The Real Science of Sport Podcast

Swiss MTB star, and fifth-place finisher at the 2022 World Championships, Marcel Guerrini offers unique insight into the races and the course ahead of the XCO mountain biking events at the Olympic Games. Guerrini suggests the men's race is more open than most think, that there is one athlete most likely to win the women's race and why tyre choice may make all the difference. The women's XCO event takes place on Sunday, July 28 and the men's on Monday, July 29.

On the eve of the Paris Olympics, Kara Goucher joins Ross to put their minds to the fans' dilemma - how do we celebrate the performances we see from the best athletes in the world while we struggle to trust their credibility amidst perverse incentives, suspicious behaviours and an anti-doping system we know is far from effective? Goucher is uniquely positioned to offer insights on this question: an elite athlete who reached the podium in global track and marathon events, she not only saw behind the secretive curtain of doping, but lived it as an athlete in the Nike Oregon Project. She eventually became a whistleblower, before transitioning into a new phase of her sporting life - a commentator for NBC, where she now brings track and field performances to life. But how does she compartmentalise the conflicting emotions of doubt and joy to interpret and promote the best performances ever achieved by athletes? She explains her views, talks candidly about the challenges of being a whistleblower, and how athletes should respond to the mistrust and skepticism directed towards them. Finally, she picks her three best events to watch from Paris, and even offers a potential surprise winner of the men's 1500m gold medal.Show notes:Become a Discourse member and join the conversation. Sign up with a donation here, at the Patron site, and get access to DiscourseKara's book, describing her life, career, and the practices at the NOP that led to her becoming a whistleblower

In this episode, Ross & Gareth shine the spotlight on The City of Light, where the Olympic Games begin today, with the Men's Football and Sevens preliminary matches kicking off 19 days of sporting action. After a brief look back at our personal Tour de France highlights and the results of our Discourse Fantasy League, we discuss our plans for a daily Science of Sport Jeux du Jour/Games of the Day show. In this show, we'll offer sports science insights on the medal action from the day/night before, and then preview the expected upcoming highlights of the next day. Gareth also shares his thoughts on the relevance of the Olympic Games. Finally, we invite you to share your expertise on the Olympics sports with our Science of Sport Discourse community, and even showcase just how much we need your input by pretending we know even the first thing about horse training and abuse controversies in the equestrian events!Show notesBecome a Discourse member and join the conversation. Sign up with a donation here, at the Patron site, and get access to DiscourseThe equestrian controversy that saw GB's Charlotte Dujardin withdraw from the Olympics after a self-proclaimed "error of judgment"

How relevant are the Olympic Games in the modern era and can they stand the test of time? Join Ross and Mike, along with top US sports journalist and author Jon Wertheim, as they look back on the lessons learnt in history, the economics, the legacy and the potential future of the Games. Wertheim is executive editor and senior writer for Sports Illustrated US, focussing on the tennis beat, sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism.In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honoured with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City.Show notesJoin our Discourse community by becoming a Patron of the Podcast, and tap into the Olympic fever with like-minded fans. Once signed up, you'll have access to this Discourse pageJon's book on the Glory days of 1984 can be found hereHere is an excerpt of the book, published in SIIf you're a tennis fan, you can follow Jon's Sports Illustrated Mailbag, here's one example

In a recent article on the Escape Collective, claims were made that Tour de France cyclists are using carbon monoxide to enhance their performance. But is it really that big a deal or is there more to this story? Mike and Ross break down how carbon monoxide is used and potentially abused as cyclists looked for any means to get an advantage. The team also break down some the incredible numbers being pushed out by Tadej Pogacar at Le Tour and ask the question on everyone's lips: Can we believe it?SHOW NOTES:Carbon monoxide use:The original Carbon monoxide article A paper on how Hb Mass is related closely to VO2max One of the first published studies that describes how breathing CO might unlock performance enhancement. In this study, college student football players also breathed in 1ml per kilogram body weight before all sessions. It drove an increase in EPO, haemoglobin levels and VO2max.Another study, by Schmidt, where moderately trained subjects inhaled CO five times a day. Haemoglobin mass increased, they made more reticulocytes, and VO2max increased (though not significantly)Some sources for power output estimates at the Tour de France:Ammatti on TwitterThe detailed analysis of the Plateau du Beille stage, and comparison against historical performances

The spotlight falls on the most influential sports science research ever published. A recent paper produced a list of the 100 most influential sports science papers of the last 100 years. Gareth and Ross choose a handful of them, discussing what they found, what their authors didn't know at the time (and got wrong), and what it means today. We discover that the arc of sports science knowledge runs through all these studies, connecting people from AV Hill to Noakes, and themes including oxygen debt, lactate, altitude, pacing strategies, fatigue, and even the 2-hour marathon !Show notesBecome a Patron here, and then join the discussion on on Discourse CommunityStanding on the Shoulders of Giants: The paper that inspired the episode, a collection of 100 influential sports science articlesThe AV Hill Paper on muscular exertion, oxygen and 'lactic acid'. The OG of sports scienceGeorge Brooks proposes the Lactate ShuttleNoakes, St Clair Gibson and Lambert explain the concept of complex regulation. This is the summary and conclusion paper. The more detailed papers are:Why the "catastrophic model for fatigue" fails to explain real-world performance physiologyEvidence for complex systems integration and regulation of muscle activityHow fatigue and performance help control homeostasis during exercisede Koning and Foster explain how pacing is regulated during exercise, using the RPE and duration remainingMichael Joyner applies his physiological determinants of the marathon to the sub-2 hour questionLundby's review questioning the performance benefits of altitude trainingA more recent review on altitude training that covers how periodization, managing training, repeat visits and smarter nutrition may help create and increase the effectA more detailed paper on the role of nutrition when at altitude

Mark Coogan has been there, done that and got the t-shirt. As a former track athlete, sub-4 minute miler, Olympic marathoner and author of the book 'Personal Best Running', Coogan is passing on his wealth of talent to some of America's top track and field stars with much success. In this discussion, Coogan talks candidly about the process of developing Olympic-level elite athletes, how to spot elite-level talent, what makes a champion athlete, how to train athletes for events as important as the controversial American Trials and the Olympic Games and whether the sport is in a good place globally. Coogan works in the engine room of top-class athletics and his insights will inspire all levels of sports people.Follow MarkInstagram & X @mark_coogan

In this Spotlight, the team discuss exercise in the heat, using the challenging conditions and travails of Mark Cavendish and others in the Tour de France's first two stages as the catalyst. We explore why athletes 'fail' in the heat, and how the brain pulls a physiological ripcord to protect us when we either don't pace ourselves appropriately, or can't lose the heat we need to in order to avoid critical hyperthermia. We also briefly assess the state of the Tour's yellow jersey battle, where the first shots were landed by Pogacar on the Galibier in yesterday's Stage 4. But will they be decisive, and how likely is Vingegaard to bounce back and improve as the race progresses?Show notesBecome a Patron and join the Discourse communitySome papers on heat stroke and limiting hyperthermiaA position statement on heatstroke, including details on risk factors and pathology. Find out about "leaky guts" here!One of the Danish studies that shows how the hot brain just stops activating muscle and causes us to fail at exerciseAnother paper showing that perceived exertion is altered by hyperthermia during exercise in the heatTour de France insightsThis is the best podcast you'll listen to on the Tour, in my opinion. That is, if you really like a deep technical dive into the tactics of the raceThe analysis of Pogacar's record climb of the Galibier yesterday. Note that it was a hard stage, and so a real test of durabilityThe record was also broken on San Luca on Stage 2. Here's that analysis and power estimateThe Olympic Sport bracket that Gareth mentioned on the show - will road cycling bounce back and beat the marathon in the popularity stakes?

The Tour de France begins Saturday and in this Spotlight, Ross and Gareth gaze into their crystal balls to discuss whether Jonas Vingegaard, the two-time defending champ, can recover from his April accident to challenge race favourite Tadej Pogacar? They explore how his injuries will have set back his preparation, and the challenges he'll have faced to balance recovery with adapting for the demands of a Grand Tour. They also explain how his 'durability' may be compromised, and how Pogacar may look to exploit this tactically, to kill the contest in Week 1. Add in some speculation and predictions we both hope are proven incorrect, and you have a TDF teed up for discussion and debate!Become a Patron and join the Discourse communityOur TDF Fantasy League is open - here are the detailsThe physiology of the Grand ToursWhat happens to the hormone levels during a Grand tour?Review of the physiology of the Tour, with some high level overviews of the requirements to race a Grand TourPerformance requirements of racing a Grand Tour, with some nice power data from the very best cyclistsDurability in cycling, as discussed on the showA field study of durability in elite cyclists, showing a 3% (average) drop in 20 min TT power after a fatiguing bout. Note that the fatiguing bout used (10 kJ/kg/hr) is equivalent to an easy-to-moderate mountain day in the Tour. UAE will want rivals to do a LOT more work than this before attacking in the final 20 minutesA nice study looking at how fatigue affects the power-duration curve in elite cyclists. This shows that World Tour riders are more "durable" than Pro Tour riders, and that the greater the work before "the test", the greater the decline. Again, a cue for a rider who wants to win the Tour to put his rivals under pressure before the final climbResource for power estimates in the TourPogacar's best climb of the Giro, because of the work done before it, and the altitudeCrazy high numbers from Switzerland on the short 43km stage where fatigue was not a factorRoglic's best Dauphine performance, contextualized against Pogacar at the Giro - just a few percent off where it needs to be to match Pogacar