By Mara Abbott, Olympian, CTS Contributing Editor Lighthearted joy is not my strong suit. In fact, I am the one who, several years after retiring from professional racing, replied to my loving dad’s comment, “I just want you to be able to have fun,” with “I don’t WANT to have fun, Daddy, I want to …
By Mara Abbott, Olympian, CTS Contributing Editor During the final week of September in Yorkshire, a fresh crop of road world champions pulled on new rainbow jerseys, including three young Americans (Congrats Chloe, Quinn, and Megan!). As someone who started winning significant races at a young age, I can say from experience that big …
By Chris Carmichael Founder & Head Coach of CTS We need to talk about bad days. At various times during the season I hear athlete and coaches chalk up a poorly executed training session or unexpected poor result to nothing more than a bad day. Then they drop it and move on, and that’s the …
By Chris Carmichael Founder & Head Coach of CTS Cycling’s Road World Championships have always held a special significance for me, perhaps because racing the Junior World Championships in 1978 was a big moment in my development as a young rider. This week, Road Worlds have created some great storylines, and perhaps even bigger …
By Mara Abbott, Olympian, CTS Contributing Editor It’s tough for athletes and other high achievers to self-evaluate performance. To prevent burnout, maintain motivation, and guard your mental health for the long run, it’s important to learn to celebrate yourself on occasion. We should pause to celebrate our own hard work and accomplishments. At the same …
By Mara Abbott, Olympian, CTS Contributing Editor Last week, I took my first coaching job. I won’t be charting watts or checking TrainingPeaks. The workouts will be measured in yards, not hours or miles – I am now officially the new assistant coach of Buffalo’s girls high school swim team. Swimming was my first love …
By Chris Carmichael, Founder & Head Coach of CTS Early in 2019 there were headlines saying “High Cadence Cycling Offers No Benefits to Amateurs” and asking “Is High Cadence Cycling Actually Slowing You Down?” They – and others – were referring to a Feb 2019 study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine that showed …
By Chris Carmichael Founder and Head Coach of CTS Does standing in a supercooled environment for 2-3 minutes provide meaningful recovery benefits for cyclists? Whole body cryotherapy (WBC) is a recovery modality some athletes and cycling teams have added to their post-workout routines, but does it work? How Cryotherapy Works To experience WBC you need …
By Mara Abbott Olympian, CTS Contributing Editor As a Centennial State native, I care deeply about the Colorado Classic. My personal attachment to the success of any competition in those mountains cuts even deeper than the impact last weekend’s female-only edition might have on the profile of women’s sport. It has always been hard to …
By Chris Carmichael, CTS Founder and Chief Endurance Officer Whether you are planning on racing SBT GRVL or preparing for another gravel event, here are some tips from my gravel racing experiences at SBT, Unbound Gravel, and others: Eat your breakfast Take the time to figure out what kind of pre-race breakfast works for …