Rider illness - new thing?

Such as?

Beaumer mentioned that he'll be getting some blood work done to find out what the problem is.

Anderson is still dealing with health related issues, so that's why he pulled out at RedBud.

Plessinger mentioned he suddenly lost all his energy and that's why he pulled out. 

Derek Drake found out he has Lyme disease. 

There are quite a few riders out with injuries, but who else is having health issues? 

I have no doubt the rigorous travel and training gets hard on a person, especially at their level. You do have to wonder though how much of it is an ego issue versus an actual illness. 

I trust AP though. No way he's not lining up of the Fourth of July unless he can't see straight. 

Too many races over the year, the guys don't get a break.

Hammaker - sounds like a similar deal to JuJu

Masterpool was sick for weeks it seemed like. 

Sexton was dealing with something. We don’t know what it is but he didn’t take all that time off cause of his crash at Pala. There was something else he just hasn’t said what it was. 

Webb said he’s been sick this whole summer apparently.

A couple years ago it was Epstein Barr.

PEDs

Yea it’s probably a combination of all the traveling every week mixed with the vigorous training and racing of this sport, combined with the weakened immune system if they are not recovering or resting enough/properly.

travel, inconsistent sleep schedule, lack of proper nutrition for the vigorous training these guys do(except maybe the very top guys), over training, inhaling dirt and dust for 60+ mins every week.

These illness threads can't help but remind me of how a good chunk of Vital members behaved during Covid. These guys showing up at the track sick like this would have been strung up and called out for attempted murder.  It was definitely one of the lowest of low times for the Vital braintrust.  lol

Yeah Juju they think has Epstein Barr. Hammaker might have some autoimmune thing going on. Did Lewis Phillips say he had Epstein Barr or did I hear that wrong? Definitely dont ever remember so many riders being sick. And over multiple weeks. I think Kitchen was dealing with something too

That could be. I think he mentioned being sick towards the end of SX as well. 

Overtraining weakening their immune system? It's hard to say. Travel definitely exposes you to more viruses. If you're weakened by overtraining, perhaps you're more susceptible to them?  But why now more than in the past? I don't know. Is there actually more illness than in the past?

Here's one thing to try: Avoid overtraining by adopting the Ron Lechein approach to training. I remember seeing an interview with one of his former mechanics (I think he was a mechanic) who said he dropped 2 practice bikes off with Ron, and when he came back in 2 weeks to check on them, they hadn't even been started. 

I'm joking, of course. But allowing yourself to rest and recover from training is just as important as training. That's when your muscles actually rebuild. Too much training with not enough recovery and you just get weaker. I Would think that these athletes and their trainers know this.  

One thing I can think of that could contribute to overtraining being a problem is if testosterone levels are lower than they used to be (perhaps due to things like pollution, micro plastics, diet). The higher your testosterone, the quicker you can recover - and lower testosterone slows recovery. I'm just throwing the possibility out there - I don't actually know. 

I'd be curious to know if there guys ever get their levels checked. Being young and fit, they should be nice and high. But what if they're not? It's not like they can just go on TRT. But perhaps a combination of diet and supplements? 

Just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. 

When did Epstein-Barr start becoming a common thing in our sport…

2008? 

Could it be all the AC these guys are in now? Like all of us are in AC so much the heat seems to effect us more than it did back in the 80's and 90s when most did not have AC in their houses, AC in their cars, AC at the track. I remember riders have kiddy pools setup for riders to jump in between races as the box trucks really didn't have AC.

Probably always been a thing. But before social media and the internet the riders lives were much more private. 

Go to the pits during a race.  They are taking photos and signing autographs for thousands of fans from different regions.  That has to expose them to lots of different strains of viruses.  Add in eating on the road and all the travel/ sleep disruption, plus the strain on the body of a race day.  It's honestly surprising they don't get sick more.  

 With the training load necessary to be competitive, lack of any real break for 9 months straight, constant small injuries, and it's absolutely a strain on the body.  

I'm sure racers have always experienced some levels of extreme fatigue.  There is more science behind it now and test to discover the issues.  Plus the sport is in general bigger and coverage more accessible.  

Almost all of us contracted the Epstein Barr virus as kids. It sits latent until the immune system is over-taxed then it parties. I'd say it started become a bigger thing in our sport around the time it became chic to train 8 hours a day while only eating a half of chicken breast and a cup of rice a day. 

Pro SX/MX is a very small tight community so all it takes is 1 person to come down with something like the flu or covid being spread around at riders meeting and it starts spreading to others.

Food poisoning is another one that has been going around this year. 

Epstein-Barr was a common name being thrown around usually during the outdoors for quite a few years when riders weren’t performing at the top level like they thought they should be at. True or not? Who knows.

I meant when did we start hearing about it regularly as a diagnosis…?

I remember hearing that many athletes have a stressed or compromised digestive system…etc…leading to immune system issues and things like that.

This appears to have become more prevalent in our sport. 

I guess he might have damaged his knee at Red Bud, too. I believe JT said it. Twisted it in a rut

Call me an idiot but here is the issue: 

All these trainers, managers and riders are trying emulate what past racers did that experienced great success. But they are forgetting these riders were pumped to the gills with PEDs. The grind and training is too much for natural athletes. 

Travel,  perhaps.

The other stuff?  No chance.  If in 2025 a factory rider isn't eating and resting properly its on them,  diet and recovery is as basic as it gets.

What if their diet is directed by their trainer?

I'm sure it is, yea.  That high dollar trainer ought to know about fueling a rider.

Do these guys get bloodwork done twice a year?  Of course I get that the schedule is a grind,  the training as well.... but I stand by the fact that diet and recovery is the easiest of all to get right.

Taking 5 grams a day of Vitamin C with bioflavanoids helps.  Some people are more prone to flu's than others, but I hardly ever get sick.

i remember reed puking in his helmet during the 09 outdoor championship for ebv

Agree