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 Scott Mercier, CTS Contributing Editor, US Olympian, Retired pro cyclist Crashing. Sliding along the pavement or hitting a tree or rock while on the trail is not a fun experience. But crashing is part of our sport. If you ride a bike, and particularly if you race, at some point you will crash. I …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS I’m not a quitter, and I’m sure you are not either, but as the old saying goes, sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Last weekend at Unbound Gravel in Emporia, Kansas, a combination of heat and strong headwinds put a lot of riders deep …
By Reggie Miller, NBA Hall of Fame, MTB Racer, CTS Contributing Editor As I’m writing this blog, it’s conjuring up good and sometimes bad feelings about my athletic endeavors. Whether it’s throwing a no hitter in little league baseball, winning a high school state championship, winning a college NIT championship or losing in the NBA …
By Reid Beloni, CTS Senior Coach We’ve all heard the saying that “long gravel races are really eating contests that happen to involve riding a bike” The contest is not to see who can eat the most or the fastest, but rather can you consume enough calories and fluids to perform at your best and …
By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Obviously, there are a lot of things you do need to do in order to be successful in long distance cycling events. You have to train effectively, put in the miles and hours, incorporate structure and progression, fuel your training, and allow for adequate recovery. …
By Lisa Bourne, CTS Contributing Editor & Senior Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Social Impact at Zwift Climbing Mt. Lemmon by bike had been on my bucket list for over ten years – ever since I learned about CTS and the Tucson Training Camps. I was drawn to it for the mental and physical thrill of …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS Our coaches get a lot of messages that start out with, “I was going to ride, but…”, followed by an explanation that they didn’t ride because it was raining, or threatening to rain, or too windy, etc. Some move their rides indoors, but many just …
Endurance athletes are a stoic bunch. Unfortunately, your ability and willingness to absorb hours of training, strenuous workouts, and the fatigue that comes with them can make endurance athletes less likely to recognize (and slower to accept) the symptoms of overtraining. Here’s what you need to look for and what you need to know about …
In recent weeks I’ve heard variations on the question: How do I get faster on the bike?” When the question comes from more experienced athletes, it’s sometimes: “Why am I not getting faster anymore?” As the spring heats up, events ramp up, and you pile on the miles, you may notice performance stagnate. You’re training …