Isnt it a myth that improving lactate clearance has a significant impact on climbing recovery? Ive seen plenty of studies suggesting that lactate buildup is more of a symptom of fatigue rather than the cause, and that focusing on lactate clearance might be a case of putting the cart before the horse.
If were being honest, most of the research on lactate clearance has been done on runners and rowers, not cyclists. And even then, the results are far from conclusive. So, are we just assuming that what works for other endurance athletes will automatically translate to cycling?
And what about the role of other factors like mitochondrial density, capillarization, and myoglobin content in determining our ability to recover from high-intensity efforts? Are we giving lactate clearance too much credit, and neglecting the other physiological mechanisms that are actually driving our performance?
Im not saying that lactate clearance isnt important, but I think we need to take a step back and re-examine our assumptions about its role in climbing recovery. Are we just chasing a magic bullet, or is there more to the story?