NATURE OR NURTURE: GENETICS AND POTENTIAL, AND HOW TO WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE!

If you have ever watched the World Cup XCO you would likely be in awe of the fluidity of motion of the fastest athletes: flying uphill, flowing downhill and pedalling as smooth as butter with mind-blowing wattages. The physiological demands of XCO are multifaceted: firstly XCO is primarily an endurance sport, so a solid aerobic foundation and VO2 max is a must. The top athletes must have an exceptional ability to withstand constant supra-threshold efforts brought upon by the terrain and other athletes, indicating they have exceptional power and mitochondrial respiration (developed from endurance training: remember “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!”) and very high lactate threshold.

Flying downhill requires strength and coordination to withstand the forces of the trails, but the demands of a high watt-per-kilo to climb incredibly steep gradients is also key: so being exceptionally