I dicided today that I would go out and set the starting FTP and did my local climb Camby and solid 5km 8% climb that is right on my doorstep. I was going to just go a roll around, but, wanted to see where I was at and make sure that all the subsequent rides were at the right intensity and that TP was going to be giving me the correct CTL and corresponding TSB numbers throught the next month or so. The test numbers were 23 minutes for the climb over 5 mins slower than my PB time and 23 minute power was 300 watts on the dot at 75kg’s. Thie represents a 75 watt drop from PB form and nearly 8 kg’s heavier than race weight!!!!! With a CTL starting at 9.6 I have a long way to go, but, I have the first target set which is Wildside at the end of January and the big news for me was being asked to do the Absa Cape Epic in South Africa with a rider I coached for the event last year Oliver Klein. Olz smashed it in the masters cat last year finishing well up in the top ten and is looking to hit the podium in 2012.

That gives me 3 months until Wildside and 5 until the Cape Epic. I am going to run a series of articles on training for Stage Races in AMB to go along with the training I am doing and also the popularuty

With this in mind I don’t get may athletes to do anything more than a standard 25 watt/min ramp rate MAP for guys or a 15 watt/min ramp rate for women. This is followed by a 20 minute FTP test on a climb or on circuit without stops. I then simply look at the relationship between each and determine the AWC of that athlete and construct training accordingly. I do when the weather is very bad have my athletes carry out a separate ergo FTP as well as an outdoors climbing FTP as RPE is different when doing tests indoors and outdoors and by altering the ergo indoor FTP sessions become achievable and there is less failure to complete sessions. There is much debate about this, but, quite simply some can achieve indoor sessions at or close to outdoor sessions power and some cannot. It is far better to have success and completion of sessions than ball busting failures that crush the spirit and motivation of a rider.

This all came about when my associate coach Damo Mason came over today to help me move my slide on camper and some timber as I can hardly move with my ruptured disc. After moving the gear we had Damo primed ready for a test on the CycleOps PT 400. I have set up a large number of programmed sessions and the ramp tests are fantastic when completed on the load ergometer. Damo smashed out a great test and with the short protocol the whole thing was done in 40 minutes. Damo managed to average 458 watts for the last-minute and it was a great result. Thos just confirmed the numbers we had been seeing out on the road and the 340 - 350 watt FTP we have set to base the training upon. This is also why Damo just smashed the recent NSW Maters 3 ITT  Champs.

Damo Mason MAP 25 Watt Ramp

I suppose the reason for this meandering post is that if we all followed the same easy to follow protocols it would be so much better to cross reference riders form and fitness. Quite simply if for instance what does it matter knowing a rivals FTP it is what it is and so you just have to use the governor to overcome those with better physiology and genetically given gifts ;o)

I will of course in the future put the article for free download on this blog or the website and I am sure it will be used and adapted by other sports scientists out there for other articles and debates. I suppose this is as I sit here waiting for my back operation unfit and a little down about nothing is new, creativity and spontaneity is what will  inevitability uncover new training ideas and new levels of performance. As sports scientists and coaches we should take time to get together as we do at www.ftptraining.com and increase the pool of knowledge with regular skype conferences and discussions on clients need and goals and have that pool of creativity and energy uncover new area to study and increase performance by doing so.

What are you waiting for coaches and sports scientists my contact details are on the website, lets start the process instead of reading and rewriting each others work lets start creating a new level of understanding by pooling knowledge and data for the good of increased performance and discovery.

These are ramblings of an injured athlete on lots of meds to stop the pain from ruptured disc resting on the sciatic nerve, I am hoping to have the surgery within the week and begin the journey of recovery and who knows new levels of performance ;o) I was really looking forward to doing the elite State ITT Champs this year, up until a month or so ago my FTP had been creeping up with very little (3 – 5 hours a week) training. I was focussing on ultra specific efforts at very high power outputs at or above race pace. FTP had come up to 340+ watts at just under 7okg’s which for winter was the best my weight had ever been and I was looking forward to doing a sub 60 min State ITT and we had a Torq team set up for the Tour of Gipps and then the Tour of . What a bugger, always next year eh )

Cheers

Fenz

GTR Carbon Pro red

2010 Cube reaction GTC Race

GTR Carbon Pro rival

These rigs represent awesome savings on new so drop dean an email and set up a test ride.

Cheers

Fenz

The following chart shows the aerodynamic savings according to what www.aerosportsresearch.com calculated for Velonews 

How much time does your $$ buy?

These numbers are calculated for a rider over 40kms at a time of 48minutes.

So then although we can spend heaps of $$$ on the small bits and pieces for the bike the speedsuit is one of the biggest bang for your buck items for TT speed. This is followed by the tri bars and obviously this is governed by their overall set up and position as discussed yesterday. Areo helmet and time in the wind tunnel can bring about similar benefits, but, the costs are massively different!We are always looking at wheel and in my research it will depend a lot upon conditions. A deep 90mm + front wheel will in most conditions be faster than a shallower wheel or a tri spoke, but, various yaw angles and wind speed will have differing effects upon this relationship, so , trial and error along with experience of handling the wheels in wind will play a part. It is no good having the fastest wheels on for the day, but, being scared and blown about the road not being able to actually ride and concentrate on pacing and power production. Look at the results for shoe covers!! big gains can be had for sure for little outlay. Last but not least the frame, small, but, meaningful gains can be made with the slipery framesets if you have the money.

It is easy to see then why when I turned up for the Masters State RR Champs with my team mate and associate coach Damo Mason on that windswept day in we both had on our Champion Systems FTP Training speedsuits and overshoes isn’t it;o)

Cheers

Fenz

How things have changed, bikes, gear, knowledge the whole sport was in the dark ages back then and knowledge was passed on through the A graders in the club if you were lucky. There was no internet, no wind tunnels, no anything, just trial and error and away you go. I was hooked from then on and found that I had a talent for time trialing, my pretty average physiology could be pushed beyond its real limits against the clock and solid results followed. Part of this is due to my inquisitive and partly OCD nature. I love the tinker, the changing the gluing and moving of all the bits and pieces involved on the TT rig.

Now than I am not going to give away all the secrets for Uber speed , unless you are one of my riders as it has taken literally 20 odd years to learn, but, I am wiling to show pictures of the rig and see if you can work most of them out for yourselves. I gave a report of the new CUBE as soon as I had built it up and transferred the measurements from the Transition, but, there have been lots of changes since, so, I think a revisit is in order.

The front end, is the most critical first point of contact with the enemy. Frontal area needs to be reduced to a minimum, but, still allowing breathing and power output. There is a crossover point where getting too low reduces power. A lot of testing needs to be done to establish this point for you as an individual. Too high not very aero, but, lots of power vs too low very aero, but, no power. Let look at the front end of the CUBE for details.

CUBE front end neat and tidy

Neat and tidy front end, very narrow with elbow touching and a 30 degree bend for the extensions. This position has taken years to get into and most people cannot ride like it. If you try it be carefull the overall control of the bike is far more difficult and cross winds really get you!!!

TRP Brake mounted behind the front fork to smooth airflow

USE Tula bars adapted slightly with armrests 120mm below the saddle height. I have found this the maximum drop height before I start to lose power. The average is between 110 – 120 for most riders as an optimum drop height.

Awesome USE Tula 380mm wide the minimum width allowed by the UCI

I am using the 54 tooth OSymetric rings as used by a large amount of the SKY team and most notably Bradley Wiggins. I once tested Bradley when he was 16 years old at the lab with Simon Jones for the BCF. He had just I think won a World Champs on the boards. It is amazing to see him now rally at the top of his game and the pinnacle of his physiological capacity..Anyway some great studies have come out with these rings and after chatting to a good mate back in England Chris Mc and email with his coach Jon Sharples I decided to give them a go. As I am now unfortunately injured the test period was small, but, I did hit a peak pb 3 minutes of 460 watts at 70kg, with one crippled leg, and was 3 second off my course record at a local 15km TT, so, signs are very good indeed. They actually ride very naturally straight off and I was amazed by how good they feel. If anyone is interested I can get them for a good price. Go onto my website www.ftptraining.com and send me a message and I will see what I can do for you.

54 Tooth OSymetric Ring on a Quark with Keo Blade aero pedals

The Keo Blade Aero Pedals help smooth airflow under the foot as well as looking bloody great ;o) There are more little things that I am not going to tell you as you need to travel down the path of discovery for yourselves, but, there is more free speed in the setup if you choose to uncover it.

Good luck on the journey of discovery and ultimate speed, I am over 20 years into it and simply love it.

CUBE = FAST

Cheers Fenz

Then about 3 weeks ago I had an asthma attack at the beginning of the State TTT and had to pull the pin. Then the left leg started to ache and the old tell-tale signs of my back problems started. tightness in the left glute, sacro iliac pain and over the past two weeks completely debilitating sciatic pain to the point as I write this that I haven’t been able to sleep for the past few nights and I cannot even walk. The pain into the sacrum area radiating down the leg is too painful. I went for a scan today and I am awaiting the results on Monday. I have a foreboding feeling that this just isn’t right and something is seriously wrong. I have been put on some rather serious pain-killers that target neuropathic pain most often used for fibromyalgia. They are supposed to knock me out and dull the pain, but, I have had 300mg tonight and it is doing nothing, so, it looks like another sleepless night!!!!!!!

Bugger it, I hope to be back in the saddle soon.

Smash some trails for me

Fenz

2 x Golds

After what can only be described as a disjointed period of training and racing I have been left not quite as sure of my form as I like to be coming into races. The numbers in training have been very good and the races that I have done very positive, but, on average I have been only getting in 4 – 6 hours a week on the bike. From past data and experience I have only been able to hold a little form and maintain condition working off a CTL of between 60 and 70 for any extended period. This has been going on since late November after the disastrous Worlds I took a bit of a hit and so decided to focus on a few home tasks and more normal life commitments for a change and not be quite so selfish and focused. This has been a nice change for a while, but, after the Terra and the huge volume week I decided that it was time to start training again and get serious for the year ahead. This was not to be as life and work continued to interrupt and scupper the plans and so the continued cycle of intermittent stop start training has gone on since. This lack of structure is tough for someone with OCD like me and that lack of structure impacts on the confidence and belief that the numbers are telling the truth.

I have been doing a lot of tests on the Quarks of late and am desperate for the new Qualvin to be launched so that I can check and re-calibrate the slope on both the Road and TT Cubes. After doing static tests on the Quarks I know they are a little out and beyond what I like to see in terms of accuracy at the moment at 4 – 6%. This is concurrent with data from some of my other athletes and by doing comparison tests against previous times on a local TT course.  If you are a Quark user a very good blog covering the test protocol for checking the accuracy of the power meter is http://slowroadie.com/quarq-calibration I used to check the slope of my SRM’s every month and look forward to being able to do the same with the Quark.

Right then back to the training and racing! The times and numbers up the local Camby climb were telling me I was going quite well and a local ITT against Jackson Law confirmed this as he only took a  few seconds on me over a 20km bumpy course, taking a PB for myself in doing so.

The week leading up to the State Champs was far from ideal again and I came down with a rotten cold on the Thursday before the event. I didn’t think I would compete, but, as the symptoms seemed above the neck I went for it. I had said to my teammate and associate coach Damo Mason that I would see how I went and if it was no good I would see if I could help him. With FTP training rider and strongman Scott Butler in the mix along with a field of 70 riders it was going to be a tough day in the office. The conditions were savage icy cold and blowing a gale. Damo and I decided to go full aero with speedsuits and wheels and as the conditions looked like a day in Belgium I knew it would split up early. Damo went out hard and on the attack and took a couple of riders with him. I hung back gauging my condition and checking out the other strong riders. Scotty and Danny H tried to bridge across the small gap and it looked as though it would all come together, but, a small gap remained. This then opened up again and I knew it was the time to go. I felt crossing the gap was easy and bridged to join Damo and two other riders. It was then a TTT, but, with really just two riders as the other guys were trying to do there bit when they could, but, just didn’t have the legs to hammer it. It was just like a club handicap and we just smashed it. After 30 or so Km’s we were 1.30 or so up and I knew the gap was good and the group would never get us back. Damo was riding super strong and I was maintaining the tempo, but, holding a little in reserve. As we hit the climbs after 60 or so Km’s we dropped one of the riders with us and I started to force the pace a little. I felt very good and had heaps in the legs, so, all was good. I maintained a very steady 350 – 400 watts on all the climbs and we continued to extend the lead. On the last climb I felt like going, but, held back as I didn’t really know the run into the finish and didn’t want to get caught out. I chatted to the guy with us and confirmed with him that as he had sat on he would be coming in 3^rd and it looked like the showdown was just Damo and I. Coming into the last 2km’s and I was waiting to go. I thought I will attack hard up the gutter and force the other guys to chase. Damo can sit on him and if he gets back up to me he can then attack for the win, all good. I attacked hard and fast and made the gap which I held to the finish. When I looked around I saw the other rider in front of Damo and was gutted, Damo had driven the break and to get rolled at the end like that was bitter. Still not bad for FTP with a Gold and a Bronze ;o)

We chatted about the race on the way home and I committed myself to making sure that Damo won the crit the next day. I would do all I could to get him away and then mark all the other riders.

Come Sunday and the sore throat and cold were of course worse, but, I had a job to do. I went hard from the end of lap one and drove the pace hard to get the pack strung out and drop a few off. Damo was sitting in and checking out the opposition. After about 15 mins of playing around and softening up the bunch Damo got in a move with 2 others, I marked anyone trying to get across and spoiled for a few laps to let them get the gap. It worked like a dream and he had 10 – 15 seconds by 30 minutes in and there were few left chasing. On one corner a rider inside me clipped a pedal and I made a move to bridge the gap alone and early made it, however, Danny Hennessey made it across to me and so I sat up not wanting to take a Masters World Track Points winner into the leading break as he could have spoiled the plans. With a lap to go Damo attacked his little group to get away for a solo win and a very well deserved salute, well done mate. I got rolled by Danny and came in 5^th.

Crit Gold for Damo Mason

FTP rider Mel Kilby also managed a bronze medal in the crit in her first year racing at a State level, so all in all a very happy couple of days in the saddle.

Next up the NSW TTT where last year we were hammering and in the lead only to have a car pull out on us and take out Bruce Williams, this will not happen this year and we are focused on doing a good test.

Another year and another 24 hour nats has come and gone and what a race it was. 4 weeks ago I hadn’t done any riding for about 4 months due to working on FTP Training, a home building project and slipping some discs. The back was feeling better and so the chance to race Terra Australis came up with Jo Wall and it was all go. I came out of Terra feeling quite good and so decided to do a few weeks of volume and as Dean from Torq was sponsoring the event I decided to give it another go. I had also planted the seed of doing the 24 nats to Jo so it would be good having a team doing the event. Leading into the nats was again not ideal and I hurt my back for a second time just a few days before lifting some 12mm glass panels. On the bike it felt ok, so, decided to still go for it and see how it would hold up. The underlying form was good as some tests up a local road and mtb climb after Terra had shown with some PB times and watts.  

The course this year was st Stromlo and the first ride showed a fast and flowing track that had everything you would need in a 24 course. It was quite rocky and would need the full suss for sure, it was also a little short for my liking, but, it was fun. A couple of practice laps at race pace showed about 32 – 38 min laps were going to be the go at around high endurance low tempo range with care needed to not over cook it on the small climbs.

The Torq crew this year for the 24 had Jo Wall completing her first event and also Scott Chancellor a seasoned top-level player who finished 4th at the Worlds last year, I was going to see how I fared and had no illusions of getting a result, I just wanted to be there and have a ride doing my best to support my riders and my team mates.

The race was a cracker in both fields with the mens race wide open really apart from the current World and National Champ Jas it could be anyones race with about 10 potential podium place finishers. The initial pace was good and I slotted in with a couple of 32 minute laps, I felt ok, in terms of my legs and cardio and was well within my target heart rate range of 140 – 150 bpm. The back, however, was a different story and was hurting from the get go. By lap 4 I had to take some pain killers and that was it really, I simply couldn’t push hard enough with the pain in my lumbar region to elevate my heart rate and backed right off to 39 – 41 minute laps. I hoped that by doing so I would be able to come strong later in the race, but, as the law of sod would have it that wasn’t the case. By 10 o’clock I was lifted off my rig and I called it. Bugger another sob story 24 hour for me, oh well. Scott had been lapping well and was up to 5th before gut issues forced a break and ruined any chances of a podium. Other FTP riders were in the mix, Andrew Hall was holding 3rd for the first 4 – 6 hours and came in a great 6th place overall and 3rd in the tough 30 – 34 cat. Jason McAvoy gritted out another top 10 overall with 8th place and a win in the 40 – 44 cat. Torq/Anytime Fitness team mate Garry James came in 12th overall and smashed out the win in the 50 – 54 category. Great work guys awesome efforts on a brutal course. 

This ment after a little rest and some grub that I could concentrate on helping the team and FTP Training riders that had little or no support crew.

In the women’s race Jess had gone out hard from the start and as we had discussed in the game plan Jo had let her go and just maintained a manageable distance doing super consistent laps in the 38 – 41 minute range. By just after midnight Jo began the push and just lifted her pace a little while Jess was starting to struggle. The early efforts had left Jess tired and her laps started to slow and drift out to the mid to high 40′s. Jo continued to lap at 41 minutes and the gap started to fall. By 2′ish Jo had taken the lead and started to open up a gap first 2 then 10 minutes and very quickly out to 20+ minutes. It was all going totally to plan and Jo looked super controlled and very comfortable. Having done so many races and been on the other side of the relationship between pit and rider I tried to remember all the little things that helped and made small, but, significant differences to me as a rider. The mental game is so important and having established a solid lead it is easy to back off and start to feel the pain and realise how much longer there is to go. It wasn’t long before Jess pulled the pin after a savage lap with some near misses crashing, I wanted to give Jess a big cuddle as I knew the torment and pain in her decision to call it. Jess you rode like the Champion you are love, out there on the attack taking the race to Jo and putting the pressure on early. As I am well aware and have lamented on before in this blog, there comes a time when we simply cannot punish ourselves any more. I realise I reached it after the bronze medal in the Worlds in 2008 and have been like an old boxer ever since trying to relive the moments and dizzy heights of our ultimate performances, time to move on and rekindle the fire and motivation with new challenges mate. One thing is for sure Jess you are a Champion in every sense of the word.

At the 4am mark we hit the caffeine and Jo hit the turbo boost feeling great on the bike and having a ball of a time smashing it out. We had a daylight stop strategy for a gear change if she had a good gap and we used it for a freshen up as by this stage Jo had 3 laps on 2nd place. It was all about keeping going from here on in, motivation, massage, maintaining food and hydration with different options and choices.

Jo just continued to crank it out and brought in home like the new National Champion should in style and looked fresh as a daisy riding on the euphoria of winning her first National title. In the overall FTP’s Claire Stevens came in 5th and took out a win in her 35 -39 category and Meryl King came in 15th and took out a win in the 40 – 44 cat. A special mention to old FTP crew riders Diane Perry and Mel Behrens for outstanding results with 4th overall to Diane and a win in the 45 – 49 cat and 6th to Mel overall and 2nd in her cat.

Cheers

Fenz

Cube Aerium

I have been waiting for the new bikes to come in for a while and had to continue riding the Transition, but, with some of the bigger time trial races coming in the near future I was keen to fling my leg over the new Cube Aerium.

Every Cube that I have had the pleasure to build and ride has impressed me and straight out the box the Aerium was no different. It’s clean lines and striking paintwork was going to look awesome dressed out in some of the finest slippery gear I could lay my fingers on. The overall measurements were very similar to the Transition, so, to start with the initial set up was very easy and the ceramic bottom bracket slid nicely into the well finished shell. All the cables and routing were easy to set up (If you have not set up a TT bike before then this is not normally the case) the front mech cable took a little fiddling, but, it was not really a problem. The Transition had Specialized’s proprietary brakes and the rear was hidden behind the BB. With the Aerium the brakes are located normally and although this may cost a second or two in a 40km time trial, with clever cable routing it would be minimal. The cockpit actually builds up very neatly and I was very happy with the brake and gear performance, thanks mainly to the epic Sram Red. With a Quark fitted with Sram 54t chainring  and a set of 380mm USE Tula bars the set up is very light indeed, shaving over 1.5kg off the Transition and coming in at 7.5kg with disc and 90mm front wheel.

Quark Red Power Meter with 54tt Sram Ring

This will be a major saving on hill TT’s for sure. I opted for a Fizik Ares Time Trial saddle to make sure I could keep to the strict UCI 50mm behind the BB rule. The Cube’s seatpost is a very tidy affare that allows a very easy set up and adjustment of both forward and aft as well as up and down.

Very neat seat post set up

So that was it the drop from saddle to arm rests for me is 120mm as I find this the optimum for aero and power output, any lower and power drops massively, higher and my big melon sticks out in the wind too much ;o)

Neat cockpit area with USE Tula bars

For the first ride it was out on the road and over to the local 15km TT course. It looked fast (always a good sign) and I opted to do a warm up lap and then a SST/Threshold lap to get an idea if the position and feeling on the rig was right. Straight off the bat it felt quick to bring up to speed and although the bars are very narrow it wasn’t a problem. I also decided to do it without disc and aero front and without an aero helmet, it would be a good indication of the position when considered against previous times on the course.

Narrow, tight and fast USE Tula Bar

The outward leg was fast and at the turn with an average power of 335 watts I had an average speed of 44km/h, this section is uphill and was into a headwind! I know the course well and was happy at the turn that the position was fast. The bike accelerated very quickly from the turn and was up to 52km/h very quickly. The return leg was done at 48.5km/h average and it felt quick. This again was without aero gear so I was quietly smiling to myself knowing that with all the gear I would be 30 – 50 second quicker for sure and up around my course record on the bikes first ride ;o) The new back to centre Sram sifters are totally awesome and give a very positive feel and quick shift along with the fact that as they return to the central position they actually increase the aerobar extension without contravening the UCI 750mm rule. At the next turn the bike kicked again up to speed and brought me back into the finishing straight and across the line for a 20.01 at 330 watts average. All in all, the bike remained very stable and felt fast and lively. I decided to go for one last little spin before hanging the bike up for a couple of weeks to concentrate on the upcoming 24 hour national champs.

Once again Cube has designed a no nonsense striking looking bike that was easy to set up and fast from the get go. I am looking forward to fine tuning the position and racing the Aerium this year and will report back on any future alterations and tweaks.

Cube Aerium TT

Cheers

Fenz