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Cycling Training Tips

Interviews

Interviews with cyclists and coaches

Secrets About Optimization of Aerodynamics

Bicycling.com has published an article worth reading. It is about the Massachusetts Institute of Technology cycling team who train in the wind tunnel to optimize their aerodynamics. Wind tunnel optimization is used of many of the professional teams at the Pro Tour. Mark Cote worked with the former Team CSC captain Ivan Basso to optimize his aerodynamics through optimization in the wind tunnel.

In the interview Mark Cote answers questions related to wind tunnel optimization and team time trials:

On aerodynamic wheels:
“Most people don’t realize that a non-aero helmet creates four times the drag of a non-aero wheel set. So you can spend two thousand dollars on a wheel set, or spend two hundred on a helmet and be faster. How you put your race number on matters more than having an aero wheel; today, we glued on our numbers to get them to fit flatter. Then there’s water bottle placement: On a round-tubed frame, having a bottle on your seat tube is more aerodynamic than not having one at all, and it’s much more aero than putting it on the down tube. And wearing gloves in a time trial will slow you down more than using a non-aero front wheel.”

On shaved legs:
“Shaved legs? I think they’re faster, but we haven’t really tested them in the tunnel. I did try to convince Ivan Basso to shave his head when he came to MIT. He wouldn’t do it, even though it was for science.”

Read the full interview at Bicycling.com

Secrets About Optimization of Aerodynamics Read More »

Expert Tips on How to Analyze Your Power Meter Files

Here is an interview with Dirk Friel who is a co-founder of TrainingPeaks.com. One of his jobs is to help professional riders and coaches to analyze data from power meters. Since one of the biggest topics here on Training4cyclists.com is power meter training, it is a pleasure to get some additional info from one of the experts into analyzing of power meter files. This interview is quite long, but I hope you enjoy it, there are several good points waiting for you!

Read the full interview with Dirk Friel here!

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Interview with Gonzalo Vilaseca about the Power Meter Project

I made a short interview with Gonzalo about his impressive results in the Power Meter Project:

Your 5min maximum power went from 357Watts in week 1 to 416Watts in week 12. What impact has this increment had on your performance?

Gonzalo: “No, because I haven’t done any short races since then. My wife had a baby and I couldn’t race for some weeks, since then there have been no more races, I hope the second part of the racing season starts soon.”

How will you describe your progress through the project?

Gonzalo: “My short time power increased dramatically, my recovery from short efforts also improved, which was what I was looking after: changing from endurance races to ‘criterium’ style races.”

What is your opinion on power meter training now?

Gonzalo: “More or less the same as before, but some things have changed: I don’t focus that much on the powermeter when riding endurance sessions, and I listen more to my body, if I feel Im reaching a physicall and mental limit I rest for a week. But all in all I believe power traing is THE method to use.”

Have you adapted some of the ideas from the power meter project into your daily training?

Gonzalo: “Not now, but I will. Now Im riding endurance races, but in two weeks I switch again to short races and I will follow some ideas of workouts I did during the project.”

Interview with Gonzalo Vilaseca about the Power Meter Project Read More »

Interview with Marc Moeller about the Power Meter Project

I had a short interview with Marc Moeller about his participation in the Power Meter Project. If you haven’t looked at his results yet, read the full results here.

Your maximum power tests indicate that you are significantly stronger, but what impact has these increments had on your performance in races?

Marc: “This has been my best racing year yet in Category 3 and I plan on moving to category 2 in August! I’ve race quite a bit and always felt I had a chance to win, not just finish as middle of the pack. My lowest place in Cat 3 has been 12th and I almost always can finish in the top 5.”

How will you describe your progress through the project?
Marc: “Well to tell the truth I do feel quite a bit stronger this year than last, which is due to the program structure and my sticking to it. Being motivated and focused has helped tremendously. I have a suspicion though that I may have reached a peak a bit early this year and I don’t know if I can get my power levels up quite as high as I had them in early April. I have even resisted doing the tests because I don’t want to know my current max power outputs as they might be discouraging to my present training.”

What is your opinion on power meter training now?

Marc: “There is nothing better than power training. How else could you ever incrementally increase your work load on a bicycle? I think the ability to do repeatable efforts at different percentages of power is critical to progress on the bike. It also is great for letting you know how your legs are “feeling” as you warm up or towards the end of a long ride you know where your relative fitness is.”

Have you adapted some of the ideas from the power meter project into
your daily training?

Marc: “Undoubtedly, the thing I have used most is a range of power intervals from short burst to longer sessions that work different energy systems. For me what I have used the most is the four minute interval, the one minute, and the shorter recoveries at 40 seconds on, and 20 seconds off. Those have helped me the most.”

Interview with Marc Moeller about the Power Meter Project Read More »

More LSD training and short intervals than previous years

While I am waiting to receive the results from the critical power tests, I have done some interviews with the participants in the Power Meter Project. Gonzalo Vilaseca did the 5seconds and 1minute critical power test yesterday. Here is my interview with Gonzalo after four full weeks of wattage controlled training.

Yesterday you have completed your critical power test for sprint power and anaerobic endurance after 4 weeks of training in the Power Meter Project. What is your reaction to your performance in these tests?
Gonzalo: “Overall, I expected some improvement in every critical power duration because I had been a few months without training before the power meter project. My guess was that the largest improvement would be seen in 1 and 5 min test, moderate improvement in 20 min test, and little improvement in 5 sec sprint.

As I said, after looking at what I have exercised in my training I expected little improvement in the 5 sec power but a good improvement in 1 min power, and it has been as expected, I’ve improved my 5 sec sprint by 3,8%, but my 1 min power has increased an 8,4%, which is more than I expected. I didn’t expect an increase of 47 w in such a short period of time.”

In what way have your training been different during the Power Meter Project?
Gonzalo: “Compared to this period in past years, during the project I have performed short intervals and LSD days (long steady distance) have been longer. On previous years I did endurance rides with some moderate intensity (Zone 3) work, but no intervals of any sort. During the project I have performed short intervals twice weekly, and that is far more stimulating than just endurance riding.”

Before we know the results from your vo2max and threshold tests: What are your conclusions so far?
Gonzalo: “My conclusions so far are that I have regained fitness faster than expected, but this should be confirmed with the 5 and 20 min test. Im not surprised about my test results as I know Im not at my peak (and I don’t want to be now) and I need more training, but Im really surprised at how good I have assimilated the training load and how that has translated in fast improvement.”

More LSD training and short intervals than previous years Read More »