Shifting gears is an under-rated skill in cycling. On the wall in our Colorado Springs Training Center, there’s a Murray-branded steel Serotta hanging on the wall. It’s the bike I rode in the 1985 Giro d’Italia, complete with a 53/42 crankset, 12-23 freewheel, and friction downtube shifters. Back then shifting gears was a major component …
At CTS, we coach a wide variety of athletes with an even wider range of personalities. Some athletes derive value from the feelings and sensations of being fit. Others can only perceive the value of training by analyzing every bit of data they generate. Endurance sports are a good place for the more obsessive among …
By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach Truth be told, I’m writing this as much about and for me as I’m writing it to hopefully help you. I am my own example. I’m that guy who got fat and slow over the winter and is now staring down the ever-shortening runway toward a goal event. I …
I’m happy to be spending this weekend riding in beautiful Napa Valley, California at the Bottega Gran Fondo. It’s a great event unlike any other that brings together world-class culinary leaders and cyclists for a weekend of stunning rides, farm fresh food, and some of the finest Napa Valley wines. Even though many of you …
Financial advisors will tell you that the way to get (or stay) rich is to not just make more money, but also avoid wasting it. The same is true with how athletes get faster. It’s not just about how much power you can produce or how high you can push your lactate threshold pace. …
Launching out of the saddle to attack the group you’re riding with can be very effective, but it’s also very obvious! No matter if you come from the back or accelerate from the front of the group, your plan is immediately apparent. You’re telegraphing your punch! A strong seated acceleration can be a huge …
It is crucially important for an athlete to know when enough is enough. And that holds true whether you’re talking about completing one more interval in today’s workout, or deciding whether you need an extra day of recovery after a hard workout or race. I wrote about this in “The Time-Crunched Cyclist “, and …
By Chris Carmichael The end of March is a great time of year for endurance athletes. There’s so much enthusiasm in the air, so many incredible goals being set, and so many early-season triumphs to cheer about. For coaches, this is the time when we get to talk about race tactics and strategies, in addition …
A lot of cyclists are emerging from their basements, garages, and pain caves to put in more outdoor miles as temperatures rise and days get longer in the Northern Hemisphere. This period marks a transition for many cyclists and triathletes from shorter 60-90 minute indoor interval workouts to longer outdoor rides. Athletes who want to …
One of the data points we monitor with a lot of athletes is how much fluid they consume during workouts. When temperatures drop, we often see a decrease in the amount of fluid they consume per hour and per workout. When we point out this change in cold weather hydration to the athlete, the …