Quoted post said:Originally posted by oneradtec
I do not have an inkling into what the academics might say about this....and I might be terribly wrong. It seems to me that the black african athletes have more fast twitch fibers.....which might explain why they excel in certain american sports like basketball and football...but if this is correct..how do we explain the Kenyan's success in the marathon?
I believe these types of ethnic trends are usually associated with environmental and socio-economic factors rather than physiological differences. E.g. there's nothing in the physiological make-up of Indian sub-continental people that makes them good cricketers, it's just that that's the sport they often favour for whatever historical and cultural reasons. Probably the white boys in America have a generally easier life and don't have the drive to go out and achieve that the black boys do.
The question of the high cadence in cycling is interesting, because it's one of those things that 'just seems to work.' Cadence for running, rowing, x-skiing, swimming, everything basically is far lower than for cycling, and there's also the magnification of mechanical inefficiences in the bike's drivetrain caused by higher rev's.
I did some tests a few winters ago forcing myself to spin at different cadences and checking speed attained for distances at heart rate (should have used power Ric I know, but this was 2 years ago, srm cranks were even more expensive then) and for me a slightly higher rpm was better. Without having tested this I put it down to recovery ability, the muscles were 'looser' and the lactic acid could get moved away more quickly, but this is probably rubbish.