Just seen that Cams ride was at the end of a monster week too, that also included a 40km run and a 215km ride Barcelona to Andorra
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Interesting stuff from LCB. Didn’t know where else to put this link.
‘I was poisoning myself before endurance events’ Ironman: World champion Lucy Charles-Barclay on coeliac and why pasta was poisoning her before races - BBC Sport
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Must be a nice release when the pro lifestyle is over.
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I think top (and average) amateurs sometimes romanticise the life of a pro athlete. What if I didn’t have to work and then could just do my hobby. Only then it becomes a job which reduces it’s ability to be a release.
The gap between amateur and pro training is huge, the gap between the planned recovery even bigger. It doesn’t look fun from the outside, 25 hour weekly grind with no weekends off and no fun time.
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A lot of sacrifices as well, not like the 80’s etc when footballers and others would even drink in the days before matches!
several athletes on my bookd doing 20+ hoiur weeks AND holiding down a job…
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@joxster the resident TT1.0 pro cyclist and Olympian said the minute he signed a deal with BC it stopped being fun. he was forced to do 6hr fixie rides in the Manchester hills unfuelled (despite being a track sprinter!) He even had to buy his own wheels for Barcelona, when Boardman was on a 2million pound Lotus bike 
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Some would have a hairy dog in the changing rooms still drunk from the night before!
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Barcelona pre-dated Lottery funding (I think Sydney was the first Games where the Lottery paid athletes and didn’t just fund equipment and infrastructure).
I think Olympic cycling only went professional for the Atlanta Games
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Single, or about to be…
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And be ‘paid’ almost nothing for it as a triathlete, unless you’re world class…
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Completely different level of pressure to perform in the sense of income/sponsorship, choices etc.
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About 50/50
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Yep. Harder for them to get sponsored tunnel time or top end bikes, coaching support or physio assistance…
Then there will be a difference in either intensity or recovery. There’s no way to copy the pros without their lifestyle.
There are lots of differences…the main being that they use their time very wisely…
It did, BC stuck all their eggs in the boardman basket also (with good reason as the only real medal hope)
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ITU is better but unless you are top 3-5 in GB you aren’t doing much. IM is far worse, I cant imagine Skipper makes much coin, maybe just about funds a “lifestyle choice” and he’s been about top ten in the world for some time. They just cant get enough races in to earn decent prize money.
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Isn’t his partner/wife a doctor though; that must help!
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