genetics and cycling - mitochondria?
neeb
Posts: 4,473
We all know that genetics has a significant influence on cycling ability. How much of this will just be down to the mitochondria you inherit, which after all are the powerhouses for aerobic respiration in the muscles? Or perhaps this will just influence, say, VO2 max but not other genetically influenced factors that make a good cyclist?
Brothers (sharing the same mother) should have pretty much identical mitochondria, as these are inherited from your mother without recombination. Hence perhaps some of the shared talents of Andy & Frank Schleck, and other brothers in the pro peloton? My brother doesn't do much exercise other than the odd round of golf and is a bit over weight, but what are the chances that if he took up cycling he would have the same potential as me (for what that's worth) ?
There are also fathers & sons who are competent cyclists of course (Merckx, Roche etc), and they will have completely different mitochondria...
Brothers (sharing the same mother) should have pretty much identical mitochondria, as these are inherited from your mother without recombination. Hence perhaps some of the shared talents of Andy & Frank Schleck, and other brothers in the pro peloton? My brother doesn't do much exercise other than the odd round of golf and is a bit over weight, but what are the chances that if he took up cycling he would have the same potential as me (for what that's worth) ?
There are also fathers & sons who are competent cyclists of course (Merckx, Roche etc), and they will have completely different mitochondria...
0
Comments
-
Alex's reply to this earlier thread covers some of the same ground
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=126722520 -
Probably not the whole story. First you have to transport oxygen to the mitochondria so the cardiovascular system will have a big effect.0
