controllers arrived at the door...

He was the most tested athlete in the world, dontcha know?

07Lapierre

Basster wrote: »

RobFowl - Don't think that's the one he meant

This one maybe?

ashleey

It was the first one.

Spokes of Glory

I can't speak for pro's these days, but certainly the guys like Kelly and Alan Peiper ran in the winter. The Sean Kelly Story video even has the footage to prove it, Kelly jogging (not very gracefully it has to be said) around the frosty Carrick roads. I remember Peiper also commenting that he ran around 60mins at about 7 minute/mile pace.

Spokes

Lumen

07Lapierre wrote: »

This one maybe?

Feast your eyes.

https://www.google.ie/search?q=lance+armstrong+running+shirtless&tbm=isch

Chartsengrafs

Lumen wrote: »

Feast your eyes.

https://www.google.ie/search?q=lance+armstrong+running+shirtless&tbm=isch

Yep, any of those

Also, interesting to hear of the likes of Cancellara, Kelly etc running.

RobFowl

Basster wrote: »

Yep, any of those

Personally didn't mind this one !

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/239253/MEGAN-FOX-ARMANI.jpg

hardCopy

Based entirely on my own experience. I dropped cycling for a couple of months leading up to a half marathon and was able to hop back on the bike shortly after without any real loss of fitness.

However, I dropped the running for a few weeks leading up to a cycling holiday and found I was significantly weaker on foot afterwards.

I would say running compliments my cycling but not vice-versa (with the exception that cycling can be used to stay active when unable to run through injury)

Vizzy

RobFowl wrote: »

Personally didn't mind this one !

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/239253/MEGAN-FOX-ARMANI.jpg[/QUOTE]

Yup - thats what the drugs will do to ya.(although I thought it worked the other way round)

a148pro

hardCopy wrote: »

However, I dropped the running for a few weeks leading up to a cycling holiday and found I was significantly weaker on foot afterwards.

My experience too. Was actually surprised how quick I lost running condition.

CtrlAltDelete

I read somewhere that Museeuw used to jog in the off season to control weight.

doozerie

I have a vague memory of Stephen Roche saying in an interview, way back in his hey day, that he jogged as part of his training.

I don't see running as being the significant risk that some refer to in this thread. Any form of exercise has its risks, not least riding a bike with all its associated risks of overtraining/injury/crashes/etc., but as long as you are careful and don't overdo it I don't see why running poses a significantly greater risk than many other forms of exercise (such as, you know, riding a bike!).

petethedrummer

doozerie wrote: »

I don't see running as being the significant risk that some refer to in this thread. Any form of exercise has its risks, not least riding a bike with all its associated risks of overtraining/injury/crashes/etc., but as long as you are careful and don't overdo it I don't see why running poses a significantly greater risk than many other forms of exercise (such as, you know, riding a bike!).

Pick up any running magazine and loads of it will be dedicated to injuries. Not the same for cycling.

doozerie

petethedrummer wrote:

Pick up any running magazine and loads of it will be dedicated to injuries. Not the same for cycling.

There are injury risks with every sport, many of which are either avoidable or at least manageable. There seems to be an assumption among some people though that using running as a form of cross training practically guarantees serious injury and I believe that those risks are overstated.

harringtonp

seamus wrote: »

My suspicion is that any cycling pro would likely have the stamina and strength to run a 10k in 30-35 minutes (pro runners are closer to 27 minutes) but they'd be unable to walk for a couple of days afterwards.

As said above, because their bodies wouldn't have built up muscles in all the same places, the main issue would be stabilisation at the ankles, kness and hips which would put a lot of stress on the ligaments in those areas. The pace and power they would have would put them at high risk of injuring themselves first time out.

Use to do a lot of hill walking/mountaineering but hadn't been on a hill for 3 and a half years. Last Saturday did a good hike up Brandon in Kerry and then over a couple of other hills followed by a long road hike back. Anyway the ups on the hill were great and it felt like there was a direct transfer from climbing on a bike to the steeper sections of the hill. Going down was a different story though and as a result of it I was stiff for 2 days, something I haven't felt on a bike for quite a while.

In general though I'd recommend hill walking as cross training provided you're prepared to give it loads on the ups

senordingdong

I'd be inclined to find cycling far more dangerous than running.

Wicklowrider

Beat Breu was a Swiss Orienteering champion and good cross country runner during his cycling career. Has to be said he was eccentric to say the least.

harringtonp

hardCopy wrote: »

Based entirely on my own experience. I dropped cycling for a couple of months leading up to a half marathon and was able to hop back on the bike shortly after without any real loss of fitness.

However, I dropped the running for a few weeks leading up to a cycling holiday and found I was significantly weaker on foot afterwards.

I would say running compliments my cycling but not vice-versa (with the exception that cycling can be used to stay active when unable to run through injury)

Yes interesting, quite a few guys have got into club spins with a strong running background and they get up to speed very quickly.

I couldn't imagine it working nearly as well the other way though

senordingdong

Why is that? Is it the impact or what?

petethedrummer

harringtonp wrote: »

I couldn't imagine it working nearly as well the other way though

Christophe Bassons is quite a strong adventure runner.