If I recall correctly the same is not true for professional cyclists [1], a sport with a rich doping history. They seem to live longer than the general population. I believe this is related to the impact on the body versus steroids.
He was so fit, he has to cycle several times at night to make his heart go faster and not to die.
The article of yours was not about professional cyclists, more about "cycling fitness" approach. I love cycling - it improves deadlift immensely. But professional cycling is different. Very different. And dangerous.
Pantani was in an age where drug testing was not very good so they pushed the limit of hematocrit level to improve performance. Now the tests are much better and so the level of drugs and thus side affects seems to be lower.
You don’t hear of cyclists dying in their sleep really of coagulated blood from EPO.
There are some legal pain killers like tramadol and excessive caffeine that you might not do if you are optimizing for health but not sure how detrimental that is long term.
> He was so fit, he has to cycle several times at night to make his heart go faster and not to die.
That wasn’t because he was “so fit” was it, but rather from being in the middle of a powerful doping regimen (like all top cyclists were, you simply couldn’t compete otherwise) raising your hemocrit level to the point it could kill you?
unfortunately I can't get the full text of the cited study but it sounds like baloney to me based on the numbers. TDF cyclists live to 81 vs 73 for the general population. But to be a tdf cyclist you have to first live to (and be healthy in) your 20s. What is the life expectancy of a normal citizen who is in their 20s and healthy? Surely more than the "general population", which includes infant deaths, people with degenerative conditions, etc.
Cycling does have a rich history of doping, but it also has a rich history of critical coverage of its doping.
Does anyone honestly think that international soccer, which is also a sport where athletes would richly benefit from both EPO and steroids, actually has less doping (at least as covered by the press) than cycling, when there is 10x-100x as much money?
Isn’t doping in cycling mostly blood doping, ie. replacing «old» blood with blood collected prior to a competition? I doubt that has any real effect on your body beyond the immediate effect of the new blood binding oxygen better than the old blood.
One effect of testosterone is to increase red blood cells count, enhancing the oxygen transfer and thus endurance.
(BTW, red wine's quercetin blocks testosterone's drainage by kidneys and indirectly elevates red blood cells count)
The weightlifting also has positive effect on the longevity: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190412085247.h...
To counter your article about cycling: https://www.dw.com/en/michael-goolaerts-death-raises-questio...
And obligatory reference to Marko Pantani: https://crushingiron.com/cycling-is-the-toughest-sport/
He was so fit, he has to cycle several times at night to make his heart go faster and not to die.
The article of yours was not about professional cyclists, more about "cycling fitness" approach. I love cycling - it improves deadlift immensely. But professional cycling is different. Very different. And dangerous.