Everybody is after “marginal gains” these days. It’s been the buzzphrase for the past few years, with top pro teams using new technologies and increasingly intricate methods to pursue every possible avenue for improved performance. And it’s working, at least at the top level of the sport, so amateur athletes are eager to get in …
Cyclocross is a wonderful way for road cyclists and mountain bikers to extend their competitive seasons and get a head-start on training for next season. The intensity of cyclocross racing provides a training stimulus that’s very difficult to replicate with standard interval training during the fall and winter, especially as the temperatures fall and athletes …
By CTS Pro Coach Jim Rutberg With the velodrome events about to begin at the Rio Olympics, at least two teams (Team USA and Team Canada) have benefitted from an effective but little-known training technique called hyperoxic training. Athletes who have traveled between sea level and moderate altitude (5,000-10,000 feet above sea level) know the …
All you can give is everything you have. As I watched Mara Abbott, alone, straining against the pedals and headwind with a 38 second lead and 8 kilometers to go in the Olympic Road Race last Sunday, it was plain to see she was pouring everything she had into the effort. Across the nation and …
Copper Mountain, CO – August 8, 2016 – Last night at the Victory Crew top fundraiser banquet, Chris Carmichael, legendary coach and former professional cyclist, announced a newly signed partnership between CTS and the Davis Phinney Foundation. The event followed a great day riding bicycles with over 3,000 people at the i25Kia.com Copper Triangle with …
John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” still gives me goose bumps. The prolific composer of the “Star Wars”, “Jaws”, and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” scores wrote it for the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics and it (plus the additional “Bugler’s Dream”) has been used for NBC’s Olympic coverage ever since. When I …
The expanse of open water that greets triathletes at the beginning of a competition is intimidating. That is an almost universally true statement from novice triathletes, at least those who didn’t come into triathlon from a swimming background. For runners, cyclists, and casual exercisers who are interested in triathlon, the intimidation factor of the swim …
Introduction: Heat is the enemy of endurance performance and an underlying cause for diminished performance, dehydration, heat stress, gastrointestinal distress, and impaired recovery. In this 3-part series we will provide you with the tools and information you need to PREPARE for training and events, PERFORM at your best, and RECOVER optimally when temperatures soar. Quick …
[iframe id=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/VKDG2_Usc1Q?rel=0″ align=”center” autoplay=”yes”] One of the greatest truths about sports nutrition is that even the best foods are useless if they stay in your pocket. You have to put those calories, electrolytes, and fluids into your body for them to do you any good. That means you have to like how they taste, how …
Descents are free speed. You spend almost every second of a bike ride pedaling and working to move forward, but the descents are your reward and your opportunity to make up time. Professional cyclists execute risky descending techniques far above the skill level of most amateurs. However, all cyclists can gain valuable insights on how …