The Cycling Brief

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This week it’s a meander through some performance-related topics like coaching, marginal gains, performance teams, training load, and more with Simon Jones. Don’t know who that is - I’m sure if you’ve been a fan of cycling for any time, you know a rider or a team he’s worked with - with a performance career in cycling for over 25 years there isn’t much he hasn’t done.

And I will jump in with a few of his roles in high-performance in a moment but one thing that was nice about talking to Simon was when you have someone that has been around for so long (sorry if that makes you sound old Simon). But when you’re around long enough, you’ve seen many things come and go - so it was nice to hear what he prioritizes in coaching and cycling performance. And it’s not what you might first think when you hear he was Head of Performance Support and Innovation at Team Sky.

But just so we’re clear on Simon’s experience, he started out as a sports science graduate from Cardiff University and became a Sports Scientist with British Cycling just months later. He would go on to coach the Great Briton team pursuit riders through several Olympic cycles before taking up a job managing the Western Australia Institute of Sport, then moving to Team Sky, before his last role as AusCycling Performance Director for the last Olympic cycle.

Guest panelist:

Simon Jones

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonjones5/

The podcast co-hosts:

Jason Boynton, Ph.D.

boyntoncoaching.com

Damian Ruse

semiprocycling.com

Cyrus Monk

cyclistscientist.com

Instagram: @cyclingperformanceclub

Facebook: @cyclingperformanceclub

Twitter: @cyclingclubpod

LinkedIn: The Cycling Performance Club Podcast

References:

Is WorldTour Racing Actually Getting Harder?

https://beyondthepeloton.substack.com/p/is-top-level-racing-actually-getting?fbclid=IwAR2f13_oQKAcEFztN0lLpkEDVSxZ2EQJ9qfqI7-nFel7YFdNGUXEKCYOEEw

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

Follow this link to take the listener Survey: Take the Survey

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https://forms.gle/dCkiBuWDSdetwquH8

In this part two on critical power (CP) we continue our conversation with Jason Bartram and cover W’ and W’ balance. Additionally, we consider what the CP metrics can realistically add to your cycling performance and coaching practice. And… it might actually surprise you what Jason’s (JB’s) takeaways are for these measures, after studying them for 7+ years and coaching cyclists at the elite level.

Jason Bartram, PhDc is the former Australian National Women’s Track Team coach, former sports scientist for AusCycling and the Australian Institute of Sport, and current PhD candidate studying critical power, W’, and W’ balance in elite track athletes. 

Guest panelist:

Jason Bartram, PhDc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-bartram/

The podcast co-hosts:

Jason Boynton, Ph.D.

boyntoncoaching.com

Damian Ruse

semiprocycling.com

Cyrus Monk

cyclistscientist.com

Instagram: @cyclingperformanceclub

Facebook: @cyclingperformanceclub

Twitter: @cyclingclubpod

LinkedIn: The Cycling Performance Club Podcast

References:

Accuracy of W′ Recovery Kinetics in High Performance Cyclists—Modeling Intermittent Work Capacity

https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/13/6/article-p724.xml

Validating an Adjustment to the Intermittent Critical Power Model for Elite Cyclists—Modeling W′ Balance During World Cup Team Pursuit Performances

https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/aop/article-10.1123-ijspp.2020-0444/article-10.1123-ijspp.2020-0444.xml

A comparative analysis of critical power models in elite road cyclists

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665944121000171

The W′ Balance Model: Mathematical and Methodological Considerations

https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/16/11/article-p1561.xml

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

Follow this link to take the listener Survey: Take the Survey

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Is there a better measure of threshold for cyclists out there than FTP? Yes! We think there is. Welcome to the world of critical power (CP), W’, and W’ balance- truly science-based measures related to the “anaerobic” threshold.

While the advantages of CP over FTP are many, its determination is a bit more complicated than 95% of your 20-minute power. Because of this, we have brought CP expert, Jason Bartram, onto the show to help facilitate this two-part conversation about the best practice for utilizing CP in your cycling training and coaching. In this episode, we focus mainly on CP and the power duration curve.

Jason Bartram, PhDc is the former Australian National Women’s Track Team coach, former sports scientist for AusCycling and the Australian Institute of Sport, and current PhD candidate studying critical power, W’, and W’ balance in elite track athletes. 

Guest panelist:

Jason Bartram, PhDc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-bartram/

The podcast co-hosts:

Jason Boynton, Ph.D.

boyntoncoaching.com

Damian Ruse

semiprocycling.com

Cyrus Monk

cyclistscientist.com

Instagram: @cyclingperformanceclub

Facebook: @cyclingperformanceclub

Twitter: @cyclingclubpod

LinkedIn: The Cycling Performance Club Podcast

References:

Predicting Critical Power in Elite Cyclists: Questioning the Validity of the 3-Minute All-Out Test

https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/12/6/article-p783.xml

Relative Proximity of Critical Power and Metabolic/Ventilatory Thresholds: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-020-01314-8

The Physiological Basis of Athletic Records

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-020-01314-8

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

Dr. Paolo Menaspà is the current Chief Science Officer at the Australian Institute of Sport and has had a long and interesting career in the world of high-performance. Previously, he worked as the Head of Performance Solutions at AusCycling, was a performance manager and coach for Team BikeExchange and the Australian National Team, and a sport scientist and coach at Sport Service Mapei. 

We discuss with Paolo what it means to be a generalist; how his role as a generalist and solutions provider has helped improve the performance of elite and world-class cyclists; the skill set needed to work in high-performance sport; and how his passion for cycling, and passions outside the sport, influenced his career path and practice.

Podcast co-hosts:

Jason Boynton, Ph.D.

boyntoncoaching.com

Damian Ruse

semiprocycling.com

Cyrus Monk

cyclistscientist.com

Instagram: @cyclingperformanceclub

Facebook: @cyclingperformanceclub

Twitter: @cyclingclubpod

Podcast recommendation from Paolo:

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

The performance mind may be touted as the last frontier of human performance - but what we’re talking about today has nothing to do with the exploration of the various factors that affect endurance and how much -- or how little -- we know about each of them.

Today it’s all about concrete insights by doing an inventory of your mental strengths and weaknesses and then using some recommended tools and skills to improve your mental performance in two ways - one, make your bad days less bad and two, make your good days more gooder or I should, better.

Because if we’re talking about longevity which is how I see people get to their potential - no shortcuts - what you do on the bad days matters more than the good days. Meaning, what you do when you don’t feel like it - when everything seems hard - matters more to the ultimate outcome of performance than what you do when it’s easy.

And your mental state plays a key role in that.

Show Sponsor:

• For a limited time, Hammerhead has an incredible deal - buy a Karoo 2 at hammerhead.io/trade and get up to $170 when you trade in your current cycling computer.
• That’s a rebate of up to $170 when you trade up to a Karoo 2 from Hammerhead, and trade in your current cycling computer, only for a limited time.
• This offer won’t last long and it’s only available at hammerhead.io/trade, so don’t wait to trade in and trade up to a Karoo 2 today and get up to $170 off your purchase. That’s hammerhead.io/trade to get your trade started today.

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

This is a bonus episode where Jason Answers a question from Harry Sweeny on thermoregulation and how it affects WorldTour riders. If you ever ride around in the cold you will find this interesting. 

This is Jason Boynton, Ph.D. from boyntoncoaching.com answering the question. The Cycling Performance Club is also brought to you by Damian Ruse of semiprocycling.com and Cyrus Monk of cyclistscientist.com.

Find us here:

Instagram: @cyclingperformanceclub

Facebook: @cyclingperformanceclub

Twitter: @cyclingclubpod

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

This week we talk to World Tour neo-pro Harry Sweeny about his journey to the top level of the sport. How he has developed as a rider through national programs and Continental racing, and how things are different at the top level.

Show Sponsor:

For a limited time, Hammerhead has an incredible deal - buy a Karoo 2 at hammerhead.io/trade and get up to $170 when you trade in your current cycling computer.

That’s a rebate of up to $170 when you trade up to a Karoo 2 from Hammerhead, and trade-in your current cycling computer, only for a limited time.

This episode’s panel:

Jason Boynton, Ph.D.

boyntoncoaching.com

Damian Ruse

semiprocycling.com

Cyrus Monk

cyclistscientist.com

Find us here:

Instagram: @cyclingperformanceclub

Facebook: @cyclingperformanceclub

Twitter: @cyclingclubpod

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

We bring our very first guest onto the show, pro cyclist for EF Education Nippo, Jimmy Whelan. We discuss his transition from running to cycling and quick rise through the cycling ranks. 

Show Sponsor:

• For a limited time, Semi-Pro Cycling podcast listeners can get a free Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor with the purchase of a Karoo 2. Visit hammerhead.io right now and use promo code SEMIPRO at checkout to get yours today.
• That’s a free Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor with the purchase of a Karoo 2 when you go to Hammerhead.io and use promo code SEMIPRO, only for a limited time.

Don’t forget to use our special promo code, because it supports our show! That’s Hammerhead.io, promo code SEMIPRO, and get your Karoo 2 and a free heart rate monitor today.

This episode’s panel:

Jason Boynton, Ph.D.

boyntoncoaching.com

Damian Ruse

semiprocycling.com

Cyrus Monk

cyclistscientist.com

Do you agree or disagree with our views on performance? We would love to hear your opinion. Find us on social media and let us know ;)

Instagram: @cyclingperformanceclub

Facebook: @cyclingperformanceclub

Twitter: @cyclingclubpod

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

In this episode we take a look at the current performance model of cycling at all levels and ask the question - can we do better?

Show Sponsor:

• For a limited time, Semi-Pro Cycling podcast listeners can get a free Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor with the purchase of a Karoo 2. Visit hammerhead.io right now and use promo code SEMIPRO at checkout to get yours today.
• That’s a free Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor with the purchase of a Karoo 2 when you go to Hammerhead.io and use promo code SEMIPRO, only for a limited time.

Don’t forget to use our special promo code, because it supports our show! That’s Hammerhead.io, promo code SEMIPRO, and get your Karoo 2 and a free heart rate monitor today.

This episode’s panel:

Jason Boynton, Ph.D.

boyntoncoaching.com

Damian Ruse

semiprocycling.com

Cyrus Monk

cyclistscientist.com

Do you agree or disagree with our views on performance? We would love to hear your opinion. Find us on social media and let us know ;)

Instagram: @cyclingperformanceclub

Facebook: @cyclingperformanceclub

Twitter: @cyclingclubpod

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING. 

I’ll be upfront here - it’s a bit of a clickbaity title so to be clear I coach one rider at pro-level - the level under the World Tour. This rider, Jay Vine, won the Zwift Academy and as his longtime coach, we continued to work together where he rode both pro and world tour races including a grand tour, La Vuelta ESpaña. 

It’s been a hard but rewarding year and I’ve learned a lot about myself and the pro cycling world. So in this episode, we’re going to take a look at the lessons I’ve learned from a year at the top level of the sport. Also, on the radar is a collection of amazingly useful technology and products you never knew existed.

• For a limited time, Semi-Pro Cycling podcast listeners can get a free Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor for with the purchase of a Karoo 2. Visit hammerhead.io right now and use promo code SEMIPRO at checkout to get yours today.
• That’s a free Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor with the purchase of a Karoo 2 when you go to Hammerhead.io and use promo code SEMIPRO, only for a limited time.

Don’t forget to use our special promo code, because it supports our show! That’s Hammerhead.io, promo code SEMIPRO, and get your Karoo 2 and a free heart rate monitor today.

The Cycling Brief — Daily cycling intelligence, produced by SEMIPRO CYCLING.