Yep, excessive exercise lowers immunity and shortens lifespan, which is why I think it's amazing that Lance was able to beat cancer and hasn't relapsed (knock on wood).
Kind of off-topic, but as long as we're talking about professional cyclists, those who haven't seen the film The Triplets of Belleville should do so. Highly recommended.
So, Mitch, you say that at least some of the surprisingly low lifespan is explained by the fact that these guys get too much exercise?
Awesome. I'm sleeping in tomorrow.
Well, 25mph, not 28, but that's still fast. Speed has been increasing, but part of the reason appears to be that the Tour is getting shorter.
As far as I can tell (and I've looked), it's an urban myth that the life expectancy of pro cyclists is 50.
Other than Lance winning his sixth, doping's going to be the big story of this Tour. Another Festina affair is in the works, I think.
Pro racing has seen four too many premature deaths in the last year, due to cardiac arrest. The death of Marco Pantani, cycling's greatest scapegoat, has left the organization feeling raw. The whistle-blowers want to take the peloton down with them. Teams are falling apart. Euskaltel announced today that they won't even be able to start with their full roster, due to high haematocrit levels. Doping's everywhere. It's frightening, to say the least.
But I wouldn't miss a minute of it. Allez!
