TRAIN LIKE A PRO
There are plenty of tips you can take from the likes of TrekSegafredo, Dimension Data and KatushaAlpecin to unleash your inner winner…
What can we learn from the pros? More than you might think...
PEAK POSITION, OPTIMUM SPEED
“We examine the rider’s pedal stroke, looking at factors like how their legs extend and what their posture is like,” explains Julian Wall of professional bike-fitter Cyclefit, who works with John Degenkolb’s team TrekSegafredo. “To simplify things, we’re looking at three key contact points in space – handlebar, saddle and pedals – and can then tweak those on the Fit Bike. Hands, bum and feet are key.”
The Fit Bike is just one cutting-edge piece of equipment in the Covent Garden bike-fitter’s armoury, along with 3D analysis, motion capture lasers and pressure pads that measure saddle and foot force. Cyclefit takes optimum bike position seriously, and with research from Spain revealing that a variation of just 0.5cm from optimal saddle position can lead to significantly higher energy expenditure – and subsequent lower speeds – over long rides, you can see why.
You can search online for credible DIY methods to determine a pretty accurate bike position, but they don’t match the accuracy of a performanceenhancing, injury-cutting professional fit. And with prices starting from as low as £100, it’s money well spent.
BEET YOUR PERSONAL BEST
“Some of the Dimension Data guys always have beetroot in their salad,” says the team’s sports scientist Dr Jonathan Baker. “They’ll also use Beet It, which is highly concentrated beetroot. It’s pretty unpleasant but you do notice a difference.”
Why are the likes of Steve Cummings and Mark Cavendish dabbling with this divisive root vegetable? It’s down to studies that show nitrates within the beetroot flow into a biochemical pathway within the body that converts them to nitric oxide. Studies have shown this conversion has the effect of reducing the oxygen cost of low-intensity exercise and extending time to exhaustion during high-intensity exercise.
How often? “Some of the riders have a vegetable smoothie every morning that includes beetroot, plus celery, carrots and lime. Or they’ll have Beet It every day. It becomes part of their routine.”
OFF-THE-BIKE TRAINING
“In the winter I spend a lot of time in the gym,” says multiple Tour de France green-jersey victor Peter Sagan. “I’m mainly working on my legs; that’s why the squat is very important.” Sprint supremo Marcel Kittel mirrors this squat love-in. “I do squats all year round – around 120kg.”
It’s not just the pros who’ll benefit from leg squats – you will, too. Squats activate myriad muscles that are constantly engaged during cycling, including the quadriceps, hamstrings and core muscles of the abs and lower back. A couple of 10-minute squat sessions each week will strengthen your system, as well as laying a bed of muscle fibres to soak up lactic acid on subsequent rides. Just mix up heavy weights and low repetitions (around six to eight, three sets) during the offseason before reducing weight and increasing repetitions during sportive season (three sets of 12-15 reps).
WIDER = FASTER
“At the same pressure, a 25mm tyre is seven per cent faster than a traditional 23m model,” says Christian Wurmbaeck, product manager at Continental Tyres, who partners many WorldTour teams including Romain Bardet’s AG2R La Mondiale. “Why is down to improved aerodynamics.”
When it comes to road tyres, thinner used to rule the roost, the theory being that less contact with the ground results in lower rolling resistance. But recent research shows that at the same tyre pressure, the 25mm-wide tyre produces the same-sized contact area as the narrower tyre because while the narrower tyre flattens over its length, the wider tyre is flattened over its width. The 25mm tyre also fits flusher to your wheel rim, ever-so slightly smoothing out airflow, which cuts drag. A set of 25mm tyres is also more comfortable than the thinner pair – needed on the pockmarked roads of Great Britain.
RAPID RECOVERY
“Compression socks have a multitude of benefits,” says Akbar de Medici, medical director at Compression Advisory who has worked with a number of elite sporting teams. “They include improving venous return to accelerate recovery.”
While compression socks aren’t sartorially the most aesthetically pleasing item of apparel, as de Medici highlights there are performance reasons why the likes of Richie Porte are rarely seen without them. By increasing pressure on the calves, they act like a second heart, increasing the rate that toxins are flushed out as well as flooding the body with oxygenated blood – both raising recovery time post-ride so you’re at your optimum for the next one.
Fit is paramount because graduated pressure from the ankles to the calves is vital, so try before you buy. That’s why a customised set of compression socks is arguably the best option. And you don’t need to suffer the fashionable ignominy after every ride – just reserve for those tough efforts where your legs feel like jelly.
“Squats activate myriad muscles that are constantly engaged during cycling, including the quadriceps, hamstrings and core muscles of the abs and lower back”