If you’re an elite cyclist or hope to be one someday, this may be a problem you will have to face one day: how do cyclists poop during a race? This particular issue was first made famous by Julie Moss who lost control of her bowels after completing the 1982 Ironman Triathlon. Despite how gross or embarrassing the topic may be, many high performance athletes can tell at least one poop in the pants story.

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When People Used To Stop

Back in the day, when a cyclist had to use the bathroom the entire race used to stop and wait for him to finish in a proper bathroom. Of course, this was back when cycling races like the Tour de France were more about being gentlemanly than about competing. As races became more competitive, riders would still stop to use the bathroom but the other riders would not stop as well. Today, nobody stops for anything short of the apocalypse and having to poop does not count as apocalyptic.

So What Do They Do Now?

Today, elite athletes will just poop their pants and continue on. And the best part is that most serious athletes (while knowing its a little icky) will understand the motivation behind not stopping. Julie Moss once said about her famous incident, “They’ll understand that in my situation it really was a simple, even an easy, choice for me. Yes, I was willing to shit my pants rather than stop.” That’s the voice of true dedication.

Keep in mind what’s happening when cyclists are forced to poop their pants. Professionals compete to the point that their body is beyond stressed – it feels likes it is dying. The heart rate is going haywire, it’s difficult to breathe, and the muscles are so tired and overworked that they feel as if they are literally screaming to stop torturing them. These riders can be on the verge of unconsciousness, sometimes death, and because biology doesn’t know that you’re doing this for a race your body thinks it’s in danger.

A big part of your body’s response to the danger signal is to shut down the digestive system so that the blood flow can be routed to areas that will keep you alive: the brain, muscles, and lungs. This can result in one of two responses by the digestive system: puking or pooping. Puking is something people expect of athletes but the pooping part is something people don’t talk about.

The Shorts Can Help

Some bike shorts have padding that can essentially double as an adult diaper if need be. This is not always foolproof and usually results with ruined shorts but it can help just enough to make pooping in your pants not quite so horrible. Good bike shorts will be able to absorb liquids (usually sweat) and a good fit will hopefully keep everything from moving around and causing even more discomfort.

A common question that gets pitched at many cyclists is this: how do you poop during a race? The short answer should be “in my pants,” but only when it’s really worth with it.