He probably made more money yesterday (from wearing the yellow jersey at
the TdF) than he would in his entire skiing career!

Skiing is an interesting sport in that it seems to put unique demands on
the body. This combined with the technical aspects (added demands of
balance, coordination) make it so not every successful endurance athlete can
pick it up and do well. An example of this is the several Kenyans who have
made real attempts at it, but did not succeed. Davis Phinney had some
success as a skier, but not anything like what he did on the bike.

Pete Vordenberg coached a Kenyan (I forget his name) for more than a
year when he was living in New Mexico. The guy was an elite marathoner and
I think ran sub 2:08 at one point, but even after several years of skiing
and one-on-one coaching with Pete, he had difficulty beating the JII girls
at Spring Series in Sun Valley. Obviously, the guy has the motor, but
something else just didn't click. I think a lot of it is that you have to
ski for many years as you are developing physically in order to train the
muscles, nerves and brain well enough to be world class.

-Nathan
http://nsavage.com


"Gary Jacobson" wrote in message
news
Tour De France leader Pena was a national level swimmer for Colombia. Must
have a strong upper body.
Legs probably not too wimpy.

What if he could ski?

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY