Jun 29, 2018 at 07:19 PM

Great video @JohnMalcolmson. I like that fact that he puts an emphasis on doing some of the exercises one leg at a time because in Cycling you never really use power with both of your legs at the exact same time. I never really thought about that and will surely use it going forward.

Jules

Jul 07, 2018 at 01:00 AM

I'm really enjoying listening to this. Very interesting.

eloy

Jul 07, 2018 at 06:05 PM

The Win Tunnel: Gaviria Sprint Leadout

the numbers these guys hit are nuts
(for reference, in Prospect Park, it is 1000 meters from GAP to the line)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M61VZvZRSRU

Jules

Jul 07, 2018 at 06:25 PM

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/data-reveals-the-most-powerful-sprints-of-2017-and-the-numbers-are-pretty-mind-blowing-359140

Mark Taylor

Jul 10, 2018 at 03:15 PM

Curious as to how Tim Declerq's training plan would be structured

eloy

Jul 11, 2018 at 05:32 PM

relevant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLAv-ekvbNk

Jules

Jul 11, 2018 at 09:35 PM

How to sprint good:

1) Choose the right parents

End of list.

Dan Reiners

Jul 12, 2018 at 12:46 AM

How to sprint fast:

1) Choose good parents
2) Spin legs fast

eloy

Jul 12, 2018 at 01:40 AM

Jules said:

1) Choose the right parents

Even in the video above the difference between Chris Opie and Simon Richardson is brutal.

mugwump

Aug 23, 2018 at 05:09 PM

This probably should be cross posted in the Tim Cusick Coaching thread.

A guy who used to live in NYC and works for Peaksware, Giancarlo Bianchi, worked on improving his TT skills, got second at the colorado TT states, and tells his tale.

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/trainingpeaks-after-hours-gcs-state-tt-podium/

With an average power of 285w (he's short and light), he managed to average over 29mph for over 50 minutes.

eloy

Sep 24, 2018 at 03:16 PM

Kate Courtney's XCO World Championship ride analysed by training peaks:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/see-kate-courtneys-xco-world-championship-winning-power-file/

Actual TP file:
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/public/workout/U6ACQGSZKJMDXRFJIXFICL6RTM

JohnMalcolmson

Oct 22, 2018 at 06:58 PM

If you ever thought positioning mid-pack or tail-gunning it in a park race was a good option, think again: the drag of all riders in the peloton decreased compared to that of an isolated rider — but in the mid-rear section of the group, the reduction plunged to between 5 and 10 percent the drag of an isolated rider.

https://www.cray.com/blog/peloton-project-largest-ever-sports-simulation-yields-surprising-results/

PatrickGrehan

Oct 22, 2018 at 09:59 PM

This looks fascinating, but the language used is unclear. I read “between 5 and 10 percent of an isolated rider” to mean that there is a substantial benefit from sitting in the back of the peloton. I suspect the language used in the translation (the main authors are Dutch and Belgian) leaves something to be desired as it could sound like its only a difference of 5 to 10 percent, whereas it seems to imply that it is more like a 90% reduction. I might watch the webinar if I have time

Jules

Oct 23, 2018 at 12:55 AM

I was having a ponder today as I rode the twisty fairytale path called Piedmont here, some perspective perhaps for newer riders or racers, and a reminder for the veterans.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO SPRINT.

You may (like me) say to yourself "I'm a breakaway guy" or "I'm a climber." Think about this. In the climby-est Worlds ever (a bit of hyperbole) it came down to a sprint.

Everytime (but once) I've ever seen or been near a podium it's come down to a sprint.

So before you get too far into your winter planning - remember to train your sprint if you're serious about results.

And for all you genetically gifted sprinters please try to keep the giggling down.

Jules

Nov 21, 2018 at 06:01 PM

Interesting podcast on the uses & abuses of indoor trainers

https://www.velonews.com/2018/11/training/fast-talk-podcast-rethinking-the-science-of-trainers_481482

mugwump

Dec 05, 2018 at 07:12 PM

Tim Cusick on training for older riders/racers

https://www.pezcyclingnews.com/toolbox/offseason-training-for-the-masters-cyclist/

Bruce van-Schalkwyk

Dec 05, 2018 at 10:03 PM

Bah. So I have to work harder, rest less, and do it smartly.

The really excellent thing about the article was the larger font.

Ok, back to the trainer. . .

eloy

Dec 05, 2018 at 10:10 PM

haha, Bruce! of note that in that photo Roger de Vlaeminck looks 45 at most.

jim_nelson

Dec 06, 2018 at 12:16 AM

What, Museeuw is only two years older than me! That seems impossible. Some sort of time warp I think.

Jules

Dec 06, 2018 at 03:43 PM

Nice one Bruce. I bit the bullet recently and upped the font on my iPhone.

Jules

Dec 24, 2018 at 02:16 PM

Found some crazy new trainer music straight from the land of Genghis Kahn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8dCGIm6yc

Bruce van-Schalkwyk

Jan 23, 2019 at 09:49 PM

The three most important aspects for me to ride, race, and train hard are:

Heart

Training

Equipment

In that order.

Let's focus on Heart. Heart means you want it, it means you love it, it's the answer you can't give when someone asks why do you ride so long, train so hard, do things that are painful. You can't answer because even though you speak for 15 minutes, you can't quite get the words you're looking for. Because it contains so much. Because, really, how do you define love?

I've been passed by delivery guys because they saw me in spandex and wanted to beat me.

I've been on recovery rides when someone flies up a hill past me and I look down to find my cadence has gone way up, my HR has gone up, something triggered competitiveness.

You've got to want it. And how, you ask, does one maintain that while in the center of these brutally cold days when your butt is sore from the trainer, or, more realistically, from the couch?

Goals.

Write them down.

It's crucial to write them down, rewrite them, and check them often. Work towards them, revise them, write new ones, cross those off you've met.

This thread has great info about goals - just read through them. And read through the racing discussions to the 'I shoulda' sentences - because people are writing goals.

I should have waited before jumping - goal - develop more patience.

I should have jumped when I had the chance - goal - listen to my instincts, don't be afraid.

Goals come in all shapes and sizes. So write them down, look them up online, read what others have written. Then group them under specific subjects.

Big Goals - Write things you can't get, because if you can't dream big, well, go home. 350 FTP. 5 rides 100+ miles this year. 6k miles, 7k, 10k miles this year. 1 win and 3 top 10s (that doesn't seem big enough. . .).

Teammate goals - will burn myself out to give a leadout. Will get the KOM, or sweep for the KOM.

And ease off the pressure for setting goals. Really. They're supposed to be fun, and plainly, simply, motivational. So while you can wax poetic on what you love about riding, when you're at 55 minutes on the trainer, you're bored, you're tired, you don't see the point in that last 5 minutes - when you ask yourself Why the hell am I even doing this? Remind yourself that it's because you need to jump 10 watts in your next FTP test.

That's it! That's all it takes, as simple as that. Then finish those 5 minutes.

Set some great goals for 2019.

Bruce van-Schalkwyk

Mar 06, 2019 at 04:30 PM

Mental training.

You ride in the direction you look.

One thing I do, from much advice, just before a race, is visualize how it's going to play out, what moves I'm going to make, where I'm going to be on a wheel, and where I'm going to push hard, jumping on wheels, going after a break, making a break. Not only does this allow me to see the race, but it calms my nerves by concentrating, focusing on something before the whistle.

I look to the race in front of me, I see the moves, and then I follow through.

I am reminded of A Scandal in Bohemia, where Holmes discusses the difference between Observing, and Seeing.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm

“Quite so,” he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing himself down into an armchair. “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.”

“Frequently.”

“How often?”

“Well, some hundreds of times.”

“Then how many are there?”

“How many? I don’t know.”

“Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed. By the way, since you are interested in these little problems, and since you are good enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you may be interested in this.” He threw over a sheet of thick, pink-tinted notepaper which had been lying open upon the table. “It came by the last post,” said he. “Read it aloud.”

You ride, and you race, in the direction you. . . observe.
Practice on the trainer, on the road, and make it work at a race.

RichFreeman

Apr 27, 2019 at 01:39 AM

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/youre-training-too-hard-for-criteriums-heres-why

JohnPowell

Apr 27, 2019 at 01:57 AM

The “cult of suffering” mentality is fine—just so long as we equally glorify the “cult of recovery.”

This

RichFreeman

Apr 27, 2019 at 02:18 AM

No such thing as overtraining, just under recovering...Bought some new compression leggings and a hand held massage gun for helping after hard efforts.

Interesting that the coach in the article programs a 3 week high intensity sprint program in pre season then avoids high intensity work during the season.

eloy

May 20, 2019 at 05:43 PM

This GCN video with Elia Viviani (and Alan Marangoni) is a clinic on sprinting and a total gem. As Jules once wrote... if you race bikes, you need to know how to sprint.

They get into some very specific workouts, we should all do.

"optimo"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Vrv9bfk7Y

mugwump

May 20, 2019 at 06:25 PM

eloy said:

This GCN video with Elia Viviani (and Alan Marangoni) is a clinic on sprinting and a total gem. As Jules once wrote... if you race bikes, you need to know how to sprint.

Small note. Elia and Alan were teammates on Liquigas-Cannondale. Also with Peter Sagan, Davide Formolo, and Viviani's current lead-out guy Fabio Sabatini, who got to Quick Step thanks to Mark Cavendish. I think Albert Bettiol was on the team that last year it was an Italian outfit.

Makes you wonder why they didn't have better readout trains on Liquigas.

And yes, work on lead outs. They're incredibly fast and fun when done right and good training, too.

Jules

May 22, 2019 at 02:02 AM

Also worth watching how steady and smooth Viviani is jra compared to the interviewer.

eloy

May 24, 2019 at 09:52 AM

This video on Criterium cornering by Adam Myerson is a gem. It should be required viewing for anyone interested in racing.

https://youtu.be/PWYDpPSxdyM

Caveats for talent and the confidence that comes from decades of experience, altho, you can see in the video he gets more aggressive using turns to rest as the race goes on. That is, he reads the race, and discovers he can get an advantage every time on this corner

Kissena Forum Archive

Training to Race: Faster, Stronger, Awesomer

The Win Tunnel: Gaviria Sprint Leadout