Post Ride Cafe

Episode Topics:

Sam and Aaron share their ride of the week. They also continue their team breakdowns with Cofidis, Solutions Credits and Israel Start-Up Nation

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam: 80 Miles, 2800 Ft

Aaron: 220 Miles, 6500 Ft

Ride of the Week:

Sam - Freshies San Juan; 40 Miles, 2100

Aaron - Pushing It, 5 hours Deep; 87 Miles, 4100

Pro Cycling News:

Cyclingnews.com - Froome looking at possible mid season transfer

Everesting - Gaimon, US National XC MTB Champion potentially breaks that record just a few days later. Buchmann also everested for charity. Cavendish and Rowe did a virtual everest.

Topic of the Week:

Cofidis, Solutions Credits

2019 Stats

PCS Rank 17th (3629 pts), Same as 2018

20 Victories: 1 WT, 1 GT Stage

2018 Comparison: 21 Victories, 1 GT Stage

Key 2020 Wins

Tour des Alpes Stage 1and GC - Anthony Perez (pinot, clarke, storer, bardet in top 10)

La Tropicale Amissa Bongo Stage 1 - Atilio Viviani

Team Identity: Appear to be WT but only Pro Conti, Stages

Key Signings: E Viviani, G Martin, J Vermote

Key Losses: N Bouhanni

Key Riders: E Viviani, J Herrada, G Martin

Young Riders?

Attilio Viviani (23)

Schaal Sels Merksem / Johan Museeuw Classic: 1st

Damien Touze (23)

National Championships France - RR: 3rd

Personal thoughts on the Team

Main Topics:

Finally a WT team. How long will they last?

Bouhanni leaves, Cofidis fault or just a time bomb?

J Herrada, G Martin

Can Viviani win at his previous level?

Better or Worse than 2019?

Israel Start-Up Nation

2019 Stats

PCS Rank 16th (3659 pts), up 8 from 2018

29 Victories: 0 WT

2018 Comparison: 15 Victories, 0 WT

Key 2020 Wins

Le Samyn - Hofstetter

Stage 1 Vuelta a San Juan - Barbier

Team Identity: Stages, Sprints?

Key Signings: The Gorilla, D Martin, Absorbed Most of Katusha Alpecin Squad (N Politt, D Navarro, A Dowsett)

Key Losses: ???

Key Riders: D Martin, N Politt

Young Riders?

No

Personal Thoughts on the Team

Main Topics:

How will the team handle the WT pressure?

Team is about 50:50 age split.

No Marquee rider leaves an open racing style

Better or Worse than 2019?

Race Coverage:

Takeaways -

Next Week Preview:

Team Sunweb and Groupama-FDJ

Episode Topics:

Strava...Stats of the Week

Ride of the Week

2020 WT Calendar Announced

Egan says he will not sacrifice himself for Froome or Thomas at the Tour de France

Team Primer: CCC Team

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam: 82 Miles, 4500 Ft

Aaron: 170 Miles, 6450 Ft

Ride of the Week:

Saturday Sedona Ride

Pro Cycling News:

Leaked WT Calendar ended up being real

Egan Bernal: Wont sacrifice his chances for Froome or Thomas at TdF. Hes in it to win.

Topic of the Week:

CCC Team

2019 Stats

PCS Rank 20th (3199 pts), down 12 from 2018

6 Victories: 2 WT, (G Van Avermaet, GP Cycliste de Montreal; P Bevin, Santos TDU Stage 2)

2018 Comparison: 23 Victories, 14 WT

Team Identity: GVA. In search of one

Key Signings: M Trentin, I Zakarin

Key Losses: L Ten Dam

Key Riders: G Van Avermaet, M Trentin, I Zakarin

Personal Thoughts on the Team

Main Topics:

L Ten Dam retired?!? Always been a fan of his since i first started watching cycling. Rabobank Squad

Can CCC find an identity? Will the new recruits bring a spark

M Trentin is a great addition, what will his goals be?

I Zakurin, Can never live up to expectations, what is he looking to do at CCC

GVA isnt getting any younger (34). Can he have a solid year? Obviously he is capable but does he have the squad support he dearly missed last year?

Young Riders?

Attila Valter (21)

National Championships Hungary (ITT): 1st; Tour de Hongrie: 3rd GC; Belgrade Banjaluka: 3rd GC; Istarsko Proljece - Istrian Spring Trophy: 2nd GC; Baltyk - Karkonosze Tour: 2nd GC

Szymon Sajnok (22)

La Vuelta ciclista a Espana: Stage 21: 3rd, Stage 14: 10th, Stage 6: 6th, Stage 3: 9th; Bredene Koksijde Classic: 4th; Danilith Nokere Koerse: 11th

Better or Worse than 2019?

Next Week Preview:

Team Primer: Cofidis, Solutions Credits

Episode Topics:

Strava...Stats of the Week

Ride of the Week

Possible WT Calendar Leak

Team Primer: NTT Pro Cycling

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam: 65 Miles, 2900 Ft

Aaron: 188 Miles, 5400 Ft

Ride of the Week:

Sam - Climbs, no KoMs

Aaron -

Pro Cycling News:

Cycling News: https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/robert-gesink-the-five-races-that-changed-my-life/ (Robert Gesink: The five races that changed my life)

Dont want to go too deep here but just mention Gesink comes across as really likeable and human. Excellent spotlight for him. One thing this lack of racing has done is bring some more spotlight on riders big and small.

Leaked World Tour Calendar

Possible overlap of Giro final week and opening Vuelta week

Some Classics (Liege, Amstel, Flanders during Giro) Paris-Roubaix during Vuelta.

TdF mostly alone. Only Tirreno is during. Id rather have a trident!

Topic of the Week:

NTT Pro Cycling

2019 Stats

PCS Rank 24th (2865 pts), Down 3 from 2018

7 Victories: 1 WT, (E Boasson Hagen, Criterium du Dauphine)

2018 Comparison: 7 Victories: 2 WT, 2 GT Stages

Team Identity: Slip through the cracks, Stages

Key Signings: V Campenaerts, D Pozzovivo

Key Losses: M Cavendish, B Eisel, L Bak, M Renshaw, S Cummings, J Vermote

Key Riders: V Campenaerts, E Boasson Hagen, R Kreuziger, L Meintjes, M Valgren

Personal Opinion of the Team

Main Topics:

Bjarne Riis joins the team as part owner and Team Manager

Now that Cavendish isnt warping the team, will they flourish?

Can Boasson Hagen get that elusive Tour sprint victory again?

What will Campenaerts get out of this team? Is he just a TT Rider?

Can Meintjes live up to the hype?

Young Riders?

Samuele Battistella (21)

U23 World Championships: 1st RR; Tour de Limpopo (2.2): 1st; Giro del Belvedere (1.2U): 1st

Andreas Stokbro (22)

U23 Ronde Van Vlaanderen: 1st

Better or Worse than 2019?

Sam - 3 WT wins

Aaron - 4 WT wins

Race Coverage:

Takeaways -

Next Week Preview:

Team Primer: CCC Team

Episode Topics: Recovery and Training Conclusions

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam: 76 Miles. 3400 Ft

Aaron: 134 Miles, 4200 Ft

Ride of the Week:

Sam - Silent Sunday + Friends - 29 Miles 2646 ft

Aaron - Flagstaff Gravel - 20 Miles 1500 ft

Pro Cycling News:

Digital Swiss 5: How does Rouvy compare to Bkool?

Deuceunick extends sponsorship

Italy allowing riding starting May 4th

Topic of the Week: Recovery and Training Conclusions

Let’s sum up the last couple weeks on training/recovery and our takeaways. I think the first major thing to remember is any plan can always be adjusted based on your goals, ability and amount of time you have. For myself adding the extra day of a Z1 spin turned out to be just too much, I really need those 2 rest days per week. Within the last 3 weeks I’ve done my usual 5 days, a 6 day and back to 5 day and noticed significantly less fatigue in the 5 day weeks. Possibly my body can get used to 6 days but riding nearly 200 miles weekly at 5 days and not being an amateur or professional racer I don’t find it necessary.

With that said here are a couple other things I wanted to touch on. Training by cadence is the first. This can be used as a recovery, as a normal ride activity or interval training. The major purpose of this is relying more on your cardio and putting less stress on your legs. The idea behind this is if you start going out for long rides or are putting multiple days of training or racing in a row you’ll want to limit the fatigue in your legs.

High-Cadence RecoveryAs with a standard recovery workout, high cadence recovery will help you recuperate from hard workouts and provide you with active rest. In addition, it will enhance your ability to pedal at higher cadences.

Total Workout Time: 30 to 60 minutes

Warm-up: None, the entire ride is done at an easy pace except for the high cadence spin-ups.

Terrain: As flat as possible.

Gearing: An easy gear that can be pedaled at 90-95 rpm in Zone 1.

Training Zone: 1 – 65-75% of Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR) or <55% of Functional Threshold Power (FTP).

RPM: 90-95 with 105-120 rpm for the high cadence spin-ups.

Cool Down: None. The effort should not be hard enough to require a cool-down.

High-Cadence SpinningTotal Workout Time: 60 to 120 minutes

Warm-up: 15 minutes

Terrain: Relatively flat with a few rolling hills.

Gearing: Use a gear that allows you to train in Zone 2 at a cadence of 90 to 95 rpm.

Training Zone: 2 – 75-85% of LTHR or 56-75% of FTP.

RPM: 90 to 95 with 110 to 125 rpm for the high cadence spin-ups.

Cool Down: 10 minutes

Cadence IntervalsTotal Workout Time: 75-90 minutes

Warm-up: 20 minutes

Terrain: Relatively flat, low traffic road.

Gearing: A gear that allows you to maintain a cadence of 100-110 rpm during the intervals.

The Workout: 3 x 10 min with 5 min recovery between hard efforts.

Training Zone: 3 (85-98% of LTHR or 76-90% of FTP)

RPM: 100-110 during intervals; 90 during recovery

Cool Down: 10 minutes

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/3-high-cadence-cycling-workouts-base-training/ (https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/3-high-cadence-cycling-workouts-base-training/)

Elevate Browser Plugin:

One more quick thing I’d like to add is a program I enjoy using myself for training called Elevate, which is a Strava plugin for your internet browser. It’s free, loaded with data and they are currently in the process of making it a standalone app. What does it do? You can plug in your HR zones, height, weight etc and It will compile all of your Strava activities to show things like your current fatigue...

Episode Topics: Strava...Stats of the Week, Tour de France Update, Contador opens up about the 2009 TdF, Main Topic: Training

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam - 48 Miles, 1800 Ft

Aaron - 180 Miles, 7600 Ft

Ride of the Week:

Sam - Almost Quit - Castle 4

Aaron - Silent Sundy SoMo

Pro Cycling News:

TDF Reschedule August 29 - September 20, no change to WC and other 2 GT’s supposed to be raced after along with the Classics

TdF 2009 Drama Rehash - Contador goes on a podcast and talks about riding with Lance in the tour. Was one of the first races I ever watched and I didn't really understand how much of a shitshow it really was.

Topic of the Week: Training

I think a proper follow up to recovery is training because they go hand in hand. Not properly hydrating early in the week or a race will be felt in the days to come and the same goes with overexertion. I’m getting more serious in this area and have been mixing in proper flat/climbing intervals along with varied intensity/distance. The TrainRight articles below do a much better job of getting in depth explanations for the training plans and variety of efforts; I will say my 5 day wasn’t far off from theirs.

Aaron: Typically I ride 5 days a week that usually looks like this:

Monday - Off/Light Recovery, Stretching, Yoga

Tuesday - Climbing, hill repeats or whatever I can find - Strength Training

Wednesday - Medium/Long Ride, not full effort

Thursday - Longer Ride at a good effort

Friday - Off/Light Recovery, Stretching, Yoga

Saturday - Medium/Long Ride, not full effort

Sunday - High Intensity, usually a group ride or climbing day

Sam: I tried to ride 2-3 days a week. Typically one hard week on the weekend. My weekday rides are usually built around zone 2, intervals, or mountain climbing.

https://trainright.com/short-intervals-improve-performance/ (https://trainright.com/short-intervals-improve-performance/)

30:15 intervals (3 sets of 13 x 30 second max RPE efforts with 15 seconds recovery between efforts and 3 minutes between sets) yielded greater real-world performance improvements than 5-minute intervals (4 x 5-minutes at max RPE with 2.5 minutes of recovery between efforts)

= Increase of 5% power

https://trainright.com/cycling-training-plan-by-week/ (https://trainright.com/cycling-training-plan-by-week/)

Tips for Non-Standard Weeks and to Maximize Limited Training Time:

Schedule the highest-priority workouts directly after a rest day. Note, I didn’t automatically say “the hardest”. Typically this applies to the highest-intensity interval workouts in the week, but if you are not doing hard intervals it can also apply to the longest moderate-intensity endurance days.

Create blocks that start with the highest intensity first. If you have a three-day or two-day block in the week, schedule high-intensity workouts on the first day of the block so you (See #1), and then step down so the “easiest” workout is on the last day of the block.

Consistency is crucial, but so are big days. Six one-hour rides per week is consistent, but it’s hard to make substantial progress because you can only generate so much training stress in 60 minutes. Rearranging that time to three two-hour rides or one three hour ride and three one-hour rides all still add up to 6 hours/week, but concentrating workload can be an effective way to amplify the effect on your fitness.

Progress to more advanced block training. Speaking of amplification, there are benefits for some athletes to schedule hard workouts on back-to-back days. And some athletes may need to train four days in a row because of their

Episode Topics:

Recovery and 2002 Paris Roubaix Re-watch

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Sam's Ep013 Correction: Morkov was never on Sunweb. I think him being in the national championship jersey looks so close to the Sunweb jersey I got confused. He was on Saxo-Bank which makes sense now.

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Aaron - 194.4mi 6,195ft

Sam - 99.1mi 3,812ft

Ride of the Week:

Sam - 62.74 mi 3,081 ft

Aaron - Fountain Hills Metric - 62.72 mi 2,944 ft

Pro Cycling News:

Topic of the Week: Recovery

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/7-best-tips-to-help-you-recover-after-a-cycling-race/ (https://health.clevelandclinic.org/7-best-tips-to-help-you-recover-after-a-cycling-race/)

https://fascatcoaching.com/tips/recovery/ (https://fascatcoaching.com/tips/recovery/)

https://www.bicyclestore.com.au/blog/how-does-lactic-acid-affect-your-cycling-effort/ (https://www.bicyclestore.com.au/blog/how-does-lactic-acid-affect-your-cycling-effort/)

Stretches with yoga strap - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHFu_Thx0MQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHFu_Thx0MQ)

Cool Down Spin - Started doing this more often. I like to stop the Strava the last mile and spin out my legs after a ride. This helps get fresh blood in and metabolic waste out. You also want to continue to move once you are off the bike to avoid your muscles from tightening up.

Nutrition, Hydration and Protein - We like to call it “recovery water” which is a magnesium water mix which can be made very cheaply. That helps with the lactic acid and your sleep. Along with that typically will have a protein shake, carbs and usually a meal high in protein/vegetables.

'Recovery Water' Recipe: 2L Bottle (Chilled) of Seltzer Water or Club Soda and 90mL of Milk of Magnesia. Slowly remove the 2L bottle out of refrigerator and open the lide. Pour Milk of Magnesia into the bottle and replace cap. Shake. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and then reshake. Should see the bottle "suck in" a little. Should have little to no milky residue at the bottom of bottle when settled.

Massage, Rollout, Stretch - A massage would be nice but we aren’t pros. So a combination of a foam roller, massage balls to pinpoint tight spots and a yoga strap are good tools to stretch.

Rest - I’m not a great nap taker but this is always a good idea, barring that a full night's sleep to aid in recovery.

Recovery Ride - Maybe the hardest for me personally just because it is hard to not push myself. Ideally an hour or so ride in Z1 or Z2 just to keep the legs moving.

Race Coverage:

In honor of potential rain, rewatch of 2002 Paris Roubaix (100th edition)

Matt White interview pre-race looks and sounds exactly the same, never knew he was on usps. Group of 30+ goes clear at the start of the race. Nobody expected Boonen to last, pressure on Hincapie. Boonen burying himself for Hincapie chasing down Museeuw, cool to see looking back at the changing of the guard in action; Boonen 21 and Museeuw 36.

Takeaways - Hard to say you should support someone in their 1st year as a team leader but Boonen may have won without having to do so much work on his own. Museeuw had mentioned this being his last year but ended up riding 2 more and named Boonen his successor. Boonen also made the smart move to leave USPS after this year and join Quickstep who could give him support in the classics.

Next Week Preview: ???

Episode Topics: Sam and Aaron do a Metric Century, Domestique Week, BKool Virtual Ronde Van Vlaanderen

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam - 97 miles 3,970 ft

Aaron - 163 5,243 ft

Ride of the Week:

Sam - “Bartlett Lake Metric” 62.77 2,169 ft

Aaron - “Classics style wind - It pays to have a good domestique” 64 miles 2,172 ft

Pro Cycling News:

Domestique week

Mikel Nieve voted by cycling news readers top domestique and riders vote Tim Declercq - Interesting that while both deserve it they are different styles of riders. Nieve a climber and Declercq who specializes in long pulls on the flats

What is a domestique? What attributes do they have? Where do we or the listeners fall into the domestique category?

Netflix: Movistar The Unexpected Day. Final Thoughts

Race Coverage:

GVA Wins VIrtual Ronde Van Vlaanderen

Ridden on the BKool platform with 14 riders including evenepoel, matthews, stuyven, wva, gva, de gendt, naesen. GVA admitted it wasn’t the real thing but a nice bit of entertainment and training. The initial stream I was watching was pretty unwatchable but I have to say I did enjoy the coverage and commentary on the incycle stream so shoutout to them. Sidenote Matthews has a mechanical during the virtual race saying his gears got stuck and was forced to stop.

Takeaways - Kind of a mixed bag. Leading up to the race to the race De Gendt joked that hopefully the BKool system could handle his power after being pulled from a zwift race after putting out “more than realistic power” on one of their races. I personally think it shows the difference between real racing by pros and virtual racing in its current form. It will be interesting to see if the Rouvy system builds on the two during their virtual tour de suisse. The realistic mapping overlays seems like a big bonus for creating a more all encompassing experience.

Next Week Preview:

Aaron: “We have to cover recovery”

Episode Topics:

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347 (https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347)

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453 (https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453)

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam - 79 mi, 5377 climbing feet

Aaron - 187 mi, 7234 climbing feet

Ride of the Week:

Sam - “Castle 4 z2” 35 mi, 1500 ft

Aaron - “PV Climbing”

Pro Cycling News:

Tour de France decision set for May 12th

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/velon-teams-create-digital-esport-race-series/ (Velon teams create digital eSport race series)April 22-26th, 5 hr, 3 man teams, ‘Digital Swiss 5’, All Velon teams plus every team invited that was due to attend real races. Some Cameras on riders faces.

Inside the Movistar Team 2019

https://www.netflix.com/title/81130094

Eat. Race. Win.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7985540/

Race Coverage:

Topic of the Week: How to pace a climb, pace yourself

How to pace a climb:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aRlu64SEfw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aRlu64SEfw)

To me it comes down to the length of the climb and how you are going to ride it: out of the saddle, seated, high cadence/low. There could be different reasons for each depending on what you are trying to accomplish and your abilities. If it’s very steep I try to stay seated and pace myself unless it’s short then I think faster is the way to go. Likely that will involve getting out of the saddle which will take more energy so not something you want to do very long...unless your contador.

We kind of got into a higher cadence style of climbing a few years back and it has been beneficial. It really started from z2 training to help build a base where you can gradually up your avg speed while keeping a lower heart rate as you progress in your training. Applying that to climbing lets you use less power to go the same speed which results ideally in lower energy being spent and therefore lasting longer.

https://trainright.com/climb-hills-faster-3-workouts/ (https://trainright.com/climb-hills-faster-3-workouts/)

The next article breaks down some training for the 3 types they break down: rolling hills, long climbs and the wall.

Rolling Hills:

Momentum and shifting are the keys to thriving in rolling hills. Pedal moderately on the downhill to gain speed and shift gears as you go up the next roller to keep your feet moving at least 80 rpm. Try to resist the temptation to ride the whole hill in the big gear you are in at the base; that’ll work on the first few hills but not all day long.

Long Climbs:

Start a long climb at a conservative pace so you have energy for the steep sections and energy for the last few kilometers. In reality you’re not likely to actually speed up toward the top; you’ll just slow down less. The end result, however, is that you’re likely to complete the entire climb at a faster overall pace (lower elapsed time) because slowing at the top is where athletes lose a ton of time.

The Wall:

Because of the grade and the resistance your cadence is going to fall, probably below 70rpm. But you have to achieve a balance between over-gearing (which drives your cadence even lower and causes you to bog down) and spinning (which will cause you to lose momentum). These hills are a good opportunity to use your body weight by climbing out of the saddle, especially since they tend to be short enough that you can reach the top before fatiguing.

Next Week Preview:

How to recover from all this climbing

Episode Topics:

First week without racing, core workouts and importance for cycling.

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam - 46.8mi, 951 climbing ft

Aaron - 102.5 mi, 2953 climbing feet

Ride of the Week:

Sam - “Sunday Chill Ride” 36 mi, 741 ft

Aaron - “Going Up” 32 mi, 1545

Topic of the Week:

How are teams and riders coping with Covid-19:

Thomas de Gendt https://twitter.com/DeGendtThomas/status/1240711696320208900 (Tour de Quarantine video)

Oliver Naesen does https://sporza.be/nl/2020/03/19/oliver-naesen-na-365-km-en-3-berlijnse-bollen-de-spiegeltest-is-nog-oke~1584610618004/ (365km ride).

How have we been coping with Covid-19?

Core Strength and why it matters

If you want to extend your distance, you need to increase your core strength

Fatigue leads to sloppy form and more pressure on the saddle; formation of saddle sores.

Translate power on climbs.

https://cyklopedia.cc/cycling-tips/core-exercises-for-cyclists/

Good article on explaining core importance and not having a 6 pack doesn’t necessarily translate into not having a strong cycling core. The main function related to cycling is to stabilize and transfer power to your lower/upper body. I find this particularly important in climbing so you are not rocking all over the bike and therefore using less energy; keeping proper form leads to better results.

Some exercises I personally like are similar to the mountain climber and bird dog in the above article where you can start from a plank and bring your knee to your chest or outside elbow if you are in more of a down dog position. Another is a simple leg lift and lower. Slow pace is the key to the exercises and you will really feel the difference.

People to follow for inspiration:

https://www.instagram.com/kateplusfate (https://www.instagram.com/kateplusfate)

https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

Next Week Preview:

More cycling workouts and hopefully some inspirational riding while we can!

Episode Topics:

Classics style racing and super-teams meet for Paris Nice.

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/ (https://www.instagram.com/postridecafe/)

https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe (https://twitter.com/PostRideCafe)

Strava:

Aaron - https://www.strava.com/athletes/777347

Sam - https://www.strava.com/athletes/150453

Strava…..Stats of the week!

Sam - 43 miles, 1000ft

Aaron - 180 miles, 4900ft

Ride of the Week:

Sam - Sunday neighborhood add on ride 43 miles, 1000ft

Aaron - Monday prepping for rain 65 miles, 2200ft

Pro Cycling News:

Race Coverage:

Paris Nice

Stage 1 - Echelons create a split in the race including 5 Sunweb riders doing no work. Barguil spends a massive amount of time coming back to the race behind the team car and seems to be calling it a day but continues behind the car (later disqualified). Benoot and Alaphillipe initiate proceedings with 30km to go and the peloton finally wakes up to bring the gap down going into the final climb. Tuens and Schachmann go in pursuit of the two leaders which brings the group of 4 together. Schachmann closes down the gap to Alaphilippe and Benoot and eventually takes the stage win.

Stage 2 - Sagan leads out Schachmann for 3 sec time bonus. Echelons split the peloton around 30k and shortly after a crash by Nairo and flat by Alaphilippe. 2 main groups form with Schachmann, Nibali and Higuita in the front group. Around 10k Sagan hits the front and further splits the group. Sunweb tactics? They had 4 in the front group and sent back 3 to help Benoot. Sagan does the lead but but Nizzolo comes around Ackerman for the win

Stage 3 - Headwinds. A few minor crashes but action starts around 12k where teams look to split and make the race harder. Crash at 6k and Alaphilippe goes to the front to make it harder. Crash in the final 500 taking out Ewan and Bennett by Hofstetter. Sagan in perfect p2 but couldn’t make an attempt to come around Cortina who wins. Sagan I will say looking stronger these last few days and doing a good amount of work.

Stage 4 - TT. Impressive win by Kragh Andersen. Biggest takeaways though are Schacmann a close 5 seconds in 2nd and how much time he’s put into his rivals; looking like the start of a great stage racer. That and Higuita only conceding 46 seconds putting him better than the main GC riders (Nibali, Pinot, Nairo, showing he can do a decent TT despite his size and knowing he can climb. Disappointing for Alaphilippe at 36 seconds back coming in as a favorite for the stage. Not bad for Porte at 34”.

Stage 5 - Breakaway can they stay away? Tejay goes home for fear of flights to the US being cancelled. Tratnik from the break takes them to the line...almost. He’s caught within the last 100 by the bunch and Bonifazio takes the sprint.

Stage 6 - Kragh Anderson in the lead group and appeared to be going for yellow. Peloton reels it back near the end of the 2nd to last climb. Benoot and Nibali attack the peloton but Benoot is too strong and drops Nibali. Benoot catches up with Anderson who gives him one token pull and he goes solo. Peloton behind is not really working together. Splits happen and as they come back together no one really wants to do any work. In the end Benoot takes a solo win and the main competitors come in together with very little time gaps. Higuita secures a podium spot overtaking Andersons slot.

Stage 7 - The queen stage. This came down to the final climb as expected but at least in recent years an unexpected attacker, Nairo makes a move around 3.5k that is never brought back. Benoot makes the next decisive attack just over 1k to go and ends up gaining 12 seconds on Schacmann who does everything he can to hold on to the overall. Good to see Benoot and Schacmann clearly going deep as 2 riders that aren’t 100% known as stage or gc riders.

Takeaways -

What a difference a lack of...