The performance of Lance Armstrong at the Tour de France this year (as he closes in on his record-setting sixth victory) reminds me of a conversation I recently had with a friend of mine who is a personal trainer. He believes that modern training and nutrition methods will elevate athletic performances to new levels never seen before.
For those of you who know nothing about Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France, Armstrong is destroying all of the elite athletes of his sport of cycling at this moment. From a large pool of elite cyclists from all over the globe, Armstrong has demonstrated he is in his own league.
In outdoor motocross, Ricky Carmichael is doing something very similar. Like Armstrong, Carmichael will tell you that he is not the greatest natural athlete in his sport. Going fast is something Carmichael has had to work at, but it is his desire and ability to work hard that set him apart.
Carmichael, like Armstrong, reportedly has a very rigorous, scientific approach to training and nutrition. Carmichael can ride the last lap of a hot, humid moto, as fast as he rode the first, unlike most others in the field.
Great natural athletes like James “Bubba” Stewart have gotten by without serious training and nutrition programs in the past. Stewart is dominating the 125cc class today, but you have to wonder if his own training program will have to rival Carmichael’s when he reaches the 250 class next year, particularly, for Outdoor MX competition. The science of training and nutrition may have reached the point where many athletes who relied on natural ability in the past will be left behind without their own programs designed to take advantage of the systems used by athletes like Lance Armstrong and Ricky Carmichael.
