Took residence measures after years of illness problems: – A “silent killer”

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– I think it can quickly become a “silent killer” and cause some damage. You have to have some respect for it and be careful not to be too high. It can quickly become too much of a good thing.

This is what INEOS Grenadiers rider Tobias Foss tells Discovery ahead of this year’s Giro d’Italia.

In 2022, the Norwegian moved to Andorra at an altitude of around 1,700 metres. The small nation surrounded by the Pyrenees mountain range has become a paradise for professional cyclists. Several of the world‘s best cyclists have settled in the country, as well as several Norwegians.

In addition to Foss, Norwegians Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Team Jayco AlUla) and Johannes Staune-Mittet (Team Visma Lease a Bike) also live in the heights of Andorra. Uno-X cyclist Søren Wærenskjold told Discovery earlier this spring that he is also considering moving to the altitude paradise.

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Took action

For Foss’s part, he has now chosen to move a little lower and lives at an altitude of around 1,100 metres. The reason for that is that he didn’t have the best experience living so high.

– The experience of living at altitude is so-so, he says.

– When I lived at 1,700 meters and came home between races then recovery can quickly become poor and if you get sick it can take longer to recover. It weakens recovery a little, and it is clear that having a home where you can recover properly is important.

– It has worked much better for me to live a little lower, and rather to be properly tall when trying to get in top shape.

Since the impressive 9th place overall in the Giro d’Italia in 2021, illness has affected the Norwegian to a large extent. With both corona and kissing disease which was discovered in a health check when he went to INEOS before this year’s season.

He does not disregard the fact that his own place of residence has been a factor in recent years.

– I’m guessing that it may have had something to do with the restitution bit after the period of illness.

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Altitude Acclimatization

Thomas Johansen Losnegard, through his work as a researcher at the Norwegian Sports Academy and as head of the endurance department at the Olympiatoppen, has a great deal of knowledge about staying and training at altitude in elite sports.

He tells Discovery that it is the constant change from lowland to high altitude between the rides that is challenging with living at high altitude, and which puts an extra strain on the body.

– The challenge is the acute phase you enter when you arrive at the height. When he (Foss) comes back from a ride, he may not have been at his best. He may have ridden a few peaks, but he has generally lived relatively low. What happens when you get home is that you have to adapt again to that altitude if you are going to live constantly at an altitude of 1,700 metres, he tells Discovery.

Researcher at the Norwegian Sports Academy and head of the endurance department at Olympiatoppen, Thomas Johansen Losnegard. Photo: University of Oslo

Foto: Other Agency

The advantage of living at altitude for a longer period of time is that the hemoglobin level in the body increases. That is, simply explained, that the body produces more red blood cells whose task is to transport oxygen around the body.

– When you live at altitude over time, the blood will change with an increased hemoglobin level. It is perhaps the most important physiological change.

– What we often observe is that people may have a little trouble sleeping, especially in the first period. You tend to get a little dehydrated and you have to adjust your training during the first ten days you are back at altitude. You must constantly adapt your body to that height and the surroundings, and it can be demanding when you are not at a constant height for a long time. If you are at the same height for a long time, eventually you won’t notice any big difference, says Losnegard.

He points out that it is very individual how the body handles and copes with the fluctuations from going from lowland to high altitude.

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When it comes to illness challenges associated with the altitude, Losnegard says that recovering from an illness and adapting to the altitude becomes a double burden.

– If you also have to acclimatise to the altitude, at the same time as you are working against an illness, then you get a bit of double up that the body has to deal with. Basically, I wouldn’t say that living at an altitude of 1,700 meters is such a big problem, because it is not super high, but it depends on what phase of the acclimatization period you are in.