By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “Ride Inside“ and “The Time-Crunched Cyclist” As the summer cycling season winds down, cyclists face several options. With your biggest event goals in the rearview mirror, the next few months are full of opportunities! Rather than sitting on the couch and watching football, use this time to …
Fuzhao Xiang has a strong chance of becoming the first Chinese athlete to win one of ultrarunning’s most prestigious races: Western States (WSER) or Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB). Her stellar performance at the 2024 WSER was the third-fastest female finish (16:20:03) in history. Athletes endured a hotter race day in 2025, …
Most endurance athletes spend months fine-tuning their fueling plans. Yet, on race day many still bonk, sometimes shockingly early. Although it’s easy to blame poor pacing or a missed gel, there’s often a hidden reason you burn through energy so fast: the surge of adrenaline and the body’s stress response that ramp up …
Climbing through the Alps and Pyrenees with my Trek Factory Racing teammates during the 2014 Tour de France was one of the highlights of my professional cycling career, and one of the things I love most about cycling is that we can all visit and experience the sport’s most famous and storied climbs. And …
One of the most common questions cyclists ask me is: What’s the shortest Zone 2 ride I can do and still see results? The answer depends on your fitness level, training history, and overall goals. Based on how I’ve worked with cyclists, from beginners to pros, over the past two decades, I’ll break down …
Cycling Power-to-Weight Ratio CalculatorWant to see how your watts stack up? Enter your average power for 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 60 minutes(FTP), along with your weight and sex, to calculate your power-to-weight ratio (W/kg). Then, compare your numbers to cyclists across all levels, from beginner to pro, and see where you stand. …
Peak form is that magic stretch when an athlete’s body feels strong and their mind is sharp. Everything just clicks. You’re able to ride hard, recover fast, crush Strava segments, and win races or the local group ride. But just like a perfectly ripe piece of fruit, form takes time to grow and the …
Combining Zone 2 endurance rides with intervals is a powerful strategy, but timing matters. Should you incorporate high-intensity efforts right after warming up, schedule them mid-ride, or save them for the end when you’re already fatigued? It all depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If watching or listening is more your speed, there …
In recent weeks I’ve heard variations on the questions: “How do I get faster on the bike?” or “Why am I not getting faster at cycling?” 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 …
Training Stress Score, or TSS, is commonly used to describe how “hard” a ride was, but that’s only part of the story. Although it is valuable, some important aspects of training are not reflected by TSS. So, as you are scanning through your workout data and planning your upcoming cycling training, here’s a guide …