LA's High Cadence Style and Avoidance of Leg Fatigue

gntlmn

What I'm suggesting is that the physiology that is capable of producing low lactate levels in elite athletes may be a performance advantage when they are performing at their top levels and are not glycogen depleted. Phelps wouldn't be glycogen delpleted because the race is not long enough. Armstrong's low lactate production is not due to glycogen depletion either. Clearly, their power output is going to be extraordinary. That's a given due to their champion status. If they weren't producing way more power than most people, they wouldn't be champions. So it's not necessary that we know what their exact power output is in the lab.

Conversely, if I gather your drift, when an athlete is in better shape, his lactate levels at each given level of power production will be lower than the same athlete's were before his conditioning improved. But it seems like his lactate level when he is racing should still be high if he is winning the race. He will simply be putting out more power.

Don't you think it's more than a coincidence that two champions, each dominant in his sport, have low blood lactate levels at peak performance?