the curse of the yellow jersey?

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beastie

Guru
Location
penrith
cannot believe 'shoot' is auto censored
 

asterix

Comrade Member
Location
Limoges or York
If you google "the curse of the yellow jersey?" and look at the results then you'll see just how much of a curse it is. :laugh:

Now it's up to you to help me. Let's get the ball rolling on a new Tour myth, the myth of the curse of the yellow jersey. Let's compile a compendium of days the yellow jersey seemed to weigh the wearer down, not give him wings. I want your stories from Tours ancient and modern, stories in which the yellow jersey brought more sorrow than happiness. Cadel Evans. Floyd Landis. Chris Boardman. You know more of these names and their stories than I do. Share the knowledge and contribute to extending the Tour's rich mythology. Come the Tour next year, I look forward to hearing Phil 'n' Paul banging on about the curse of the yellow jersey when the
maillot jaune

looks like he's having a mare of a day.

cannot believe 's***' is auto censored

No Shit?
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Robert Millar had a sincerely held belief that he was going to die at 51. He believed the Chinese had it right by claiming the human body has a capacity of x-number of heart beats, after which, death! Millar did some calculations and thought that his heart-rate in training and racing would get him up to the 'required number' faster than had he lived a sedentary life. I know he didn't win the yellow jersey BTW, I'm just pointing out the belief that severe exercise/training/racing regimes exists in some quarters.
An odd one this...I saw on a programme recently that all mammals get a billion heartbeats, give or take (assuming they aren't struck down by a falling grand piano or horrible disease). Which is why wee tiny beasties (with very fast rates) die young; larger animals live longer.

Millar was wrong, for the simple reason that being fit gives you a far lower resting heart rate - and even keen cyclists spend a lot more of their time not cycling than cycling.

One oddity: man is the one exception to the 1 billion rule. Apparently we - and only we - get a lot more. It was either two or four billion, can't remember which - but either way, it's far enough away from 'the mammalian norm' to be a bit of a mystery.
 
He was 27 when he died...

Obviously too many yellow stripes... I rest my case!

Kurt-Cobain-happy.jpg
 

dragon72

Guru
Location
Mexico City
Quite a few non-yellow jersey winners die young too.
My grandad, a schoolteacher, died when he was in his 30s.
I don't think he ever won the YJ.
But he was a Scot, and ate and drank like one, so not so surprising.
 

Mad Doug Biker

Just a damaged guy.
Location
Craggy Island
Quite a few non-yellow jersey winners die young too.
My grandad, a schoolteacher, died when he was in his 30s.
I don't think he ever won the YJ.
But he was a Scot, and ate and drank like one, so not so surprising.

I'd better get sewing my oats ASAP then!
 

oldroadman

Veteran
Location
Ubique
If the total number of beats is a measure, a lot of old riders will live a long time. Even years after stopping racing, pulse at rest is still only upper 40s, and back in the day, 38-42 was the usual. Mind, the times spent at 170 - 215 might compensate a bit!
Age is probably genetically programmed from the day you are born, and what affects that is lifestyle, so I would rather have had mine, than wrecked my body on booze and fags, then died early of a horrible disease. But people know what bad diet and stupid smoking/drinking habits do, and continue to do it, so nature sorts them out in many cases.
I reckon looking at family history I should make well over 80, and less and someone will get sued...^_^
 

Andrius.B

Active Member
Location
Bristol
This is just a myth. It is true that a heart is limited to some amount of heartbeats (which, by the way is not specific), but by exercise you actually gain heart beats in the long run, because as you get more and more fit, your heart will make less and less heart beats when not doing exercise (which is the case most often).
That's at least how I see it.
 
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