BIKE

Off the back of a stellar 2018 season, Karsten Madsen improved his biking substantially, culminating in a seventh place finish in Maui at the Xterra World Championships. Here’s his biking advice:

GET A BIKE FIT

“Getting a good fit is a must. It can add power to your set up and save power thanks to better aerodynamics. This is a great place to start, but this should also be done from time to time as we age due to the fact that our bodies change and our most efficient bike position may need to be reassessed and altered accordingly.”

POWER METER

“This is a great tool to track and quantify what you have done or are doing. The prices keep dropping, too, with many good options for hub, crank, crank arm and pedals. It really is a no brainer to invest in one. I have a power meter on every bike I ride.”

HILL REPEATS

Climbing used to be a weakness for Madsen. “As courses got really steep and my RPMs dropped, my power would drop off so I wanted to become better at delivering functional power.” Enter hill repeats. Choose a short and relatively steep section of road. “It can get tedious spending 45 to 90 min going up and down the same section of road, but you can use markers to gauge every rep in every session. It will greatly improve your functional power and make you enjoy the days you can just explore more scenic routes on your bike.”