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The Crash Didn’t End on the Tarmac

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 13:27:29 GMT

IS THE BIKE OK?

Broken ribs. Painful, yes, but manageable. I told myself I’d got away with it. Cyclists are good at that kind of self-deception. We assess damage by carbon, bones, skin, and how soon we can get back on the bike. I honestly believed that once the ribs healed, life would snap back into place.

It didn’t.

The Injury That Took Its Time

At first, it was subtle. Pain that didn’t fade. Weakness that didn’t make sense. Numbness, stiffness, a feeling that something was quietly but steadily deteriorating. I kept telling myself it was part of recovery, part of getting older, part of not being patient enough.

More than six months passed before I fully understood how bad things were getting.

By then, the damage was no longer just physical; it was mental. Living in constant pain changes how you think. It narrows your world. It eats away at sleep, focus, and hope. Every day became something to endure rather than live.

Waiting for Surgery Is Its Own Kind of Hell

The year leading up to my ACDF surgery in April 2025 was the darkest.

I was reliant on heavy medication to function. When that wasn’t enough, alcohol filled the gaps. Not for pleasure, just for relief. To switch things off for a while. To get through the night. I didn’t recognise myself anymore.

Cycling had always been how I regulated my mental health. When things got hard, I rode. When I felt lost, I rode further. When life felt heavy, the bike made it lighter. Without it, and with pain as a constant companion, there was nothing to replace that escape. There were days when existing felt like too much. Days when I genuinely struggled with the decision to keep living. That’s hard to write. Harder to admit. But it’s the truth.

Losing the Bike Meant Losing Myself

People who don’t ride often don’t understand this part. The bike isn’t just for exercise. Its identity. It’s control. It’s the one place where effort reliably leads to progress. When I couldn’t ride, I lost that feedback loop. I lost the version of myself that felt capable, strong, and resilient. Instead, I became someone defined by appointments, limitations, and what I “wasn’t” allowed to do.

Watching other cyclists ride was brutal. Group rides passed me by, literally and figuratively. Friends talked about training rides and events while I counted hours between doses of pain relief. I felt left behind, forgotten by the world I used to belong to. And the worst part? I felt weak for struggling. Ashamed for not coping better. As if mental pain somehow didn’t count because the injury wasn’t visible.

The ACDF surgery was incredible, I felt like I could take on the world… but I couldn’t. Recovery was slow and humbling. Just as I was learning to live within new boundaries, another setback arrived, an open subpectoral biceps tenodesis on my left arm and arthroscopy to my left shoulder in November 2025.

Another surgery. Another loss of independence. Another reminder: this wasn’t a temporary pause; it was a long-term reckoning.

Each operation reset the clock, not just physically but emotionally. Hope is harder to rebuild the second and third time around.

What I’ve Learned in the Absence of Riding

I wish I could say there’s a lesson here. There isn’t. What I’ve learned is that endurance doesn’t always look like pushing through. Sometimes it seems like surviving the day. Sometimes it looks like choosing not to give up, even when you don’t feel brave or strong or optimistic.

I’ve learned that cyclists need to talk more about what happens when we “can’t” ride. About the grief. About the identity loss. About how dangerous it can be to suffer in silence while telling everyone you’re “fine.” And I’ve learned that being incapacitated, truly incapacitated, isn’t a test of toughness. It’s a test of patience, humility, and self-compassion, all things cycling never really trained me for.

Still Here

I’m not writing this from the other side with a triumphant return to riding story. I’m writing it from the middle. From a place where progress is uneven and the future is uncertain.

But I’m still here.

And if you’re injured, sidelined, or wondering who you are without the bike, you’re not broken for feeling that way. This sport gives us so much, but when it’s taken away, the cost can be enormous.

Sometimes the most challenging ride is the one you never clip into.

ABR Cycle team Review 2024

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:07:39 GMT

Reflecting on 2024: A Year of Triumphs and Togetherness for ABR Cycle Team

As 2024 comes to a close, what an incredible year it has been for the ABR cycle riders. Many of you have stepped up to new challenges and exceeded your own expectations. Riders like Matt and Artur achieved the impressive milestone of gaining their Category 3 status—a testament to their dedication and hard work.

Our Time Trial team continues to go from strength to strength. Leon’s remarkable 3rd-place finish in the Midlands League was a standout achievement, and it's inspiring to see others in the team making consistent improvements.

One of the highlights of the year was the RaR trip to Germany with Ben—a truly unforgettable experience that opened our eyes to new possibilities. This is something we’d love to see more of you join next time; it’s not just a ride, but a journey of discovery and camaraderie.

Speaking of remarkable performances, Ab and Ben M represented ABR brilliantly at the National Hill Climb Championship, showcasing the strength and spirit of our team on a national stage. And once again, the ABR team proved unstoppable at the Broughton Castle Sportive, claiming victory for another year in a row.

What stands out the most, however, isn’t just the accolades or the wins. It’s the way every single one of you supports each other through challenges—whether on or off the bike. When someone is struggling, you’re there to lift them up. When doubt creeps in, you’re there to offer encouragement. This team isn’t just about cycling; it’s about the journey we share, the friendships we build, and the pride we take in watching each other grow and succeed.

Of course, life isn’t always smooth. Many of us have faced ups and downs, injuries, or challenges outside of cycling. Yet, none of that has stopped us from showing up for each other. ABR isn’t just a team; it’s a family.

Looking Ahead: The Promise of 2025

As we turn our focus to 2025, I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. The foundation we’ve built this year is solid, and I know we’re ready to achieve even greater things. With the talent, determination, and spirit of this team, the sky is truly the limit.

Let’s embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead with the same energy and passion we’ve shown this year. Together, we’ll continue to grow, push our limits, and inspire one another to realize our full potential.

Here’s to 2025—another year of achievements, memories, and shared triumphs. Let’s make it unforgettable.

ABR Flying Monarch ZRL Race 4, Season 2

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 11:36:52 GMT

Race Zwift ZRL, keep the group together.

Team Report from Team ABR Flying Monarch, Race 4.

A challenging TTT for the monarchs produced some surprising results.

Firstly Faris kindly agreed to be loaned out to another team to make sure they could score points, leaving us with 5 riders. As soon as we got out of the gate, Dave set a good pace around 500w and then reduced the power for the rest of the group to get on - unfortunately, his power meter decided it was going to stay at 500w without pedalling for the next 30s so he shot off over the horizon leaving his team wondering what the hell he was playing at

The course begins with a lead-in from the Fuego Flats start pens to the rock arch, which is also our finish line. Travelling clockwise around the desert loop, descend through the redwoods and get dropped onto Ocean Blvd.

Take Ocean Blvd to downtown Watopia then hit The Esses to the Italian Village (sprint if you’d like). Take a right at the fountain to head towards the Volcano, then a left onto the glass bridge before continuing straight onto The Esses once more.

This time when we hit the Italian Village we’ll continue toward the 360 Bridge, but hang a right before we get there onto Ocean Blvd. We’ll ride almost the entire length of Ocean Blvd, turning right after coming out of the tube so we can head toward our start/finish line. The route ends at the sprint finish rock arch.

Not to be deterred the rest of the team settled into a great rhythm off the bat, and put in the 4th fastest sector one time, with smooth rotations and great communication.

Unfortunately, Dave was not able to fix his power meter issues and had to drop from the race. The monarchs were reduced to four almost immediately. The team soldiered on, but it was clear after about 10km that Barry was starting to feel the strain. The team radio chirped into life “Mission, protect Barry” - the team rallied and Barry tacked on 4th wheel, with Keith, Arne and Emma seamlessly rotating and sharing the work. Despite only having four riders we were up 30s on team NL behind us.

Keith and Arne started taking 1-minute pulls to ease the strain on the rest of the group, and they pulled like Clydesdales, never dropping the pace.

A bit further down the road and the strain was starting to show on Barry, the poor man had an average HR of 184 until this point and he was bouncing on and off the back like a Yo-Yo. The team did a great job of recognising the gaps and working as a team to close them or let Barry get back on without slowing down too much. Unfortunately, team NL were able to increase their pace, while we were still hanging on by a thread to overtake us in the final sector, but Barry had been digging so deep he developed an Australian accent by the end of the race.

Final result: 5th with four riders, holding on to 4th spot in the league.

Tuesday night fever, with ABR team Disco

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 09:52:57 GMT

Race Zwift ZRL, its party time.

A Night of Twinkling Lights and Flying Feet: ABR Discovery (Disco) zwift ZRL report.

Another week, another ZRL and another brutal start.

Tuesday night, the ABR Disco race transformed into a dazzling spectacle, a symphony of neon lights, pulsating beats, and the rhythmic glide of bicycles. The annual ABR Disco, a night dedicated to the fusion of cycling and dance, was an electrifying event that left everyone breathless.

New York’s “Mighty Metropolitan” is one of the longer routes on course, taking riders past the largest museum in the US, the Metropolitan Museum of Art . (Interesting note: “The Met” is the largest structure on the Zwift NY map. Apparently, this was never the plan, but it helps give us an appreciation for the footprint of the real thing.)

After passing the Met, you’ll ride over the Reservoir with its “Manhattan Megadome” on your way to the reverse KOM (1.14km, 5.9% grade). Come down from those heights to ground level and up Cathill Climb through the start/finish banner and your first lap is complete.

The venue, a cavernous warehouse adorned with disco balls and psychedelic projections, was the perfect setting for this unique celebration. As riders arrived, they were greeted by a vibrant atmosphere, a sea of neon jerseys and sparkling accessories. The air was thick with anticipation, a palpable energy that only a gathering of passionate cyclists could generate.

The main event, the disco race, was a thrilling spectacle. Cyclists, decked out in their most dazzling outfits, raced around a specially designed track, their bikes illuminated by colourful lights. The course was a masterpiece of creativity, weaving through a maze of obstacles and challenges. Riders had to navigate through a tunnel of light, jump over illuminated ramps, and weave their way through a forest of neon trees.

The competition was fierce, with riders pushing themselves to their limits. The crowd roared as they cheered on their favourite riders, creating a deafening cacophony. The energy was infectious, and everyone was caught up in the excitement.

But the disco race was just one part of the evening's festivities. There was a dazzling display of bike tricks, a mesmerizing light show, and a captivating performance by a live band. The dance floor was packed with revellers, their bodies moving in unison to the pulsating beats.

As the night drew to a close, the Cycling Club Disco had cemented its place as a legendary event. It was a night of pure joy, a celebration of cycling, music, and community. The event showcased the incredible creativity and passion of the cycling community, proving that cycling is not just a sport, but a way of life.

The Cycling Club Disco was more than just a race; it was an experience. It was a night of unforgettable memories, a night that will be talked about for years to come. As the last notes of music faded into the night, one thing was clear: the Cycling Club Disco had once again raised the bar for cycling events.

ABR Flying Monarch ZRL Race 3, Season 2

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 10:59:17 GMT

Race Zwift ZRL, its just fantasy.

Team Report from Team ABR Flying Monarch, Race 3.

Another week, another ZRL and another brutal start.

Jared shot out of the pen like a scalded cat, tracking the leaders who went out at 800w in a cat C race. The rest of the pack was just clinging on for dear life. Dave was sitting in the middle of the pack smashing 400w just to hold position, questioning his life decisions that led him to this moment. The rest of the crew were in the mix but the pace was relentless.

We hit the first little climb and the pack managed to stay together somehow, but it took its toll on some legs. By the time we reached the second punch, the pack had fragmented. Jared was still smashing away up front keeping everyone honest. Dave, Arne, Kieth Barry and Faris were doing their best just to hold their positions at this point.

We approached the KOM with Jared clinging to the leaders like a baby monkey holding its mama, nothing was breaking that grip, keeping the pressure on. Dave was struggling at this point and had to let the pack ahead go, just as Keith found a surge and passed him on the KOM. Next up Arne managed to get onto the wheel of Dave and they started working together from the bottom of the KOM with a Team NL rider 15s up the road to the target.

Barry and Faris were giving it their all, swearing in french, panting but still fighting for every point.

Meanwhile, Arne and Dave had caught the Team NL rider and started to play the game. He took the third wheel and wanted to get a nice draft so Arne dropped the hammer on a little hill while Dave let his wheel go leaving the Team NL rider stranded. Dave fell back into his draft, letting him work the whole way to the finish, for an easy overtake in the last 200m.

Overall Finishing positions: Jared - 1st Keith - 44th Arne - 46th Dave - 47th Faris - 58th Barry - 59th

Overall race position 7th

League position 4th

ZRL Race 2, Season 2

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 13:10:21 GMT

Race 2, Season 2, Zwift ZRL is brutal.

Team Report from Team ABR Flying Monarch.

Everyone enjoyed a fantastic evening of racing. We initially planned to approach the sprints together with our sprinters and aimed to allow Emma a chance at the second sprint after the climb. However, that strategy quickly unravelled as Emma fell behind by the conclusion of the first sprint. Jared, Keith, Arne, and myself were in the lead pack.

This race route is conceptually simple: a counterclockwise loop from Neokyo to Urukazi and back. It starts with the first 14.5km essentially flat or downhill as you wind through Neokyo and then descend the slot canyon and ride along the beach of Urukazi.

The major challenge for the racers comes as they climb up to the Shisa Sprint. This short climb corkscrews up to the sprint segment where they’ll have a quick chance to take in the view from Urukazi’s highest road before zipping downhill to the boardwalk and across to Mangrove Maze.

After the Maze, their next challenge awaits. This massive cavern holds a 2.1km, 3% climb which is a decisive segment for any race on Turf N Surf. Finish the climb in the front pack and they've got just 1km of flat road to the line.

Three chase groups were trailing behind, with Emma and Barry in the last group, around 60th position. A call went out to rally the team. Keith remained with the main group, while Jared, Arne, and I dropped back as a unit to turn the situation around. Barry put in an effort from behind and helped Emma catch up to the chase group. I picked them up and pulled them toward the second pack. Jared and Arne then took over and began pushing hard, but they went a bit too aggressively and lost contact with the group, making it impossible for us to catch the lead pack.

The competition was fierce for every point. We delivered Emma to the base of the Shisha climb and told her it was now her turn to break away from this pack. And break away she did—she had gained 17 seconds on them by the climb's summit. Although they narrowed that gap to 8 seconds during the following flat section, she pushed through and soared up the final climb.

Only one rider from the pack managed to catch Emma, resulting in a final finish position of 38th. In the sprints, we secured both Fastest Timed Segment, achieving 2nd and 12th First Across Line, which resulted in a solid points collection and placed us fourth overall – all while sacrificing points to support Emma. It was a tough beginning, but the teamwork and team spirit were exceptional!

Cycle Training for a Criterium

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 11:23:51 GMT

Racing a criterium requires several key physical abilities. Coach Richard has put together for workouts to help you progress your cycle training.

A criterium, or crit, is a high speed truly testing bicycle race. Most crits are on closed circuit and contain various turns, short yet quick straight-aways and perhaps a short slope. To be serious in a crit you must have diverse abilities. A thoroughly prepared crit racer has a stockpile of abilities available to them. In an ordinary crit, any of the accompanying, while possibly not all, could be expected of you; various speed increases out of corners, investing out really hard amounts of energy to keep with the pace at the front, and delivering a full scale exertion for a sprint finish. Every last one of these efforts should to be prepared independently.

Bridging the Gap

If there is a break of riders up the road and it looks like they are going to stay away until the finish, you NEED to get up there. But you DON’T want to bring the whole pack with you, otherwise you are back to square one. There are two options. One, go across alone or two, bridge with a few other riders. In either case you will be required to ride harder and faster than the break away up the road and the group you just left. If the gap is small, your exertion will be short and sharp. If the gap is significant, you will need to pace your effort. Go too hard during the bridge and you risk blowing up. Put in the right effort and you are now in the lead group. How do you prepare to produce an effort above and beyond that which you were doing during the race?

Of the different types of criterium training, bridging the gap has the longest effort segments. I like to call the workout BAGIT

Bridging A Gap Interval Training (BAGIT)

There are two versions of the BAGIT that are beneficial for crit training:

The Plus Five Interval: Do 6 to 8 X 5 minutes

3 minutes at 105 percent of FTP
1 minutes at 110 percent of FTP
1 min at 125 percent of FTP
5 minutes recovery between rounds

The Plus Three Interval: Do 3 to 4 X 3 minutes

2 minutes at 125 percent of FTP
30 seconds at 150 percent of FTP
30 seconds 200 percent of FTP
3 minutes recovery between efforts and 5 minutes between sets

Repeated Accelerations Out of Corners

In your typical four corner criterium of 40 minutes, you could essentially be jumping out of every corner. Depending on pace, etc., that could be more than 80 separate short efforts. Training to accelerate out of corners throughout a race requires a mid-range effort segment. An effective way to train your body to produce an all-out effort over and over again is using the one on/one off workout. The one on target is 150 percent of your FTP. The one off is a minute of soft pedaling to recover as quickly as possible. Start by doing 10 reps of one on/one off.

Once you are no longer able to hold two consecutive 1 minute efforts at 115 percent of FTP, you should put an end to the effort session. Do these once per week, preferably with 3 or more days before your next race. Your goal is to be able to produce 30 of these in a row with minimal power loss between the first and last effort.

Sprint Training

The final phase and shortest phase for a crit training program is sprint training. You have successfully made it to the end of the race, now it is time to sprint. Here, you need to break sprint training into two separate phases. The first phase is working on your burst, or getting up to speed through " stand stills ". The second phase is working on your top-end, or maintaining the speed needed to cross the finish line first through rolling sprints.

Stand stills are drills designed to solely work on building the ability for you to get up to speed quickly. You will need a straight and flat section of road that is at least 400 meters long. Finding a quiet road with little traffic is ideal. Measure off a 200 meter section. This will be where you do your sprints. Use some sort of marker to indicate your start and finish line. You will be going back and forth on the same section of road. Start at one end, sprint for 200 meters, coast for 10 to 15 seconds then return to your starting point to repeat.

Stand Stills

Your first two sessions should be in a slightly easier gear so that your body adapts to the workout and is not stressed by pushing a big gear.

Key points:

Start from a virtual stand still at 2 to 3 mph
Start with your strongest leg at the 3 o’clock position
Hands in the drops for entire effort
Same gear for entire effort
Out of the saddle for the first 10 to 15 seconds. When doing higher rpm efforts, you have to get in the saddle to finish the sprint
Total focus on the push and pull of your pedal stroke
Make sure your pedals are very tight. You will be applying a lot of force
Be mindful of chain breaking due to the strong force being applied.

Rolling Sprints

These sprints work on your top end speed. These can be done by doing loops on the same section of road mentioned above or on a continuous flat section of road.

Key points:

Start from about 15 mph
Hands in the drops for entire effort
Same gear for entire effort
Out of the saddle for the first 10 to 15 seconds. When doing higher rpm efforts, you have to get in the saddle to finish the sprint
Total focus on the PUSH and PULL of your pedal stroke

For each sprint you go for 20 seconds then recover for 1:40. Repeat four more times to complete one set for 10 minutes in length. Recover for five minutes between sets. Repeat three to four times.

While not all criterium courses will require you to use all of these types of efforts, the specific training will increase your power, strength and speed overall. In the long run, you will be prepared you for all types of crits that come your way.

Cycle Team Time Trial Racing

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 10:16:00 GMT

How to Cycle Team Time Trial

Optimal performance in a team time trial requires attention to lots of details. ABR cycle team principle Richard shares his best tips with us.Optimal performance in a team time trial requires attention to lots of details.

The Time Trial Start and Start Order

Warm up and arrival at the start line: Warm-up time for any time trial may differ between teammates. In general, you’ll want to warm up for a team time trial with the same time and intensity that you would for an individual one, shortening if it’s hot, or lengthening it for a short TTT. General Richard suggests a warm-up of 15 to 20 minutes — just enough to get legs moving and blood flowing with some prescribed openers if needed.

Foot-down starts and held starts: Whether starting with a foot down or having someone hold you, stay calm and relax your hands, shoulders and the foot or feet on the pedals. Make sure you’re in good gearing for the start and that you’ve spun the pedals around a few revolutions in place (holding the rear wheel up) to make sure that the bike is securely in gear as you position one foot forward at about the 2 o’clock position. For flatter course starts, choose the big ring and a gear 3-4 cogs up from your biggest gear: something that’s easy and smooth to accelerate and push off. For held starts, choose similar gear and don’t be afraid to tell the person holding you to “move you more center/left/right.” Their aim is to have you start as smoothly as possible, so helping balance you is part of their job.

Countdown to start: Stay calm and take deep breaths. Press the start on your cycling computer in good time so that you aren’t messing with it in the final seconds before take off. Richard suggests taking six deep breaths in and out with closed eyes. In the final countdown of a held start, on the “five” count, apply the brakes and rise out of the saddle on both legs. On “one,” push on the forward pedal with the brakes still squeezed. On “zero” (or “go!”) release the brakes and pedal forward in one fluid motion, pulling the bike straight into you so that you don’t wobble to the left or right. In a foot-down start, on “two” or “one” apply the brakes. On “zero,” rise up on the forward pedal and release the brakes, rolling forward smoothly, getting the unclipped foot in position immediate to clip in and continue the acceleration.

The first six pedal strokes: Acceleration powerful enough to get quickly up to speed, hard but not flat out sprinting. Remember, you want to be getting into formation with your teammates immediately.

Start order: Generally, the person who is the strongest TT’er or motor starts (1st in line) and the 2nd person in line smooths it out. The 1st person (the starter) gets the team up to speed while out of the saddle, and when the predetermined speed is reached, the leader sits and the rest of the team sits one after another, like dominoes. The 2nd person holds that speed and takes a slightly longer pull to smooth it out at the start. The 3rd person matches the 2nd, etc,. A common way to arrange riders is by size or “aero-ness”, so that the most aerodynamic rider is first in line and the largest is last, creating a bullet shape. Another option if all riders are of the same relative size is to have a rider who is not quite as strong behind one who is stronger. Get the order right at the start. Stick to the plan. Don’t be sloppy and just take the order you end up in accidentally.

As a starter: The starter ensures that the team accelerates to the predetermined start speed for the terrain and length of course. Be realistic. Make sure you’re all on the same page and you should know from practicing together on what that speed should be. A smoother rider who is good at matching speeds and keeping it all together is called a “welder” and is put in a place to pick up slack or keep it going.

Getting in line: Practice! Practice! Practice!

Pulls, Pacing, Exchanges and Cadence

Pull Strength and Length: Pulls on the front should be steady and maintain the agreed upon effort. Avoid surging even if the pace feels easy. Stronger TT’ers take longer, steadier pulls in general, not harder. Longer pulls should be taken only long enough to keep the pace steady and strong. Sometimes longer pulls can bring the speed down, so it’s important to be aware and shorten pulls accordingly. If it’s a windy course, take shorter pulls to conserve energy. For example, 25-40 second pulls may be best on a calm day, but if it’s really windy take it to 15-20 seconds or so. Take longer pulls on climbs and shorter ones on descents. Feel it out and communicate.

Smooth exchanges: When it’s your turn to move from 2nd to 1st wheel (move to the front) take a few pedal strokes easier than what you may think is required, knowing that the exchange needs to be smooth. The goal is to keep the same speed as the previous leader until you have taken over the lead and everyone is on.Then adjust very gradually back up to speed if needed. Richard says, “I watch my power mostly and gauge it at 120% – 140% of FTP and make sure my cadence is up above 85+ RPM, generally. Once it goes down to 80 or 75, the speed is going to drop, or I I feel like I might blow up, I know it’s time to pull off with a head flick and then go.”

General line placement and wind: It’s ultimately up to the front person to determine wind direction and direction of rotation. If you are unsure, stay in the center of the road and pull off toward the direction you feel the wind or pull off to the outside as you enter a corner. Your team leader may also dictate the direction by saying “left!” or “right!” It’s important to keep quiet and let the person on the front make the decision unless it’s the choice is disrupting the group.

Shortest line: Always look up the road and think of the shortest, most direct line through the upcoming curves but also keep in mind you have your teammates behind you. When you lead a TTT you have to consider what the others will be forced to do based on your choice. Cutting a corner too tight can put the hind riders in the curb, for instance, or cause them to have to brake, disrupting the line. Richard says, “I’ve gotten yelled at for taking lines that I would normally take in an IT. Keeping in mind swooping more and considering your teammates in back is the biggest rule of thumb.”

Pacing in general: Pacing depends on race length. Start out 10% below the designated average speed or 120% of each rider’s FTP (functional threshold power) effort speed. The pace can be higher than FTP because drafting allows for threshold or below effort for those behind the leading rider.

Pacing on Descents: Take shorter pulls on descents and generally a quick rotation depending on the grade. It’s ultimately up to the 2nd person to determine pulling through or not, so if they sense an increase in momentum, they can just pull through. “You’ll hear your teammates from behind (communication up the chain) yelling,” says Richard. “’Faster rotation’ or ‘UP!’ is what we say. If you’re flying down a decent, you might pull up and off quickly and have two people coming back at once.”

Pacing on Climbs: On climbs, the rider in front should ease into it so that whoever just pulled off is able to recover some in the back. A steady grind up a climb is more efficient than surges that break the line. Effort on a climb should be no more than 5 watts higher than on the flat. Check frequently to see that the group is together.

Cadence: Generally, your cadence will be slightly higher in a TTT than an individual time trial due to the pace changes in pulling, dropping back, and returning to the line. Richard’s cadence is usually around 85 - 90 rpm average with pulls in the 85 - 95 rpm range, versus in an IT where it’s steadily 80 rpm or so. Cadence is one of the most important variables to monitor during a TTT. Your cadence may not be the same as Richard’s but in a TTT you want your highest comfortable, powerful cadence in which you can easily adjust speed and keep gaps small.

Staying Together and Uniform in Your Team Time Trial Paceline

TRUST the person in front of you: Match their cadence if possible as that keeps the flow nicely. Always remember that your movement affects the person behind you so if you’re swerving and unsteady, you’re endangering the rider behind you and the rest of the group. Be a steady rock for your teammates to follow. Signal your intentions and be predictable.

Communication between teammates: That trust requires communication. Keep the communication as SIMPLE and low as possible. “If we have a TTT training session and we didn’t talk at all, that’s the best of days because we can read each other so well there is no need to talk,” says Richard. Talking and too much yelling, etc., is very disruptive. It’s best to have communication come from one designated person who is the “pacer” and only used for a handful of situations. Here are the key words:

“UP” means increase speed, but gradually and without surging!
“Easy” means there is surging in the line and someone is getting gapped off.
“Left” – move left on the road
“Right”- move right on the road. This applies to cross-winds and especially if the last person is getting guttered or has no room to draft, or if you need to take a tighter line.
“Last” is something the last person says if the rotation is scrambled — for example, if the person coming back is going to be behind a different person in the order than before (mixed rotation due to closing gaps or someone drops out) the person on the end is responsible for communicating this to the person coming back. Don’t yell. Just say “last” calmly.
Any communication for a specific person is to be communicated as they drop back. For example, if a particular rider is surging constantly, the designated leader would say to them as they come back, “ease into it.”
Didn’t hear what was said to you? Keep riding and doing what you’re doing; if you hear it three or more times, then it’s probably important. If you’re unsure, just pull off, and if it’s important the person will tell you again as you come back in line.

Aerobars: Stay on the aerobars, or “skiis” as they’re sometimes called, anywhere you can hear or feel wind and can safely ride them. Practice technical terrain as a team to increase confidence on the aerobars. Even ride them on climbs if there is a head wind or you are still moving along quickly enough that it’s worth it to stay in. “The only time I come off the skis to my hoods is if I’m coming back in the line and we’re on a climb, “says Richard. “If riding slower than 13 MPH (20 KM/HR) with no headwind be on your hoods. Anything above this speed, be in the aero bars.”

NEVER NEVER NEVER look back or behind you!!! The race is always FORWARD just like in a road race. Looking backward puts your team in danger and you’ll slow the group immensely. Remember, on aerobars your teammates don’t have easy access to brakes, and neither do you! It’s the job of each rider to communicate up the line about anything important, so you should not need to look back.

Cornering in aerobars: Don’t take sharp corners in your skis!! If in doubt, get on your drops or horns and the others behind you should match as you go into the corner and stagger slightly to take the turn. The lead rider should get into the horns or drops a few pedal strokes before the entrance to the corner and the teammates should match this. When coming out of a corner, the person on front should ease up 5-15 seconds (depending on the severity of the corner) and then accelerate back to speed gradually. Staying close is more important than getting to speed ASAP. You will know if it’s too fast or slow by your teammates’ (or radio) communication.

Turn-Arounds, Passing, and What to Do When a Teammate Drops Off

Passing and being passed: If you are passed, hold your current line and avoid drafting in the passing team’s line. When the time comes to pass, do it efficiently. Allow plenty of room side-to-side for the whole team to pass. Remember that your teammates may be to your right or left depending on the wind, so if passing on the left, for instance, you need to leave room for the width of several riders to the right to clear the other team’s line. Teams must leave a distance of 2 meters of side clearance when passing and must maintain a forward or backward distance of 25 meters from the other team. “When you’re passing you might say “on your left” but usually you’re so red-lined that doesn’t happen,” says Richard

Dropping off on windy side or outside of turn: Rotate and pull off INTO the wind and come back as close to your teammates as is comfortable to protect them in the line. Drop back as quickly as possible to maximize the recovery time in the back before moving on up again. When you do come back, always be in your skis so that you’re aero, saving energy and not being a sail. When pulling off, flick your head IN THE DIRECTION you’re going to pull off. It will be apparent in an echelon but not if you’re singled-up down the middle of the road. If you’re pulling off during a turn, pull off on the outside of that turn, leaving the shortest line open for your team to come through. (In a left turn, pull of to the right.)

When to let a teammate drop: Be aware of the required number of finishers to get an official time. For instance, the time of the third rider is usually counted in a four person TTT. If a teammate is BLOWN that means that they did their job and it’s time to pull resources together. If a rider is overextended and not able to pull their weight any longer, you have to ponder the chances of another rider having a flat or cramp, vs the chances of winning if you don’t drop the tired rider. If a teammate is BLOWN you’ll know because you’ll have 1 fewer rider and someone should communicate “three” if you started with four.

What to do when a teammate drops: It’s up to the person off to yell “DONE” when they are through or “three” if they were the four person so the team knows what’s up. However, the reality is that often the blown rider won’t be able to communicate and it’s up to whoever figures out that you are a rider down to communicate quickly to the rest of the team by shouting out the new number of riders. In amatuer races you won’t have radios, so it’s important to communicate this and pull together the remaining formation.

Draining the tank in the final minutes: The final minutes are the hardest and really best to hit 120% + of FTP if possible, but without dropping teammates. If you know you have it and are able to keep up an all-out type of effort, take a LONGER pull on the front. The 2nd person in line should go around you if they have the power and momentum to move around or notice a drop in speed. Everyone will be blown by the end so sometimes the last 3KM is an “organized fumble ” You just have to go hard, see the stars and lay it all out while keeping as close to the wheel in front as possible. Match their speed, and take the lead when you can, but gently, not sprinting away. Richard says, “I like to encourage my teammates when I can tell we’re hurting, especially the last 5 KM. I’ll say ‘lad's we’re almost there, let’s keep it up!!!”

And finally…

Team attitude and awareness: Be conscious of how your teammates are doing. It’s a TEAM effort, and just because you can do “X” amount of watts and speed and ride sharp lines, your teammates may not be set up to do the same at that moment, so be mindful. Suppress the urge to “beat” the people around you. Constantly check that everyone is doing okay and adjust your speed to keep the group together. You win only if the required number of riders finish with a good time.

Healthy Mind with ABR Cycle Club

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 13:07:08 GMT

Develop good mental health with ABR cycle team

Cycling is a great way to develop a healthy new habit and promote improved mental health. Joining ABR cycling club in Coventry is an excellent way to make the most of the benefits that cycling can offer. In this blog, we will explore how cycling in a club can help you develop healthy habits and improve your mental health.

Cycling is an excellent way to improve your overall health. Cycling is a low-impact exercise that can help improve your cardiovascular health, boost your immune system, and improve your mental health. Cycling in ABR cycle club can help you develop a regular exercise routine, which is essential for developing healthy habits. Joining ABR cycling club provides structure and accountability, making it easier to stick to a regular exercise routine.

Club cycling can also help you develop a sense of community. Being part of a group that shares your interests and goals can provide a sense of belonging and help you feel more connected to others. Socialising with others who share your passion for cycling can be a great way to relieve stress and improve your mental health.

ABR cycle club can also provide you with a sense of accomplishment. As you set and achieve cycling goals, you can build confidence and self-esteem. The sense of accomplishment that comes with achieving your cycling goals can help you feel more positive about yourself and your abilities. This can be especially important for individuals who struggle with low self-esteem or depression.

Cycling in ABR cycle club can also be a great way to relieve stress. Exercise is a natural stress reliever, and cycling can help you release tension and relax. Cycling in a group can be even more beneficial, as it provides a supportive environment that can help you feel more relaxed and comfortable.

Cycling club ABR in Coventry can also provide you with an opportunity to explore new places and enjoy the beauty of nature. ABR cycle team organise group rides that take you through scenic routes and beautiful landscapes through Warwickshire and surrounding areas. The experience of cycling through nature can be a great way to improve your mental health and promote a sense of well-being.

Cycling in a club can also be a great way to challenge yourself. As you become more experienced and skilled at cycling, you can set new goals and push yourself to achieve them. This can be a great way to build resilience and improve your mental health.

In conclusion, cycling in ABR cycle club is an excellent way to develop healthy habits and improve your mental health. Cycling provides numerous physical and mental health benefits, and joining ABR cycling club can help you make the most of these benefits. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced cyclist, ABR is a cycling club that can provide you with the support, motivation, and encouragement you need to achieve your goals. So why not join us today and start reaping the benefits of this fantastic activity?

Creating a WTRL Zwift Cycle Team

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 15:45:34 GMT

Running a Team for WTRL Zwift Racing League: A Cyclist's Perspective

Introduction to WTRL Zwift Cycling

If you're a serious cyclist looking for a way to stay in top form even when you can't hit the road, you've probably heard of Zwift. This online platform allows you to race and train on virtual courses with other riders from all over the world, all from the comfort of your own home. If you're really serious about Zwift racing, you may have already heard of WTRL - the Zwift Racing League that has taken the virtual cycling world by storm.

WTRL is a team-based league, which means you need to be part of a team to compete. If you're thinking about running a team for WTRL, here are some things to keep in mind:

Get a Good Group of Riders

The first step to running a successful WTRL team is to find a good group of riders. Ideally, you want to have a mix of strong climbers, sprinters, and time trialists, so that you can compete in all of the different types of races that WTRL offers. You'll also want to make sure that everyone on your team is committed to training and racing regularly, and that they are willing to communicate and work together as a team.

Pick a Good Team Name and Logo

This may seem like a small detail, but having a good team name and logo can really help to build team spirit and make your team stand out in the WTRL community. Make sure your name and logo are memorable and easy to recognize. At ABR we run over 10 different team on the WTRL series, several of our teams carry sponsors name such as ABR Bloobo Web Design and ABR Lapping-Services, adding sponsors names help our riders perform better as they are respresenting a in real life brand.

Create a Team Discord, WhatsApp, Messenger or Facebook Group

Communication is key when it comes to running a WTRL team. You'll need to be able to communicate with your riders about training schedules, race times, and tactics during races. Creating a Discord, WhatsApp, Messenger or Facebook group is a good way to keep everyone on the same page.

Set Goals and Training Plans

Before you start competing in WTRL races, it's important to set some goals for your team. Do you want to win the league, or are you just looking to have fun and improve your fitness? Once you've set your goals, you can create training plans that will help your riders improve their fitness and reach their full potential.

Zwiftpower

Create your team on Zwiftpower and make sure all your riders join here also. ZwiftPower was a third-party website (now part of zwift itself) and tool that enhances the experience of using Zwift, a popular virtual cycling and running platform. ZwiftPower provides additional features that are not available on the standard Zwift platform, including more detailed race results, leader boards, and analysis tools for athletes, teams, and event organizers.

ZwiftPower pulls data from the Zwift platform, processes it, and presents it in a more organized and detailed way. This includes more detailed information on race results, such as the average power output and heart rate of individual athletes, as well as information on individual sprints and lap times.

Scout Out the Competition

One of the keys to success in WTRL is knowing your competition. Before each race, make sure to study the course and the other teams that will be competing. This will help you to develop a strategy and tactics that can give you an edge in the race. Zwiftpower is a great source for this data along with zrace.bike race predictor, these can help identify your main competition.

Have Fun!

At the end of the day, WTRL is about having fun and pushing yourself to be the best cyclist you can be. Make sure to enjoy the experience and celebrate your team's successes along the way.

In conclusion

Running a WTRL team can be a challenging and rewarding experience for serious cyclists. By following these tips and staying committed to training and communication, you can build a team that is competitive and successful in the world of virtual cycling.

What is Normalized Power in Cycling

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 13:09:39 GMT

Introduction to NP and Cycle Training

Cycling is a sport of power. The goal of cycling is to produce enough power to stay in the race while pedaling as efficiently as possible. The more efficiently you can produce these watts, the less energy it takes to maintain your speed on the bike. This means you have more gas left in the tank for climbing or sprinting when necessary—which is where high-intensity efforts like an all-out sprint come into play.

The goal of cycling is to produce power as efficiently as possible.

Cycling is a sport where efficiency is the key to success. You can improve your efficiency by training, which will help you produce power more efficiently and make the most of your time on the bike.

When we talk about "normalized power," we are referring to an athlete's ability to express their true physical capabilities in terms of watts (watts/kilogram). The goal of cycling is to produce power as efficiently as possible; therefore, normalized power has become widely accepted as an accurate measure of fitness level when comparing athletes from different disciplines or levels of ability within a single discipline.

Normalized power is a great tool to help you gauge your fitness level. If your normalized power drops significantly while training at the same intensity, it means that you've become less efficient and are now producing more fatigue-causing byproducts (such as lactic acid). This is generally due to poor technique or an increase in body weight. For example, if an athlete increases their food intake without increasing their physical activity level, they will gain weight and thus lose power output.

Another example of this could be increasing training intensity while neglecting recovery. This will also cause a decrease in normalized power output.

Normalized power is a great tool for comparing yourself against others, but it has its limitations. For one thing, it's not always possible to get the same effort out of each athlete in a group setting; some people just naturally go harder than others. Additionally, athletes who are more comfortable in a group setting may be less likely to push themselves and thus produce lower normalized power numbers.

This is what we call normalized power.

Normalized power is a way to compare the performance of one ride with another. It's calculated by dividing your average power output by your body weight and speed, which gives you an NP value.

Normalized Power = Power/Body Weight x Speed (in km/h)

You can also get your NP by dividing your average power output by the level of effort you felt during the ride. This is known as the normalized rating of perceived exertion (RPE).

Normalized Power RPE = Power/Body Weight x Speed (in km/h) x Effort Level

Normalized power can be used to compare the performance of one ride with another, just like your average power. It's calculated by dividing your average power output by your body weight and speed, which gives you an NP value. Normalized Power = Power/Body Weight x Speed (in km/h) You can also get your NP by dividing your average power output by the level of effort you felt during the ride. This is known as the normalized rating of perceived exertion (RPE).

You should plan your training around a specific NP value so that you can discover the most efficient way to produce the power you need on race day.

Normalized Power (NP) is a measure of efficiency. It's the power you can produce at your lactate threshold heart rate, normalized for your weight and VO2max. You should plan your training around a specific NP value so that you can discover the most efficient way to produce the power you need on race day.

In order to know what your NP value should be, you need to first determine your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR). This is the number of bpm at which you produce the most power while still being able to clear lactate from your muscles. Once you've determined this number, then you can multiply it by a certain percentage based on your weight and VO2max.

An example would be if your LTHR is 180 bpm and you weigh 160 pounds. Then your NP would be: 180 x 1.09 = 198.

You should aim to train at this value or above. If your NP is less than 198, then you can try to increase it by either increasing your VO2max or body weight.

The easiest way to increase your body weight is by eating more calories. This can be done by eating more protein, fats and carbs in your diet. But if you are already consuming enough calories from those sources then maybe it's time to consider increasing how much weight training you do in the gym.

The best way to increase your VO2max is by doing longer, harder workouts. This could mean increasing the duration of your runs or rides, but it also means increasing the intensity.

For example, if you are doing an interval workout where each interval begins at your NP value and then drops in intensity by 10 bpm, then the next interval would begin at 180 bpm. This may seem like a lot of math to figure out how fast you should be going for each interval; however, it is much easier than it sounds.

The best way to figure out your NP value is by doing a VO2max test. This can be done at most local gyms or sports performance facilities.

The VO2max test will require you to exercise for about 10-15 minutes on a treadmill or stationary bike. You will then get hooked up to an oxygen sensor and continue to exercise, increasing your intensity every minute until exhaustion. At that point, the sensors will measure how much oxygen is being consumed and this information can be used to determine your VO2max value.

Conclusion for using Normalized Power for Cycle Training

Normalized power is a great tool for cyclists to use in their training. It allows them to find the most efficient way to produce the power they need on race day and discover areas where they can improve their performance. You should plan your training around a specific NP value so that you can discover the most efficient way to produce the power you need on race day.

What motivates a cyclist?

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 15:26:12 GMT

What motivates a cyclist? Not necessarily a racer, just an ordinary person that rides a bike.

For me, I began my adult cycling journey in December 2014. I was very overweight and a heavy smoker. I ate all the wrong foods and took very little care of myself physically.

How did I end up like this?

As a young man I played rugby, just for fun, with a local team on a Saturday. Ultimately my career as a rugby player came to an abrupt halt when I broke my right arm requiring surgery to repair. This led to a very slow 7-month recovery and a change to my mental health and outlook on life. I stopped caring. I stopped trying.

Fast forward 16 years and my wife showed me a photo that was 8 years old of me holding my then 6 month old son.

I looked awful. Overweight and in need of help. I didn’t see any of this until I saw that photo, never in the mirror and no one said that maybe I should take better care of myself. That was it, I was going to do something about it. I stopped smoking there and then decided to buy a bike. 1 bike quickly became 2 and then 3 (I am sure smoking was cheaper). I would set myself a weight goal and when I hit it, I would buy myself a reward.

4th September 2015 saw me complete my first major challenge, Imperial Century, and ride from The Hilton London Metropole Hotel to The Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel. A distance of 117 miles. It took me about 10 hours to complete this (including stops). I felt amazing. A real buzz. I started looking for more challenging rides.

As an addition to my training, I invested in a Wahoo kickr and a subscription to zwift, this helped me work out when I couldn’t get out and gave some structure to my training. This has now become a whole other animal with team racing and general competition.

24th April 2016 saw me go out on my first club ride, nearly 70 miles and pushing quite hard for most of it. Again, this changed things, it was better, but something was still missing.

18th August 2016 saw me complete my first Time Trial (10 miles) in a time of 27:12 (road bike) I enjoyed this new dimension to riding but I had no understanding of how to get better as most people give the impression you have to ‘buy speed’.
28th May 2017, I completed the CFC 150. 151 miles in 9 hours with nearly 9000 feet of elevation gain, this was a monster effort, it was mostly solo but what an achievement. I’d found my fix. This is what I needed. I did the CFC again in 2018 and again in 2019.

May 2019 and Steve Ingram finally convinced me to join Apache Brave Racing for a club ride, WOW! This was the missing piece, everything finally made sense. I found more reward in what I was doing, and Richard helped me find more focus by identifying specific abilities and weaknesses and then training around them to improve and develop, mostly without me even realising.

As a rider for Apache Brave Racing, I have learnt so much about working as a team for a goal as well as pursuing individual goals for self-improvement. Richard and the team have encouraged me to develop in road and crit racing as well as time trials improving my PB time to 23:44 in 2021 and completing an imperial century with my teammates in 4 hours 40 minutes.

I still prefer the endurance style events and look to the next ‘crazy’ challenge. 11th February 2021 saw me complete the vEverest 10k in 13 hrs and 7 minutes covering 241km (150 miles) and climbing 10,000 meters (32808.4 feet). This was a challenge of epic proportions, not only the physical performance but the consumption of sufficient nutrition to fuel the effort without triggering GI distress. I must have enjoyed it as I have agreed to do it again real soon.

For 2022 the team have lined up the Chase the Sun sportive, from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent to Burnham on Sea in Somerset, a distance of approximately 220 miles to be completed between sunrise and sunset on June 18th.

As for the future? Who knows, satisfying this level of crazy is going to be hard work, hard, but fun.

What motivates a cyclist? Specifically, this one? Difficulty. If you find it easy, where is the fun in that?

As John F Kennedy said in 1962 “They may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon...We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”

Zwift Racing League S1

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 13:28:14 GMT

Apache Brave Racing Season 1: Race by Race

Dec 1st 2020: Race

Watopia - Watopia Waistband 28km Team Time Trial Race

The route itself is 25.5km – with the long desert lead-in of 2.5km on top, making this 28km all-in. The Team start in the desert pens, and what a start it was, after much practice on starts during the weekend training rides, all the riders shot out the pen hitting 300 watts and groups within the first halfkm, ABR then headed through Fuego Flats to Saddle Spring. Up the Col du Saddle Springs – the most arduous climb of the circuit (which tells you how flat this is), its at this point team Apache lost its first rider Tom, Tom had given his all in the first half of the race, a tactic that was agreed upon before the race and provided much support for drafting. The remaining Apache team members then rode through the undersea tunnels. Turn left at the T-junction and carry on towards the fisherman’s village. From the upramp out of the tunnels to the land bridge to the volcano is probably the most challenging segment for the teams – it’s a mix of gravel, false flat, and downhill – nothing to break you… but the changing terrain will throw off momentum which proved to tough for Thomas who had to drop of the group which just left 4 riders to pushfor the finish line. Apache team then rounded the volcano across to downtown and back to the desert to race for the finish line.

T he whole race was a quick one for all teams, with only a few minutes splitting the whole race, it was a much improved performance by Apache Brave Racing team, with a near perfect start and excellent group riding with strong wattage being produced by all team members, although team Aapche had 2 riders drop of this was expected so it was an alround great team effort with the team moving in the right direction as TTT goes.

Nov 24th 2020: Race 7

France - Petit Boucle 32km Road Race

The seventh week of Zwift Racing League, and it was to be prove a battle between the wattage workhorses and the punchy climbers as ABR tackle custom lengths of France’s Petit Boucle.The Pavé Sprint Reverse is an intermediate for points, so timing it well would be key for the Apache team as they were targeting race points.Only the top THREE get points on intermediates this week but that didnt stop sprinter Richard and Jared battling for the points with Richard taking a second spot for some bonus points. Then the team hit out first bit of climb, the Aqueduc KOM Reverse. This is really a sprint climb, but it’s for intermediate points, Ben gave an all-out push to the line! and again taking much needed points

Another sprint is just up the road, the Ballon Sprint Reverse. This is the last intermediate point option before the big climb which may see many of the top sprinters dropped. Again Ben was in the points as he battled for a leading position withion the race. Other team riders were starting to drop off after the sprint sections,

Final push from team riders Peter and Ben gave them top ten finishes, a great alround team performance saw team Apache finsih high and gain valueble series points and move up the league table.

Nov 17th 2020: Race 6

UK - Greatest London Flat 47km Team Time Trial Race

This week the route is Greatest London Flat – around the city of London itself, then over to Surrey with the flattest of the three paths through. Apache Brave Racing team done a TTT recce of this course on the the previous weekend, and practiced group riding.

It was a a much better start by ABR team, grouping together in the first 2km, the course is a fast one through the streets of London, ABR team members taking turns at the front and managing to keep the watts at a high level.

It was mid race before the first team caught up with the Apache team, and at the stage of the first hill climb, the climb proved to be tough for some and ABR started to fall back and loosing time on the other teams. A final hard push after all the hill climbs where done enable ABR to pull some time back and limit the damage done by the stronger teams.

More work needs to be done for the team to perform better in the WTRL TTT races.

Nov 10th 2020: Race 5

New York - Everything Bagel 43.2km Road Race

New York’s “Everything Bagel” is the longest route on the NYC course, and woulr prove a hard route to win. It covers nearly every road section, many of them in both directions. Apache Brave Racing would get several chances to test their legs against the leaderboard stronger teams as they hit the KOM and sprint sections in both directions.

It was a strong start by team manager Richard as he hit 400 watts plus to reach the first climb in the lead, half way up the climb Richard was caught by the chasing pack and was overtaken by the stronger climbers, thankfully ABR climbers Ben and Peter were in that pack. It's a long and steep climb to the KOM and Ben managed to finish in the points for the bonus section.

The whole race had been strung out thanks to the climb, the leading pack had made a good 30 second gap from the first chasing group which had another minute from the rest of the riders. The rolling route nevers allows any recovery so it's full gas from the Apache boys as they chase for maximum points. Having completed the sprint and the final climb Ben and Peter were still fighting for the stage win, legs burning and lungs feeling heavy with sweat soaked towels it was all or nothing to gain valuable points, Ben and Peter fighting for the win, Richard battling down in 25th place but trying his all for just a few extra team points.

A hard sprint finish encounted but it was to much for Ben and Peter, Ben came in 10th with Peter 17th which was the pick of the team performances, Jared and Richard finished with the extra points to help the team series positions. The team finished in 3rd place and now after 5 races Apache Brave Racing are sitting in 4th position in the league standings.

Nov 3rd 2020: Race 4

Watopia - Magnificent 8 28.6km Team Time Trial

The route begins in downtown Watopia for Apache Brave Racing team, riding from the start/finish banner in the reverse direction the team make a much better start keeping together from the start and quickly getting upto speed and taking turns at the front. The team ride around the volcano, across the land bridge, past the noisy waterfall and over the reverse Hilly KOM with Peter and Richard pushing at the front helping with the draft effect.

Next, the team hang a right onto Ocean Boulevard and start to up their pace now having completed the main climb, then a left to Fuego Flats for a spin through the desert the team was able to really push their speed and started to gain a few places on other teams.

This brings the team all the way around to a right turn onto the Ocean Boulevard/Epic KOM spur, where they make their way back to downtown Watopia for a fast sprint to the finish.

A much better performance by Apache Brave Racing team, taking turns at the front and keeping to a good speed, the time trial section is where the club needs to work on but things are starting to gel and work better.

Watch Apache Brave Racing Zwift Team Time Trial

Oct 27th 2020: Race 3

Richmond - UCI Worlds Course 32.4 Road Race

The Richmond UCI Worlds route is a replica of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships course in Richmond, Virginia, USA.

It’s a wonderful race course, with very flat first half and a nice mix of attackable climbs on the back half. Apache Brave Racing team captin Jared and team manager Richard planned a stragery to take advanage of the teams abilities of sprinters and climbs which would suit the course.

2 early sprints would be challenged by specialist sprinters Jared and Richard, this first sprint saw Jared break away early and power off to gain the first sprint and take maximum points, a more contested second sprint saw Richard just beated out of the points in 4th place. Next came the climbs with Ben taking second and several rider points with Peter just missing out on points but supporting and helping lead Ben out to make the challenge.

The race continued for a second lap with riders strung out overthe course thanks to the hill climbs, Peter and Ben still in the main leading pack and making a serious challenge for the win. The other club riders just rode round to complete the route having already done their job of sprints. With a tough final climb Ben managed to push hard and dig deep to finish second with Peter come in just a few place behind.

An amazing performance all round by the team and taking ma ny of the points on offer and to come in second place as a team.

Oct 20th 2020: Race 2

France - R.G.V 24.1km Team Time Trial

“R.G.V” stands for route grand vitesse, or “high speed road”. A fitting name, since this route is definitely one for the sprinters. Though only 24km in length, it includes three timed sprint segments! However, the route might have suited Apache Brave Racing riders but a poor start from the pen saw the team completely broken up and losing it's sixth rider early on. After 5km the team managed to bring things together and start to pull back on other teams.

With the route being flat it was easy to pace the ride with each rider taking turns at the front to keep the pace high. Keeping a check on Zwift Power live feed the team was able to follow other teams progress and to see how much time was either gaining or losing. A good second split in the race saw the team pull good time and to start to move up the leader board for the race

Oct 13th 2020: Race 1

Watopia - Big Foot Hills 50km Road Race

Big Foot Hills route takes on a meandering journey over the lower peaks of Watopia, including Titans Grove in both directions. After leaving the start pen Apache Brave Racing team hit the flat, fast desert roads to start. This is as flat as the journey will get! The team hang a right into Titans Grove (forward direction) after leaving Saddle Springs, riding through Titans Grove with Apache Brave Racing rider Peter pushing strong at the front of the pack, the race takes a turn left to head toward downtown Watopia with the pace picking up and the pack starting to string out with the stronger riders at the front. At the intersection near downtown, a wuick turn left to head up the original Watopia KOM with ABR riders Ben and Peter keeping pace on the climb, descending down and turn left onto the gravel at the Italian Villas toward the volcano provides a short recovery.

At the volcano, the team take the first right for a CCW circuit around (and through) magmatic mountain. The race had broken up with just a few riders in the leading pack include club rider Peter still looking strong, they then head up the Volcano KOM–the largest climb on the route.

Peter finished that climb, zipped down the volcano and rode to downtown Watopia, towards the main finish banner, it was a great start for the Apache Brave Racing Zwift team coming in second as a team and Peter being the clubs star rider finishing in the main points

A Cyclist Diet

Fri, 06 Sep 2019 09:45:44 GMT

Planning a cyclist diet guide

Road cycling encompasses a variety of events including time trials, criteriums and road races of varying distances, from 10km to 150km. For road cyclists, the majority of training occurs on the road, with distances of 200km or more per week for serious club-level cyclists.

This is why diet and nutrition play a vital and pivotal role in performance, eating the right food at the correct times will help achieve your targets throughout the season. Practising with different foods to optimise your performance will help you feel more ready for “race day” events. Depending on what type of training and cycling you do will dictate your diet, finding the right balance will play a key role in your performance.

Training diet

To support the long hours of training for road cyclists, a nutrient-rich diet is necessary. Carbohydrate needs should match training loads and the timing of meals and snacks should be planned to ensure adequate refuelling, repair and adaptation. This is especially true during high-volume training blocks. Daily carbohydrate requirements depend on training demands but typically range from 4-7g/kg/day for club cyclists

Frequent meals and snacks can help meet energy and carbohydrate needs when requirements are high. Including protein-rich foods spread evenly over the day helps to promote adaptation and recovery.

Athletes with a restricted-energy budget should plan the timing of their meals to be able to eat soon after training to maximize recovery. Recovery snacks or meals should be nutrient-rich (carbohydrate, protein and micronutrients) – for example, fruit, dairy, wholegrain and lean proteins – to ensure that nutrition needs are met within the energy budget.

Hydration needs for road cycling

Road cyclists should aim to drink enough fluids each day to replace fluid losses, adapting their fluid intake to factors which impact fluid losses such as temperature, wind, sweat rate, training intensity.

The aim is to start any session well-hydrated. This requires drinking regularly throughout the day leading up to training or competition. Having a drink with all meals and snacks and sipping on fluids regularly during training is a good start.

It is not necessary or practical to replace all fluid losses during a training session or race. Drinking water while consuming salt-containing foods (e.g. bread or crackers) can be as effective as specialised rehydration drinks for replacing fluid losses in the recovery period.

What to eat before cycling

The body only has a limited supply of carbohydrates in the muscles and liver. Since carbohydrate is the main source of fuel for the body during high-intensity exercise, muscle fuel stores should be topped over in the 24-48 hours before competition to enhance endurance performance.

Depending on the length of the race, a cyclist may need a high-carbohydrate diet for 1-2 days leading into an event. Choosing low-fibre foods and making use of compact carbohydrate foods or liquids in the last 24 hours before an event helps to reduce the stomach contents and the risk of gastrointestinal upset.

On race day, the final pre-event meal should be eaten ~2 hours before the start. Foods chosen should be rich in carbohydrates and low in fat and fibre to aid digestion and prevent stomach issues. If the athlete is nervous or solids don’t sit well a liquid carbohydrate (e.g. smoothie) is a good alternative. Some other suitable ideas include:

Porridge with milk and fruit
Rice based dish (e.g. risotto)
Fruit smoothie
Baked potatoes

A smaller snack may also be eaten 1-2 hours before. Some suitable pre-race snack ideas include:

Creamed rice
Yoghurt with banana
Fruit toast with peanut butter
Muesli bar + fresh fruit

What to eat and drink while cycling

Cyclists should aim to start events l-hydrated. Not sufficiently replacing sweat losses can negatively impact cognitive performance and reduce power output. In road races, sipping on fluid regularly throughout the event will help to top up fluid levels. During short criteriums and time-trials, usually no fluids are carried to reduce bike weight so pre-event hydration is particularly important, especially if hot. Water is suitable for short sessions, but in long events or in hot weather, sports drinks help to simultaneously replace carbohydrates and electrolytes.

The amount of carbohydrates needed during events will depend on the distance and time taken to complete the race. For short high-intensity events, regularly mouth-rinsing with a carbohydrate drink, may provide performance benefits. In longer events (beyond 90 minutes), consuming ~30 to 60g of carbohydrate per hour is recommended to prevent muscle fatigue, and maintain power output and cognition. Higher rates of carbohydrate (up to 90g/hour) may provide additional benefit at high speeds and events longer than 3 hours, but this must be a mixture of glucose and fructose and will need to be practised during training.

A range of foods and liquids can be consumed during races including bananas, energy bars, gels, sports chews, fruit cake/fruit buns, jam sandwiches, dates or sports drinks.

Post-race recovery

To adapt to the physiological effects of training sessions and competition, recovery is crucial. Recovery meals and snacks should contain carbohydrates (fuel), some protein (for muscle repair and development) and fluids and electrolytes to replace sweat loss. Nutrient-rich choices are more valuable than nutrient-poor choices to meet nutrient goals, reduce inflammation and support immunity.

When energy needs are high and appetite is suppressed or gastrointestinal problems occur following exercise fluids may be preferred (e.g. fruit smoothies, flavoured milk). Other recovery food suggestions include:

Muesli with nuts and seeds
Chicken, avocado and salad sandwich
Burritos with beef, cheese, avocado and salad

Final Note:

Don't try anything new on race day. Always experiment with types and timing of food and fluid intake during training.

What does it take to become an amateur cycle road racer?

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 11:39:42 GMT

The Steve Ingram Story

Apache Brave Racing cyclist Steve Ingram journey to becoming a cycle road racer started before he joined Apache Brave Racing; having previously competed in other sports such as martial arts and BMX Steve found his desire and love for road cycling.

Steve joined a local cycle club and regular attended Sunday training rides; Steve discovered that he could hold the pace of the stronger riders, averaging speeds of over 20 mph for distances around 60 miles. Steve came to the belief that he wanted to test his abilities on the road racing circuit.

Steve hired a local cycle coach that put him through some cycle tests along with an FTP test to determine his training zones. A 3 month plan was scheduled and Steve got down to some serious pre season training. A few races were scheduled at the end of the training plan to give an indication of Steve’s abilities and help discover what was needed to compete.

Training has hard and demanding and an illness close to race day ruined any chances of finishing in the pack, however, this didn’t put Steve off road racing, no, in fact it gave him an appetite for the sport. The season was a mixed bag of results which ended any chances of gaining a higher category racer. All road races start as a category 4 rider, if a racer manages to gain 12 point in one season they move to cat 3, Steve’s aim was to reach cat 3.

The following season; Steve decided to join a different club Apache Brave Racing. Apache Brave Racing had just been set up by a local sports therapist who has worked with Olympic athletes and professional cyclist. Apache Brave Racing wanted it’s members to progress in whatever path they wanted, whether that was just a social cyclist or road racer.

Steve could see the potential of Apache Brave Racing; yes it was a huge gamble to take, but the passion of the club reflected Steve’s own desire to achieve in cycling. Apache Brave Racing designed a cycle training plan that Steve could follow, a combination of weight training, turbo cycle sessions and sports massage from Apache Brave Sports Therapies to help with recovery. Together Steve and the clubs sporting director planned the season out race by race, selection the right races that would suit Steve’s talent.

Steve's 2017 Road Race Results

Rockingham Race circuit - Position 3 - Points 7
Rockingham Race circuit - Position 9 - Points 1
Rockingham Race circuit - Position 10 - Points 1
Rockingham Race circuit - Position 9 - Points 1
Rockingham Race circuit - Position 2 - Points 8

World Gran Fondo Qualifier - Tour of Cambridgeshire

A few races in and Steve had already gained half his points, the season was playing out perfectly, no illnesses, correct recovery with regular sports massage, all was to plan. The last few races approached, the season was coming to close and Steve only needed a few points to hit Cat 3 status. A perfectly planned road race saw Steve take the points needed, goal achieved and with a race to spare.

The season also saw Steve qualify for the World Gran Fondo championship, having gained qualification during the Tour of Cambridgeshire events. It was the perfect season with all targets achieved. With the correct help from his new club Apache Brave Racing Steve was able to believe he could aim high and compete in a sport he thought was beyond him. Support from his cycle club, including cycle training and sports massage plus the management of club helped Steve to succeed. Achieving anything in sports alone is difficult, whether you are a professional or amateur there is always a back room support team. Apache Brave Racing helped with the support its members needed, just like Steve, he was able to reach his goals with the help of his cycle club.

Correct cycle training, sports massage and season planning is how to be successful as a road racer, but you also need the support and encouragement of your club and support of a back room team. Having people believe in you is key to a rewarding sport of cycling.

What is Your Power - pt4

Wed, 17 Jul 2019 11:03:10 GMT

What is a cycle training plan and how to plan one.

A training plan will help put you on the fast-track to achieving that goal. If you ride with a power meter, a training plan will enable you to get the most of your time on the bike by giving you specific sessions to work on the weaknesses and build on your strengths. By now you will have a better understanding of the benefits of training with power, how to do an FTP test and what your training zones mean. Now we’re going to put all that into action by looking at how to create a training plan that works for you.

If you’ve got a goal, a training plan will put you on the fast-track to success. Entire books have been written on creating training plans – it’s not a simple process and ultimately every rider responds differently, so the process always needs to be tweaked and adjusted to maximize the benefits. It’s important that any rider understands the principles behind how a training plan is put together, in order to understand what they are doing out on the bike, whether that plan is set by a coach or not. We’ll take a closer look at the key principles behind a training plan, so you can understand how the riding you do has the effect it does.

Train, recover; train, recover

The ultimate aim when riding with a power meter is to become a better cyclist, and we all know that training makes you a better cyclist. The important things to understand, however, is that what is actually happening when you train hard is that you are giving your body the stimulus to improve – but you need to recover from each session in order for your body to adapt to the training and rebuild stronger than before.

After each training session you will see a small drop in form, but you will then build to a higher base. After a training session, you will feel fatigued and this leads to a short-term reduction in form. However, once you start to recover, your form starts to increase and, when you have fully recovered, you body will have adapted to the training session and become stronger, leading to an improvement in fitness and form compared with before.

This is the key principle which underpins any training plan.

Each training block will see you build form over a period of time. In order to allow for sufficient recovery when training, you should use training blocks, which are essentially blocks of training sessions, separated by periods of recovery. The amount of recovery is dependent on how much fatigue has been accumulated during the training block. There are three different types of training blocks: macro-cycles, meso-cycles and micro-cycles. Together they make up what we will refer to as periodisation.

The macro-cycle represents an athlete’s annual plan, underpinned by the point(s) in the year the athlete’s goals are. The macro-cycle then shows how to best work towards those goals. For example, if a rider had major goals in February, June and November, the macro-cycles would be: from when they started training until February, from February to June and then from June to November. Following each macro-cycle a period of transition takes place where the rider can recover, before moving on to the next goal of the season.

Each macro-cycle is then broken down into meso-cycles, each of which works on a specific aspect of fitness. At the start of a macro-cycle, the meso-cycles tend to be quite general (for example, a meso-cycle focused on base training), however as the rider approaches a goal, the training sessions in that cycle will become increasingly more goal-specific. Meso-cycles typically represent a two to four week period and are in turn normally made up of five to ten micro-cycles.

I typically use micro-cycle lengths of between three and eight workouts, depending upon the athlete and the session. This represents workouts across three to five days and the sessions work on a specific aspect of fitness that we are looking to improve in that meso-cycle.

A periodised training plan should be broken down into macro-cycles, meso-cycles and micro-cycles. This then determines the individual meso-cycles. Each meso-cycle is built up of micro-cycles and each micro-cycle is a grouping of individual workouts. That’s the basis of any training plan, then. Now let’s delve a little deeper into a couple of concepts that will emerge as you work your way through a training plan: overloading and specificity.

Overloading

As a rider gets stronger, it follows that they can cope with more training. Therefore, in order to continue to give a stimulus to improve and build form, the training sessions need to get harder throughout the macro-cycle. This is called progressive overloading. There are a number of ways in which you can make a particular session slowly harder over time.

Volume – increasing the duration of sessions

Intensity – making the sessions harder. This in turn can be done in a number of ways: intervals can be introduced into sessions, intervals could be made longer or harder, or the recovery time between the intervals can be cut.

Recovery – as an athlete gets fitter the amount of time needed to recover from a similar session will be reduced. As a result, you can actually overload yourself by reducing the recovery between sessions in a training plan. However, this is a very difficult thing to get right and not something I would recommend unless you are experienced at following and planning training plans, and a very good idea of how you might respond.

An effective training plan will use these elements to slowly but surely increase the training load, allowing for a steady but consistent progression in fitness.

Specificity

We have already touched on specificity in the periodisation section, however it is worth revisiting. The key thing to remember is that specificity doesn’t simply mean replicating what you will need to do in a race or event. Instead, it’s about training specific aspects of fitness which, once improved, will lead to an overall improvement in performance in your chosen area. For example, a time trialist’s training plan wouldn’t simply involve riding ten miles a day as hard as they can. A far more productive training plan would look something like this:

Prep phase
General riding – get back into regular training after a break
Core stability work to improve efficiency on the bike
Focus on pedaling technique to improve efficiency on the bike

Base phase
Increase aerobic capacity to increase mitochondrial volume
Increase muscular endurance to enable the athlete to produce high torque for 20-30 minutes

Build phase
Lactate threshold training – improve athlete’s FTP
Speed endurance work to maximize mitochondrial output

Race
Specific race replications
Taper
Race

You should build specificity into your training plan in order to target improvements in your chosen discipline. This is obviously a very simplistic view but shows how different elements of fitness are addressed at different points in the macro-cycle, with a view to performing on race day. The reason coaches arrange a training plan in this way is to avoid one element of training affecting another.

For example, there is plenty of research that suggests training in a fasted state (i.e. first thing in the morning, having not eaten) is beneficial in terms of adaptation to endurance training. Therefore, as a coach, I might want to have a block of training where my athlete trains in a fasted state, but I also know from research and literature that training in zone three and above require glycogen usage, which comes from a limited store. As a result, I can’t have a rider doing efforts and burning glycogen if they haven’t eaten in the morning as they will be unable to effectively complete the session.

Therefore, I might schedule fasted rides in the ‘base block’, where they will be riding in zone two and below and predominately using fat as a fuel. The rider will then see the benefit of those fasted rides and to maximize the effect I will group all the base rides together – but once we move onto the next block, I will then set efforts in zones four and five and tell my athlete to eat a high carbohydrate breakfast to fuel the session as I know that is what they need to perform at their best. This approach is known as block periodisation.

Back to power meters

It is at this point where your power meter becomes so important. In my last piece we looked at the training zones and the physiological adaptations you can expect to see from training in each zone.

A power meter allows you to accurately measure which training zone you are in, enabling you to specifically work on a particular aspect of fitness as defined by the block of training you are currently undertaking. Without the ability to hone in on specific aspects of fitness, we can’t use ‘block periodisation’ in a training plan because we can’t be sure the right elements of fitness are being worked on at the right moment. Ultimately, if you want to get the most from any training plan, a power meter is an essential tool.

A power meter allows you to target specific areas of your fitness. This article by no means covers all of the elements surrounding a training plan, however it should have given you the key theory behind how an effective training plan is put together. Each training plan should be specific to the athlete and to the discipline they participate in – this will dictate, among other things, the amount of time spent on each element of training, the length of the training cycles, the zones trained in, and the balance between training and recovery.

Purchase power meter pedals from Wiggle

What's your power - pt 3

Fri, 12 Apr 2019 09:56:34 GMT

Training with a power meter

Your power zones are at the heart of everything you do with a power meter and, having established your personal zones, become the foundation of your training. Using your power zones correctly is absolutely vital in improving as a cyclist.

Having followed our guide on how to do your first FTP test you should have a list of training zones which looks something like this. This table is based on Functional Threshold Power of 300 watts.

Zone	Wattage based on 300w FTP
Zone one – Recovery	<165w
Zone two – Endurance	165-225w
Zone three – Tempo	226-270w
Zone four – Threshold	271-315w
Zone five – Vo2 Max	316-360w
Zone six – Anaerobic	361-450w
Zone seven – Neuromuscular	>450w

The science behind training zones. The idea behind training zones is they help you to target a specific aspect of fitness and these zones should form the basis of every training session you do on the bike. Before we look at each zone specifically, it helps to understand why your body reacts the way it does when working at certain intensities.

We’ve used the seven-zone model used by popular ride-logging and power analysis tools, such as Strava, though you may also see different models with either more or less zones. This is because, from a physiological standpoint, there are only three zones. We call them exercise intensity domains – moderate, severe and heavy – and they are separated by measurable thresholds.

The moderate domain is an exercise intensity that doesn’t raise lactic acid levels in your blood. Contrary to popular belief, lactic acid, which is produced when you exercise, is not a waste product, but a fuel which can be processed to produce energy, providing there is sufficient oxygen.

Your muscles only have a certain amount of processing capacity and as the intensity of exercise increases, so does the amount of lactic acid produced. Once the exercising muscles reach capacity, the excess lactic acid is transferred elsewhere in your body for processing, subsequently raising lactic acid levels in your blood.

The moderate zone consists of exercise intensities where your muscles are processing all the lactic acid product, so the amount of lactic acid in your blood isn’t raised above baseline levels. Once you begin exercising at an intensity where the amount of lactic acid becomes greater than your muscles’ capacity, the excess enters the blood system and you reach your aerobic threshold or, in other words, the first lactic threshold (LT1 for short). This defines the border between the moderate and heavy domains.

The heavy domain covers intensities from LT1 up to your anaerobic threshold or LT2. In the heavy domain, the levels of lactic acid in the blood are raised but remain stable, but once the exercising intensity reaches LT2, the amount of lactic acid being produced is equal to how much lactic acid you can process in your entire body. Not only are the exercising muscles transferring lactic acid to other parts of the body for processing, other body parts are now also at capacity.

The severe domain – represents an exercise intensity whereby the amount of lactic acid being produced is greater than the amount which can be processed in the entire body. As a result, lactic acid levels in the blood is going to continue to rise even if you don’t go any harder. At some point, this becomes unsustainable and you are forced to stop – exercising in the severe domain (where you are working anaerobically) cannot be sustained for a prolonged period.

The threshold between the heavy and severe domains (LT2) is what cyclists will typically refer to as their ‘threshold’ – it’s the hardest you can ride without blowing up and what we look to get a guide of when performing an FTP test. If you think back to your 20-minute FTP test, you will remember we took 95 per cent of your average power to calculate your threshold power. This is because for some of the test – normally the first and last few minutes – there is a high chance you would have crept up into the severe training domain, which explains why you feel so empty at the end of test and means some of the power was produced anaerobically. As LT2 sits on the border between the heavy and severe domains we subtract five per cent of the 20-minute power to give us a best guess at your wattage at LT2, while ensuring we don’t include any anaerobically produced power.

Zone	Wattage based on FTP	Domain
Zone one – Recovery	<165w	Moderate
Zone two – Endurance	165-225w	Moderate
Zone three – Tempo	226-270w	Heavy
Zone four – Threshold	271-315w	Heavy -> Severe
Zone five – Vo2 max	316-360w	Severe
Zone six – Anaerobic	361-450w	Severe
Zone seven – Neuromuscular	>450w	Severe

So why do we have more than three zones? If, physiologically speaking, we only work at three exercise intensities, why do we have more than three zones? Simply put, it’s so, as athletes, we can set training to a higher degree of accuracy. For example, zone one is there to ensure you don’t go too hard in your recovery rides. If a coach were to say ‘one hour in the moderate domain’ an athlete with a FTP of 300w might go and ride for one hour at 225 watts – too much for a recovery ride. By having zone one, with a maximum of 165 watts for a 300-watt FTP, you will be riding easily enough so as to not induce any more fatigue.

You can see the severe domain is split up into a number of different zones. These relate to the three different ways (also known as pathways) to produce power anaerobically and allow us to target specific anaerobic pathways. While your body only works at three physiological intensities, using seven training zones allows you to target specific areas of your fitness

How and when to use each power zone

Zone one: Recovery – maximum two hour

Training at this intensity means you can stay active without adding extra fatigue. After training hard, your body will often go into shut down mode to try and recover as quickly as possible, but this can leave you feeling sluggish. Training in zone one allows you to keep your legs turning over without adding to your levels of fatigue.

Zone two: Endurance – one to seven hours

Riding in zone two teaches you and encourages your body to produce more mitochondria, which are essentially your body’s energy-producing power stations.

Zone three: Tempo – one to three hours

Zone three works on your ability to hold a consistently high pace and represents an effort that will feel hard but comfortable. Most people really enjoy zone three training as they feel they are riding quickly, without riding too hard. Training in zone three has some of the advantages of riding in zone two, however it is a lot more tiring, so the number of sessions completed in a row, or the length of each individual session, needs to be limited.

As you can see, zone three is a very varied zone – at the bottom you won’t notice a real difference over zone two work and at the very top end it will feel like a threshold effort. Upper zone three work is often described as ‘sweetspot training’- the level at which you are getting a high return for your time on the bike.

Zone four: Threshold – ten minutes to one hour

Zone four works on increasing your anaerobic threshold, so it starts just below a rider’s anaerobic threshold (LT2) and stretches to just above. This way, it allows a rider to push up their anaerobic threshold by using longer intervals just below LT2 and pull up their threshold by training using shorter intervals just above.

Training in zone four produces a great deal of lactic acid and, therefore, gives your body a strong stimulus to increase the number of mitochondria in the muscles, as it is the mitochondria which process the lactic acid. However, zone four training is also very fatiguing and can only be done for limited periods, so more often than not you will ride in zone four in intervals with a period of recovery between efforts.

Zone five: VO2 Max – three to ten minutes

Zone five is the intensity you will be riding at when going as hard as you can up a small climb, no longer than ten minutes long. Training in zone five is very fatiguing and these are typically leg-burning efforts (your legs are burning not due to lactic acid but because of an increase in a by-product of anaerobic metabolism – hydrogen ions). During shorter efforts, your heart rate may not have time to respond to the effort and your max heart rate comes after you have finished (this is one of the benefits of training with a power meter – you get an instant measure on how hard you are working).

You are working anaerobically in zone five and training at this intensity works on the anaerobic glycolysis pathway (remember, there are three anaerobic pathways) – this is where glycogen gets broken down to produce energy but this process is happening without oxygen. Zone five produces a large amount of lactic acid – more than your body can process, leading to high levels of blood lactate. To process this lactic acid, your body needs oxygen but in zone five your body is unable to provide enough, so eventually the exercise will become unsustainable. As a result, training in zone five works on your cardiac output and VO2 Max – how much and how quickly your heart can pump blood to where it is needed, and how much oxygen that blood can carry, therefore providing the muscles with as much oxygen as possible. It also works on the number of mitochondria in the muscles and, consequently, the amount of oxygen your muscles can process.

Zone six: Anaerobic – thirty seconds to three minutes

Zone six represents a max effort, going as hard as possible. At this intensity, your heart rate won’t have time to respond to the effort or you will be riding at your max heart rate. At the bottom of zone six you will still be using anaerobic glycolysis to produce most of the energy; however, as you move to the top end of the zone you will be producing most power using the phosphocreatine (PC) system. Phosphocreatine can be thought of as a reserve of batteries stored in the muscles and in zone six the phosphocreatine molecules can be broken apart to release energy. However, these stores are very small and easily exhausted. If you have ever done repeated 30-second sprints you will know the feeling when you have exhausted the PC system and once these stores are exhausted you will need to replenish them.

How? Energy is needed to re-synthesize the PC molecules and this energy can come from anaerobic glycolysis – but this is a very short-term solution as the excess lactic acid being produced will need to be processed at some point. Eventually you will be unable to continue the effort and you will be in oxygen debt, which refers to the amount of oxygen you then need to take in (on top of what you need normally) to process all the excess lactic acid and also re-synthesize the PC molecules. This process describes why, once you have finished a short, hard effort, you continue to breath hard – your body is trying to take in as much oxygen as possible to be able to re-pay the oxygen debt.

Zone seven: Neuromuscular – less than 30 seconds

Training in zone seven works on your sprint power. It also causes the most muscle size increase (hypertrophy), so if you want bigger, more powerful legs you need to be working in zone seven. Alongside the phosphocreatine stores, your body has an even smaller store of an energy source known as ATP, which can be thought of as your body’s energy currency. ATP is used to drive muscle contractions and in doing so is broken down (it then becomes ADP), but before it can be re-used it needs to be put back together – again, this requires energy. All the metabolism that takes place in your body during exercise is used to put ATP molecules back together but sprinting in zone seven requires power so quickly that there is hardly any time for any type of metabolism. Therefore, you body needs to use the ATP stores it has to provide that instant energy to allow you to sprint.

Zone seven also works on the way in which your muscles fire. When you go to sprint a message is sent from your brain down to the muscle fibers in your legs to contract and the way that message is sent is very important – the order in which the muscle fibers fire and how many fibers are firing at the same time dictates the amount of power that goes through the pedals. Repeated sprinting improves the signals from your brain to your muscles and improves your sprint, which is why this zone is known as the neuromuscular zone.

What's your Power - pt 2

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 13:37:25 GMT

2. Setting your power zones

Determining your training zones is the most important step when getting started with a power meter. You have a shiny new power meter fitted to your bike, it’s time to get out and use your new bit of kit to put yourself on the fast-track to becoming a better rider. One of the best things about training with power is the ability to set accurate workouts specific to your goals – it’s undoubtedly the most efficient way to train so you can achieve exactly what you want on the bike.

Check out some good power meters here

Doing an FTP test will hurt – but it’s a vital step when starting out with a power meter. There are seven zones and each will bring around a specific adaptation in your fitness, whether it’s working on your endurance in zone two or your top-end sprint in zone seven. However, before you can utilize your personal training zones, you need to first determine what they are and the best way to do this is to perform a Functional Threshold Power or FTP test. FTP represents roughly the equivalent to power you can sustain for a prolonged period of time. we’ll look at how to do an FTP test, key things to consider when doing a test and how to set your power zones based on the results.

What is an FTP test? To do a FTP test properly you need to be fresh, so the first thing youneed to do is to introduce a small taper in your training to ensure you arefeeling good and motivated on test day. As a trainer I like to use a 20-minutetest and take 95 per cent of the average power as a best guess of what you cansustain for a longer period, the idea being that if you rode five per centeasier you would be able to sustain that effort for a much longer period. Doinga shorter test which takes less out of you means you can test and retest moreoften without missing too much training. Re-testing on a regular basis keepsyour zones current and correct, and ensures you are getting the most out ofyour training at all times. Your powerzones will help you set accurate training sessions so you can achieve yourgoals quicker

The FTP test session - a 20-minute effort. The idea is to leave it all out on the road buttry and ride as consistently as possible throughout. A perfectly-paced FTP testwould results in a consistent output for 19 minutes, before a final sprint atthe end where you get the last little bit of power out. At the end, you shouldbe empty – but whatever you do, don’t set off too hard! After the test youwill need to take some time to cool down. Don’t stop straight away – instead,give yourself a minimum of five minutes of gentle spinning to cool down andstart the recovery process. A number of powerzone models exist, but we will use the seven-zone model also used by Strava.

Key things to thinkabout. I will now look atin more detail, whether to do your FTP test inside on the turbo trainer or outside onthe road. At first, doing a FTP test on the turbo seems perfect – noroundabouts to get in the way, no descents to freewheel on, just you pedalingas hard as you can for 20 minutes. Yes, this is a greatway to get a 20-minute power test done but you can’t expect an FTP test on theturbo to give you the same numbers – and, therefore, the same zones – as an FTPtest performed on the road.

There are tworeasons for this. First, no two power meters measure exactly the same, so ifyour turbo trainer has a built-in power meter, like many modern smart trainers do, you can’t expect an FTP of 250 watts to be the same on your power meter on your bike as the one in your turbo. If you are going to do an FTP test on theturbo you need to measure it using the power meter you will use out on theroad. Secondly, the wayyou produce power on the turbo trainer is slightly different than out on theroad. On the road there is far more variability because of all the externalsfactors: changes in road conditions, little undulations in the road, wind etc.You might not see these small changes in power output on your head unit butthey are there.

Some riders will beable to produce more power on the turbo, others less – as a personal trainer, I have seen both cases. An FTP test on the turbo will give you a good baseline but it won’t be 100 per cent accurate for efforts on the road; likewise an FTP test on the road won’t be 100 per cent accurate on the turbo. For the best results, in the past I have asked my cycling clients to do use indoor for winter training and outdoor tests for summer training and competing in events, so they can then use the relevant zones depending on what they are achieving at the time.

How to set your power zones. Once you have done your FTP test, it’s time to calculate your training zones. Take your average power for 20 minutes (not your normalized power) and find 95 per cent of that number (multiply it by 0.95) – this is your FTP. Now you have your FTP you can calculate your training zones. There are a number of different power zone models buI always focus on the seven zone model used by Strava.

Zone	Percentage of FTP power
Zone one – Recovery	<55%
Zone two – Endurance	55-75%
Zone three – Tempo	76-90%
Zone four – Threshold	91-105%
Zone five – Vo2 max	106-120%
Zone six – Anaerobic	121-150%
Zone seven – Neuromuscular	>150%

So there you have it – you have done your FTP test and now have power zones to use in your training sessions.

What's Your Power - pt 1

Thu, 07 Mar 2019 12:09:43 GMT

Why should you train with power?

In this first part of seven blogs we will look at why you should train with a power meter. A power meter has the potential to transform your training, offering an unparalleled level of accuracy and analysis which will allow you to achieve your goals faster. In fact, a power meter is, quite simply, the most effective training tool if you want to improve on the bike.

However, a power meter isn’t a quick-fix solution and training with power effectively takes time and commitment. Indeed, riding with a power meter isn’t simply a case of trying to hit biggest number of watts possible, but using it to plan and guide your training.

Training with power isn’t for everyone, but this will help you determinewhether you’re ready to take the plunge. A power meter will highlight areas for improvement and allow you to workon those areas with greater precision. As long as you have a goal to work towards, training with power ensures you are getting the most out of the work you put in, helping you to complete a sportive or make that race-winning breakaway.

However, one key point to note is that a cycle power meter is only a tool – the data provided is only useful if you put in the hard work yourself. It takes commitment and won’t do the hard work for you. A power meter takes away the guess work. Riding with a cycle power meter gives you a quantifiable measure of how hard you are going. It removes any external factors such as wind, road surface, drafting, gradient etc and simply gives you a measure of how hard you are pushing the pedals. A lot of riders use heart rate to track their fitness and it’s certainly a good (and affordable) starting point – but, unlike power, heart rate doesn’t change a great deal over the course of a season and, mos tsignificantly, the winner of a race isn’t the rider that hit the highest heartrate.

Simply put, that’s because a heart rate monitor tells you how hard you are finding the effort – the physiological effort. A power meter tells you how well you are going – how much power you are putting out for that effort. The goal for any rider is to increase the amount of power for a given heart rate. As a result, a cycle power meter won’t replace your heart rate monitor, but the two are used in tandem to provide an overall picture of your form and fitness.

If you use a website such as Strava to compare your efforts over time, and to see how you’re faring, then, once again, a cycle power meter will remove any of the external factors which will affect your time on a segment, other than how hard you pushed on the pedals. A power meter eliminates the guess work and you can compare efforts like-for-like.

As we’ve already covered, your heart rate may not vary much from when you are in great form compared to when you are going terribly. Heart rate is influenced by a large number of factors – sleep, fatigue, hydration, nerves and heat to name but a few – and therefore isn’t a reliable gauge of form of fitness.

Your threshold heart rate is a great example of this – your heart rate when riding a time trial may only vary by a few beats over the course of a season. However, your power could fluctuate by as much as 10-20 percent. You might even find that at the start of the season your heart rate will go higher– this doesn’t necessarily mean you were going better than later in the season.

Having a power meter means you can measure exactly how much power you are putting out and what the physiological cost (i.e. heart rate) is if of that power output. If in January you can ride for 20 mins at 250 watts with a heart rate of 175 bpm but that improves in April to 265 watts with an average heart rate of 172 bpm, then there is an obvious improvement and you know your training is working.

A cycle power meter such as Garmin Vector pedals allows you to identify your strengths and weaknesses – and to work on them. You can identify strengths and weaknesses. If with a power meter you are able to track improvements, then it also follows that you can see where you can make improvements. For example, if on the local club run you always get dropped on a particular climb, you can look at the power data and identify what sort of improvements you need to make in order to get over thetop with the group.

This forms the starting point of a training plan – identifying what you need to improve. Having a power meter takes this goal away from ‘I need to beable to ride a bit quicker uphill’ to ‘I need another 0.2 watt per kilogram for five minutes.’ This is very important as it frames the improvements you are trying to make. Ultimately, it’s hard to set a realistic goal if you are unable to measure your progress and put the building blocks in place to achieve your target.

You can set accurate training sessions. Once you have identified what you need to work on, it’s time to go out and work on that in training. But without a power meter you can’t really prescribe the training session to any accuracy other than – try and ride harder uphill. With a power meter it’s possible to prescribe and undertake accurate training sessions designed to work on the specific aspects of fitness you have identified for improvement.

Two key advantages training with power:

1) Your training sessions are specific to the improvements you want to make and you can make sure you’re hitting the numbers required to efficiently work on that area of fitness. For example, if you are a time trialist training without a power meter but are setting off too hard in all your intervals when training, then you might not actually be working on the aspect of fitness you’re looking to improve.

2) Because the sessions are targeted, you have far less ‘junk’ in your training plan. Junk training is riding which is making you tired but isn’t working on what you want to improve. It’s important to cut out the junk if you want to improve efficiently as a rider and a power meter allows you to get the most from every ride. You can also make sure you’re fresher in the sessions that really matter, meaning you can really commit to those sessions and get more out of them.

You can pace your rides with a power meter

Once you have identified what you need to improve, created training sessions to work on those aspects of your fitness and tracked your improvement,it’s now time to put those gains into practice out on the road.

Because a power meter gives you a second-by-second account of how hard you are going, it’s the perfect tool to help you pace your effort. Nine times out of ten, the fastest way from A to B is an evenly paced effort from start to finish. It’s very easy to get a little carried away at the start and go off too hard, or to let the power drop as you start to suffer. With a power meter you can determine your own pacing and stick to it, as you can see exactly how much power you are putting out at that exact time. That brings us onto another draw back of heart rate – lag. Heart rate is relatively slow to respond to effort, so the number you’re seeing on your computer, may not accurately represent how hard you’re working.

With a cycle power meter there are no more excuses for blowing up halfway up a climb. Correct pacing can be the difference between a new PB, a gold or silver time in a sportive, staying in touch with the front group in a race, hitting your season goals or just missing them.

Pacing, pacing, pacing – a cycle power meter will allow you accurately judge the pace of your rides. The ultimate goal of using a power meter is to make you a faster bike rider. The beauty of a power meter compared with an upgrade else where on your bike, is that as you improve, it will help keep helping you and enable you to improve further still. Identifying areas for improvement, working on them in training, measuring performance, and putting them into practice out on the road – is a continuous process which will help you improve in the short, medium and long term. Only a power meter will give you the opportunity to make those continuous gains. Check out great deals on power meters here

Fast Group Cycling

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 12:32:58 GMT

How to cycle fast in a group

There’s something special about awell-organized high-speed paceline. By sharing the work of pushing through thewind miles fly by at speeds no one in the group could achieve solo. A goodpaceline epitomizes teamwork and the notion of a group being better than thesum of its parts. On the other hand, a raggedy paceline is torture. The speedis all over the place, everybody’s stressed out and twitchy on the brakes, gapsopen up, people get dropped; it’s a mess.

Why pacelines matter

You’ll be going faster than youcould maintain on your own, your power output during pulls will be higher thanyour normal Steady State or individual time trial intensity, and you’lldramatically improve your pacing skills for group rides and breakaways. Youwill also gain confidence in your handling skills at higher speeds.

The goal is to cover the distanceas fast as possible while staying together as a group (no dropping anyone!). Thisis good for cyclists who participate in Gran Fondos, road races, andcriteriums, as well as triathletes. Though many triathlons are not draft-legal, a team time trial workout is great for developing speed and awareness. My intent here is not to teach the basics of how a single rotating paceline operates, but rather how to turn a sloppy paceline into a faster, smoother, and less scary experience for everyone.

Be aware of the terrain

Little riders go uphill fast, but big riders roll the downhills and flats faster. You don’t want the group to splinter, which means each rider has to think about the optimal pace for the team when deciding how hard to ride on the front. Killing the big guys by speeding up the climbs means you’ll be slower on the downhills and flats. Hammering the flats might also put your group’s smaller riders so far into the red zone they can’t contribute to the pace making, or can’t keep up at all.

Ride smart in the recoveryline

As you rotate off the front you have to immediately consider what it’s going to take to get back on the last rider’s wheel, especially in faster pacelines. You shouldn’t stop pedaling completely or you will go backward like you have dropped anchor, but you should be able to ease your intensity to get some recovery in before getting back to speed. Pulling off and maintaining speed as you drop back is important. That way there is less of an acceleration needed to get back into the pull line.

Always leave something in the tank to get back into the draft

Part of being smart with how long you stay at the front is conserving enough energy to get back into the draft at the back. If you pull so hard you can’t latch onto the last rider’s wheel once you’re turn is over, the group will either leave you behind or everyone will have to slow down to wait for you. In a group setting a “full pull” is only over when you’re safely back in the draft. Think of it all as one effort (pulling, pulling off, and getting into the draft at the end of the line) rather than only focusing on the time at the front.

Don’t overgear

The faster you go, the tighter you want the group, because the benefit of drafting increases at higher speeds. But keeping the group tight requires a lot of little speed adjustments. Riding too heavy a gear at a low cadence makes it difficult to cope with these frequent adjustments. Aim to maintain a cadence around 85 . You don’t need to exaggerate the cadence to something extremely high; you just don’t want to bogdown.

Forget standardized pulls

To go fast as a group you have to be flexible and remember that the goal is to keep the speed high. Take shorter pulls in harder terrain, take longer pulls if you have a tailwind assisting you, and don’t fry a rider by pressuring them into taking pulls longer than they can handle. If you’re getting tired or are not as strong as the others, take shorter pulls but make sure you’re maintaining the group’s pace while you’re on the front.

The second rider in the linegives the marching orders

The second rider (not the leader) is the best person to judge the intensity and position of the team on the road.If the wind has shifted, this rider should let the lead rider know if he needs to move right or left so everyone is drafting and the last guy isn’t stuck in the gutter. The second rider should also tell the lead rider – unless it’s painfully obvious – which side to pull off on. Sometimes the lead rider isn’t as acutely aware of where his teammates are finding the best draft, especially when the road and wind direction change frequently.

If you need to skip a turn, tell the rider in the recovery line to jump in

Sometimes in competition you try to skip turns quietly, but with your group ride buddies be nice and speak up. If you’re struggling to hold the wheel ahead of you or you know you need to skip a turn, tell the rider coming back in the recovery line, “In!” This should be the signal for that rider to fill the gap rather than continuing back to get onto your wheel.

Finding Yourself Dropping Off

It’s no fun not being able to keep up with the pace, or have spent all your energy at the front that you have nothing left in the tank to keep pace. Communication is vital in TT paceline cycling , if you find yourself being dropped or struggling with the pace of the group you need to get vocal, a quick shout “dropping” will alert the group that the pace is too quick and will need to be reduced to keep the pack together.

In conclusion

As you can see, mastery of the paceline emphasizes communication and situational awareness. You have to care about what’s good for the group in order to get the greatest contribution from everyone in it. Being vocal with each other will insure the group stays together while maintaining a fast paceline. While judging your time at the front is important in helping the group stay together, not pushing to hard where the group splits, and judging your pushes at the right times, flats, hill, etc..

Should Cyclists Strength Train?

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 11:40:46 GMT

Why is strength training important to cycling

This is the time of year when a lot of you ask about strength training. Should you? Shouldn’t you? There has been much debating about the effectiveness and necessity of strength training for cyclist for many years.

Strength training preserves muscle mass

Cyclists over 40 always complain about their slower metabolism, and while age plays a role, the amount of muscle you’re carrying on your frame plays a bigger one. As we get older we tend to be less active, and as a result we lose muscle mass. You may be more active than others in that you’re a cyclist, but look at your overall lifestyle. Are you more or less active now than you were in your twenties? You most likely sit more; do less manual labour, less lifting and chasing around, etc. Similarly cyclists under 40 are still developing muscle mass and reaching their optimal muscular development. It is vital that strength training be added regardless of age, the benefits will enhance your cycling ability and your overall enjoyment of the sport

Resistance Training and Weight Training Enhance Coordination

Whether you are doing body-weight resistance exercises, lifting free weights, or using rubber tubing, there are balance and coordination components to your movements. This develops and maintains neural pathways for proprioception and balance, and it develops small muscles that help your stability. Why is that important? When your balance and coordination are not well trained during any age you end up lifting objects or moving your body in ways that place inappropriate stress on weak muscles. This is part of the reason moving furniture or hiking with a heavy pack leads to significant soreness or injury.

Strength training increases your options

This is crucially important for lifelong cyclists. I have long described something I refer to as “the cyclist’s paradox”. Cyclists have extremely well developed aerobic engines, yet very underdeveloped musculoskeletal systems for any sport other than cycling. You have the aerobic engine to run pretty fast for a prolonged period of time, but because cycling is weight-supported many cyclists can “outrun” their skeletal system’s ability to handle the stress of either the speed or duration their aerobic engines can support. Similarly, lifelong cyclists frequently have severely underdeveloped upper body strength. This limits the exercise and activity options cyclists feel prepared to participate in.

Strength training keeps you in the game

Even if you see yourself as primarily a cyclist I encourage you to expand your vision and aspire to be a well-rounded athlete who happens to focus on cycling. This distinction touches on all the points raised in the sections above, but perhaps the greatest advantage of being a well-rounded athlete who cycles is that your activities off the bike help you to be more effective on the bike. Note, I didn’t say that your off-bike activities made you faster on the bike, but rather, more effective. In my experience, well-rounded athletes are able to be more consistent in their sport-specific cycling training because they spend less time sidelined by soreness and injury caused by being unprepared for activities of daily living. Yes, silly things like moving furniture and heaving luggage knock cyclist out of sport-specific training frequently enough to disrupt training programs. Cycling as a fitness activity has many benefits however, cycling can also develop many weaknesses within the body; a weak core due to resting your upper body on the handlebars or weak ankles from your feet being locked into your cleats. The position of a cyclist is an unnatural position for the human body to stay in for a period of time; hyper-extended neck, rounded back, and shortened hip flexors all add up to a poorly developed posture for every day life. This is another reason cyclists should program strength training in to their training schedule. All professional athletes from all sports will spend time in the gym, correcting muscular issues and building strength training as part of their daily routine.

But, does Strength Training make you Faster?

So, does strength training make you faster on the bike? Probably not in a direct sense. Even though squats, for instance, use the same muscles you use to push on the pedals, the rate of force production is far slower during a squat than it is during a pedal stroke. You don’t squat at the leg speed of a 90rpm cadence. However, in an indirect sense, the fact that strength training makes you a better-rounded athlete, increases the range of activities you can participate in, and increases your chances of exercising on a more consistent basis, means you can apply a greater training stimulus more frequently than you could otherwise. And that can definitely make you a faster cyclist.

Strength Training for cyclists

In conclusion should cyclist incorporate strength training in to their workout schedule? In my opinion there is no doubt that strength training should be a regular training regime, especially during the off season, Re-addressing postural and muscular issues during the off season and then focusing on building strength is vital if you want to have a good cycling season ahead of you. It really doesn’t matter what type of cyclist you are, whether that be a road racer to sportive rider it really doesn’t matter, what matters is that you are in the best shape at the start of the cycling season. To be the best cyclist you can you need to train wise and train complete.

Recovery Refueling Nutrition

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 13:52:33 GMT

Your guide to post-cycle ride Refueling

When it comes to getting the most out of your cycling, few things are more important than recovery. It’s not enough to just train hard on the bike, day after day — you also need to give your body a chance to recover, and recover properly. Sports Massage and stretching are great ways to help your body recover but you also need the correct nutrition doing so will allow you to hit your next training session or sportive ride or next race at your very best.

We take a look into the nutrition science behind nutritional recovery, giving you practical advice that you can apply to your own riding.

I look around after a big sportive ride at the cyclists surrounding me. Some are knocking the top off a beer. Several are sipping on cans of Coke. There’s a couple with protein shakers in hand. A few are too busy to care about food.

Cyclists approach eating and drinking after a ride in many different ways, some more scientific than others. One thing I’ve noticed is that some people don’t think about recovery nutrition at all, while others are completely obsessed with it.

What does the research tells us about eating and drinking after a ride? But more importantly why do we eat for recovery, and the situations in which it actually matters.

The three R’s

When it comes to post-exercise nutrition, you may have heard of the three ‘R’s of recovery:

Refueling : The process of eating carbohydrate to replenish the body’s glycogen stores; stores that have been tapped into during your ride.

Repair and adaptation : The process the body goes through to repair damaged muscles and respond to the stress of training by building more of the good stuff (this is what makes you better as a result of training).

Rehydration : Replacing the fluid you’ve lost during exercise from sweating.

This all sounds great in theory, and in many cases it can be implemented quite simply. There’s been lots of talk about how chocolate milk is the ultimate recovery food – it’s got plenty of protein, carbohydrate, fluid and electrolytes in one package. But before you go drinking it down, we need to stop and think about the ride we’ve just done, the next ride coming up, and what we want to achieve. If not, we risk “over-recovery”, or over-eating for recovery when it isn’t necessary.

Refueling for Cyclist

What you’ve just done

Firstly, think about the ride you’ve just finished.

Was it a casual ride with mates?
A commute to work?
A 100km+ epic in the hills?

If you’ve done a short, easy ride, then chances are you haven’t really used much of your muscle’s carbohydrate (glycogen) stores. So there’s no need to replace a lot. Likewise for repairing and adaptation – if you haven’t worked your muscles hard or for very long, then the need for protein will be reduced. And if you haven’t sweated much, then you haven’t really created a fluid deficit that needs replenishing.

What you’ve got next

You also need to think ahead to your next exercise session.

Is it an easy spin, or a monster ride?

Again, if it’s easy then aggressively fueling is completely unnecessary, and perfect hydration is unlikely to be important. But if your next ride’s a big one, be it training or a race, then you’ll need to move onto the next point …

When you’re next riding

Not only do you need to consider what sort of ride you’ve got coming up, but also the time frame you’ve got to recover for it.

If you finished a big ride at lunchtime Sunday and your next hard session won’t be until Wednesday, there’s no point drinking litres of fluid and eating a mountain of high-carb foods. Your normal eating and drinking over three days will get the job done.

I often have clients preparing for one-day events that ask me “what should I eat and drink afterwards?” If they’re not planning any serious training or racing within the next day or two, my response is always “whatever you like”. Short of drinking your weight in beer and injuring yourself, in that scenario it really doesn’t matter what you consume.

Refueling

Refueling is about carbohydrate, the fuel your muscles use during hard efforts. Because we store excess carbohydrate as glycogen in our muscles (and a bit in the liver), we can replenish this supply in anticipation of the next ride. The amount of refueling required will be dependent on how much of that store you’ve used, how much you’ll need for your next ride, and how long you’ve got to restore it to that level.

If very aggressive refueling is required, the question becomes how much, how quickly, and from what foods? The current guidelines suggest that 1-1.2 grams of carbs for every kilogram of body weight, each hour for the first four hours after a ride, will maximize the refueling process if that’s important to you. After that you should continue with your usual eating in preparation for the next ride.

So, if you’ve finished a big ride, and you’re 70kg, that’s 70-84g of carbs per hour over the next four hours — a total of 280-336g. This can also relate to whether you are on a low carb diet or not (our DNA tests can suggest whether you should be on a low carb diet). You would edge on the side of 1 gram of carb’s to 1 kg bodyweight for low carb's diets.

Despite all the talk of sugar versus starch, simple versus complex carbohydrates, or high versus low glycaemic index, the exact type of food or fluids used doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference over a four-hour time frame. So your choice of refueling can be guided by personal preference, and whether or not you also need protein for repair and adaptation, as well as fluid needs for rehydration.

If you need a little refueling but aren’t so urgent in your time frame or the amount required, then your usual eating patterns (assuming there’s carb-containing foods in there) will probably do the job without having to think too much about it. Of course these stats are based on you wanting to maintain your weight, if you are looking at decreasing you bodyweight you would adjust your carb's consumption allowing the body to use some of it's natural resources.

Rutland Arrivederci

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 11:14:49 GMT

Saying Goodbye to 2017 Sportive Season

The final event on 2017 saw team Apache Brave Racing visit Rutland and the rolling hills of the Arrivederci sportive. The weather was over cast and rain threatened throughout the day. The team set of together and soon passed many cyclists who had set off before them.

A really good group work at the start helped the pace before each rider found their own comfort zone and the group split up to take on the challenge.

The feed station were one of the best stocked with many lovely treats and a welcome hot drink on a cold day. Most of the team met up at the last feed station with quick hellos and a few laughs on how challenging the course had been thus far.

A final push to the finish saw a few hard challenging hills and a real mental push to the finish line where some more hot food was waiting and even a great beer wo wash it all down. A great event and a good finish to the season.

The Road Race Season 2017

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 11:06:13 GMT

Apache Brace Racing Road Race Season Round Up

Rockingham: Circuit racing is always fast and furious; tight group racing with little room to make mistakes.

Our Apache Brave Racing rider Steve Ingram battles the elements and the competition with strong enthusiasm, Steve having followed the club gym and race training plans through the winter has really powered forward in 2017, moving on from his great placing at TOC and gaining a World Gran Fondo qualifying spot Steve's circuit racing has shown to be his prowess of the season.

With several point scoring finishes and a tremendous second placing Steve is well on his way of achieving his goals for 2017.

Tour of Cambridgeshire (TOC): It's the 3rd the team have face the TOC, a huge number of riders had entered the race over 8000 cyclist taking part, many just completing the sportive ride. However, our talented Steve Ingram faced the race pens and the challenge of qualifying for the World Gran Fondo.

With many top quality amateur cyclist taking part the pace was going to be quick and hard, the beauty TOC is the amount of cyclist there is always going to be a good size group to cycle with.

Steve having had a good lead up to the race with a few road races, sports massages and team tactic from race director Richard all the prep was done and Steve just needed to produce the goods.

Everything paid off for Steve as he crossed the finish line with time to spare gaining himself a much deserved qualifying sport for the world champs

Solihull Road race: A super fast flat race around the Birmingham business park just north of the NEC saw an hour of tight group racing, no break a ways or real out and out leaders of the race.

With no hills and only a few round about corner the pace stayed in the mid twenties. As the group came round the final bend with just a few hundred meters to push to the finish a mad scramble for position as the sprinters of the group showed there talent.

Our Apache Brave Racing rider came from deep in the group to finish strong with a top 10 placing within their category.

Broughton Castle Sportive

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 10:58:22 GMT

Great team effort on a sunny day

Apache Brave Racing were back in to the Cotswold again for next sportive ride; with a great backdrop of Broughton Castle as the HQ saw 6 team riders take on a 60+ mile route which included 4 major climbs with some serious degree of challenge.

With the Tour of the Potteries only a short memory away the team had the confidence to take on any hills believing what they had achieved in the Peaks the Cotswold wouldn't challenge.

The team set off at good pace and soon moved away from the crowds of other sportive riders, a few riders from other teams attempted to hold the tail but soon dropped off and in to the distance. The pace stayed good considering the few climbs which were slow going, but the route was good with plenty of challenges along the way. Each rider crossed the finish line with plenty of vigor.

The day had great weather and was more enjoyable with an organized club picnic at the event HQ what went perfectly with our pasty and beans. An enjoyable day out for the club.

No Joke in Stoke

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 10:50:49 GMT

Tour of the Potteries

An early start for Apache Brave Racing team as they headed up north midlands area to Stoke on Trent to battle the hills of the Peak district. A gloomy morning with a little drizzle of rain saw the group of four head out to the hills of the Peaks and to climb over 6000 feet of hill.

The route was hellish with no let up of yet another hill after hill, as these hills were not short in length, several mile climbs ranging from 8 to 15+ degree climbs hit each rider with no recovery in between.

Reaching the first feed station saw many other riders call it quits ringing home to get a lift back to HQ; NOT the Apache Brave Racing team, after some serious hard training the week before the riders were well prepared for the hills. An hour separated the first and last Apache Brave Racing rider at the finish line where a lovely hot cup of tea and biscuits awaited to replenish all the calories burned.

Ride Oxford

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 09:29:53 GMT

A great day riding through Oxfordshire

Oxford Ride proved to be a really enjoyable ride for the Apache Brave Racing team of 6. Taking on another 60+ mile route with undulating hills and steep climbs but with great weather and only a little wind to contend with.

The beautiful scenery of Oxford with its majestic building and university were the backdrop of the start and finish of the sportive ride, the ride quickly headed north in to the Cotswold area passing small villages with the smell of Sunday roasts cooking from each pub that the team rode past.

With the sportive almost complete a small group of riders of 6 had grouped together, the pace had quickened with the finish only a few miles away.

Cotswold Classic 2017

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 09:24:53 GMT

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The team were back on old ground in 2017 with the Cotswold Classic Sportive. Taking on just the short 33 mile route but it was a great start to the season and a perfect opener to test the legs after the long winter months.

A team of 5 Apache Brave Racing members took on the hilly Cotswolds route with challenging hills at the start and end but with a nice and speedy flat middle section. The weather was kinder this year compared to the year before where the team faced flooded roads and fallen branches.

With a quick stop at the feed station which was located two thirds in to the ride, the riders grabbed a few items before jumping back on to their bikes before tackling a few steep hills before the finish. A short sprint away by Richard saw him come home first but the remaining riders soon passed the finish line moments later.

A great medal and good bag at the end made for a great day out.

Sodbury Sportive

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 09:17:49 GMT

Closing the season off with a tough sportive

An early start for the Apache Brave Racing team saw them take a 2 hour drive down to the beautiful area of the south Cotswold's to take on the challenge of the Sodbury Sportive, a hilly 65 mile cycle ride through the beauty that the Cotswold is renowned for.

The weather was perfect, clear sky's, little wind and a warming temperature for the start, an easy level first few miles saw the riders keep together along small country lanes and through farmers fields. After several miles the hills approached, rising up ahead the summit covered with trees, a sign appeared "steep hill ahead", and it wasn't wrong.

After pushing an easy 20 mph on the flats the first hill put the brakes on slowing right down to below 10 mph with a challenging 20 degree climb, pushing hard down on the pedals and swaying the bike side to side battling the steepness of each degree, it was a full on 1 mile push to the top, thankfully a short decent to help recovery before the next hill.

After battling through the hilly tree lined lanes the roads leveled off which allowed the burning legs to recover a little and the lungs to grab some much need oxygen. A long 10 mile down hill section was a welcome relief and allowed the riders to view the picturesque area of the Sodbury Sportive route.

Two feed stations allowed the riders to refuel with much needed energy bars and to refill the water bottles before the final couple of hill challenges, with the legs now loosing the will to live the steep hills were not showing any mercy, a quick squirt of a caffeine gel down the throat gave our riders that extra push over the hills and to the finish line where a welcome hot meal and a fantastic trophy awaited our riders.

A superb sportive and beautiful countryside made for a great day, now all we needed was a sports massage when we arrived back in to Coventry.

Sky Ride Coventry

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 09:11:32 GMT

A bit of fun road Coventry ring road

A great free fun event run by Sky to the encourage cycling in Coventry saw the Apache Brave Racing club cycle around the iconic Coventry ring road. The team gathered at the start near the council house where over 7000 other cyclist had lined up to begin their own journey around the old town before traveling through the redeveloped Far Gosford area which can now boast many restaurants and bars from around the world.

After passing through Coventry University building the route lead back out on to the Coventry ring road, the inner circle being closed off the motor traffic allowed cyclist to safely ride along trouble free, two lanes allowed the slower riders to keep out of the way of any faster and more advanced cyclist.

There was no set distance to the ride just a great chance to cycle along and enjoy the ride and meet fellow cyclists. The club agreed to meet at a set time back in the main square where they could chat about the ride over a coffee and cake. The weather was perfect and it was a great chance to get miles under the legs in a safe traffic free ride.

Taking on the Tempest

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 09:08:28 GMT

Stratford Tempest Sportive

Wiggle are renowned for putting on great sportive rides, well stock feed stations along with challenging routes; the Stratford Tempest Sportive didn't disappoint. Our riders at Apache Brave Racing took on the shorter of the three routes on offer a 65 mile rolling hilly route. 65 miles might not seem difficult at the mid season stage but, add strong head winds and it becomes a battle of strength, power and mind challenging endurance.

Right from the start line saw challenging hills that quickly split riders apart with the stronger cyclists pushing out of their seat reaching for the top of the first hill. It set the pattern for the rest of the ride. Hill after hill saw the riders battle against peaks and wind, there never seemed to be any recovery as the wind made the riders push to keep the pace up on the down sections of the route. 30 mile in saw the first and most welcomed feed station, a good selection of gels and protein bars were on offer, a quick grab and then back on the saddle straight on to another hill. The weather had warmed up with the clouds trying to break up to allow the sun to shine, but the wind stayed.

The pace of our riders was still good with our lead rider Steve Ingram pushing over 20 mph for most of the ride. 45 miles in to the sportive saw the final feed station, a smaller selection on offer but the right nutritional selection , a quick refill of the water bottles and a caffeine protein bar and on our way for the final leg to the finish.

A few steeper and longer hills was catching many riders out slowing the pace and breaking any group of cyclist up. Apache Brave Racing rider Richard Watson was now powering to the finish, having balanced his nutritional needs out over the race and a caffeine shot to focus the mind with 10 miles to go he was able to quicken his pace and push toward the finish line and end his ride strong, Steve crossed the line first followed shortly by Richard, Franco and Dina. All team riders agreed it was a challenging ride but a most enjoyable day.

Circuit Road Racing

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 09:02:19 GMT

It's Race Night at Rockingham

It's Thursday night in early July at Rockingham Race circuit, the clouds have turned grey and the temperature has dropped a few degrees, but it didn't dampen the atmosphere for the cyclist. 50 riders took to the start line and with a quick briefing from the race marshal the riders set off round Rockingham. A quick start from the riders saw speeds reach 32mph, it was a tough battle for our Apache Brave Racing rider Steve Ingram to keep with the leading pack early on but, once in his flow Steve found his pace and settled in the middle of the pack.

After the first 6 miles the pack steadily averaged high 20 mph enabling the pack to become smaller and more compact while dropping the weaker riders out the back. This pace didn't cause Steve any concern as he used his experience and knowledge to place himself within a good position in the leading pack and conserving energy for the finish ahead.

With each lap that went by weaker riders found the pace to much, even though the speed had dropped to mid 20mph thanks to the skies opening up and giving a few quick rain showers, but it was still to much for some riders. Steve Ingram found the pace tough but still well within his abilities and averaging over 300 Watts of power per lap still held good position in the leading pack.

The final few laps were within sight now and many of the riders had started to battle for position, a few elbows and shoulder barges between riders had started to occur to help open up space. The leading pack of riders were now a compact group, the speed had increased as the final lap started. Riders were looking for any opening to make a break for the line, Steve moved to the outer edge of the group while still gaining the benefit of drafting from leading riders, he was just waiting for the right time. The final bend approached and a couple of riders touched wheels, within a split of a second several riders were down on the tarmac splitting the leading pack, the riders still on their bikes took their chance and sprinted for the line, Steve powered his bike hard and managed to overtake several riders to finish in an amazing 7th place out of over 50 riders and grab some valuable British Cycling points, his first of the season. Well done Steve

Tour of Cambridgeshire

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 09:43:14 GMT

A Gran Fondo Day Out

Half way through the Apache Brave Racing season saw the team take on the challenge of the Tour of Cambridgeshire (TOC); an 84 mile fully closed off road race and sportive event, TOC also happens to be a world qualifier for those that achieve a finish in the top 25% so there was a little more to fight for on the day.

TOC had over 7000 riders taking part so just to get out of the start gates was a challenge enough but once out on the road rider were quickly able to get up to speed. We start can see riders averaging mid 20pmh even though the first 30 miles are hilly. The hills help to separate many of the weaker riders and a flow soon starts to help riders of similar speed group together. The first 20 miles saw many crashes and the ambulances made for a stop start beginning for some of the team hampering their times and speed.

With longer rides and at the quick pace that had developed it was vital that the team took on valuable nutrition with the aid of gels, protein bars plus energy drinks , there were feed station along the route if needed but it was important that the team had food and drink at hand as a rider could easily burn off 4,500 calories on such races.

Once past the hilly section and a good 39 miles in to the race saw the riders hit the flat lands of the fens, a welcome release you would think, but the fens of Cambridgeshire take no prisoners, yes they are flat but they also come with strong winds and no shelter from they either. It was important to stay with a group enabling the riders to draft and take some relief from the harsh winds. The fens section would last a good 35 miles and you just preyed for the hills to return.

A welcome sight is the first village at around 65 miles; you know that's the end of the fens and wind, with just a few steep hills to conquer before the first is in sight. A final steep hill bring the riders back out on the main roads and a familiar sight of the starting point, the Peterborough show ground is now within reach for the riders, a quick turn round the final roundabout and the riders are on the final straight to the finish and across the finish line.

A great event and a challenging course, the highlight of the team was lead rider and road racer Steve Ingram grabbing a time of less than 4 hours which qualified Steve for the World Champs later in the year.

Squires and Spires Sportive 2016

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 09:34:28 GMT

Battling the hills of Northamptonshire

The Apache Brave Racing Team took on the challenge of the Squires and Spires Sportive on May 8th. A brutal 51 mile hilly route. Their was no rest bite during the ride with hill after hill and in what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far.

It was a fast start for some as the pace of the main group pushed a speedy 28mph, thankfully the hills slowed the pace down and broke up the riders to leave just small groups of around 5 to 8 riders. After a hilly first 5 miles the pace settled down to an easy 16 mph and continued at this pace towards Daventry which was the main turning point for the 51 mile route.

The temperature was now rising to a 26 degree heat which meant hydration was an important factor for the ride, thankfully we had packed some good quality carb full water bottles and some tasty protein bars for the journey. The feed station was a welcome break for some, being able to refill the water bottles and grabbing a quick bite to eat before setting off to the finish line.

A few quick descents where riders hit over 40 mph were quickly followed by steep hills; it was just a matter of pushing hard to the finish, battling each hill with the support of all the other riders on route and grabbing the well deserved medal at the finish line. It was the toughest sportive of the year so far, with all the Apache Brave Racing team riders feeling battered and tired, a sports massage and recovery drinks are well and truly needed.

Cotswold Sportive 2016

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 13:55:46 GMT

Santini Cotswold Spring Classic

March saw the first outing from Apache Brave Racing at the Santini Cotswold Spring Classic sportive ride, with some of our riders taking on a 55km route along stunning Cotswold countryside. Although the weather forecast looked horrendous and the drive down from Coventry entailed battling through snow and heavy rain once the riders reached the start line there was a break in the clouds and the sun shined for the rest of the ride.

The route started with a quick down hill before hitting the first of several climbs which quickly broke up the pack of riders, although the sportive was not a race, more of a fun run type of event, it didn't stop Apache Brave Racing leading the pack and eventually breaking away from the main riders.

There was some strong winds across the open countryside and the roads had many hazards from the storm the night before including a 10 inch deep ford that caught many riders out. The route included a small feed station with 10 miles to go to the finish, it was a welcome break and allowed all Apache Brave Racing riders to regather and have a quick chat, biscuit, refill the water bottles and head to the finish. The ride back from the feed station included several hills and strong head winds which made for a slow return back to HQ.

Once back to HQ a medal, hot pasta meal, coffee and a Easter eggs awaited us which were a welcome reward for a very enjoyable day. It was a great start to Apache Brave Racing season 2016. We are all now in need of a well earned sports massage treatment when we get back to Coventry.

How to Descend on a Road Bike

rich-watson@hotmail.co.uk (richard watson) — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 14:02:59 GMT

Want to descend like a pro? Here's how

Descending is an inevitable part of riding your bike, what goes up must come down, and so it's a necessary skill to develop. Many riders are fearful or nervous when descending, while others lack the skills to fully take advantage of a good dip in the road. Some riders may just want to further their skills so that during a ride they can take full advantage of any decline. Whichever type of road cycling you do, these tips will make you safer, faster and develop your skills when descending on your road bike.

So as well as developing your skills with these handy tips, we also aim to build your confidence and turn you into an accomplished descender. In order to do so, we've enlisted the help of cyclist and owner of Apache Brave Racing, Richard Watson to provide us with some helpful tips, specifically for descending on a road bike.

Relax, Relax, Relax

"Tension in the shoulders and braking into the corners" are the two biggest mistakes Richard sees in amateurs when descending, and so his number one tip to a new road rider is to "relax, relax, relax!"

You shouldn't be fighting the bike on the way down, you should let the bike do the work. Having straight, stiff arms will cause you to feel every bump or imperfection in the road which you will translate back into the handlebars making handling the bike feel nervous and twitchy. Instead, try to relax your shoulders by keeping them down and back, and keep a small bend in your arms to absorb any bumps along the way. Also try to slow down your breathing, focus on taking big deep breaths to calm your body down and relieve any tension.

"Don't fight the bike. Let the bike do the work."

A simple way to develop this calmness is to head to a hill you are familiar with and practice repeatedly. Start at a pace you are comfortable with, ensuring to stay relaxed and loose, keeping your breathing under control, and then progressively get faster as you get more comfortable with the road, the corners, and the speed. Once you feel you have mastered this one descent, do the same on a variety of descents; short, long, steep, technical, fast, etc... all the while remembering to relax, relax, relax.

Get Low

Getting low on your bike while descending serves two functions. Firstly, it will reduce your frontal profile (the surface area that meets the wind) which will improve your aerodynamics enabling you to hold speed throughout the descent. It's why we see so many pros adopt the super 'aero tuck' position where they basically sit on their top tube and get as low as possible.

However, more importantly, dropping your torso lowers your centre of gravity, providing a wider base of support, thereby enabling you to better negotiate corners and making you feel more planted to the road. You'll rarely see pros sitting bolt upright when descending, they are always low on their bikes, looking ahead with a relaxed posture. As well as aiming to keep your torso as low as possible, to further lower your centre of gravity, try dropping your inside shoulder when cornering.

Look ahead

How far ahead should you be looking? "You should always be looking at where you want to go, where you want to exit the corner or in a straight line 30 metres up the road. You will follow where your eyes are so if you're staring at the obstacle, you might hit it!"

As you focus on those points of vision, you'll find your body will manoeuvre itself and your bike into the ideal position. If there is a rider in front of you, look past them, your peripheral vision will tell you where they are, and it means you won't follow them into a bad line or end up crashing if they do. And when cornering, try to look around the corner and not at the edge of the road.

Push on your outside leg

This is a specific skill that you need to practice to the point when it becomes automatic. As you take a corner, keep your outside leg straight with the majority of your weight pushing on the pedal. This further increases your base of support and lowers your centre of gravity, enabling you to take a tight line through the corner when combined with your dropped inside shoulder and low torso.

On or off the seat?

Referring back to the aim of getting your centre of gravity as low as possible, it's best to stay in the seat. Richard says, "this will ensure you're balanced well across the length of the bike and that your arms and shoulders are relaxed."

"Stay in the saddle!"

The shortest line

The safest and fastest way through a corner is also the shortest. Taking the shortest line possible smoothes out the corner, requires less pedaling, covers less distance and consequently, helps maintain a high speed. In some cases you can't take the absolute shortest line due to traffic lines, so try to smooth out the angle of the corner as much as possible while staying safe and law abiding.

Richard has some tips on achieving the shortest line. "Generally, start wide, aim for the apex or inside point of the corner, being aware of traffic or other riders (and staying on your side of the road). The only time when this isn't necessary is when it's a longer sweeping corner and you can hug the inside line all the way through it."

This is a specific skill that you need to practice to the point when it becomes automatic. As you take a corner, keep your outside leg straight with the majority of your weight pushing on the pedal. This further increases your base of support and lowers your center of gravity, enabling you to take a tight line through the corner when combined with your dropped inside shoulder and low torso.

Descending isn't a time for rest

Well, it's a great time to recover but it's not a time to completely stop pedaling and rest. If you were to stop pedaling on a long descent, your legs will fill will lactic acid and end up feeling like cement blocks when you try to start pedaling again. To prevent this lactic build up, spin your legs where possible and avoid long stationary periods. You don't need to apply a lot of pressure, it's purely to keep the blood circulating and help clear waste from your legs.

You have two brakes, use them

There are two brakes on your bike so use both when descending. This will spread the load through the bike evenly, helping you maintain balance and preventing your weight and centre of gravity from changing too drastically.

Going back to our first point, "braking into the corners" is one of the biggest mistakes Richard sees in cyclists when descending. Richard advises to "judge the speed you can hit the corner at, brake before the corner, then let the bike run through the corner unimpeded."

Braking through a corner puts you at risk of washing out (losing) your front or back wheel, which will see you hit the road. If you really need to stop in a hurry mid-way through a corner then try to get as upright as possible first.

When applying the brakes, do so progressively and evenly, being aware that your front brake is going to have greater power than your rear

Ride on the drops

In addition to lowering your centre of gravity, riding on the drops will give you much greater control over the bikes handling thanks to better grip and less chance of your hands slipping if you hit a pothole or bump in the road. Riding on the drops will also give you greater efficiency when using the brakes as you'll have greater leverage than if you stayed on the hoods.

Here's Richard's ideal position, "be in the drops, hands firmly holding the bars but don't clench. Keep your shoulders relaxed, your elbows bent and your head looking up the road. Have 60% of your weight on the back wheel, 40% on the front."

Things to be aware of

Having your brakes on too long: Constantly having pressure on your brakes will result in the braking surface overheating causing brake fatigue and eventually failure. This is especially the case for carbon braking surfaces. To avoid excessive heat build up, try pulsing the brakes to wash off speed or alternating between the front and rear.

Take care in the wet: Braking becomes significantly compromised in the wet. The quality of contact between the braking surfaces is diminished, as a result, it will take you longer to slow you down. On top of that, traction to the road won't be as good, you won't be able to see as far ahead, you may have water sprayed in your face by another rider and it will be harder to grip the bars. As a consequence, take care in the wet, leave yourself enough time to brake appropriately and be extra cautious.

Descending shouldn't feel like work: It should feel fluid and easy. If you are working too hard or concentrating too much, there's a high likelihood you're not descending as well as you could. Try to let the descent flow and again, practice makes this possible. Pick a descent you know well and practice it over and over to build your confidence to the point where you can get to the bottom safely, at good speed and with minimal effort.