hi bv,
anything supported by atkins, i take with a grain of salt. he is selling books and products, and has a huge financial incentive.

as far as the other article, i don't doubt its outcome. it does not in the least interfere with what i know to be true - that burning carbs is highly preferable to burning fat, with regards to virorous cardio.

most of the bicyclists were fairly lean, at 5'11" and about 168, i think he said. so they do not have lots of fat reserves. they had also already had 3 1/2 days of a 70% carbo loading diet. it does not surprise me in the least, that adding some fat at that point in time, might be helpful.

we do not want to allow the body to get into any sort of protection mode. i do not know what sort of diet these bicyclists had, in terms of proper amounts of protein and essential fats.

but if you take 2 people of equal cardio ability, get them both equally balanced, as well as good-balanced, so that the body is not apt to go into protection mode. then the day before, one guy eats a low-carb, high fat diet, while the other guy eats a high-carb, low-fat diet, the high carb guy will win like taking candy from a baby.

i keep myself balanced. i make sure i get my protein, essential fats, and phytos every single day. because i do this, my remainder carb diet will run circles around the low-carb guy. all i have to do is push him to an intense enough level that his body freezes up, and i will wave bye-bye to him, as i merrily speed along.

also, don't forget that your body will try to burn fat whenever possible, to preserve its sugar. when you tire, and slow down, the body will again try to burn some fat, because it knows its glycogen stores are puny when compared to its fat stores, and it expects you to start needing the sugar again.

so if i am battling the low-carb guy, my goal would be to force him to stay at a high intensity to keep up with me, knowing that there is no way that he could do that. sorta reminds me of the racer who does not have a kick at the end, trying to run fast enough to burn the other guy out, so that he runs out of gas before he gets to the end. once you understand the whole picture, it is a bit easier to see.