Originally Posted by
Felt_Rider .
...Edit: I will stop babbling because I think I am starting to find what I was looking for if I can find the full document(s).
Genes and human elite athletic performance
[SIZE= 12px]Genes and Training for Athletic Performance[/SIZE]
Just don't lose sight of what js is saying regarding the difference between 'elite' racers and the rest of us. Genetics definitely matter and differentiate top pros who have committed their lives to developing to their genetic potential but IME js is dead on with his observation that the level of success most part time amateurs reach has a lot more to do with how well they train and for how many years they continue to train well than it does the genetic hand they were dealt. Stick with it and it's very likely the rising star you mentioned will either have risen to the level where he's struggling just as hard as you are against other high level riders or will have moved on to other pursuits.
In the end it shouldn't really change anything for you. If he becomes a superstar then you can smile back to the days when he was up and coming and you saw what unformed talent looks like, if he quietly fades away you'll forget about him just as I've forgotten about a couple of dozen like him over the years that rose fast, got frustrated when racing became as hard for them as it is for the rest of us and hung up their bikes for other things.
As for the guys that seemingly don't train but can always go pretty hard, that happens a lot as well. Sometimes its because they come from running, or rowing or XC skiing or other endurance sports backgrounds and have a lot of years of aerobic training under their belts. Sometimes it's because they treat the weekend group rides as races and show up peaked for every one. Sure they go fast on a training ride in April but will they continue to go fast in July when you've been staying on plan and riding the group rides as part of an ongoing training load? Maybe it is just raw genetic advantage but again it doesn't really impact you. They're faster today, maybe tomorrow, maybe you'll chase them for as long as you'll ride but will you also be improving to your own potential at your own rate in the meantime?
Bottom line, there will always be other people that are faster, richer, more muscular, prettier....you name it, than us. The world's not fair. Acknowledging that is great, but fixating on that or getting frustrated by that only harms those that let it get them down. Work with what you've got and take it as far as you can. I expect you'll outlast many of these folks over time and you'll eventually outpace some of them. Those that are truly fast but don't actually train (assuming they're not 'closet training'), if they really aren't sufficiently motivated to ride their bikes on a regular basis they'll likely get bored of beating up on the club riders after a while and figure out other ways to spend their weekends.
-Dave