If Usain Bolt where a cyclist...

Karl2010

....

Would he be better sprinter than Mark Cavendish?
Better time trailist than Fabian Cancarella?
Better climber than Alberton Contador?

I think he could be a good sprinter and time trialer..

shockedsoshocked

No.

afx237vi

According to Wikipedia, the guy is 6'5" and weighs 93 kilos. Can't see him flying up Alpe d'Huez any time soon.

Pross

"If Usain Bolt where" is that "If Usain Bolt were" said in a scouse accent?

As above too big to be a better climber than Bertie (and not enough EPO / Clen ), his fast twitch muscles may make him a good sprinter but he is unlikely to have the stamina to make a good road racer. If he were to take up cycling I'd say track sprinting would be best suited to his physiological make up. One of the Kenyan marathon runners would be more likely to be a good convert to cycle racing if you wanted to move someone over from athletics.

jibberjim

The only cycling events that are similar are the all out very short sprints - so he'd do a very fast flying 200, the kilo is likely too long (it's a 400m guys event not a 100m) but generally most track events appear to be using the Anaerobic energy system primarily and not the ATP-CP system that the 100m guy uses almost exclusively.

Of course we don't know an awful lot about how good his other systems are, he doesn't need oxygen for any event he does so we have no idea how good he'd be for anything over a minute.

The 400m maybe - his anaerobic system may well be good enough, but it's something that responds to different training and is entirely distinct system so we have no idea on if he's got a good one or not.

He's also of course very, very fast due to biomechanical properties which will give him no advantage on a bike.

Oh and he's way too heavy to be an elite cyclist.

Finbar Saunders

He used to be a cricketer before getting into athletics and said he wants to be a footballer when he is finished with athletics. Said he was a good defensive or attacking midfielder. I don't know if he would make a good cyclist, but because he is good at sprint events doesn't mean he can't adapt to another event.

deptfordmarmoset

It's odd, really. Here you have someone who's built perfectly for 100/200m and you want to put him on a bike?

Track sprint would be my guess but the length of his stride, which gives him a great advantage on the running track, won't help him on a bike. I have to say that for a big man, he does get up to speed exceptionally quickly.

Stu T

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

It's odd, really. Here you have someone who's built perfectly for 100/200m and you want to put him on a bike?

Track sprint would be my guess but the length of his stride, which gives him a great advantage on the running track, won't help him on a bike. I have to say that for a big man, he does get up to speed exceptionally quickly.

Actually he was thought to be too tall and gangly. Most sprinters are usually short and stocky. He's the first tall guy not to fall over his own legs ala Peter Crouch

deptfordmarmoset

Stu T wrote:

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

It's odd, really. Here you have someone who's built perfectly for 100/200m and you want to put him on a bike?

Track sprint would be my guess but the length of his stride, which gives him a great advantage on the running track, won't help him on a bike. I have to say that for a big man, he does get up to speed exceptionally quickly.

Actually he was thought to be too tall and gangly. Most sprinters are usually short and stocky. He's the first tall guy not to fall over his own legs ala Peter Crouch

Yes, to my untrained eye, he looks like a 400m runner but he's just so quick to get into his stride that he can win 100m races.

rick_chasey

Sprinting is an awful more about technique than cycling is.

Karl2010

I think he is a grate alhleate.

I thought with the long legs and fast twitch muscles he be a decent sprinter.

If he hangs up he running boots for football boots, then id like to see him in a red shirt running down the wing...


Woooooosh....
"Theo Walcott: what was that?"
"Steve Gerrard: that was Usain Bolt mate doing Warp 9!" "oh look the balls in the net" "nice one Usain"

Ben6899

Karl2010 wrote:

I think he is a grate alhleate.

I thought with the long legs and fast twitch muscles he be a decent sprinter.

If he hangs up he running boots for football boots, then id like to see him in a red shirt running down the wing...


Woooooosh....
"Theo Walcott: what was that?"
"Steve Gerrard: that was Usain Bolt mate doing Warp 9!" "oh look the balls in the net" "nice one Usain"

Did you see Darren Campbell in The Match? Bambi on ice.

Stu T

Ben6899 wrote:

Karl2010 wrote:

I think he is a grate alhleate.

I thought with the long legs and fast twitch muscles he be a decent sprinter.

If he hangs up he running boots for football boots, then id like to see him in a red shirt running down the wing...


Woooooosh....
"Theo Walcott: what was that?"
"Steve Gerrard: that was Usain Bolt mate doing Warp 9!" "oh look the balls in the net" "nice one Usain"

Did you see Darren Campbell in The Match? Bambi on ice.

he believe or not played semi-pro for Inter Cardiff in the league of wales!!

Ben6899

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Karl2010 wrote:

I think he is a grate alhleate.

I thought with the long legs and fast twitch muscles he be a decent sprinter.

If he hangs up he running boots for football boots, then id like to see him in a red shirt running down the wing...


Woooooosh....
"Theo Walcott: what was that?"
"Steve Gerrard: that was Usain Bolt mate doing Warp 9!" "oh look the balls in the net" "nice one Usain"

Did you see Darren Campbell in The Match? Bambi on ice.

he believe or not played semi-pro for Inter Cardiff in the league of wales!!

Not as good as me. And I mean that.

snailracer

Didn't Chris Hoy start off as a rower?

berliner

Stopped and asked where he got the bike from......,.

Stu T

Ben6899 wrote:

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Karl2010 wrote:

I think he is a grate alhleate.

I thought with the long legs and fast twitch muscles he be a decent sprinter.

If he hangs up he running boots for football boots, then id like to see him in a red shirt running down the wing...


Woooooosh....
"Theo Walcott: what was that?"
"Steve Gerrard: that was Usain Bolt mate doing Warp 9!" "oh look the balls in the net" "nice one Usain"

Did you see Darren Campbell in The Match? Bambi on ice.

he believe or not played semi-pro for Inter Cardiff in the league of wales!!

Not as good as me. And I mean that.

?

and i know LoW

Ben6899

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Karl2010 wrote:

I think he is a grate alhleate.

I thought with the long legs and fast twitch muscles he be a decent sprinter.

If he hangs up he running boots for football boots, then id like to see him in a red shirt running down the wing...


Woooooosh....
"Theo Walcott: what was that?"
"Steve Gerrard: that was Usain Bolt mate doing Warp 9!" "oh look the balls in the net" "nice one Usain"

Did you see Darren Campbell in The Match? Bambi on ice.

he believe or not played semi-pro for Inter Cardiff in the league of wales!!

Not as good as me. And I mean that.

?

and i know LoW

Nah you've lost me. Sorry :-)

Stu T

Ben6899 wrote:

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Karl2010 wrote:

I think he is a grate alhleate.

I thought with the long legs and fast twitch muscles he be a decent sprinter.

If he hangs up he running boots for football boots, then id like to see him in a red shirt running down the wing...


Woooooosh....
"Theo Walcott: what was that?"
"Steve Gerrard: that was Usain Bolt mate doing Warp 9!" "oh look the balls in the net" "nice one Usain"

Did you see Darren Campbell in The Match? Bambi on ice.

he believe or not played semi-pro for Inter Cardiff in the league of wales!!

Not as good as me. And I mean that.

?

and i know LoW

Nah you've lost me. Sorry :-)

Saw him play that's all, sadly saw a lot of LoW (league of Wales)

RichN95.

Stu T wrote:

he believe or not played semi-pro for Inter Cardiff in the league of wales!!

He used to play for Cwmbran Town (when he was about 20 and a bit disillusioned with athletics)

I once saw him and Dwain Chambers playing up front for a team in an evening league in Cardiff - it was about two days before Chambers got busted.

Ben6899

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Stu T wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Karl2010 wrote:

I think he is a grate alhleate.

I thought with the long legs and fast twitch muscles he be a decent sprinter.

If he hangs up he running boots for football boots, then id like to see him in a red shirt running down the wing...


Woooooosh....
"Theo Walcott: what was that?"
"Steve Gerrard: that was Usain Bolt mate doing Warp 9!" "oh look the balls in the net" "nice one Usain"

Did you see Darren Campbell in The Match? Bambi on ice.

he believe or not played semi-pro for Inter Cardiff in the league of wales!!

Not as good as me. And I mean that.

?

and i know LoW

Nah you've lost me. Sorry :-)

Saw him play that's all, sadly saw a lot of LoW (league of Wales)

I was a bit slow to realise what LoW meant. Apologies. I'm still amazed he played semi-professional football. When I saw him in The Match, his feet were arguing over directions.

sloboy

Back to the OP, I guess Bolt is a pretty strange build for a sprinter, and an even more strange build for a cyclist. Weight shouldn't be a problem - I think his weight is almost identical to Chris Hoy so maybe the question would be if you could build him a bike to fit and if he'd do the training style.

Skinny legs don't seem to be a disqualifier - Crampton and Kenny aren't built like Hoy and neither are Sireau, Bos and some other very quick guys.

I suppose our own dear Vicky P is the ultimate example in cycling of power from a sylph like frame. Unbelievable turn of speed but not the big bruiser build of an Anna Meares.

All in all, Bolt clearly has huge explosive power, excellent attention to technique and fast leg speed. I think he'd be world class on a bike if he took to it.

Pross

I think Bolt is the build of a modern sprinter, look at the French guy that is coming through who won the Euro champs he's another tall, lean runner. I think there's a chance that the change from bulked up sprinters is possibly a sign of cleaner sprinters coming into the sport. Ever since Ben Johnson I've been suspicious of bulky sprinters, before that sprinters tended to be leaner.