RoadStarz

Rob Sleamkaer is the author of Serious Training for Serious Athletes. This book, first published in 1989, single handedly transformed my understanding of how to structure a training plan to win bike races. I first read the book when I was still at school, and to this day I believe this book has stood the test of time. Sport science is a rapidly evolving subject but Rob has produced one of the texts that will always remain the cornerstone of any training plan worth its salt. You can learn more about Rob's company but visitng the website Vasa Trainer

Michael Hutchinson – also known as Dr Hutch - is a British and Irish former professional cyclist turned writer who has represented Great Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland at events including the Commonwealth Games. Hutchinson began cycling at the University of Cambridge, where he studied Law at Fitzwilliam College.  As part of the university cycling team he won the National Team 25 Championships. Michael’s speciality was the individual time trial, but he has also won races on the track. Michael has won British titles at every distance from 10 to 100 miles, and is a two-time winner of the 12-hour national championships. He has also won the British 4,000m track individual pursuit title. In total Michael won a record 56 Cycling Time Trial Titles and has been the national record holder for time trials over 100 miles, 50 miles, 30 miles, 25 miles and 10 miles. His first book, The Hour: Sporting Immortality the Hard Way was awarded Best New Writer of the British Sports Book Awards (2007). Since then Michael has released a further two books - Faster - the Obsession, Science and Luck behind the world's fastest cyclists and most recently Re:Cyclists - 200 Years on Two Wheels - A history of cyclists and cycling.

Ant McCrossan’s voice is the background to many bike races on the World Tour. In 2011 Anthony hosted the opening of the London Velodrome with Lord Coe and later became the lead voice of the road and track cycling events at London 2012. Ant became the first English Speaking voice of the century old Giro d’Italia and the monument Italian classics Milano San Remo and Il Lombardia. He is now one of the team presenting those races to the passionate fans many years later. Subsequently Ant became the voice of Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics on the track and road. Anthony now hosts all of the UCI World Cups and World Championships for the world television feed across road, track and cyclo cross disciplines. Additionally he commentates all host TV feed broadcasts for the Tour de France owners ASO for their major races As well as his global work as a host and commentator Anthony is a campaigner for the development of women’s cycling and has founded two successful media businesses, Cyclevox and Voxwomen. These companies create hundreds of cycling television programmes, live streams and full outside broadcasts.

In his award-winning book Range -Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, author David Epstein examines the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields–especially those that are complex and unpredictable–generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see. Contrary to the commonly held belief that early specialisation is the key to success, Epstein argues that early specialisation is the exception, not the rule. This argument supports my own intuition and it reflects the RoadStarz philosophy: although some cyclists start training at a very young age, most of the successful riders are late to the  sport. In fact, I could list a lot of riders who arrived late to the sport and who have become very strong riders and, in some cases, have become world class. But the key point here is that late comers to cycling BENEFIT from their experience of doing other sports. It is because of their exposure to a range of sports and experiences that these riders excel, not despite it. In this special episode of the RoadStarz podcast I interviewed two performers who have yet to focus on cycling but who have backgrounds in completely different sports. Tom Smith is currently playing football for Bath City FC and Alex Gaiger is a former national standard tennis player who still plays recreationally. At one point in the show, they both commit to racing, so in subsequent episodes, we will be checking in with them to see how they’re getting on..

When Monty Young first opened the doors of Condor in 1948, he probably didn't think he'd build bicycles for pop stars, Olympians, and royalty. Condor bikes have been ridden to World Championships medals, multiple National titles, and ridden in the Tour de France. Condor’s success over the last 72 years has been dependent on attention to detail, customer service, and experience. Few brands can claim to have had their bikes ridden by household names such as Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins and multiple Olympic track champion Ed Clancy, but Condor are also the choice of bikes among fashion designers, soap stars, TV chefs and blues and rock stars Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger. Creatively speaking, Lance Armstrong also rode a Condor to victory in the Tour de France – if you saw the movie, The Program, you will not have noticed that every single bike used to make the film was in fact made by Condor. Sadly, Monty passed in 2018 but I had the great privilege of interviewing Monty’s son and Condor MD Grant Young at the home of Condor in Grays Inn Road, central London. In its 72-year history, Condor has seen cycling change and evolve massivley. I started by asking Grant about the legendary customer service that Condor is known for.

Katie is an 18-year-old who has managed to breakthrough into the British National Team for cyclo-cross. Katie’s rise through the ranks of cycling has been almost linear and she is already learning Flemish in anticipation of eventually relocating to Belgium to pursue her cycling ambition and dreams. You can follow Katie's progress on her blog and on instagram

In this special episode of the RoadStarz podcast I interview a host of guests at the 2019 Rouleur Classic in London.  The Rouleur Classic - first launched in 2015 - is an event which seeks to celebrate the very best in road cycling – with an exhibition, gallery space and theatre for on-stage interviews. Unique in the world of cycling, the event has proved a great success amongst exhibitors, professional riders and attendees. The 2019 London Rouleur Classic was held in the prestigious Victoria House in the heart of London With my podcast recorder to hand I paid a visit to catch up with some of the icons of road cycling and to find out what some of the leading brands in cycling have been working on to improve cycling performance. Oh, and by the way, if you’re looking for some cycling jewellery made from real velodrome track boards, then stay tuned… Guests on this episode include Ulysse Daessle from MET Helmets, Giro D'Italia, Giro di Lombardia and Amstel Gold winner Damiano Cunego, Ian Weatherill from Hope Hubs/Lotus Bikes, former pro road, MTB and cyclo cross rider Nick Craig, former stage winner and yellow jersey of the TdF Sean Yates, Olympic track champion Rob Hayles and Tim Harris, Jocelyn Ryan and Nigel Bishop of the Rayner Foundation. For MET Helmets visit here For RoadStarz Training & Coaching visit here  

My guest on the podcast today is Claus Moller.   Claus is a former professional cyclist from Denmark. As a young amatuer rider Claus moved to Pamplona in Spain where he enjoyed a very successful amateur career. He quickly rose to the attention of the Spanish pro teams. After several seasons with the Estepona and Castellblanch pro cycling teams, Claus was signed by the top Dutch pro cycling team TVM. After several successful seasons there he then moved onto the Portugese Maia Millaneza Team before joining the Italian Alessio Bianchi Team, and finally the Barbot-Pascoal Team. Claus eventually retired from pro cycling in 2007.    Among a string of top performances in the Giro d’Italia, Vuelta Espana and the Tour de France, Claus’s win list includes twice winning the Danish TT championships, a stage and eighth overall in the Vuelta Espana, two stages of Trofeo Majorca and the twice winning the Tour of Portugal, as well as the Spanish one-day race the Subida al Naranco.   Since retiring from pro cycling, Claus has returned to the sport as the Business Development Manager for the Virtu Cycling Business Club, a Danish business network for decision makers and business leaders interested in cycling, set up and co-owned by former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis.

My guest on the podcast today is Dr Josie Perry. Josie is a chartered psychologist working with those in sport and on the stage to help them overcome their barriers to success so they can achieve their goals. Josie has a background in communications and behaviour change having worked for many years in journalism, marketing, public relations and crisis communications across private corporations and government. With a long background in communications Josie first started learning about performance psychology after competing in Ironman Melbourne in 2013. In what turned out to be a lightbulb moment at the start of the race, Josie experienced the power of the mind in sport, and it subsequently became the fastest Ironman she’s raced. Josie since went on to set up Performance in Mind, a sports and performance psychology consultancy, teaching the skills needed to excel when you perform in sport or in front of the media. You can find out more about Josie by visiting her website Performance In Mind You can also find worksheets designed by Josie at Performance In Mind worksheets Josie's book is available at Performing Under Pressure For more information on RoadStarz and cycling coaching and training go to RoadStarz Cycling

My guest on the podcast today is Beccy Waters. Beccy took up road cycling in 2011 to keep fit during her recovery from a running injury. She started competing on the road in 2014 but after 5 years of 'medium' and lows in predominantly regional races, her dwindling love for racing coincided with her graduation from University and an upcoming internship in Nepal with UK charity Street Child. In order to raise funds for the charity, Beccy embarked on an epic adventure by riding solo from London to Kathmandu, Nepal.  At only 21 years of age, Beccy achieved an incredible goal and her story is an inspiration to anyone who is thinking of pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and literally, into the unknown.   For more information of how you too can achieve your cycling ambitions visit www.roadstarzcycling.com or email nic@roadstarzcycling.com 

In this second part of my exclusive interview with Magnus Backsted, we talk about How Magnus' training evolved throughout his pro cycling career, how he re-discovered his love for racing and training and how the 'more is better approach' to training has been superceded with a more effective training philosophy.

My guest on the podcast today is former professional cyclist Magnus Backstedt. In a career which lasted over 12 years Magnus won may races including stage 19 of the 1998 Tour de France and the opening Team Time Trial stage of the 2008 Giro d’Italia, but his biggest victory came in the 2004 edition of the Paris Roubaix. Infamously known as the Hell of the North, Paris Roubaix is the Queen of the Classics, and is arguably the toughest one day race in the world. Covering nearly 260km, the race includes around 30 cobbled sectors or pave which brutally test rider and machine to breaking point. Paris Roubaix is perhaps the most prestigious of one day races. Whilst many riders will plan their whole season around attempting to win Paris Roubaix, it is seen as a huge achievement to even finish the race. On a personal note, Paris Roubaix is my favourite race of the whole season and it was incredible to hear Magnus describe the feelings he had on the day that he took the top step of the podium as a champion of Paris Roubaix.

It would be overstating the point to suggest that British cyclists weren’t always successful. But, until the arrival of lottery funding, the number British riders who were winning at world class level were far fewer than we see today. For cycling though, the tipping point wasn’t actually lottery funding. It was the approach to training. Under the guidance of a sport scientist called Peter Keen, Chris Boardman won Gold in the men’s individual pursuit in the Barcelona Olympic Games. It wasn’t the victory itself that paved the way for future success of British cyclists, it was the scientific approach to training pioneered by Peter Keen that set a precedent. And pivotal to that training strategy was the use of a power meter. Power meters enable a rider to quantify their effort, and since the breakthrough achievement by Boardman and Keen in the Barcelona Olympics, powermeters have been integral to the way the British Cycling went on to dominate the world of track cycling. On the road, powermeters are now commonplace on the bike of every single professional rider. Every single rider who has won the Tour de France since Bjarne Riis in 1996 was using a power meter for training and racing. It’s no exaggeration to say that, in terms of performance, powermeters have revolutionised cycling. But here’s the rub. Power meters have been prohibitively expensive. A combination of development in technology and market forces has caused their price to drop, but for many riders who feel they cannot justify the hole in the bank account, a powermeters is off limits. My guest on the podcast today is a power meter revolutionary. Mike Devaney is a co-founder of Avio, a tech company who have set out to help cyclists to ride faster by making good reliable power meters easily accessible. To find out more about how RoadStarz can help you to achieve your cycling goals go to RoadStarz For more information on the Power Sense power meter go to Avio Power Sense

Until recently, the words ‘indoor cycling’ evoked images of solitude, stoicism or even bad weather. Following the explosion of indoor cycling fitness classes -or studio cycling- in the late 1990s the cycling world has since been revolutionised by smart turbo trainers, interactive indoor cycling training apps and even e-cycling races. Indoor cycling, especially studio cycling, has never been so popular. But the problem has been tradition. Cycling, more so than almost any other sport, is steeped in decades of tradition, folklore and sub-culture - men with shaved legs, time trial events starting at 5 o clock in the morning, and a flagship event – the Tour de France – which still has no equivalent event for female riders. At the same time, across the globe, there are studio cycling classes taking place at every minute of any 24 hour period. With packed out classes of mostly female participants, studio cycling boasts a female demographic in participation that is yet been achieved in the more traditional sense of cycling. So, the obvious question to ask, is how do you connect the followers of studio cycling with road cycling? In this episode of the podcast, I spoke to Michelle Ross, a life long fitness devotee, RPM studio cycling instructor, and now RoadStarz rider. Becoming a road cyclist has had a life changing effect on Michelle but I started by asking how she became hooked on fitness in the first place.   So, eventually, Michelle’s RPM class was attracting interest from another category of participant. Until this point, road cyclists eschewed the comfort of studio cycling. But in a break with tradition, it became commonplace to see competitive road cyclists checking in to Michelle’s sessions… After the break, Michelle discovers how her new level of fitness has given her a passion for climbing hills. And do you remember the group of road cyclists that Michelle first trained with? Well, what was supposed to be a farewell to long loved holiday destination near to her parent’s villa in Spain, turned into a life changing moment with one of those riders…. When we left off, Michelle was discovering a new level of fitness and a new level of cycling performance. I asked if any of her regular training partners had noticed her newly developed strength and confidence on the bike. One of the elements of cycling that appeals to many people is the spirit of adventure and freedom. The French even have a term for this type of personality characteristic, a flaneur, someone who freely wonders into adventure, observing society, free to make discoveries. And in Michelle’s case her passion for fitness and then cycling was just the beginning of a new chapter in her life… Just 14 months in and Michelle has transformed from being a very fit studio cycling instructor to a super fit road cyclist. So far, she has taken part in individual and team time trials, ridden ridiculously long distances at a pace that was previously unimaginable, and along with her fiancé and a group of equally committed road riders, Michelle is about to embark her very first cycling training camp. All of which is in addition planning a wedding…. The RoadStarz podcast is hosted, written and produced by me, Nic Tilling with music by Daniel Kadawatha. If you’re a rider looking to achieve that next level of fitness and cycling performance then head over to roadstarzcycling.com, subscribe to the free download ‘How to prep for every training ride like a pro cyclist’ and let me know exactly how I can help you to achieve your cycling performance goals and fitness ambitions.   If you like the podcast, leave me a review and tell your friends about it. It helps.

Tim Foster MBE is an Olympic Gold medalist, winning Gold in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in the Men's Coxless Four, alongside Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and Sir Steve Redgrave. In this fascinating and compelling interview Tim describes what it took to become an Olympic Champion and how that experience shaped his future and his perspective on training, coaching and performing. Crucially, Tim explains what people who are seeking to achieve greatness in cycling can learn from rowing and other sports. This episode will inspire you to take your training to the next level. The 'Gold Fever' documentary referred to in this interview can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j945HEVLV7M    

My first guest on RoadStarz is my good friend James Stewart. James is a former professional cyclist with Team UK Youth and Team Raleigh. After finishing his career as a pro cyclist James was looking for the next challenge. Motivated to raise awareness of a rare neurological condition called Rett Syndrome, James embarked on a massive challenge that would push his mind and body to the limit. To learn more about the Reverse Rett charity go to https://www.reverserett.org.uk/