What Makes Lance Armstrong a Seven Time Tour De France Winner? Part I by Emily Allen Department of Math and Science Gloucester County College, Sewell NJ ______

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What makes Lance Armstrong a Seven Time Tour de France Winner? Part I By Emily Allen Department of Math and Science Gloucester County College, Sewell NJ ______

Lance Armstrong won the iron kids triathlon at 13 years old. At 16 he was training with the US Olympic Cycling Development Team and at 19 was the US National Amateur Champion. At 21 he won the world championships in road racing and won one stage out of 21-22 stages of the Tour de France. The Tour de France is an amazing athletic event covering approximately 3,800 kilometers over a 21 to 22 day period in July. At 23 he again won one stage of the Tour de France.

At 24 Lance seemed on top of the world in his road racing career. He learned that he had testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and his brain. In October of 1996 he had brain surgery and went through an aggressive chemotherapy treatment that had a reduced chance of losing lung capacity. In December of 1996 Lance completed his last chemotherapy treatment. The chances for his recovery were less than 50-50 and as amazing as his recovery was his comeback into racing was even more so.

At 27 Lance had his first Tour de France victory. He went on to repeat this feat an amazing six additional times. Lance is the only seven time winner of the Tour de France.

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 1 Questions to Answer

1. Hypothesize on what physiological and anatomical characteristics the following organs would possess to enable Lance to win the Tour de France seven times?

A. Heart B. Lungs C. Skeletal muscle D. Liver

2. Lance is an amazing athlete. Where do you think that this skill originates? Is it an inherent natural ability coded for in his DNA or is a result of nurture in his training and exercise programs?

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 2 What makes Lance Armstrong a Seven Time Tour de France Winner? Part II

By Emily Allen Department of Math and Science Gloucester County College, Sewell NJ ______

Lance has been the subject of many science experiments due to his amazing athletic abilities.

Maximal oxygen uptake (Vo2 Max) Maximal oxygen uptake (Vo2 Max) is the point at which the rate of oxygen consumption reaches a plateau and does not increase with added physical exertion. Vo2 Max is relative to body weight. Lance has been recorded as having a maximal oxygen uptake (Vo2 Max) of 83.8 ml/kg/min. 8 months after Lance’s chemotherapy when he was in a period of reduced training his Vo2 Max was 67 ml/kg/min.

1. What is the stimulus for the respiratory rate increases as an exposed subject is increasing in exercise intensity?

2. Why is oxygen so important?

2. Is Vo2 Max an important contributor to a power lifters athletic success?

3. Lance’s Vo2 Max increased from a resting to training state. What physiological changes can increase Vo2 Max when training?

4. When comparing a thoroughbred racehorse to Lance Armstrong and adjusting for the difference in kilograms weighed which would have the larger Vo2 Max?

5. Let’s say your neighbor Joe who has never been one to exercise decides he is going to train for the Tour de France. He is not genetically endowed for endurance but picks up Lance’s book and amazingly starts to cycle for 3 to 5 hours a day. Has Joe’s Vo2 Max increased? If Joe trains exactly like Lance for the next 15 years will his Vo2 Max reach Lance’s training Vo2 Max?

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 3 What makes Lance Armstrong a Seven Time Tour de France Winner? Part III By Emily Allen Department of Math and Science Gloucester County College, Sewell NJ ______

Endurance athletes need to have a high Vo2 max and maintain a high percentage of this Vo2 Max for a long period of time. But they also need to be able to efficiently convert energy (ATP) into muscular power and velocity.

Coyle et al studied Lance and saw an 8% improvement in muscular efficiency when cycling from age 21 to 28. This increase in muscular efficiency combined with a large decrease in weight as training increased to prepare for the Tour de France lead to an 18% improvement in his power to weight ratio at a given Vo2 Max.

1. If muscles are more efficient they are less likely to fatigue. What is muscle fatigue and what causes it?

2. Coyle et al hypothesized that this increase in muscular efficiency may be due to a conversion of type II muscle fibers to type I with continued intense endurance training. Why would type I fibers give a greater muscular efficiency in cycling?

3. Which of the following changes would make a muscle cell more efficient? A. Additional muscle enzymes to remove lactic acid B. Additional lactic acid C. Additional mitochondria D. Angiogenesis in skeletal muscle E. More type II muscle fibers

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 4 What makes Lance Armstrong a Seven Time Tour de France Winner? Part IV By Emily Allen Department of Math and Science Gloucester County College, Sewell NJ ______

Lance has been accused of blood doping but these accusations have not been proven. Floyd Landis from Lancaster, PA won the Tour de France in 2006 but then failed a performance-enhancing drug test for elevated levels of testosterone.

1. What advantage would blood doping give a cyclist?

2. What is the danger in blood doping?

3. What would be the performance advantage from taking supplemental testosterone?

4. Why are blood doping and testosterone difficult substances to determine if an individual is cheating or not when compared to synthetic performance enhancing substances?

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 5

What makes Lance Armstrong a Seven Time Tour de France Winner? ANSWER KEY

Part I 1. Hypothesize on what physiological and anatomical characteristics the following organs would possess to enable Lance to win the Tour de France seven times?

A. Heart- The heart is a muscle so it can be trained to be a stronger muscle just like skeletal muscle. The heart through training would develop an increased stroke volume and thus at rest the heart would have a lower resting heart rate. But at work the heart could have an increased cardiac output. B. Lungs- He would have a high Vo2 Max. C. Skeletal muscle- Increased mitochondria and more type I muscle fibers D. Liver- “Enormous amounts of lactic acid are produced during endurance sport by muscle cells. This metabolite is thought responsible for the muscle pain and the fatigue during sport. Its internal removal from the body by enzymatic conversion depends mainly on the capacity of the hepatic gluconeogenesis that converts lactic acid to glucose. The extraordinary sportive results of the racing cyclist Lance Armstrong did us realize that a high capacity of hepatic gluconeogenesis was the basis of his success, because it might have provided him with less pain complaints caused by lactic acid and with an extra source of energy from lactic acid (Bongarets 2007).

2. Lance is an amazing athlete. Where do you think that this skill originates? Is it an inherent natural ability coded for in his DNA or is a result of nurture in his training and exercise programs? “Clearly this champion embodies a phenomenon of both genetic natural selection and the extreme to which the human can adapt to endurance training performed for a decade or more in a person who is truly inspired (Coyle 2005).”

Part II 1. What is the stimulus for the respiratory rate increases as an exposed subject is increasing in exercise intensity? The brain when it signals to the muscles to contract it also sends this information to the respiratory centers. The proprioreceptors which are also stimulated during exercise send an excitatory signal to the respiratory centers. Students may think that it is a change in blood gases that stimulates an increase in respiration but the blood gases should remain almost the same at rest and exercise due to the increase in ventiallation the blood gases will be adjusted. (Saladin 2007)

2. Why is oxygen so important? Oxygen is required for aerobic cellular respiration to occur.

2. Is Vo2 Max an important contributor to a power lifters athletic success? No, A power lifter would perform resistance exercise. The muscle cells respond to this resistance to a load by growing larger and forming more myofilaments and the

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 6 myofilaments become larger. Endurance training improves the fatigue resistance of the muscle fibers but does not significantly increase muscular strength. Endurance training increases the functioning of the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems (Saladin 2007).

3. Lance’s Vo2 Max increased from a resting to training state. What physiological changes can increase Vo2 Max when training?

The heart is a muscle and can be trained to be more efficient. Thus the cardiac output can increase. Vascularization of the muscular bed and an increase in the muscle oxidative enzyme levels are also contributors.

4. When comparing a thoroughbred racehorse to Lance Armstrong and adjusting for the difference in kilograms weighed which would have the larger Vo2 Max?

The thoroughbred race would have a significantly higher Vo2 Max. Horses are elite athletes and have a Vo2 Max of 180 ml/kg/min when compared to Lance’s Vo2 Max of 83.8 ml/kg/min (http://www.tufts.edu/vet/sports/oxygen.html).

Yes, Joe’s Vo2 Max could increase with training but without a genetic endowment for endurance could not come close to Lance’s Vo2 Max. A Vo2 Max of 56-62 ml/kg/min is considered the highest value that an average man not endowed for endurance can achieve with prolonged and very intense endurance training (Coyle 2005).

Part III 1. If muscles are more efficient they are less likely to fatigue. What is muscle fatigue and what causes it? “Muscle fatigue is a progressive weakness and loss of contractility that comes with prolonged use of the muscles (Saladin 2007).”

It results from many causes:

1. ATP generation decreases as the amount of glycogen decreases. This ATP shortage slows down the sodium potassium pump resulting in a decreased ability to maintain the resting membrane potential and excitability of the muscle cells.

2. The CNS fatigues so it cannot send impulses as fast to the skeletal muscles.

3. The acetycholine levels decrease and thus nerves are less capable to stimulate muscle cells.

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 7

4. The resting membrane potential decreases due to a buildup of extracellular potassium. This potassium is from the sarcoplasm and released at each action potential.

5. Lactic acid buildup in the sarcoplasm lower the pH and interferes with proper muscle functioning.

(From Saladin 2007)

Type I fibers are slow oxidative fibers that are more fatigue resistant than type II fibers. They are well suited to aerobic respiration that does not produce lactic acid (see 5 above in previous question).

3. Which of the following changes would make a muscle cell more efficient for endurance sports? A. Additional muscle enzymes to remove lactic acid B. Additional lactic acid C. Additional mitochondria D. Angiogenesis in skeletal muscle E. More type II muscle fibers

Part IV

1. What advantage would blood doping give a cyclist? Blood doping causes polycythemia, an increase in red blood cells so an individual has a higher oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.

2. What is the danger in blood doping? Polycythemia causes an increase in resistance to blood flow. This causes an increase in blood pressure and makes it harder for the heart to pump blood through the system.

3. What would be the performance advantage from taking supplemental testosterone? Testosterone causes an increase in muscle mass but in a sport like cycling any increases in weight can be detrimental to an individual’s performance. No one has been able to prove the hormones effect on endurance. For more information see the following New York Times article at http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/28/sports/hormone.php

4. Why are blood doping and testosterone difficult substances to determine if an individual is cheating or not when compared to synthetic performance enhancing substances? Testosterone and erythropoietin are natural compounds in the body. Every individual is unique so these levels can vary from person to person. Therefore an unnatural level must

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 8 be determined to see if an individual is cheating. In the case of Floyd Landis, the testosterone test was a ratio of testosterone produced compared to another hormone.

References

All about Vo2 max Retrieved August 9, 2007 from http://www.tufts.edu/vet/sports/oxygen.html

Bongaerts GP and Wagener DJ. Increased Hepatic Gluconeogenesis: The Secret of Lance Armstrong’s Success. Med Hypotheses 68:9-11, 2007.

Coyle EF. Improved Muscular Efficiency Displayed as Tour de France Champion Matures. J Appl Physio 98:2191-2196, 2005

Armstrong L Retrieved August 9, 2007 from http://www.lancearmstrong.com/

Saladin, KS. Anatomy and Physiology The Unity of Form and Function Fourth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2007.

Emily Allen, Gloucester County College, HAPS: Topics in Anatomy and Physiology 9