LAUSR

This paper reports temporal changes in physiological measurements of exercise performance in a young man transitioning from alpine skiing until he became a world junior champion time-trial cyclist after only 3 years of bike specific training. At the time he became world champion he also achieved among the highest reported maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) value - 96.7 mL·min-1·kg-1, or 7397 mL·min-1 in absolute terms at 76.5 kg, which had increased by 29.6% from 74.6 mL·min-1·kg-1 pre bike specific training. After 15 months with almost no structured exercise training, VO2max returned to 77.0 mL·min-1·kg-1 and was similar to the value reported prior to specific bike training, although in absolute term (6205 mL·min-1) still being 11.3% higher. Part of the explanation for his athletic achievements is likely also related to the up to 20.9% improvement in Power@4 mmol·L-1 (W). Although genetic profiles of endurance athletes have not generated data suggesting a shared genetic signature associated with elite endurance performance, this case study highlights the importance of intrinsic biological factors in elite endurance performance.