By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning I have spent the past six weeks crewing for Timothy Olson as he attempts to set an FKT on the Pacific Crest Trail. As of his stopping point on Sunday, July 11, he has 11 days, 8 hours, and 25 minutes to reach the northern terminus and …
 By Chris Carmichael, CEO/Head Coach of CTS The Pikes Peak APEX presented by RockShox covers just over 125 miles over 4 stages, features more than 14,000 feet of climbing, and showcases four iconic Colorado Springs-area trail systems. Mountain bike stage races and multi-day adventures present unique nutrition and hydration challenges, so whether you are …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Wout van Aert, the 78-kilogram (172 pound) cyclocross and Classics rider who finished second a day prior to Mark Cavendish in a bunch sprint on Stage 10, won a Tour de France stage that featured two ascents of the mythical Mont Ventoux. He didn’t have the …
By Alison Tetrick, Pro cyclist, Entrepreneur, CTS Contributing Editor Riding chemistry is important. I wanted to make a good chemistry joke, but all the good ones Argon. I apologize. I blame my bad chemistry jokes on my biochemist background. I do tell a few chemistry jokes, periodically. But who doesn’t love a ride that finds …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning As the summer racing season is in full swing, many trail and ultrarunners are taking to the challenge of overnight FKTs, 200 milers and other trail adventures spanning more than 48 hours. These longer ultras present a unique challenge of managing alertness and wakefulness as time passes. …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS A masters cyclist just won two back-to-back stages of the Tour de France, five years after his last Tour stage win and after being largely written off as a great rider whose time had passed. At 36, Mark Cavendish is not the oldest Tour de …
Human beings are inherently inefficient. Only a fraction of the work athletes do propels them down the road, up the mountain or through the water. The rest just generates heat, which has to go somewhere. Normally, the body is reasonably good at dissipating heat, until the environment is also hot and/or humid. Heat illnesses …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning Throughout the history of ultrarunning, the Western States Endurance Run has served as a litmus test, or key indicator, of the state of the sport. Researchers, coaches, athletes, and fans look at the longitudinal data about finisher rates, the number of silver buckles awarded for sub-24hr finishes, …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS I love the anticipation and sense of limitless opportunity that immediately precedes the Tour de France, which starts this weekend. As an athlete and team, the months and years of preparation are over and you just want the race to start already! Back in 1986, in …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS The timing of when and what you eat can have a big impact on cycling performance in training and competition, but there is a constant push-and-pull between keeping it simple and getting lost in the minutia. The more we know, the more we think we can …