SMART CYCLING LAB
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A passion for everything cycling
“Hi, I’m Greg Boileau — Masters National Champion and author of Smart Training for Cyclists. I help cyclists at every level ride smarter, build lasting power, and perform with precision — with a special focus on unlocking performance after 40.”
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Read more: Fast Today vs Fast When It MattersA Calpe Reality Check for Riders at Every Level If you want to understand how athletes really train, go to Calpe in November. The roads are full of every type of cyclist: It’s a living ecosystem of training philosophies — good, bad, and delusional. And here’s the truth I learned: Most riders swear they’re riding…
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Read more: The Science of SteadyHow Real Endurance Is Built — SMART Rider Series, Part 2 Last time, in Base: Where Slow Becomes Fast, we explored why patient base work builds the foundation for every season that follows. Now, in Part 2, we move beyond patience and into precision — the difference between logging hours and creating adaptation. Ride Slow…
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Read more: BASE: Where Slow Becomes FastThe Forgotten Art of Building the Engine — SMART Rider Edition Part 1 Most riders know how to train hard. Few know how to train smart when the season’s over. The base season — that quiet stretch between rest and rebuild — is where champions are made, even if nobody’s watching. It’s when the ambitious…
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Read more: Masters Misguided: Why Older Athletes Need More Rest, Not More IntensityEvery fall, the same message starts circulating through Masters cycling circles: “You can’t afford to take too much time off.” The reasoning sounds logical — “Older athletes lose fitness faster,” “it’s harder to rebuild base after 40,” or “you need to keep the engine running.” It’s become an accepted truth in modern endurance culture: that…
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Read more: Why the Smartest Cyclists Rest When Everyone Else TrainsEvery fall, the same conversation starts circling through group rides and coaching groups: “Don’t take too much time off.” Some programs even claim the off-season is where you “get ahead,” or that you can only afford one real break a year if you want to keep progressing. It sounds logical. It feels productive. But it’s…
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Read more: Durability Wins Races — The Untapped Power After FTPWhy the real advantage starts when your FTP stops working. The Race That Taught Me What Really Wins It was the final lap of the 2025 Canadian Masters National Road Race — an attritional day stacked with climbs, heat, and surges that felt more like trench warfare than sport. By the third hour, everyone was…
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Read more: Building the Launch Pad: My System for 2026From the Lab Series Recap In Part 1 — FTP Isn’t a Ceiling, It’s a Launch Pad, I challenged the idea that FTP is a finish line. It’s not a number to hold — it’s a system to launch from. That post reframed performance as metabolic integration: the ability to surge, clear, and sustain above…
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Read more: The FTP Paradox: When Higher Isn’t BetterPart 2 The Pursuit of “More” Every cyclist wants to see that FTP number climb. 330. 340. 350. It’s intoxicating. But after years of chasing it, I discovered the hard truth: sometimes, more power on paper means less power in the race. In 2021–2022, my FTP was testing around 335–340W, and I felt strong —…
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Read more: FTP Isn’t a Ceiling — It’s a Launch PadPart 1 The Ceiling Myth For most riders, FTP is the number. The one they test, brag about, and chase like a badge of identity. But the more I trained and tested, the clearer it became: FTP isn’t a ceiling — it’s a launch pad. When I used to train to FTP — building up…
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Read more: How Pogačar Won Worlds: Smart Cycling Lessons from an 8.6 W/kg BreakawayThe Rainbow Repeat Tadej Pogačar didn’t just win the 2025 World Championships — he dominated them. On a course stacked with over 5,000 meters of climbing at 1,400–1,800 meters elevation, he attacked on the final climb of Mont Kigali, producing an estimated 8.6 W/kg (≈ 554 W) for three minutes, then held near-threshold power for…