By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS Economy is the most important lesson young pro cyclists learn in their first year – if they’re going to have a second year. It’s not enough to be powerful; you also have to be as frugal as possible with your energy. This was the message I drove home …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS As I prepared to suit up for the 166-kilometer Liege-Bastogne-Liege sportive on a cold and wet Belgian morning, I remembered British hiking guidebook author Alfred Wainright’s quote: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing.” Thankfully, I had come prepared, but over the course of the …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS Ever since writing this article on what athletes need to know about cannabidiol (CBD), we’ve been having a lot more conversations with athletes and researchers about CBD. One of those researchers is Joanna Zeiger, MS, PhD. If that name sounds familiar, you probably remember Joanna from her …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS As we announce the opening of registration for the third annual CTS Figueroa Mountain Gran Fondo on November 9 of this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes for great gran fondo experience. I have been to a ton of amateur cycling events around the world, …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS I first rode a Pinarello in 1983 when I raced on the Aspen-Dia Compe-Giordana team with Dale Stetina and Alexi Grewal at the Coors Classic (Dale won the overall that year). It was a great steel frame with a very Italian geometry that was nimble but not twitchy, …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS Pretty much every cyclist I talk to wants to ride uphill faster. And while athletes and coaches spend a lot of time focused on increasing power output and reducing bodyweight, these two things only give you the capacity – the potential – to go faster uphill. Actually riding …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS I am 58 years old and I travel a lot and prefer to train at home when I’m in Colorado Springs, CO. Even though I’ve been an endurance athlete all my life, my age means I am prioritizing strength training more than I used to. The frequent challenge: …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS Entrepreneurs are a different breed. They’re the risk takers and visionaries, the people who create opportunities by finding ways to fulfill needs unmet by current products or services. They’re driven and ambitious, often willing to work hard for little or no instant gratification, yet confident in the long-term …
When you ask a group of cyclists what they eat and drink on rides, you’ll get almost as many answers as there are riders in the group. Everyone fuels rides a little differently, which is perfectly normal. Cycling nutrition and hydration are not one size fits all. However there are some key principles cyclists should …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS Last summer, TrainingPeaks added a 5-icon rating scale athletes can use to track subjective feedback about every workout. It was a big step forward and it offered athletes and coaches a valuable new tool. After several months, at least anecdotally, the feature has been well adopted by …