COACH: Ben shines some light on the year of Zwift

lessons from disaster

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

Every 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.

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

novice to well-trained endurance athletes. Strength training sessions should be tailored to the athlete’s needs based on their experience and current strength level. Strength training should be viewed by endurance athletes as an additional tool in their goal to improve performance.

Many strength and conditioning experts moved their gyms online and classes were given using online platforms like Zoom or Facebook Live. Classes were kept basic and required little to no equipment but were still effective enough to allow cyclists to perform resistance training. Many of the athletes we work with have continued to include strength training in their programmes due to benefits they experienced during lockdown. The lockdown demonstrated to many cyclists that there is sufficient time to include strength training and you don’t need access to a gym to perform strength training.

MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS

One of the biggest challenges to performance in 2020 was getting the timing right. Races were cancelled or rescheduled which meant training plans had to be adjusted accordingly to peak later or sometimes earlier. The lack of “tune-up” races meant that often when cyclists arrived on the start line, it was their first race for quite some time and their form might not be at a level they would expect. Managing expectations appropriately due to changes in race dates can help reduce pre-race anxiety and deal with the disappointment if the race didn’t go as well as they had hoped for.

It was certainly a challenging year, and 2021 may have a bumpy start too, but we can always learn from the past and apply that knowledge to future endeavours.

BENOIT CAPOSTAGNO currently works for Science to Sport in Cape Town. He is currently completing his PhD at the University of Cape Town and is investigating training adaptation and fatigue in cyclists. For more info: www.sciencetosport.com