Velo Podcast

Metrics such as calories, kiloJoules, Watt Prime (W’), and FRC are attempts to quantify how much energy we have to available to use. Many top pros just have a feel for it. But ultimately, we all have a “jar of energy” we can use in a race. Some of us have bigger jars, some smaller. But the winner of the race isn’t necessarily the rider with the biggest jar. It’s the rider who still has a little energy left in the jar at the end of the race, and who knows just the right moment to use it.

In this episode, we discuss how to use your jar most effectively to make sure every time you pour a little of that precious energy out, it makes an impact.

We’ll apply this to a discussion of bike racing, including:

- Why the best rider always wins the race, even if the or she isn’t the strongest rider

- We’ll define energy and discuss the pros and cons of trying to measure it

- However you measure it, you have a limited supply. So, we’ll dive into all the ways you can unnecessarily waste energy including: Responding to every move; riding in the washing machine; poor positioning; and riding on the front for no reason

- After we talk about all the ways you can waste energy, we’ll flip it around and talk about ways to save energy including: finding the sweet spot in the field and seeking to be bored; learning to observe the field so you know when “it's about to get real” and when it’s not; and learning to think like a sprinter and why it’s okay to sit on

- Finally, we’ll talk about when it’s okay to spend energy, for example, when you’re riding for a teammate, at those make-or-break moments in the race, and when you smell blood in the water.

Our primary guest today is the always informative Colby Pearce, a racer, coach, bike fitter, thinker, tinkerer, and one of the most thoughtful and inquisitive bike racers we know.

Along with Colby we talked with Sepp Kuss, winner of the 2018 Tour of Utah, riding for the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team.

Finally, we'll touch base with another Canadian and world gran fondo champion Bruce Bird, who talks with us about how to read the field.

SPECIAL GUEST DOWNHILL LEGEND AND SPORTS TRAINER - OSCAR SAIZ (oscarsaiz.com)

After things go up, Oscar Saiz gets down to the business of descending. Technique, Courage and how driving video games can be a safe and valuable teaching tool for riders learning to read the road.

The boys in the Peleton as well as the PYSO boys played fair today. Bobby and Gus discuss managing breakaways. How emotions play a part in racing and mental Freshness. Ups and Downs. Terminal Velocity.White Knuckles. Hot Topic was the Rohan Dennis Investigation - Bobby's previous pick for tomorrow's ITT. Things are starting to HEAT UP in the TDF!

Life on the road can be good, bad and ugly - and Bobby and Gus dig into it all on this episode. We talk seedy hotel rooms and even seedier Tour roommates. There’s cold pasta, mosquitoes, ants under the sheets and some too-close-for-comfort body contact.

The legendary Jens Voigt pops in, and he is bummed out about George Bennett losing so much time on stage 10.


And special guest Dr. Brianna Stubbs explains Ketones and their use in the peloton.

It’s time to Put Your Socks On.

Andy Hood and Fred Dreier link up for the Tour de France's first rest day to discuss, among other topics, why they are not attending this year's race. (Hint: they both have good reasons). What's it like for a Tour de France journalist to be at home for the Tour de France? You surprisingly get to watch more of the action than ever!

Then, the guys discuss the storylines that are shaping this year's Tour, thus far: Julian Alaphilippe's ascendance; Jumbo-Visma's quiet dominance; the absence of long and boring sprint stages; and Ineos's early domination.

Finally, we check in with American Joey Rosskopf, who is making is debut at the Tour de France.

This week's episode of The VeloNews Podcast is sponsored by Garmin and its line of Edge cycling computers. The Edge 530 and touch screen 830 are lightweight and extremely durable computers that go beyond data collection with training tools designed to help you reach your peak performance.

For more information go to Garmin's website: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/cIntoSports-cCycling-p1.html

Nibali pushes back on Twitter. Cycling is brutal. Work Ethic is number one. Apologies, empathy and sympathy. Bobby does a VERY convincing Al Pacino as Scarface impression. Sprinters - are they born or can they be trained? British Cycling coaching institution Rod Ellingworth weighs in all things fast-twitch, including some very special insights into the legend that is Mark Cavendish as well as why track racing matters.

“Rod is my Yoda.” - Bobby Julich

#propstojumbovisma

#fightingforcontracts

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STAGE 9 BASTILLE DAY

St Etienne - Brioude 170.5km

The cast talks nutrition on today’s stage: team chefs, soggy baguettes, and heaps of Nutella. Special shout out to ROAD ID employee of the month, Becky. You go, Becky. Turns out, Gus knows more about Zombies than anyone expected. And, we have our sprinter predictions for Stage 10 from Saint-Flour to Albi on the fastest growing sports podcast in the world, PYSO! Bonus: Coach Bobby J promises to take the whole crew to Sizzler after the Tour! We’ve put our socks on. Have you?

Things get loose during Stage 8 of the TdF with team PYSO. Gus agrees with the UCI. Bobby is still not sure what Gus means by “Snacks on Stage." We have special guest Therese Sundstrom, pro soigneur, live from Girona, Spain. We talk rider care as well as self care today on the fastest growing sports podcast PUT YOUR SOCKS ON. Oh, and quick tip: don't mess with Bobby's chamois cream…

Today on PYSO Gus and Bobby examine the science around preparation and recovery. Skratch Labs founder Dr. Allen Lim joins the fun to address everything you want to know about cycling, from nutrition to new technology. Does Lim talk about Cryotanks? Yes. What about ice vests? You bet. It's all here. We even bring back Spinaci bar extensions, because we think they are cool. Be prepared: this is PYSO.

What exactly does it take to race the Tour — physiologically, mentally, spiritually. Each day these phenomenal athletes race an event that would shatter most of us in just one day. But then they also have to contend with answering reporters questions, pleasing sponsors, transferring between hotels, trying to eat enough food to cover the day’s expenditures, and, finally and perhaps most importantly, trying to get quality sleep.

It’s a feat that’s hard to comprehend, so today we'll try to give a sense of what it takes to race the Tour. We’ll cover:

First, an overview of the Tour from a numbers perspective, and why the numbers really don’t tell the tale.

Our guest, Ciaran O’Grady will explain his role as a Tour team physiologist and coach.

The many challenges of the Tour outside of racing, including not only what I mentioned above, but also not missing the bus, handling the food, and what happens when you get sick.

Why getting dropped by the peloton doesn’t make for as easy a day as you might think.

What happens to the riders physiologically over the three weeks and why, in essence, it’s just a controlled burnout.How riders try to recover day-to-day, especially when they’re dealing with injuries.

How riders train for the Tour and why having incredible endurance comes first. Then we’ll take a deeper dive into how the different types of riders prepare, from GC contenders to stage hunters and domestiques.

Finally, we’ll try to pull all this together and talk about what mere mortals should and shouldn’t take from Tour riders, whether we’re preparing for a weekend race or a three-day stage race.

Our primary guest today is Ciaran O’Grady, one of the team physiologists for the Dimension Data WorldTour team.

Along with Ciaran, we catch up with one of our favorite guests, Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton-Scott. Brent has now completed nine grand tours, so he had a lot to say about what it’s like getting through 23 grueling days.

We also talked with Houshang Amiri, a former Canadian National and Olympic coach who runs the Pacific Cycling Centre. He’s coached Tour athletes and had a few thoughts to share on getting athletes ready for a grand tour.

So, get your bidons and your musettes and your baguettes and your crepes, let's make you fast!

The Tour de France completed its first mountain stage of 2019 on Thursday, and delivered a huge dose of excitement. The timing was perfect, because Thursday was Gus's birthday. Happy Birthday, Gus! Your present is an awesome and exciting Tour stage! On Today's podcast, Gus and Bobby debate climbing. What makes a climber? Is it power-to-weight ratio, tactics, and or something else? What are the odds Giulio Ciccone takes the yellow all the way to Paris?

Tao Geoghegan Hart, a veteran racer at age 25, shares his favorite #recoveryprotocol and sensations during a year of firsts. Also: “Do you like t-shirts?”