Podcast appearances and mentions of brent bookwalter

The Great Illusion: Dr Scott Frey and Brent Bookwalter - Ep167 In this episode my discussion with Dr Frey and former World Tour rider Brent Bookwalter is about training the mind to better handle the demands of sport. Rather than simply leaving race day flow state or a high level of motivation to chance, Dr Frey has developed tools that athletes can use to condition their minds in a way that cultivates a state of high performance with intent. Brent has used many of these tools and proven their efficacy.  The conversation may offer the audience a perspective on how it is possible to train in more ways than simply pedaling harder.  To find out more, search Dr Scott Frey and you will find his site.  Links: Cerebral Performance Instagram ►► https://www.instagram.com/cerebral_performance/ Brent Bookwalter's Instagram►► https://www.instagram.com/brentbookwalter/

Brent Bookwalter was one of the most likeable riders in the peloton, and a fierce competitor to boot. In 2011, his BMC team, led by Cadel Evans pipped Jensie and the Schleck's to Tour de France victory. Since retirement he's become a fixture of NBC's Tour de France coverage, and is studying for a degree in Sports Psychology. However, he's also led the fightback after Hurricane Helene hit his new hometown in Western North Carolina last October. To help out Brent and the team in Black Mountain head to https://www.rebuildblackmountain.org/ and check out Brent's personal site here https://www.brentbookwalter.com/The Odd Tandem is a Shocked Giraffe production and is produced and edited by Mark Payne. The music is provided by Taylor Phinney. Follow The Odd Tandem on social media by searching for @OddTandem on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok. The podcast is also available ad free - with additional articles by Jensie over at Patreon.com/OddTandem and in Video at Youtube.com/@OddTandem

We talk with Dr. Scott Frey and Tour commentator Brent Bookwalter about how our brains perceive effort and ways we can manipulate that perception to go harder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brent Bookwalter is a Tour de France commentator for the NBC Peacock team. He spent 16 years as a pro cyclist and raced in the World Tour including on the BMC squad that helped Cadel Evans win the 2011 Tour de France. He shares about his experiences before, during and after his career as a pro cyclist, the path that led him to pursue a graduate degree in psychology, why he passed on the calling of the holy spirit of gravel and how he landed the coveted Tour analyst gig. Catch him on Peacock's coverage of the Tour and to learn more, go to www.brentbookwalter.com and @brentbookwalter on Twitter. Choose the Hard Way is the podcast about how doing hard things is fun and builds stronger humans. You're one of those strong humans so please hit subscribe and rate this show 5 stars wherever you listen. Sign up for the newsletter at choosethehardway.com and you can suggest guests and send me your great ideas @hardwaypod on social and at choosethehardway@gmail.com. Brent Bookwalter Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Bookwalter BingeWatch on YouTube Sign up for the Hard Way Newsletter - - - - - - - - - -  Choose The Hard Way Website | Instagram Andrew Vontz LinkedIn | Instagram Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher

Hazte suscriptor del podcast a través de Ivoox o Spotify en este enlace https://anchor.fm/borja-ciclofactoria/subscribe y accede a contenido exclusivo. Un amigo que nunca defrauda, con un montón de historias que contar: Toni Calderón. Un tipo que combina el trail, maratones y ciclismo de larga distancia, con un rendimiento increíble en todas las modalidades. A finales de noviembre participó en la Gran Guanche Trail, logrando un meritorio primer puesto, por delante de un ex-pro como Brent Bookwalter. Todo un placer disfrutar de una conversación tan amena con Toni, de quien siempre hay un montón que aprender! Canal Telegram: https://t.me/construyendoultraciclismo Síguenos en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ciclofactoria/

That's it! Another incredible Tour de France in the books, a race that had action on each and every stage. We sit down and wrap up this year's race with our in-house Tour winner, Cadel Evans, as well as get hear from our man on the ground Brent Bookwalter. We discuss our stand out moments, riders of the race, and of course hear a few on the road stories! Sit back and fill that Tour de France hole with our latest episode. Be sure to follow our different social media channels to stay up to date with everything happening here at BMC, as well as catch content from inside the Tour from our different Teams and Athletes. Facebook: @bmcswitzerland Instagram: @ride_bmc YouTube: BMC Switzerland

Pogacar cracks, but Jumbo Visma lose two key riders! What an incredible week of racing. Just like that we're at the second traditional rest day of the Tour de France. After an phenomenally eventful week in the race, this episode features a live dispatch from the slopes of Alpe d'Huez, bringing you a taste of the chaos, as well as insights from on the ground delivered by BMC legend, Brent Bookwalter, who may have just found his second calling! Even with Cadel Evans out on the road travelling, race analysis is still delivered, but this time by two riders who haven't actually ever been in a World Tour race, never mind having won the biggest of all of them. So before we get stuck into the third and final week of Tour action, be sure to catch up on the race breakdown and insights from last week NOW! Be sure to follow our different social media channels to stay up to date with everything happening here at BMC, as well as catch content from inside the Tour from our different Teams and Athletes. Facebook: @bmcswitzerland Instagram: @ride_bmc YouTube: BMC Switzerland

Together with two BMC legends, Tour winner Cadel Evans and his fellow teammate Brent Bookwalter, we break down the first week of this year's Tour de France as well as look ahead to next week. Can Pogačar be beaten? Will Van Aert crack? What would Cadel do and more. Brent Bookwalter then comes to us live from France to discuss the news on the ground as well as share 2010 Tour de France story with us from the last time he was in Morzine for a rest day. As we wait for the Tour to get rolling, catch up on the race with us and Cadel now! Be sure to follow our different social media channels to stay up to date with everything happening here at BMC, as well as catch content from inside the Tour from our different Teams and Athletes. Facebook: @bmcswitzerland Instagram: @ride_bmc YouTube: BMC Switzerland

Fast Talk all-star guests including Dr. Iñigo San Millán, Kendra Wenzel, Joe Friel, Lennard Zinn, and Brent Bookwalter reveal their favorite workouts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 14 years riding on the World Tour, Brent Bookwalter joins the Pro Cyclist Foundation, which aims to be a game changer for professional cycling. Backed by the Black Swift Group, the foundation aspires to pump millions of dollars to support the biggest needs of professional cycling. Whether riders are looking to go pro, areContinue reading "Pro Cyclist Foundation | Brent Bookwalter"

This week on the pod we are joined by Brent Bookwalter! Brent is a dad to one, founder of the Bookwalter Binge, olympian and professional cyclist for Team BikeExchange. Brent is retiring from professional cycling at the end of this season which made this a perfect time to talk about his life as a Today's Dad. We talked about what the future looks like for his family, the joys of sharing cycling with your kids, having a baby during the pandemic (and not in your home country), his career as a cyclist and much more. We also talked about his upcoming Bookwalter Binge Gran Fondo in Asheville, NC. The ride will take place on October 30th and you can find all the details on their website. A big thanks to Brent for joining me on the pod this week. We are wishing him and his family nothing but the best as they start this next chapter of life and congratulate him on a great 16 year career! Extra:Brent Bookwalter on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | WebsiteBookwalter Binge WebsiteTeam BikeExchangeKevin Sprouse on WDDRChristian Vande Velde on WDDRLawson Craddock on WDDRSubscribe:Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/2Tt9FkaSpotify - https://spoti.fi/2MfPPI3Stitcher - http://bit.ly/2McLrJVGoogle Podcast - http://bit.ly/2MemDS4Check us out at: Wake. Dad. Drink. Repeat.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wakedaddrink)

The Tour de France is headed for a Pyrenean showdown, and on today's episode of The VeloNews Podcast, we dig into the biggest storylines for week three. Can anyone knock Mark Cavendish out of the green jersey? As it turns out, Michael Matthews and Sonny Colbrelli are nipping at Cavendish's heels, even if neither man has won a stage yet. But does either one have a realistic shot at earning green? We break it down. Then, should Tadej Pogačar release his power data from the 2021 Tour de France? Some pundits believe it may alleviate fears that Pogačar is cheating. But other believe it would expose his weaknesses. Then, U.S. rider Brent Bookwalter is back on the podcast. Brent discusses the 10-year drought for American victories at the Tour de France, and the factors that contributed to the dry spell. Brent also discusses why young riders like Jonas Vingegaard get opportunities to shine every few years. All that and more on today's episode of The VeloNews Podcast.

The race season is upon us! Hopefully, that’s true where you live... even if it isn’t, we hope this episode helps you understand how to train in the race season. Of course, any discussion about racing must be preceded by a discussion of the base season, which sets that foundation for success. So today we start with a bit of a review.  Once we set our focus on race physiology, we address which assets should be developed, how, and when. How much “top end” do you need? Which assets take longer to develop and which can be honed in a few sessions?  Once the stage is set, we dive deeper into how you go about planning and refining the assets you’ve identified, whether that’s through threshold work, anaerobic capacity workouts, or something else.  Our featured guest today is a Fast Talk veteran. Dr. Iñigo San Millán, director of training at UAE-Team Emirates, has appeared on the show numerous times before, and now we’re proud to welcome him back after successfully coaching Tadej Pogacar to the 2020 Tour de France title. With Iñigo’s help, we get a glimpse of how this incredibly talented prodigy trains, and how those lessons can be applied to any amateur cyclist.  In this star-studded episode, we also hear from elite coach Neal Henderson, who heads performance at Wahoo Fitness; former Olympian and longtime Fast Talk contributor Colby Pearce; and WorldTour pros Brent Bookwalter of Team BikeExchange and recent Giro stage winner Joe Dombrowski of UAE-Team Emirates.  Wherever you are, we sincerely hope that racing is on your horizon. Let's make you fast!    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We receive a lot of questions about very specific topics—fasted training, supplements and recovery products, breathing techniques, and so forth. (By the way, we love them, so please keep them coming.) In this episode, however, we step back and discuss what we feel is most important, and frankly what is going to give you the biggest return for your investment of time, sweat, and energy. If those specific things are the 5 percent, today is all about making an argument for focusing on the 95 percent. We are in an age of marginal gains, where many athletes have firmly latched onto the idea that seemingly insignificant changes have the potential to incrementally add up to substantial gains. The trend started within the ranks of the pro peloton. The thing is, pro riders are so developed physiologically to win that they have to find these little things to make the difference. In fact, they've likely spent 10 years developing the 95 percent and have it dialed. More importantly, the secret truth is that pros don’t focus on the 5 percent as much as you'd think, and we give several examples of this, from Kristin Armstrong (who you'll hear from in episode 154), Brent Bookwalter, and others. So what should you focus on? What comprises that 95 percent? It's simple: Training Recovery Functioning gear We'll go into much more detail in the episode about what we mean, specifically, about these topics, and the fundamental principles underlying all of it. Finally, we close with a cautionary tale: The 5 percent can take up 90 percent of your time and distract you from what's truly valuable. Because they're trendy, there is nearly an unlimited number of things that fall into that "5 percent bucket" to explore. They are all debated and based on partial science—forcing you to spend energy asking what works and what doesn't. All of this adds up to a whole lot of mental energy and fatigue. Thus, instead of helping you improve, too much focus on the 5 percent can actual hinder you in many ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2020 Giro d'Italia has begun and VeloNews is on the ground it Italy for all of the action. On today's episode we link up with reporter James Startt who is attending the race for insight on what it's like to actually be at the event. Startt takes us inside the race's COVID-19 safety protocols, and he discusses the biggest differences between the Giro and the Tour de France. Then, Startt breaks down all of the GC action from stage 3, the summit finish to Mt. Etna. Then, American rider Brent Bookwalter joins the podcast for an update from the Giro. Brent is riding for Simon Yates at this year's race, and thus far it's been a tough start for Brent. He crashed on stage 2 and injured his back, and Brent explains the metal and emotional challenges that a rider faces after suffering an injury this early in a grand tour. Brent has some opinions on the race's COVID-19 safety protocols — or lack thereof — and he explains what it's like behind the scenes at the race. Today's episode is sponsored by a new training supplement called MitoQ. MitoQ is a unique form of the antioxidant CoQ10 that is designed to get inside our cell's mitochondria to help create energy and neutralize free radicals. For more information go to www.mitoq.com/powerupcycling.

The 2020 Giro d'Italia has begun and VeloNews is on the ground it Italy for all of the action. On today's episode we link up with reporter James Startt who is attending the race for insight on what it's like to actually be at the event. Startt takes us inside the race's COVID-19 safety protocols, and he discusses the biggest differences between the Giro and the Tour de France. Then, Startt breaks down all of the GC action from stage 3, the summit finish to Mt. Etna. Then, American rider Brent Bookwalter joins the podcast for an update from the Giro. Brent is riding for Simon Yates at this year's race, and thus far it's been a tough start for Brent. He crashed on stage 2 and injured his back, and Brent explains the metal and emotional challenges that a rider faces after suffering an injury this early in a grand tour. Brent has some opinions on the race's COVID-19 safety protocols — or lack thereof — and he explains what it's like behind the scenes at the race. Today's episode is sponsored by a new training supplement called MitoQ. MitoQ is a unique form of the antioxidant CoQ10 that is designed to get inside our cell's mitochondria to help create energy and neutralize free radicals. For more information go to www.mitoq.com/powerupcycling.

Team Ineos Grenadiers detonated the peloton during Friday's 7th stage of the Tour de France, and a handful of contenders were caught out. Wout van Aert won the stage in another stunning example of why he's the most exciting men's rider of the year. On today's episode of the podcast, Fred Dreier and Jens Voigt break down the action from the last few stages of the Tour de France, and analyze the biggest storylines in the race. Van Aert has now won two stages of the Tour de France, and he's shown that he can climb, descend, and win one day races. What does the future hold for van Aert? Jens offers his unvarnished opinion on how van Aert should steer his career — and cyclocross is not a part of the picture. Jens also has some opinions on the UCI's ruling to penalize Julian Alaphilippe for taking an illegal feed on stage 5. Then, the guys break down the coming stages in the Pyrenees and discuss why the Pyrenean climbs present a challenge that is wholly different from climbs in the Alps. Then, our special guest Brent Bookwalter joins the show for some insight into the opening week of the Tour de France. Why is the Tour's opening week so stressful, and what's it like to be inside the pressure cooker of the race? Brent explains the dynamics that build pressure around riders, and remembers scenes from his four Tour de France starts. Brent also offers his take on teammate Adam Yates, and just how long Yates can hold the Tour's yellow jersey. Finally, Andrew Hood and James Startt chime in from Millau, France, and take us inside their adventures in covering the 2020 Tour de France. James was on the photo motorcycle this week and received an up-close view of the race. Today's episode is sponsored by a new training supplement called MitoQ. MitoQ is a unique form of the antioxidant CoQ10 that is designed to get inside our cell's mitochondria to help create energy and neutralize free radicals. For more information go to www.mitoq.com.

Team Ineos Grenadiers detonated the peloton during Friday's 7th stage of the Tour de France, and a handful of contenders were caught out. Wout van Aert won the stage in another stunning example of why he's the most exciting men's rider of the year. On today's episode of the podcast, Fred Dreier and Jens Voigt break down the action from the last few stages of the Tour de France, and analyze the biggest storylines in the race. Van Aert has now won two stages of the Tour de France, and he's shown that he can climb, descend, and win one day races. What does the future hold for van Aert? Jens offers his unvarnished opinion on how van Aert should steer his career — and cyclocross is not a part of the picture. Jens also has some opinions on the UCI's ruling to penalize Julian Alaphilippe for taking an illegal feed on stage 5. Then, the guys break down the coming stages in the Pyrenees and discuss why the Pyrenean climbs present a challenge that is wholly different from climbs in the Alps. Then, our special guest Brent Bookwalter joins the show for some insight into the opening week of the Tour de France. Why is the Tour's opening week so stressful, and what's it like to be inside the pressure cooker of the race? Brent explains the dynamics that build pressure around riders, and remembers scenes from his four Tour de France starts. Brent also offers his take on teammate Adam Yates, and just how long Yates can hold the Tour's yellow jersey. Finally, Andrew Hood and James Startt chime in from Millau, France, and take us inside their adventures in covering the 2020 Tour de France. James was on the photo motorcycle this week and received an up-close view of the race. Today's episode is sponsored by a new training supplement called MitoQ. MitoQ is a unique form of the antioxidant CoQ10 that is designed to get inside our cell's mitochondria to help create energy and neutralize free radicals. For more information go to www.mitoq.com.

Today we’re taking a good long look at training metrics. We’ve released previous episodes on how to use different numbers, what many of them mean, and how they’re calculated. Today, we tie it together into one package, with a master of data analytics, Tim Cusick, who is not only the product leader for TrainingPeaks’ WKO platform, but also an elite cycling coach of athletes including Amber Neben and Rebecca Rusch.  As Tim likes to say, if each ride you do is a single note, to get the most out of your training, you want to string those rides together in the most elegant way. That is, you want to make music. I love that analogy for the art of training and coaching.  To set the stage for our conversation, it’s helpful to understand that even a data aficionado like Tim fully understands that metrics are not the be-all-end-all—the power of numbers is in their ability to effectively inform the decision-making process. Athletes and coaches should use data to learn more about how best to train, but the data cannot be the solution unto itself.   It’s also helpful to define some terminology. Most of you will have heard of stress, or external load; then there’s strain, the internal load applied to a system; and finally TSS, or training stress score, which we will define and dissect. Likewise, you’re likely familiar with the PMC in TrainingPeaks. The performance management chart shows trends in your season. Finally, Tim often mentions the “content” of the work used to generate these different metrics. What he means by that is the composition of the training rides, whether they’re intense or easy, long or hard, and so forth.   To tie it all together, today’s episode is about utilizing a training philosophy to design the right type of workouts—the content—then using the metrics as a guide to inform how much, how often, and how difficult those rides should be. Voila, you’ve got some Mozart, hopefully. Maybe if you’re Trevor is more like Celine Dion or Shania Twain. (They’re Canadian)  On the program today, we also hear from a host of other prominent figures about how they use, or don’t use, all the metrics we have available today. Guests include physiologist Jared Berg, pro mountain biker Payson McElveen, the legend himself Ned Overend, WorldTour veteran Brent Bookwalter, and Xert creator Armando Mastracci.  Time to crunch some numbers, and fill out the all-important comments field. Let's make you fast! 

Welcome everyone to Fast Talk, your source for the science of cycling performance. I'm your host Chris Case. Today, we take a step away from the science, and talk tactics. When we’ll race again no one really knows. So we thought it would a great time to help our listeners at least daydream about racing with this episode. Specifically, we’re discussing how to be aggressive, when to be aggressive, in races. And we’re doing it with none other than the current national road champion, Ruth Winder, who we caught up with many months ago. Despite the halted season, we decided now was the time to release this episode. If you didn’t catch Ruth’s victory at nationals last year, give it a watch. It’s a classic nail-biting effort that resulted in a career-defining moment. About midway through the episode, you’ll also hear Ruth describe in her own words how the race played out, and the mentality she used to breakaway, and stay away, from a star-studded field to claim her first stars and stripes jersey as an elite racer. It’ll help you understand a bit more about what it takes to make an aggressive approach pay off. How do you know when to launch your move? What’s the difference between creativity and aggression? What mindset do you need to be aggressive? We answer those questions and many more. Today we’ll also hear from elite coach and a longtime former pro racer Julie Young, as well as one of the best American riders of his generation, Brent Bookwalter. A few final notes before we jump into the show. Find us on social media: our handle is @realfastlabs. Sign up for our newsletter to get special announcements on new episodes, learn about Zwift rides with famous guests, and much more by visiting fastlabs.com. Also, please rate and review us on Apple podcasts: the more reviews we get, the easier it is for others to find us. And tell all your friends that we have our own channel now and we’ll no longer be heard on the VeloNews channel Finally, as always, thanks again for all your questions and comments. Keep them coming! Write us at fasttalk@fastlabs.com. Now, get your knives out. Sharpen up those elbows. Be aggressive. B-E aggressive. Let's make you fast!  

Hello and welcome to Fast Talk! I'm your host Chris Case. Today we have a great episode in store for you, with someone you’ve heard from many times before on Fast Talk. Today, we’re finally joined by Brent Bookwalter of the Mitchelton-Scott WorldTour team, a man of both wisdom and humility, for a full conversation on balancing life and sport. What do pros know about that balance, you ask? “They’re pampered!” you’re probably thinking. Well, not exactly true. The life of a pro cyclist is not as glamorous as you might think. We’ll discuss that misconception, but we’ll spend the majority of our conversation learning the many ways in which Brent has learned to balance training and racing with being a good husband, a soon-to-be-father, a son and friend, and a gran fondo promoter, among many other things. Through the years of racing both at the neo-pro level through to the WorldTour, Brent has dealt with limited time—sometimes well, sometimes not so well—which has forced him to prioritize his life in myriad ways. And it’s those tips that apply to all of us. The high level of physical and mental performance that is demanded of pro athletes while they also strive to maintain healthy relationships and interests outside of their career, means that they have been forced to master “life-balance.” While we don’t all deal with the issues related to pro cyclists’ in our own lives, there are common themes about self-care, spending time on relationships, knowing your personal limits, and working to keep your passions alive that we can all relate to. Today, along with Brent, we spoke to long-time pro and coach Katie Compton, as well as two of our favorite coaches and soon-to-be Fast Labs podcast hosts, Grant Holicky and Colby Pearce. If you didn't catch it yet, we released our first bonus podcast last week. That’s right, Fast Talk is now a weekly podcast. Coach Connor and I were able to answer a few of your questions, one related to overtraining and burn-out—not-interchangeable terms, thank you Dr. Seiler for the correction—and one related to physiological testing. If you have a question for us you can either write us at Fasttalk@fastlabs.com OR, as you may have heard by now, we have a number setup for you to call – it's 719-800-2112 . Leave a voicemail with your question. If we can hear you loud and clear in the message, we may include the recording in the show. Now, bust out your balance board, brush up on your communication skills, it’s time to compartmentalize. Let’s make you fast!

Hello and welcome to Fast Talk! I'm your host Chris Case. Today we have a great episode in store for you, with someone you’ve heard from many times before on Fast Talk. Today, we’re finally joined by Brent Bookwalter of the Mitchelton-Scott WorldTour team, a man of both wisdom and humility, for a full conversation on balancing life and sport. What do pros know about that balance, you ask? “They’re pampered!” you’re probably thinking. Well, not exactly true. The life of a pro cyclist is not as glamorous as you might think. We’ll discuss that misconception, but we’ll spend the majority of our conversation learning the many ways in which Brent has learned to balance training and racing with being a good husband, a soon-to-be-father, a son and friend, and a gran fondo promoter, among many other things. Through the years of racing both at the neo-pro level through to the WorldTour, Brent has dealt with limited time—sometimes well, sometimes not so well—which has forced him to prioritize his life in myriad ways. And it’s those tips that apply to all of us. The high level of physical and mental performance that is demanded of pro athletes while they also strive to maintain healthy relationships and interests outside of their career, means that they have been forced to master “life-balance.” While we don’t all deal with the issues related to pro cyclists’ in our own lives, there are common themes about self-care, spending time on relationships, knowing your personal limits, and working to keep your passions alive that we can all relate to. Today, along with Brent, we spoke to long-time pro and coach Katie Compton, as well as two of our favorite coaches and soon-to-be Fast Labs podcast hosts, Grant Holicky and Colby Pearce. If you didn't catch it yet, we released our first bonus podcast last week. That’s right, Fast Talk is now a weekly podcast. Coach Connor and I were able to answer a few of your questions, one related to overtraining and burn-out—not-interchangeable terms, thank you Dr. Seiler for the correction—and one related to physiological testing. If you have a question for us you can either write us at Fasttalk@fastlabs.com OR, as you may have heard by now, we have a number setup for you to call – it's 719-800-2112 . Leave a voicemail with your question. If we can hear you loud and clear in the message, we may include the recording in the show. Now, bust out your balance board, brush up on your communication skills, it’s time to compartmentalize. Let’s make you fast!

Hello and welcome to Fast Talk! I'm your host Chris Case. Today we have a great episode in store for you, with someone you’ve heard from many times before on Fast Talk. Today, we’re finally joined by Brent Bookwalter of the Mitchelton-Scott WorldTour team, a man of both wisdom and humility, for a full conversation on balancing life and sport.   What do pros know about that balance, you ask? “They’re pampered!” you’re probably thinking. Well, not exactly true. The life of a pro cyclist is not as glamorous as you might think. We’ll discuss that misconception, but we’ll spend the majority of our conversation learning the many ways in which Brent has learned to balance training and racing with being a good husband, a soon-to-be-father, a son and friend, and a gran fondo promoter, among many other things. Through the years of racing both at the neo-pro level through to the WorldTour, Brent has dealt with limited time—sometimes well, sometimes not so well—which has forced him to prioritize his life in myriad ways. And it’s those tips that apply to all of us.  The high level of physical and mental performance that is demanded of pro athletes while they also strive to maintain healthy relationships and interests outside of their career, means that they have been forced to master “life-balance.”    While we don’t all deal with the issues related to pro cyclists’ in our own lives, there are common themes about self-care, spending time on relationships, knowing your personal limits, and working to keep your passions alive that we can all relate to.   Today, along with Brent, we spoke to long-time pro and coach Katie Compton, as well as two of our favorite coaches and soon-to-be Fast Labs podcast hosts, Grant Holicky and Colby Pearce.   If you didn't catch it yet, we released our first bonus podcast last week. That’s right, Fast Talk is now a weekly podcast. Coach Connor and I were able to answer a few of your questions, one related to overtraining and burn-out—not-interchangeable terms, thank you Dr. Seiler for the correction—and one related to physiological testing.   If you have a question for us you can either write us at FastTalk@FastLabs.com OR, as you may have heard by now, we have a number setup for you to call – it's 719-800-2112 . Leave a voicemail with your question. If we can hear you loud and clear in the message, we may include the recording in the show.  Now, bust out your balance board, brush up on your communication skills, it’s time to compartmentalize. Let’s make you fast!  

Brent Bookwalter stands strong as America's longest running World Tour professional cyclist. Not just along for the ride, Brent has won UCI races, was second to Bradley Wiggins in the opening stage of the Giro, and even helped Cadel Evans win the 2011 Tour de France. Longtime friends, Brent and Ted have had careers run in tandem to each other. Teammates on the US national team, teammates on domestic pro teams, they migrated to Europe together, and even lived together in their early time racing abroad. On the eve of the Gran Prix Cycliste Quebec City, the two had the chance to catch up and chat all things under the sun, largely reflecting on a stalwart career at the highest echelon of the sport. The episode is presented by UnTapped. Pay them a visit at www.untapped.cc and use code king at checkout for some sweet savings.

Recovery, recovery, recovery... you’ve heard us talk about it before. You’ve heard a lot of our guests preach about its importance. Well, now let’s confuse you a bit. The ultimate goal of training is, of course, to adapt. And there’s a critical distinction between adaptation and recovery. They are not the same thing. In fact, sometimes what helps one, hurts the other. Recovery is about doing what you can so the legs are ready for your next workout. Adaptation is about the body repairing the damage caused by training—if the training provides enough stress, it will repair the system to come back stronger. But what’s good for that repair process may have you feeling less than perfect on the bike the next day. Today, we’re going to dive into this important difference and focus on adaptations—what causes them and how to aid them. We’ll talk about: - First, the difference between recovery and adaptation. - Second, how the immune system is intimately involved in both, and why we’ve come to the realization in recent years that reducing inflammation can be counterproductive. - Next, we’ll talk about the three stages of repair. Remember that training does damage. We are weaker after hard rides. It’s during the repair process that we get stronger, and the immune system is the repair man. Much like the local cable guy, the immune system is going to work at its own pace regardless of what you do or say. - Next, we discuss how there’s a delicate balance between damage and repair, and when you get out of balance by doing too much training, it starts a vicious cycle that prevents further adaptations and leads to burnout - We’ll talk with George Bennett, who put in a fantastic Tour de France performance, helping his GC leader, Steven Kruijswijk, land on the podium. George discusses what he does to aid adaptations. - Finally, we’ll finish with a conversation about the things that do help adaptations and the things that hurt it, despite the fact that a lot of endurance athletes do them. Our primary guest today is George Bennett, member of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team. George joins us for part of the episode—we spared a rider of his caliber from having to sit through Trevor’s initial lecture on immunology. We also hear from Joe Friel, author of “The Cyclists Training Bible.” In the most recent edition of his book, Joe makes the important distinction between recovery and adaptations. Next we talk with Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton-Scott. In order to adapt, we have to first do damage. Brent talks with us about the important balance between damage and repair. Then we catch up with Boulder-based coach extraordinaire Colby Pearce. And finally, we talk with Paulo Saldanha, the owner of PowerWatts. Paulo talks about ways to find the right amount of damage, and why we should rethink taking antioxidants.

Recovery, recovery, recovery... you’ve heard us talk about it before. You’ve heard a lot of our guests preach about its importance. Well, now let’s confuse you a bit. The ultimate goal of training is, of course, to adapt. And there’s a critical distinction between adaptation and recovery. They are not the same thing. In fact, sometimes what helps one, hurts the other. Recovery is about doing what you can so the legs are ready for your next workout. Adaptation is about the body repairing the damage caused by training—if the training provides enough stress, it will repair the system to come back stronger. But what’s good for that repair process may have you feeling less than perfect on the bike the next day. Today, we’re going to dive into this important difference and focus on adaptations—what causes them and how to aid them. We’ll talk about: - First, the difference between recovery and adaptation. - Second, how the immune system is intimately involved in both, and why we’ve come to the realization in recent years that reducing inflammation can be counterproductive. - Next, we’ll talk about the three stages of repair. Remember that training does damage. We are weaker after hard rides. It’s during the repair process that we get stronger, and the immune system is the repair man. Much like the local cable guy, the immune system is going to work at its own pace regardless of what you do or say. - Next, we discuss how there’s a delicate balance between damage and repair, and when you get out of balance by doing too much training, it starts a vicious cycle that prevents further adaptations and leads to burnout - We’ll talk with George Bennett, who put in a fantastic Tour de France performance, helping his GC leader, Steven Kruijswijk, land on the podium. George discusses what he does to aid adaptations. - Finally, we’ll finish with a conversation about the things that do help adaptations and the things that hurt it, despite the fact that a lot of endurance athletes do them. Our primary guest today is George Bennett, member of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team. George joins us for part of the episode—we spared a rider of his caliber from having to sit through Trevor’s initial lecture on immunology. We also hear from Joe Friel, author of “The Cyclists Training Bible.” In the most recent edition of his book, Joe makes the important distinction between recovery and adaptations. Next we talk with Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton-Scott. In order to adapt, we have to first do damage. Brent talks with us about the important balance between damage and repair. Then we catch up with Boulder-based coach extraordinaire Colby Pearce. And finally, we talk with Paulo Saldanha, the owner of PowerWatts. Paulo talks about ways to find the right amount of damage, and why we should rethink taking antioxidants.

Recovery, recovery, recovery… you’ve heard us talk about it before. You’ve heard a lot of our guests preach about its importance. We’ve emphasized again and again how one of the biggest mistakes athletes make is to not get enough recovery. Well, now let’s confuse you a bit. The ultimate goal of training is, of course, to adapt. And there’s a critical distinction between adaptation and recovery. They are not the same thing. In fact, sometimes what helps one, hurts the other. Recovery is about doing what you can so the legs are ready for your next workout. Adaptation is about the body repairing the damage caused by training—if the training provides enough stress, it will repair the system to come back stronger. But what’s good for that repair process may have you feeling less than perfect on the bike the next day. Today, we’re going to dive into this important difference and focus on adaptations—what causes them and how to aid them. We’ll talk about: First, the difference between recovery and adaptation. Second, how the immune system is intimately involved in both, and why we’ve come to the realization in recent years that reducing inflammation can be counterproductive. Next, we’ll talk about the three stages of repair. Remember that training does damage. We are weaker after hard rides. It’s during the repair process that we get stronger, and the immune system is the repair man. Much like the local cable guy, the immune system is going to work at its own pace regardless of what you do or say. Next, we discuss how there’s a delicate balance between damage and repair, and when you get out of balance by doing too much training, it starts a vicious cycle that prevents further adaptations and leads to burnout We’ll talk with George Bennett, who put in a fantastic Tour de France performance, helping his GC leader, Steven Kruijswijk, land on the podium. George discusses what he does to aid adaptations. Finally, we’ll finish with a conversation about the things that do help adaptations and the things that hurt it, despite the fact that a lot of endurance athletes do them. Our primary guest today is George Bennett, member of the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team. George joins us for part of the episode—we spared a rider of his caliber from having to sit through Trevor’s initial lecture on immunology. We also hear from Joe Friel, author of “The Cyclists Training Bible.” In the most recent edition of his book, Joe makes the important distinction between recovery and adaptations. Next we talk with Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton-Scott. In order to adapt, we have to first do damage. Brent talks with us about the important balance between damage and repair. Then we catch up with Boulder-based coach extraordinaire Colby Pearce. And finally, we talk with Paulo Saldanha, the owner of PowerWatts. Paulo talks about ways to find the right amount of damage, and why we should rethink taking antioxidants.

What exactly does it take to race the Tour — physiologically, mentally, spiritually. Each day these phenomenal athletes race an event that would shatter most of us in just one day. But then they also have to contend with answering reporters questions, pleasing sponsors, transferring between hotels, trying to eat enough food to cover the day’s expenditures, and, finally and perhaps most importantly, trying to get quality sleep. It’s a feat that’s hard to comprehend, so today we'll try to give a sense of what it takes to race the Tour. We’ll cover: First, an overview of the Tour from a numbers perspective, and why the numbers really don’t tell the tale. Our guest, Ciaran O’Grady will explain his role as a Tour team physiologist and coach. The many challenges of the Tour outside of racing, including not only what I mentioned above, but also not missing the bus, handling the food, and what happens when you get sick. Why getting dropped by the peloton doesn’t make for as easy a day as you might think. What happens to the riders physiologically over the three weeks and why, in essence, it’s just a controlled burnout.How riders try to recover day-to-day, especially when they’re dealing with injuries. How riders train for the Tour and why having incredible endurance comes first. Then we’ll take a deeper dive into how the different types of riders prepare, from GC contenders to stage hunters and domestiques. Finally, we’ll try to pull all this together and talk about what mere mortals should and shouldn’t take from Tour riders, whether we’re preparing for a weekend race or a three-day stage race. Our primary guest today is Ciaran O’Grady, one of the team physiologists for the Dimension Data WorldTour team. Along with Ciaran, we catch up with one of our favorite guests, Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton-Scott. Brent has now completed nine grand tours, so he had a lot to say about what it’s like getting through 23 grueling days. We also talked with Houshang Amiri, a former Canadian National and Olympic coach who runs the Pacific Cycling Centre. He’s coached Tour athletes and had a few thoughts to share on getting athletes ready for a grand tour. So, get your bidons and your musettes and your baguettes and your crepes, let's make you fast!

Right now, the 2019 Tour de France is in full swing. Yesterday we saw the riders crawl up the steep finishing raps of La Planche des Belles Filles, and today, as we speak, they’re churning through all 230 kilometers of this year’s longest stage. If you’re like us, every day, for most of July, you’re pretending to work while you surreptitiously watch the biggest race of them all, cleverly tucking the livestream behind some important looking Word document. For three weeks we watch the best bike racers in the world tear themselves apart for four-plus hours per day and wonder if we ever could have done something like that. What exactly does it take to race the Tour — physiologically, mentally, spiritually. Each day these phenomenal athletes race an event that would shatter most of us in just one day. But then they also have to contend with answering reporters questions, pleasing sponsors, transferring between hotels, trying to eat enough food to cover the day’s expenditures, and, finally and perhaps most importantly, trying to get quality sleep. It’s a feat that’s hard to comprehend, so today we’ll try to give a sense of what it takes to race the Tour. We’ll cover: First, an overview of the Tour from a numbers perspective, and why the numbers really don’t tell the tale. Our guest, Ciaran O’Grady will explain his role as a Tour team physiologist and coach. The many challenges of the Tour outside of racing, including not only what I mentioned above, but also not missing the bus, handling the food, and what happens when you get sick. Why getting dropped by the peloton doesn’t make for as easy a day as you might think. What happens to the riders physiologically over the three weeks and why, in essence, it’s just a controlled burnout. How riders try to recover day-to-day, especially when they’re dealing with injuries. How riders train for the Tour and why having incredible endurance comes first. Then we’ll take a deeper dive into how the different types of riders prepare, from GC contenders to stage hunters and domestiques. Finally, we’ll try to pull all this together and talk about what mere mortals should and shouldn’t take from Tour riders, whether we’re preparing for a weekend race or a three-day stage race. Our primary guest today is Ciaran O’Grady, one of the team physiologists for the Dimension Data WorldTour team. Along with Ciaran, we catch up with one of our favorite guests, Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton-Scott. Brent has now completed nine grand tours, so he had a lot to say about what it’s like getting through 23 grueling days. We also talked with Houshang Amiri, a former Canadian National and Olympic coach who runs the Pacific Cycling Centre. He’s coached Tour athletes and had a few thoughts to share on getting athletes ready for a grand tour. So, get your bidons and your musettes and your baguettes and your crepes, let’s make you fast!

What exactly does it take to race the Tour — physiologically, mentally, spiritually. Each day these phenomenal athletes race an event that would shatter most of us in just one day. But then they also have to contend with answering reporters questions, pleasing sponsors, transferring between hotels, trying to eat enough food to cover the day’s expenditures, and, finally and perhaps most importantly, trying to get quality sleep. It’s a feat that’s hard to comprehend, so today we'll try to give a sense of what it takes to race the Tour. We’ll cover: First, an overview of the Tour from a numbers perspective, and why the numbers really don’t tell the tale. Our guest, Ciaran O’Grady will explain his role as a Tour team physiologist and coach. The many challenges of the Tour outside of racing, including not only what I mentioned above, but also not missing the bus, handling the food, and what happens when you get sick. Why getting dropped by the peloton doesn’t make for as easy a day as you might think. What happens to the riders physiologically over the three weeks and why, in essence, it’s just a controlled burnout.How riders try to recover day-to-day, especially when they’re dealing with injuries. How riders train for the Tour and why having incredible endurance comes first. Then we’ll take a deeper dive into how the different types of riders prepare, from GC contenders to stage hunters and domestiques. Finally, we’ll try to pull all this together and talk about what mere mortals should and shouldn’t take from Tour riders, whether we’re preparing for a weekend race or a three-day stage race. Our primary guest today is Ciaran O’Grady, one of the team physiologists for the Dimension Data WorldTour team. Along with Ciaran, we catch up with one of our favorite guests, Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton-Scott. Brent has now completed nine grand tours, so he had a lot to say about what it’s like getting through 23 grueling days. We also talked with Houshang Amiri, a former Canadian National and Olympic coach who runs the Pacific Cycling Centre. He’s coached Tour athletes and had a few thoughts to share on getting athletes ready for a grand tour. So, get your bidons and your musettes and your baguettes and your crepes, let's make you fast!

In episode 75, we’re joined by Dr. Stephen Seiler, one of the top exercise physiologists of today. Dr. Seiler has talked with us previously about the polarized, or 80/20, model of endurance training, he’s shared his thoughts on zone models, and he’s helped us understand how slow your “slow” should be. For more with Dr. Seiler, return to episodes 51 (Polarizing your training) and 54 (Applying the polarized model). We’ve already talked about the overall polarized approach and how to do that 80 percent — the long, slow ride. Today, we’re going to talk about the other 20 percent: high intensity work. In this episode we’ll address: - Why, even though Dr. Seiler recommends 80 percent or more of our work to be at low intensity, he is by no means against some hard work. -What you should use to structure the intensity of your interval work: heart rate or power, percent of max or percent of threshold. Or, is there another approach? His answer might surprise you. - Dr. Seiler’s multiple studies on interval work, including the three protocols he’s studied — 4x4 minutes, 4x8 minutes, and 4x16 minutes. - Notice that while each workout is hard, none of those three protocols is very complex. We talk about why things like execution, accumulating time, and consistency are more important than complexity. - Some of you may cringe, but we also discuss why the specificity of interval work isn’t as important as a lot of people think. To a degree, most work hits most systems. So don’t get caught up in being a few beats or watts over or under the target. - We’ll briefly discuss the periodization of interval work.We’ll wrap up the show with a discussion of higher intensity anaerobic intervals such as Tabata’s, and ask both Dr. Seiler and some pros about their favorite interval work. Finally, we’ll answer the pressing question: Who’s the biggest nerd of all. Our primary guest today is, of course, Dr. Stephen Seiler. At this point, he needs no introduction. He is one of the most influential researchers working today.  Along with Dr. Seiler, we’ll hear from Michelton-Scott rider Brent Bookwalter about balance in interval work. This is the third episode in a row that we’ve heard from Brent, and that’s because as a top pro, who’s raced 10 grand tours, he has a lot of good things to say.  Next we’ll hear from Ruth Winder, a talented racer on the women’s Trek-Segafredo team. Finally, we'll hear from Bruce Bird. Bruce took up cycling in his 40s and has since won the Gran Fondo World Championships multiple times. At 50, he can tear apart the local pro races in Ontario. In other words, he’s figured out a few things about proper training. So, if you’re ready to get intense, if you’re prepared for a smattering of nerd bombs, it’s time to make you fast!

In episode 75, we’re joined by Dr. Stephen Seiler, one of the top exercise physiologists of today. Dr. Seiler has talked with us previously about the polarized, or 80/20, model of endurance training, he’s shared his thoughts on zone models, and he’s helped us understand how slow your “slow” should be. For more with Dr. Seiler, return to episodes 51 (Polarizing your training) and 54 (Applying the polarized model). We’ve already talked about the overall polarized approach and how to do that 80 percent — the long, slow ride. Today, we’re going to talk about the other 20 percent: high intensity work. In this episode we’ll address: - Why, even though Dr. Seiler recommends 80 percent or more of our work to be at low intensity, he is by no means against some hard work. -What you should use to structure the intensity of your interval work: heart rate or power, percent of max or percent of threshold. Or, is there another approach? His answer might surprise you. - Dr. Seiler’s multiple studies on interval work, including the three protocols he’s studied — 4x4 minutes, 4x8 minutes, and 4x16 minutes. - Notice that while each workout is hard, none of those three protocols is very complex. We talk about why things like execution, accumulating time, and consistency are more important than complexity. - Some of you may cringe, but we also discuss why the specificity of interval work isn’t as important as a lot of people think. To a degree, most work hits most systems. So don’t get caught up in being a few beats or watts over or under the target. - We’ll briefly discuss the periodization of interval work.We’ll wrap up the show with a discussion of higher intensity anaerobic intervals such as Tabata’s, and ask both Dr. Seiler and some pros about their favorite interval work. Finally, we’ll answer the pressing question: Who’s the biggest nerd of all. Our primary guest today is, of course, Dr. Stephen Seiler. At this point, he needs no introduction. He is one of the most influential researchers working today.  Along with Dr. Seiler, we’ll hear from Michelton-Scott rider Brent Bookwalter about balance in interval work. This is the third episode in a row that we’ve heard from Brent, and that’s because as a top pro, who’s raced 10 grand tours, he has a lot of good things to say.  Next we’ll hear from Ruth Winder, a talented racer on the women’s Trek-Segafredo team. Finally, we'll hear from Bruce Bird. Bruce took up cycling in his 40s and has since won the Gran Fondo World Championships multiple times. At 50, he can tear apart the local pro races in Ontario. In other words, he’s figured out a few things about proper training. So, if you’re ready to get intense, if you’re prepared for a smattering of nerd bombs, it’s time to make you fast!

In episode 75, we’re joined by one of our favorite guests, Dr. Stephen Seiler, who is one of the top exercise physiologists working today. Dr. Seiler has talked with us previously about the polarized, or 80/20, model of endurance training, he’s shared his thoughts on zone models, and he’s helped us understand how slow your “slow” should be. For more with Dr. Seiler, return to episodes 51 and 54. You’ve sent us more questions about those two episodes than any other episodes we’ve done, but the most common question has been “when’s part 3?” Well, this is that episode. We’ve already talked about the overall polarized approach and how to do that 80 percent — the long, slow ride. Today, we’re going to talk about the other 20 percent: high intensity work. In this episode we’ll address: Why, even though Dr. Seiler recommends 80 percent or more of our work to be at low intensity, he is by no means against some hard work. After all, he did put himself through a one-hour FTP test for our last show. What you should use to structure the intensity of your interval work: heart rate or power, percent of max or percent of threshold. Or, is there another approach? His answer might surprise you. Dr. Seiler’s multiple studies on interval work, including the three protocols he’s studied — 4×4 minutes, 4×8 minutes, and 4×16 minutes. Notice that while each workout is hard, none of those three protocols is very complex. We talk about why things like execution, accumulating time, and consistency are more important than complexity. Some of you may cringe, but we also discuss why the specificity of interval work isn’t as important as a lot of people think. To a degree, most work hits most systems. So don’t get caught up in being a few beats or watts over or under the target. We’ll briefly discuss the periodization of interval work. We’ll wrap up the show with a discussion of higher intensity anaerobic intervals such as Tabata’s, and ask both Dr. Seiler and some pros about their favorite interval work. Finally, we’ll answer the pressing question: Who’s the biggest nerd of all. Our primary guest today is, of course, Dr. Stephen Seiler. At this point, he needs no introduction. He is one of the most influential researchers working today.  Along with Dr. Seiler, we’ll hear from Michelton-Scott rider Brent Bookwalter about balance in interval work. This is the third episode in a row that we’ve heard from Brent, and that’s because as a top pro, who’s raced 10 grand tours, he has a lot of good things to say.  Next we’ll hear from Ruth Winder, a talented racer on the women’s Trek-Segafredo team. Finally, we’ll hear from Bruce Bird. Bruce took up cycling in his 40s and has since won the Gran Fondo World Championships multiple times. At 50, he can tear apart the local pro races in Ontario. In other words, he’s figured out a few things about proper training. So, if you’re ready to get intense, if you’re prepared for a smattering of nerd bombs, it’s time to make you fast!

On this episode, Fred and Andy link up to discuss the wet and dramatic opening week of the Giro d'Italia, which saw two favorites bit adieu before the race even got started. They also discuss the talking points from the Amgen Tour of California: EF Education First's strategy, Tadej Pogacar's ascendance, and the success of young riders. Then, we hear from Brent Bookwalter at the Giro d'Italia about life on his new team, Mitchelton-Scott. And then, we have a long conversation with Lindsay Goldman, co-owner and rider on the women's team Hagens Berman Supermint. Lindsay shares her opinions on how and how not to grow women's cycling. This episode of the VeloNews podcast is sponsored by apparel manufacturer Pactimo, which is providing its Summit Stratos 12-hour Bibs to our 2019 gravel series. The boys recently rode the Summit Stratos 12-Hour bibs at the Land Run 100, and they will also wear them at the Dirty Kanza 200 and other gravel races this year. For more information go to www.pactimo.com.

On this episode, Fred and Andy link up to discuss the wet and dramatic opening week of the Giro d'Italia, which saw two favorites bit adieu before the race even got started. They also discuss the talking points from the Amgen Tour of California: EF Education First's strategy, Tadej Pogacar's ascendance, and the success of young riders. Then, we hear from Brent Bookwalter at the Giro d'Italia about life on his new team, Mitchelton-Scott. And then, we have a long conversation with Lindsay Goldman, co-owner and rider on the women's team Hagens Berman Supermint. Lindsay shares her opinions on how and how not to grow women's cycling. This episode of the VeloNews podcast is sponsored by apparel manufacturer Pactimo, which is providing its Summit Stratos 12-hour Bibs to our 2019 gravel series. The boys recently rode the Summit Stratos 12-Hour bibs at the Land Run 100, and they will also wear them at the Dirty Kanza 200 and other gravel races this year. For more information go to www.pactimo.com.

In episode 74, we speak with one of the leading researchers on how women’s physiology influences optimal training and performance. There has been a long history of gender-neutralizing sports science. Money in sports science research is tight, and physiologists often assume they don’t have the resources to study male-female differences. We’ll address later in the show why that “added expense” assumption isn’t true, but the more important issue is that most research is conducted on men and then generalized to women. The problem is that women are not just small men. Now that sports science research is being conducted specifically on women, we are discovering, not surprisingly, that men and women don’t have the same physiology. And what works for men doesn’t always work for women. Dr. Stacy Sims has been leading a surge in research on women athletes. Her book "Roar" takes a deep dive into female physiology and how it impacts training. There’s a wealth of knowledge in the book – far too much to address in a single episode – but today we'll focus on a few of its key points, including: - Stacy Sim’s background, and how she became a leader in women’s sport’s physiologyWhy the “shrink it and pink it” approach to women’s sports research doesn’t work – optimal performance means tailoring training to the female physiology - How the menstrual cycle affects both training and performance, and why some types of training can be very effective at certain times during the month and relatively ineffective at others - Why all female athletes should track their cycle and learn how it impacts their training – there's a very real physiological explanation why you sometimes get on the bike and just can’t put out the power - Why women often need more protein for recoveryThe impact of birth control pills, and why the very common practice of giving athletes the pill may be misguided - Why research has too often ignored these questions, and why that actually presents a big opportunity for coaches and physiologists - Finally, Dr. Sims will offer advice specific to both masters and junior female athletes Our primary guest today is, of course, Dr. Stacy Sims. Many of you know her as the founder of Osmo and one of the founders of Skratch Labs. But her research has always focused on the physiology of female athletes and her book "Roar" is a must-read. In addition to Stacy, we also talk with Brent Bookwalter, a WorldTour pro with Michelton-Scott. His wife is an ex-professional cyclist and we discuss how their training regimens differ. Finally, Chris speaks with Ruth Winder, a top pro with Trek-Segefredo and winner of the 2017 Redlands Classic. Ruth had some insights on how the length of women’s races affects race dynamics and, more importantly, as a big fan of Stacy’s book, how understanding the science specific to women has helped her training. And one final note: We know that the majority of Fast Talk listeners are male. But before you say, “So much for this week’s episode,” we encourage you to listen in. Dr. Sims does a great job of explaining this complex subject. And as she points out later in this episode, just about every one of us has a wife, daughter, sister, or a female training partner. This is a sport that’s about helping one another out and you can’t help if you don’t understand.

In episode 74, we speak with one of the leading researchers on how women’s physiology influences optimal training and performance. There has been a long history of gender-neutralizing sports science. Money in sports science research is tight, and physiologists often assume they don’t have the resources to study male-female differences. We’ll address later in the show why that “added expense” assumption isn’t true, but the more important issue is that most research is conducted on men and then generalized to women. The problem is that women are not just small men. Now that sports science research is being conducted specifically on women, we are discovering, not surprisingly, that men and women don’t have the same physiology. And what works for men doesn’t always work for women. Dr. Stacy Sims has been leading a surge in research on women athletes. Her book "Roar" takes a deep dive into female physiology and how it impacts training. There’s a wealth of knowledge in the book – far too much to address in a single episode – but today we'll focus on a few of its key points, including: - Stacy Sim’s background, and how she became a leader in women’s sport’s physiologyWhy the “shrink it and pink it” approach to women’s sports research doesn’t work – optimal performance means tailoring training to the female physiology - How the menstrual cycle affects both training and performance, and why some types of training can be very effective at certain times during the month and relatively ineffective at others - Why all female athletes should track their cycle and learn how it impacts their training – there's a very real physiological explanation why you sometimes get on the bike and just can’t put out the power - Why women often need more protein for recoveryThe impact of birth control pills, and why the very common practice of giving athletes the pill may be misguided - Why research has too often ignored these questions, and why that actually presents a big opportunity for coaches and physiologists - Finally, Dr. Sims will offer advice specific to both masters and junior female athletes Our primary guest today is, of course, Dr. Stacy Sims. Many of you know her as the founder of Osmo and one of the founders of Skratch Labs. But her research has always focused on the physiology of female athletes and her book "Roar" is a must-read. In addition to Stacy, we also talk with Brent Bookwalter, a WorldTour pro with Michelton-Scott. His wife is an ex-professional cyclist and we discuss how their training regimens differ. Finally, Chris speaks with Ruth Winder, a top pro with Trek-Segefredo and winner of the 2017 Redlands Classic. Ruth had some insights on how the length of women’s races affects race dynamics and, more importantly, as a big fan of Stacy’s book, how understanding the science specific to women has helped her training. And one final note: We know that the majority of Fast Talk listeners are male. But before you say, “So much for this week’s episode,” we encourage you to listen in. Dr. Sims does a great job of explaining this complex subject. And as she points out later in this episode, just about every one of us has a wife, daughter, sister, or a female training partner. This is a sport that’s about helping one another out and you can’t help if you don’t understand.

In episode 74, we speak with one of the leading researchers on how women’s physiology influences optimal training and performance. There has been a long history of gender-neutralizing sports science. Money in sports science research is tight, and physiologists often assume they don’t have the resources to study male-female differences. We’ll address later in the show why that “added expense” assumption isn’t true, but the more important issue is that most research is conducted on men and then generalized to women. The problem is that women are not just small men. Now that sports science research is being conducted specifically on women, we are discovering, not surprisingly, that men and women don’t have the same physiology. And what works for men doesn’t always work for women. Dr. Stacy Sims has been leading a surge in research on women athletes. Her book Roar takes a deep dive into female physiology and how it impacts training. There’s a wealth of knowledge in the book – far too much to address in a single episode – but today we’ll focus on a few of its key points, including: Stacy Sim’s background, and how she became a leader in women’s sport’s physiology Why the “shrink it and pink it” approach to women’s sports research doesn’t work – optimal performance means tailoring training to the female physiology How the menstrual cycle affects both training and performance, and why some types of training can be very effective at certain times during the month and relatively ineffective at others Why all female athletes should track their cycle and learn how it impacts their training – there’s a very real physiological explanation why you sometimes get on the bike and just can’t put out the power Why women often need more protein for recovery The impact of birth control pills, and why the very common practice of giving athletes the pill may be misguided Why research has too often ignored these questions, and why that actually presents a big opportunity for coaches and physiologists Finally, Dr. Sims will offer advice specific to both masters and junior female athletes Our primary guest today is, of course, Dr. Stacy Sims. Many of you know her as the founder of Osmo and one of the founders of Skratch Labs. But her research has always focused on the physiology of female athletes and her book Roar is a must-read. In addition to Stacy, we also talk with Brent Bookwalter, a WorldTour pro with Michelton-Scott. His wife is an ex-professional cyclist and we discuss how their training regimens differ. Finally, Chris speaks with Ruth Winder, a top pro with Trek-Segefredo and winner of the 2017 Redlands Classic. Ruth had some insights on how the length of women’s races affects race dynamics and, more importantly, as a big fan of Stacy’s book, how understanding the science specific to women has helped her training. And one final note: We know that the majority of Fast Talk listeners are male. But before you say, “So much for this week’s episode,” we encourage you to listen in. Dr. Sims does a great job of explaining this complex subject. And as she points out later in this episode, just about every one of us has a wife, daughter, sister, or a female training partner. This is a sport that’s about helping one another out and you can’t help if you don’t understand. And with that, let’s make you fast!

Balance becomes an increasingly important concept as we get stronger. If you’re unfit, or just getting off the couch, everything is trainable. Everything can get better. But we reach a point where it’s not that simple. We love to look at peak numbers… best 20-minute power, best five-minute power, best top sprint. But can all of these numbers keep rising in unison as we train? The answer is, we hit a point where we have to make sacrifices. In episode 67 we talked with Sebastian Weber about the concepts of VO2max and VLamax. Think of them as ways of measuring the max rate of your aerobic system and your anaerobic system (though, to be exact, we’re talking the glycolytic system only.) A big aerobic engine allows you to do things like sit in the field comfortably for hours or ride a good time trial. In the world of cycling, there’s no such thing as too big a VO2max. But a big glycolytic system allows you to cover moves and win the sprint at the end of the race. The problem is that there is such a thing as too big a VLamax because it can hurt your aerobic engine. So it’s a balancing act, and while we love to focus on those peak wattages, an important consideration is to figure out how high or low a VLamax you need. And that can change through the season. Today we’ll dive into this concept and talk about: VO2max and VLamax – what exactly do they measure and why are they useful. Another term that’s becoming very popular is W’ or Functional Reserve Capacity. It’s a valuable number, but a lot of cyclists think it’s a measure of our anaerobic strength and confuse it with VLamax. We’ll explain the important differences and the value of both. We’ll talk about the balancing act of shifting your VLamax depending on your target races. Then we’ll try to get a little more practical starting with the right training for the time trialist or GC rider. Next we’ll talk about how to train if, like a lot of riders, you focus on road races and need good enough an aerobic engine to get to the end of a 3 plus hour race, but also need a good enough VLamax to win the sprint. Finally we’ll talk about just how much you can shift your VLamax and why it’s not just about making that shift, but learning to use what you have. Our primary guest today is, of course, Sebastian Weber. Sebastian is one of the founders of INCSYD, a company that uses on-the-road testing to give quite detailed analyses of a rider’s physiology. Weber has also worked with teams like High Road and riders like Peter Sagan and Tony Martin. We love having Weber on the show because we go deep into the physiological weeds.  Along with Weber we also talked with an incredible group of scientists and riders about this balancing act, including Dr. Stephen Seiler from the University of Agder in Norway who is one of the originators of the polarized training model. We have an episode on interval work coming up with him soon. Next, we got the opinion of a world-class time trialist and grand tour rider. Brent Bookwalter, who now rides with Mitchelton-Scott, talked with us about how training for time trials and grand tours affects his sprint.  And finally, we talked with Dr. Andy Coggan and Hunter Allen who just released the third edition of their groundbreaking book “Training and Racing with a Power Meter.” So let’s dive into this idea of VLamax, and let’s make you fast!

The gran fondo-style event has exploded in popularity in the last decade. Somewhere between a race and a group ride, it has an appeal to a broad range of riders. Some show up to race all-out on a challenging 100-plus-mile course. Others come to ride with friends and enjoy the accomplishment of a demanding and scenic route. The nice thing is there is no “right” way to do it. This style of event accommodates both riding styles. Now we’re seeing multi-day events like Haute Route that combine the challenge of racing (through timed segments) with the pleasure of a bike tour through some of the most scenic spots in the world. The question is: Do you train for and approach these events differently from a weekend race or group ride? More than a few of you have asked us that exact question, so in this episode we’ll try to give you an answer.In this episode, we’ll discuss: - What the experience of a gran fondo or Haute Route is like and why they are becoming so popular - The different goals and approaches riders will have at these eventsHow to train and prepare for both the one-day gran fondo and the multi-day Haute Route. Hint: When it comes to the training, it’s not as different as you might think. - The importance of pack skills and sticking within your comfort levelNutrition and hydration for the event (and why I love cookies so much) - Final preparation in the week leading into the eventStrategies for both racing and riding a fondo, as well as multi-day Haute Route style events Our primary guest today is master's world hour record holder and Haute Route ambassador Colby Pearce. He’s been on the show enough now that he needs no introduction.  Along with Colby, we spoke with Michelton-Scott’s Brent Bookwalter. Brent is an Olympian, a veteran of many grand tours, and the organizer of the popular Bookwalter Binge Gran Fondo. This year it takes place on October 26 in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. We also touch base with three-time gran fondo world champion Bruce Bird. If that title doesn’t impress you, you should also know that at the age of 50, Bruce finished 14th at Canadian nationals in the pro race. Bruce also organizes a worlds qualifier event called the Blue Mountains Gran Fondo in Ontario where both he and Trevor are from. This year it takes place on June 15 in Collingwood, Ontario. Now, prepare your cookies, let's make you fast!

Not long ago, gran fondos were these strange events popping up in a few places that most racers didn’t understand. Now, when you talk to most younger riders, they know all about fondos, but they might ask you what this road racing thing is all about. The gran fondo-style event has exploded in popularity in the last decade. Somewhere between a race and a group ride, it appeals to a broad range of riders. Some show up to race all-out on a challenging 100-plus-mile course. Others come to ride with friends and enjoy the accomplishment of a demanding and scenic route. The nice thing is there is no “right” way to do it. This style of event accommodates both riding styles. Now we’re seeing multi-day events like Haute Route that combine the challenge of racing (through timed segments) with the pleasure of a bike tour through some of the most scenic spots in the world. The question is: Do you train for and approach these events differently from a weekend race or group ride? More than a few of you have asked us that exact question, so in this episode, we’ll try to give you an answer. In this episode, we’ll discuss: What the experience of a gran fondo or Haute Route is like and why they are becoming so popular The different goals and approaches riders will have at these events How to train and prepare for both the one-day gran fondo and the multi-day Haute Route. Hint: When it comes to the training, it’s not as different as you might think. The importance of pack skills and sticking within your comfort level Nutrition and hydration for the event (and why I love cookies so much) Final preparation in the week leading into the event Strategies for both racing and riding a fondo, as well as multi-day Haute Route style events Our primary guest today is master’s world hour record holder and Haute Route ambassador Colby Pearce. He’s been on the show enough now that he needs no introduction. Along with Colby, we spoke with Michelton-Scott’s Brent Bookwalter. Brent is an Olympian, a veteran of many grand tours, and the organizer of the popular Bookwalter Binge Gran Fondo. This year it takes place on October 26 in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. We also touch base with three-time gran fondo world champion Bruce Bird. If that title doesn’t impress you, you should also know that at the age of 50, Bruce finished 14th at Canadian nationals in the pro race. Bruce also organizes a worlds qualifier event called the Blue Mountains Gran Fondo in Ontario where both he and Trevor are from. This year it takes place on June 15 in Collingwood, Ontario. Now, prepare your cookies, let’s make you fast!

The gran fondo-style event has exploded in popularity in the last decade. Somewhere between a race and a group ride, it has an appeal to a broad range of riders. Some show up to race all-out on a challenging 100-plus-mile course. Others come to ride with friends and enjoy the accomplishment of a demanding and scenic route. The nice thing is there is no “right” way to do it. This style of event accommodates both riding styles. Now we’re seeing multi-day events like Haute Route that combine the challenge of racing (through timed segments) with the pleasure of a bike tour through some of the most scenic spots in the world. The question is: Do you train for and approach these events differently from a weekend race or group ride? More than a few of you have asked us that exact question, so in this episode we’ll try to give you an answer.In this episode, we’ll discuss: - What the experience of a gran fondo or Haute Route is like and why they are becoming so popular - The different goals and approaches riders will have at these eventsHow to train and prepare for both the one-day gran fondo and the multi-day Haute Route. Hint: When it comes to the training, it’s not as different as you might think. - The importance of pack skills and sticking within your comfort levelNutrition and hydration for the event (and why I love cookies so much) - Final preparation in the week leading into the eventStrategies for both racing and riding a fondo, as well as multi-day Haute Route style events Our primary guest today is master's world hour record holder and Haute Route ambassador Colby Pearce. He’s been on the show enough now that he needs no introduction.  Along with Colby, we spoke with Michelton-Scott’s Brent Bookwalter. Brent is an Olympian, a veteran of many grand tours, and the organizer of the popular Bookwalter Binge Gran Fondo. This year it takes place on October 26 in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. We also touch base with three-time gran fondo world champion Bruce Bird. If that title doesn’t impress you, you should also know that at the age of 50, Bruce finished 14th at Canadian nationals in the pro race. Bruce also organizes a worlds qualifier event called the Blue Mountains Gran Fondo in Ontario where both he and Trevor are from. This year it takes place on June 15 in Collingwood, Ontario. Now, prepare your cookies, let's make you fast!

The days when training software simply showed a power and heart rate curve are a distant memory. Whether you use TrainingPeaks, Golden Cheetah, or some other software, you’ll know that nowadays basic data is mined to reveal a wealth of information about your physiology, strengths, and training. But, as soon as the software starts to interpret data, unavoidably, certain biases come into play. Perhaps better called principles, they are built into the software and any interpretations it performs. It’s not necessarily an issue, but it is important to understand the biases. Most training software is based on biases that Coach Connor fully admits he would use if he was developing software. Created by coaches and physiologists, many training software developers knew what they were looking for and hunted for it in the data. One training package, however, stands out from this. Xert was created by Armando Mastracci who is an engineer first. While he came to understand the physiology, he started by simply looking for trends in the data instead of looking at the physiology. The result is Xert, a tool that has found unique trends which may seem unfamiliar to a physiologist but are certainly compelling. At the heart of Xert is the notion of failure: the idea that we reveal our true fitness and our profile as a rider in the moments when we hit our limits at these points of failure. Armando will talk with us about how he was able to identify these moments of failure in athletes’ training rides, and then use them to create an athlete’s profile and help direct training. But before we dive into the conversation it is helpful to define a few terms that are somewhat unique to Xert and this conversation: First, Maximal Power Available. If you uploaded a workout to Xert, you’d see your normal graphs — heart rate, power, cadence, speed, and so on. What will be new to you is a line calculated by Xert called your MPA or Maximal Power Available. This is a second-by-second graphic of how much power you could produce. When you’re fresh, it’s equal to your sprint power. After a killer attack up a five-minute climb, it may not be much more than your threshold power. It is dynamic and it constantly changes over the course of your ride. We’ve already mentioned failure — it’s that moment when an athlete can’t go any harder. In Xert, it is the moment when your MPA line equals your actual power — meaning you are going as hard as you can go. And if the rider beside you can go harder, they will drop you. Finally, Peak Power, High-intensity Energy, and Threshold. All software packages have moved beyond FTP as the sole parameter used to define an athlete. TrainingPeaks uses a power duration curve. Neal Henderson talked with us in episode 33 about using five-second, one-minute, five-minute, and 20-minute peak power. Armando uses three parameters: 1) Peak Power: simply the power you can hit in a sprint when fresh; 2) High-intensity Energy: our capacity to ride above threshold, which is also often called Watt Prime; 3) Threshold: you know this as FTP. Xert uses moments of failure in rides and races to constantly adjust these three parameters. Our primary guest today is, of course, Armando Mastracci, creator of Xert and owner of Baron Biosystems. He is the original brain behind these concepts, but he has also brought in respected physiologist and owner of Pez cycling, Dr. Stephen Cheung, to interpret these trends from a physiological standpoint, making for a more complete package. Along with Armando, we speak with one of our favorite Fast Talk regulars, Colby Pearce, who needs no introduction. He shares his thoughts on this concept of failure. We also talk with Brent Bookwalter, of the Mitchelton-Scott WorldTour team, about some of these new concepts. Finally, we’ll touch base with Paulo Saldanha, owner of PowerWatts and coach of 2018 worlds bronze medalist Michael Woods. Paulo discusses lab testing in comparison to finding an athlete’s fitness on the road in slightly less structured but more competitive scenarios. This episode is too good to fail. Let’s make you fast!

Get psyched ... the spring cobbled classics start Saturday with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad! We look ahead to the two Belgian races this weekend. To do that, we take a quick look back at the action from last week's flurry of one-week races. Plus, we catch up with Brent Bookwalter at the UAE Tour. He talks to Fred about the transition to Mitchelton-Scott, his motivation to keep racing, and the Australian culture.

Get psyched ... the spring cobbled classics start Saturday with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad! We look ahead to the two Belgian races this weekend. To do that, we take a quick look back at the action from last week's flurry of one-week races. Plus, we catch up with Brent Bookwalter at the UAE Tour. He talks to Fred about the transition to Mitchelton-Scott, his motivation to keep racing, and the Australian culture.

Randy and Dean Warren are back after a two week break to talk about the latest in cycling.  Randy returns from meetings at USA Cycling, and then Derek Bouchard-Hall announces he's stepping down.  Probably no correlation.  The Warrens touch on the track world cup and latest cyclo-cross and a little news from professional road racing.  Randy also gives us news from the Hincapie Gran Fondo where he rode with Mark Cavendish, Brent Bookwalter and Larry Warbasse.  

IT’S OFTEN OVERLOOKED. Sometimes forgotten. But it never should be. Recovery is just as important to strong performances as your daily workouts and weekly riding volume. Recovery is the other side of the training balance that we often neglect. That is until we’re in a race, the legs feel sluggish, and the field rides away from us. Then we start asking what happened. In today’s technology-driven training world, we have easy-to-use tools like power meters to track our performance. But tracking recovery is not so easy. What’s lacking is that one clear metric or tool to tell us when we’re fatigued. If you discuss the topic with coaches and elite riders, they’ll each suggest a different way to monitor your recovery. Some will point to objective measurable metrics like resting heart rate, heart rate variability, or blood tests. Others will use more subjective measures — how they feel generally, the soreness they experience when they climb the stairs in the morning, or, sometimes, how much their family wants to avoid them. In today’s episode, we delve into the question of recovery metrics, a question that comes from listener Greg Gibson. First, we’ll discuss why the balance between training and recovery plays such an important role in performing at our best. That doesn’t mean that being recovered all the time is a good thing. So we’ll also address the difference between overtraining and functional over-reaching. Next we’ll discuss a recent review comparing subjective metrics to objective metrics of recovery. If you think that a blood test or heart rate measure is necessarily better than answering a few questions every morning about how you feel, think again. In either case, we’ll look at some of the tools for monitoring recovery, including tests like the POMS questionnaire of mood and the RESQ scale, as well as heart rate variability. Finally, we’ll hear from several coaches and athletes about what they feel works best when it comes to monitoring recovery. Our guest today is Dr. Paul Gastin, a professor at the Centre for Exercise and Sport Science at Deakin University in Australia. Dr. Gastin has spent over a decade working with coaches and athletes in the field. He’s particularly interested in how to best measure recovery outside of the lab and has written an influential review paper on the subject. Our other guests include veteran pro Brent Bookwalter, with BMC Racing. We’re also joined by two excellent coaches here in Boulder: Mac Cassin with Apex Coaching and Fast Talk regular Frank Overton, owner of FasCat Coaching. We’ll hear from Armando Mastracci, the founder of Xert training software, about the potential to use training software to give us clues about our recovery state.

Three pro riders with very different experiences of head injury discuss the tricky subject of concussion in the peloton. Sports like NFL and Rugby have clear procedures for dealing with athlete head injuries, but Brent Bookwalter, Matt Brammeier and Tom Skujins think cycling could do better, and their colleagues in the peloton need to be more aware. Rouleur's Desire Editor Stuart Clapp talks up Gore's new Shakedry jacket, and David Millar's long awaited film. Presenter: Ian Parkinson. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Should Movistar have waited when a motorcycle took out GC contenders at the Giro? Will Cannondale-Drapac exist in 2018? Did Boels-Dolmans race dirty? The VeloNews Podcast comes to you from Italy and California this week and tackles the controversies of the weekend head on. First Caley Fretz and Fred Dreier report from an attack-filled second stage of the Amgen tour, including interviews with Ian Boswell, Brent Bookwalter, and Andrew Talansky. Then Andrew Hood and Rupert Guinness bring the hottest of takes on the Giro's latest motorcycle controversy. Finally, Dreier sits down with Cannondale-Drapac boss Jonathan Vaughters to discuss the future of the green team.

Should Movistar have waited when a motorcycle took out GC contenders at the Giro? Will Cannondale-Drapac exist in 2018? Did Boels-Dolmans race dirty? The VeloNews Podcast comes to you from Italy and California this week and tackles the controversies of the weekend head on. First Caley Fretz and Fred Dreier report from an attack-filled second stage of the Amgen tour, including interviews with Ian Boswell, Brent Bookwalter, and Andrew Talansky. Then Andrew Hood and Rupert Guinness bring the hottest of takes on the Giro's latest motorcycle controversy. Finally, Dreier sits down with Cannondale-Drapac boss Jonathan Vaughters to discuss the future of the green team.

Episode 73 features the long anticipated BMC Racing Team's Brent Bookwalter interview.  Brent talks about his season to date as he prepares for the Amgen Tour of California.  Bookwalter is coy about his leadership role at the California race, and expounds on the depth of the BMC Racing Team and the opportunities for him and his teammates to shine in this upcoming race.  Brent talks about his past Redlands Cycling Classic experience and upcoming Gran Fondo's including this year's Bookwalter Binge on October 28th in Asheville, North Carolina (http://www.bookwalterbinge.com).  Randy and Dean wrap up the podcast looking at the Redlands Cycling Classic and upcoming Giro d' Italia. 

Today’s episode is all about busting two commonly held and closely related training myths. First, should you always do precisely what’s written on your training plan, even if your body is tired? And second, should your intervals always be ridden to failure, as hard as you can go? We are joined by Brent Bookwalter, Lucas Euser, Inigo San Milan, and Grant Holicky to help you determine when you should and shouldn’t push through bad legs, and when you should and shouldn’t do intervals at full gas.