Recently Chris Carmichael was interviewed about the role of identity in keeping athletes engaged in sport, and how an person’s identification as an athlete evolves over time and as the result of changes in the person’s age, career, and family life. This is a subject we deal with a lot when working with athletes, …
Heart Rate Training Is Not Dead Like so many areas in our lives, the pace of innovation in cycling is accelerating. Power meters were once a rare sight anywhere outside of the pro or Olympic team ranks; now they are ubiquitous at the Saturday coffee shop ride. But this has led to a few …
I’m going to keep this brief because I’m still in the thick of the USA Pro Challenge Race Experience. We’ve been having a great week and I’m so proud of the athletes who have been riding every stage of this great race with my coaches and me. And it’s been great to upload my data …
The journey from a cyclist’s first race to the top of the podium in Paris is long and arduous, but the route is pretty well defined. Riders progress along the route at different rates, and many have to endure setbacks and detours along the way, but the basic pattern for developing a potential Tour de …
With four huge climbs packed into just 124 kilometers (77 miles) of racing, Stage 17 of the 2014 Tour de France was a brutal test. On a long stage that features big climbs, the distance and the terrain cause the selection even if the racing isn’t very aggressive. But when a mountain stage is …
When riders and team managers look at stages in the race bible, they can pretty quickly categorize them as good days for the sprinters, the climbers, the GC contenders, and the opportunists. On paper Stage 16 of the 2014 Tour de France looked like a great day for an opportunistic breakaway, but how do …
It’s a very special day in a cyclist’s life when the prospect of riding uphill is met with a smile instead of a sense of dread. It’s special because a great deal of work is required to reach this day, and because it means there are no remaining obstacles to having a great ride every …
The longer the event the more likely it is that you will have to fight your way through a rough patch. In 10k runs and 45-minute criteriums you may avoid them altogether. But in marathons, Ironman triathlons, 100-mile ultra marathons, and 200-mile gravel races you are all but assured of a moment where …
Who does this kind of thing? Who signs up to ride more than 730 miles in a week, including killer climbs like Mount Diablo and temperatures well over 100 degrees? As I sit in my hotel room after another day on the road with the incredible athletes who make up Team CTS, all I can …
Growing up in south Florida in the 1960’s and 70’s California always seemed a world away, and going out there for races was always an experience. But by the mid-1980’s I was spending more time in California, especially in the East Bay area, and that’s where I met Bob Roll. In 1985 I was racing …