Tag: Road Racing
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The Lactate Clearance Secret
Why Some Cyclists Can Attack Again and Again While Others Explode There are secrets in cycling. No, I’m not talking about doping. Every time someone mentions “secrets” in endurance sports, that’s where people’s minds immediately go. What I’m talking about are the things that the best riders understand, either consciously or unconsciously, that many cyclists…
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Power Is Not Absolute
Why Watts Scale to the Athlete—and Why Cycling Still Gets It Wrong There’s a persistent myth in cycling that refuses to die: “Bigger riders are faster on the flats because they produce more power.” It sounds like physics. It isn’t. There is no law of physics—none—that says higher absolute watts make you faster without considering…
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Experience Doesn’t Mean Your Training Makes Sense
Most training mistakes aren’t made by beginners. They’re made by experienced cyclists doing what feels familiar, disciplined, and responsible. The problem isn’t a lack of knowledge. It’s that experience creates confidence — and confidence creates momentum. And momentum can carry you in the wrong direction for a very long time. Experience teaches you how to…
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Fast Today vs Fast When It Matters
A 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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The Science of Steady
How 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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Masters Misguided: Why Older Athletes Need More Rest, Not More Intensity
Every 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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Why the Smartest Cyclists Rest When Everyone Else Trains
Every 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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Building the Launch Pad: My System for 2026
From 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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The FTP Paradox: When Higher Isn’t Better
Part 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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Surge and Clear: The Smart Rider’s Secret Weapon
How the ability to recover while riding hard wins races — not FTP There’s a reason I felt stronger than ever at Road Nationals this year. It wasn’t just because I’d built a solid FTP or spent months riding tempo. It was because I’d learned how to surge and clear — to attack, settle, and…