In addition to some of the most riveting racing in years, the extreme heat is the big news out of the Tour de France. The country is currently gripped by a heat wave, and the Tour peloton has been working its way through the oppressive heat in the south of France. Staying cool and hydrated …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning As this year’s Tour De France is in full swing (and extremely exciting as of late, I might add), I’m reminiscent about early in my coaching career when I worked with a variety of athletes including a stable of cyclists, triathletes and mountain bikers. As a runner …
Several months ago you signed up for a big summer event, with plenty of time to train for it. Now that long awaited event is only weeks away, you’ve realized you’re not ride ready and you’re hitting the panic button. Before you do anything stupid, take a breath and keep reading. As coaches we deal …
By Mara Abbott, Olympian, 2x Giro Rosa Champion, CTS Contributing Editor There is nothing, nothing, in the entire world of cycling that I love like the Giro Rosa. It is a helpless love – one that allowed me year after year to devote my entire life to performing on 10 days in July and to …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning This article is the third in a series to review the most controversial training topics in ultrarunning. If you missed the first two, go check how to train for the downhills and strength training for ultrarunners as well as the overview article of all three. Perhaps no …
By Chris Carmichael CEO/Head Coach of CTS There are a lot of cyclists who live for climbs, whether they are short and punchy hills or massively long mountain passes. If it’s uphill, they love it. And there’s no doubt that climbing is hard, but the question is whether spending all your time in the …
By Chris Carmichael The first week of the Tour de France is traditionally the time for the pure sprinters to shine. This year, however, the organizers have added specific challenges that have made it more difficult for the sprinters to prevail. Instead of long, straight, and flat finishing stretches, the first stage was an uphill …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS I came across a graphic this week that really stuck with me, particularly because it does a great job of quantifying the issues of trust and beliefs in coaching and athletic performance. Trust is essential in a coach-athlete relationship, so the question becomes: What do you …
By Mara Abbott, Olympia, CTS Contributing Editor I am absolutely unable to resist a good sports story. Technically, my job at the Buffalo Bulletin is to write about energy and natural resources, but when I overheard my publisher recounting the tale of a mother, a son, and a hundred-mile trail running race to our sports …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning Last week, I wrote a teaser article overviewing the most controversial topics in ultramarathon training. If you want a refresher (and the Cliff’s notes version of this blog) go check it out here. This week, I will tackle why you should (or should not) strength train …