WARNING LIGHTS 9 HEALTH CHECKS FOR CYCLISTS
You hear it after races, after group rides and wherever cyclists gather together: “My legs are dead”; “Pedalling in squares today”; “I just felt flat”; “Un jour sans”… Even the fittest bike racers experience days like that. Usually it really is just a flat day – it happens to the best riders for benign reasons. But it could mean something in the body is falling out of kilter or going wrong.
A sudden drop in performance, feeling flat, or whatever you call that ‘not quite right’ feeling, may be an early sign of illness. If not illness, it may mean there’s a problem with one of the many things going on inside your body – a biological process or system that is involved in keeping the pedals turning as well as keeping you healthy.
If a car’s computer detects something wrong, a warning light flashes and you take it for diagnostic tests. The only warning light cyclists have is how they feel – the relative lightness of the pedals and freshness of the legs. When this rather vague light flashes amber, the cyclist is able to undergo diagnostic tests – and ideally should do so on a regular basis, ensuring that potential problems are flagged early and solutions sought.
Diagnostic testing is carried out routinely by most pro teams and insisted on by most federations – although some doctors feel
