Frozen skies It’s been an exceptional winter in many European countries with December being one of the coldest months on record in several countries. There’s been an uncommon amount of snow in Britain and the thermometer has been stuck below freezing from Belgium to Italy. Will this have an effect on the training of some … Read more
Winter in Europe and North America is arriving and as bad weather and darkness sets in, what better way to keep fit than riding indoors? To help readers I’ve decided to review every indoor / turbo trainer on the market. It didn’t take me long to reach a conclusion. They are all crap. Yes, every … Read more
La Gazzetta Dello Sport says that Italian coaching maestro Aldo Sassi is ready and willing to work with Riccardo Ricco. “I know it could put my credibility in play but it’s easy to pick challenges you can’t lose. Sometimes you have to take risks with something big” says the Italian coach. Sasso works on Ivan’s … Read more
It’s hot. It might be raining in the Village Départ this morning but the forecast is for dry, hot weather. Yesterday Sylvester Szmyd said his SRM recorded the temperature at 39°C during the stage. And there’s no end in sight, the forecast says another week of temperatures well above 30 degrees (above 100°F for US … Read more
This is something raised during the RTL-L’Equipe cycling podcast but since the show is in French, I thought it might be interesting bringing it to an English-speaking audience. A rare photo of Pepe Martí at work Vélo Magazine’s Nicolas Perthuis is an authority on training methods and sports science, to the point of annoying some … Read more
Basso romped up the Zoncolan on Sunday to win with a 1:19 advantage over Cadel Evans. Based on numbers supplied by Aldo Sassi to La Gazetta Dello Sport, Basso is pumping out 395W or 5.68W/kg but analysis by French coach Frédéric Portoleau suggests the figure could be 410W. Measured pain This is still 50W less … Read more
Congratulations to Amaël Moinard. I blogged only last week how Moinard is an intelligent rider who knows how to train and race smart and sure enough he won the final stage of Paris-Nice under the palm trees of the Boulevard des Anglais. His win is a demonstration of what I was trying to explain. Yesterday … Read more
How much do you weigh? Many racing cyclists will know the answer here and sometimes to the nearest 100 grams. It’s been a cold winter and I’ve not ridden as much as usual so I still need to shift a couple of kilos. No rush though. Riding a bike requires power but the sport isn’t … Read more
Watching today’s stage of Paris Nice on TV I noticed Cofidis’s Amaël Moinard in the breakaway, and that he had an SRM meter on his bike. In case you didn’t know the SRM system measures the watts produced by a rider with a pair of cranks that have been modified with strain guages, plus a … Read more