VO2max vs. FTP, Pro Race Strategies, and More - Ask a Cycling Coach 406

[@pinkie7803]

Listeners in the UK hearing the discussion of altitude training, wondering whether to take the trainer upstairs.

[@gearmonger8616]

Been shadow viewing for months. THANK YOU - specifically Hannah on this one. Getting faster is worth celebrating. At ages above 40, this vital to remember. I got it now, I will hang onto this.

[@johnwatson5028]

last year was my first chance to use AI FTP detection and at the time I chose to do a ramp test. AI FTP was going to give me like 4 or 5 W bump and my ramp test showed a 14 W improvement to all time high 240 (age 60). Started using TR at age 59 and initial FTP was like 190. My VO2M is like 43 much lower than it was ten years ago when I was a runner primarily. Injuries have brought me back to cycling regularly and enjoy the structure of TR. It's helped me improve on some long distance rides/races including busting my goal last year at the RAIN (Ride Across Indiana) ride 160 mile ride by about 30 minutes. finished in 8:30 and a week later set a PR on the DUST BOWL 100 gravel race by about an hour. l knew going into the DB100 that I wasn't really recovered but had a great day! Now have been using TR again since January after recovering from a ruptured quad tendon and have my FTP back up to last years high mark and looking forward to more improvement! 5 stars, love the program, and podcast!

[@dutypaidrock]

Hannah's quote "No-one wants to go hard when they think it's going to be easy" should be on a t-shirt. You can drop half the field in one effort with that idea in mind.

[@TreyCoursey]

You guys nailed it on the sag climb. Your still giving it all you have as a rider that may not be able to climb as fast as others (or at least a gauged output)...but your giving yourself a head start so to speak. Typically if your needing to "sag" climb it's just as hard for you, or even harder than you want it to be, but your giving yourself that potential to STAY on at the top by starting near or off the front.

[@scotth3354]

Sag climbing works just as well for really good climbers, too. Just ask A. Hampsten, one of the greatest climbers the US has produced. He used the technique frequently.

[@TreyCoursey]

1:32:40 THIS! I have to honestly admit a fellow rider, with much more experience than me helped me with this last weekend on a long ride. They said to just ease off a bit when you pull off. I had always thought that "my" break/recovery came when the next person pulled in front of me. But as you all mention that causes surge and delayed recovery! Great stuff here, keep it up!

[@TrainerRoad]

So glad to hear it! Keep up the good work and thanks for listening! :)

[@loganbhardy]

Ivy nailed it talking about the cognitive load required on the single track at BWR Scottsdale. I actually made it through the first big single track section only to get complacent while screwing with my hydration hose and crashed out on a regular dirt road at mile 33. Super fun course up until that point but I came away with some hard lessons learned. Number one being to train with the equipment you'll use on race day so you're not surprised by anything. Number two, be really picky about when you choose to take a hand off your bar to eat and drink. Better to have to catch up on nutrition later than to crash trying to stay on schedule.

[@TrainerRoad]

Hope you're healing up okay from that spill, Logan. Great advice!!

[@loganbhardy]

@@TrainerRoad My pelvis was pretty mad and I ended up needing some antibiotics for some road rash. I took 10 days off but I'm feeling good again and back to training. See you at Unbound!

[@Porkfu]

I miss the TR conference room backdrop a little bit :)

[@TrainerRoad]

We wish we could all be in the same spot all the time, but alas...

[@the_fast_life]

me too

[@ljadf]

Meh, I don't feel the same, content over ascetics for me. Being at home means everyone is getting a better choice, and we're getting better content because we're not restricted to only people who can get to a location on time.

[@The80shilling]

Some days I feel like utter garbage pre-ride, and think my ride will suck, and then once I'm 5 miles in, realize I'm actually feeling really strong! How you feel going in is very seldom actually indicative of how the ride will go. I've also had days where I think I'm going to crush it, and don't.

[@TrainerRoad]

Absolutely!!! It's always worth just *starting the ride and giving yourself a little while to see how you actually feel once warmed up! (unless you're sick or injured lol)

[@chriswitek9455]

can confirm, felt like doody and underfueled going into a vo2 workout and yet it went reasonably well given the intensity. that being said i still should have eaten more lol

[@traceythomas1290]

Would love you or Reece to come to Ironman wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 in my hometown on Tenby xx

[@matthewm2487]

If Hannah’s VO2 max is really 79 that would be the highest female VO2 max ever recorded as far as I know

[@gianlucaierpi2258]

Hi guys, I don't know if you've already talked about it but, in recent times, thanks to the interviews with Tadej Pogačar's trainer, there's been a lot of talk about training in z2. I'm old enough to remember that this technique wasn't invented today. What do you think? Is this a technique that can be included in TR training unless you already take it into account?

[@fannyheck4663]

They have polarized training plans. Love using them as the workouts are really simple for outdoors (: consist mostly of either threshold or vo2 intervals paired with lots of endurance riding. Transformed my capability for looooong rides with repeated hard efforts in between.

[@Chefandrewski]

Wish I finished this before Sundays gravel race! Was with the lead group until a sand section, where I almost crashed. Couldn’t catch back up and then basically did an itt the rest of the race. Lol NP for 50 miles was 90% of Ai ftp, got a new Ai ftp today of 7 more watts! I gues the AI saw what I could do and bumped me up. Anyways thanks for everything everyone at TR.

[@TrainerRoad]

Good experience to build upon for sure! Way to tough it out. :)

[@chriswitek9455]

long as my power at vo2 max goes up im happy, AI ftp detection keeping me from having to do a ramp/20/8min test ever is pretty great since i never have steady state efforts in a race anyway.

[@chriswitek9455]

worth noting after a ramp test which was terrible, i finished about 2 weeks of workouts and hit AI ftp detection and it basically agreed with what i left my ftp at. so thats great too

[@Anthony-vb8hr]

How can fact check that the athletes are up in the mountains?

[@buzzman4860]

In regards to Quintana and people who historically lived at altitude, they have genetic adaptations.

[@Anthony-vb8hr]

The blonde check wins!

[@trdi]

Starts at 1:01:00

[@gregleman6592]

it kinda looks like Chad's head is just floating in a sea of blackness lol

[@RussellGernaatPLY]

Lower weight at altitude=less bone density, less gravity/pressure…..

[@Anthony-vb8hr]

You don't think. You feel.

[@Anthony-vb8hr]

Oh my God!

[@Anthony-vb8hr]

What are you talking about?

[@Anthony-vb8hr]

This is all speculation.

[@Anthony-vb8hr]

Too technical!