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2020 WAS WEIRD BUT IT TAUGHT CYCLIST TO BE INNOVATE AND APPRECIATE THE PRIVILEGE TO RIDE THEIR BIKES. RESIDENT COACH BEN SHARES HIS THOUGHTS. WORDS BY BENOIT CAPOSTAGNO very year that passes is unique in some way, but 2020 has surely been unique in its uniqueness. From a global pandemic that kept us locked indoors for weeks to earthquakes in Cape Town, 2020 has been a year we will remember for some time. As a year comes to a close it is sometimes useful to look back at the year that has passed and take stock of lessons learned. Cyclists were certainly challenged this year to think out of the box in terms of training and racing and in this article, we will look at three key lessons that 2020 taught us.
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TRAINING INDOORS VS. OUTDOORS It is well established that training indoors “feels harder” than training outdoors. The likely causes of the elevated perceived exertion are the increased heat storage, the reduced amount of freewheeling and the lack of a change in scenery. Virtual platforms
like Zwift have helped reduce the boredom and allowed cyclists to perform group rides despite their geographical locations. However, despite industrial sized fans, airconditioners and training just in your bibs, heat storage is still a challenge when training indoors. Cyclists produce heat as they pedal and, when outside the air flowing over their bodies and the evaporation of their sweat helps them lose heat to the environment. Unfortunately, these heat losses are reduced indoors and as a result our bodies store more heat and the exercise feels harder than it would if we were doing the same amount of work outdoors.
“ENDURANCE ATHLETES CAN IMPROVE THEIR PERFORMANCE BY THE CORRECT APPLICATION OF STRENGTH TRAINING.” The increased perception experienced when cycling indoors has resulted in the misconception that a shorter session indoors is equivalent to a longer session performed outdoors. A new study conducted on professional cyclists in Spain1 shows that a reduction in training volume due to training exclusively indoors is not a successful strategy to improve endurance performance. The cyclists in this study reduced their weekly training volume by ~33% during a
seven week lockdown period. The reduction in training volume was accompanied by a decrease in both five and 20 minute mean maximal power. The authors attribute these decreases in performance to the reduced training volume, specifically highlighting the reduced amount of time spent and low intensities, as well as a reduction at high intensities (above threshold). At the time of writing this, countries in the Northern Hemisphere are considering or have already imposed a second lockdown in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Should you be faced with a second lockdown where you will be forced to train exclusively indoors, pay attention to your weekly training volume and ensure that you do not decrease it by too much, or try to substitute volume for an increase in intensity. THERE IS NO EXCUSE Success in endurance sport requires athletes to sustain the highest possible speed or power output at the lowest energy cost. In certain situations, athletes will be required to accelerate to break away from the pack or sprint to the line to take the win. In these situations, glycolytic capacity and maximal speed become important determinants of success. Endurance athletes can improve their performance by the correct application of strength training. Strength training has been shown to improve a variety of factors associated with endurance performance in
