Qualifying for the Olympics is an interesting and complicated process that sees pro racers adjust their training and race calendars in unique ways that us amateur cyclists can learn from. This week we talk to Clif Pro Team’s Sofía Gomez Villafañe and Russell Finsterwald about how they have worked through their roles in the olympic qualification process as well how they prepared for an early season race in the heat of Puerto Rico, why and how power data from off road races can be so low, and how to level up technical skill.

Sofía's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sofithevilla

Russell's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finsty

Russell's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM7R4JQRjE14X1uIBt9ExRw

Clif Pro Team's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clifproteam

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TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE

0:00​ Intro
2:20​ The complicated process of how to qualify for the Olympics
7:04​ How Russell adjusted his season to collect Olympic points for his country
15:56​ Russell’s heat adaptation protocol for Puerto Rico
22:45​ How Russell managed expectations and his race plan at Pan-American Games
25:19​ How Sofía adjusted her expectations after sub-par sensations mid-race
How Sofía has been building toward the Olympics over 4 years
Sofía’s journey from Cat 1 to Olympic hopeful
34:02​ Why is power so low from MTB and off-road races, and why it still feels so hard
42:14​ How to raise your power in an MTB race
How to increase efficiency in cross-country racing
50:30​ How to build MTB skills quickly
56:36​ How to mentally approach technical terrain

 

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