New to the Sport

Ever think of doing triathlons?

Uhm, I would say that if you are running a 29:15 10k on a track you will be a damn fine cyclist. As far as saying whether or not you will make the elite level, it's not really possible to say unless you get on a bike and give it a serious go. But you've obviously got the aerobic engine.

Do the sport that most appeals to you, rather than the one in which you feel you'd have the most success.

runing07 said:

I am a ... good to really good runner (10k cross country time of 30:30, outdoor track 10k of 29:15). ... I was wondering if anyone has had any success with transfering from a good runner to a really good cyclist, (elite level). How long would it take me to reach the elite level?

I think the honest answer is that you cannot really tell from your running ability how good a cyclist you would make. The most famous "cross over" would be Lance Armstrong, who was an excellent tri-athlete (so at least a competent, if not better, runner) who turned out to be the best stage-racer of his generation. A number of pro cyclists were soccer players in their earlier years. But the real problem is that running is largely an issue of aerobic capacity and stride efficiency, while cycling is predominantly an issue of horsepower. The best single indicator for cycling success is "functional threshold power" which is the max power a cyclist can generate for roughly one hour. Put slightly differently, the "standard" physiological measurement for a distance runner is VO2max, while for a cyclist it is VO2Max AND FTP (or an equivalent power measurement, such as power at lactate threshold). So while your running results imply a high VO2Max, you may or may not have the FTP to be an elite cyclist. In your post you indicate that since you are a very good, but not world class runner, you wonder if you could be a world class cyclist. At the levels you are interested in, you would need to find one of the truly "world class" testing labs, such as the Olympic training camp in Colorado Springs, and let them test you according to their protocols and tell you whether your goal is feasible. I believe Max Testa, another world class coach, has facilities in California. Perhaps someone else can provide you with more options for testing at the levels your question implies. I would guess that the likelihood is that you could be a very good cyclist, but determining whether you have Olympic or professional potential is a much more difficult question.

Last August one of the forum members (former top runner) was asking for advice on a hillclimb. I commented at the time that I had ridden with another strong runner who made the transition to cycling cyclingforums.comshowpost.phpOpen ↗. I think a lot of people thought haribodie was pulling their legs, but he promptly went out and won the hillclimb with a breakaway move. I haven't seen any posts from haribodie in a while, so I don't know if you can reach him through this forum.

Thanks for the advice and information. I knew cyclists had to have great VO2 Max but had never really thought about the horse power required, though it seems pretty obvious now. I have done a few triatholons but my swimming lacks a lot and really I just don't like to swim. Thanks again for all the advice and thoughts, hopefully next spring I'll make it up to a testing lab and see what cycling potential I have. Thanks again.

palewin said:

I believe Max Testa, another world class coach, has facilities in California. Perhaps someone else can provide you with more options for testing at the levels your question implies.

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/sportsmedicine/programs/performance_testing.shtml

They test world-class cyclists, runners, triathletes on a regular basis, and many people who are far below that level. Max coaches, and has coached several people who were good runners or other sport athletes before they became good cyclists. One of them was Lance.