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February 6, 2017 By Rob Kelley Leave a Comment

Your Barry Roubaix – Efficiency

Speed skills, as defined by Joe Friel, are the ability to move quickly and efficiently.  The better you are at turning the pedals over the better your economy of effort is on the bike. Genetics come into play to a certain extent in this area, but as with any aspect of sport your efficiency is something that will improve with specific training.

A glaring example of this overall concept comes to mind with a road racer that we work with named Nicolai Brochner.  He and I have spent some time comparing our watts per kilo vs. speed while riding side by side and in varying wind conditions.  We’d have these little “contests” to see how little work we could do while maintaining the same speed together.  He always wins!  Nicolai looks almost perfect on the bike.  Everything about his position and movement, pedal stroke included, is geared toward maximum result with the smallest possible amount of effort.

To develop this form, and in addition to high cadence workouts which you can see a bit more about here, we also focus on the biomechanics of his pedal stroke.  Technique is the key here, not force or endurance, so the effort is akin to a soccer player working on dribbling skills as opposed to doing wind sprints.  Improving this technique requires ending this specific portion of your workout before fatigue sets in.  Fatigue and sloppiness go hand in hand and this is all about refining the skill.

Efficiency is your friend on this course

Spin ups, while not very taxing, require focus.   5 to 10 after you’ve properly warmed up make for a good addition to most speed skill oriented rides.  Perfectly flat or downhill terrain is best suited to allow for an effective workout with these as power should be all but eliminated from the equation:

Increase cadence gradually over a minute to your maximum.  Maximum cadence is the highest that you can maintain without bouncing.  Hold it there until you are no longer able to maintain, and take at least 3 minutes off between these efforts.

Additionally there is a “dead spot” in power at the top of the pedal stroke that can be decreased by proper technique, again fueled by specific drills.  Of those designed to increase the economy of the pedal stroke my favorite are isolated leg training drills (ILT).  While high cadence intervals and spin-ups are generally prescribed during the base phases, ILT drills are a great way to begin any type interval based workout throughout the season.  Think of grinding a circle out rather than pounding the pedals.  We call it “churning butter”.   ILT drills not only develop your ability to do this properly, but also serve as a reminder at the beginning of a ride to focus on this skill throughout:

Unclip one foot and begin pedaling with just one leg for 30 seconds.  Switch back and forth from right foot to left continuously for 3 reps on each leg, for a total of 3 minutes per set.  Recover for 3 minutes and do it again.  3 to 5 sets is generally plenty, and if you are in the middle of a rep and start losing it (a pronounced “clunk” in the top of your pedal stroke) then stop and consider that one rep.  Start slowly and increase as you become more efficient.  You’ll notice that the very top of the pedal stroke is the most difficult portion.  That “clunk” is a gap in power.  As you improve that gap will disappear!   Now put both feet in the pedals and do the same thing, and this is the pay dirt, consistent power throughout.

 

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January 9, 2017 By Rob Kelley Leave a Comment

Your Barry Roubaix – Tempo

The next logical step after having laid down your aerobic threshold effort (see more here) is to develop maximum power at tempo (zone 3 heart rate, AKA “cruise intervals”).   They are a good bridge from your base phases into the build phases, and also an important effort to have at your disposal as they will allow you to sit comfortably in the field when it heats up a bit. Start these at 10% higher power than you were pushing during aerobic threshold intervals and keep an eye on heart rate.  Adjust power to keep your heart rate within mid to upper zone 3 while getting the most power out of it that you can. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Cyclocross, Endurance/Gravel/Fondo, News

December 15, 2016 By Rob Kelley Leave a Comment

Your Barry Roubaix – Aerobic Threshold

 

founders-and-barryroubaix

As our first post with the Barry Roubaix crew we thought it apropos to begin with a basic foundation of your base building efforts.  Aerobic Threshold (AT) is the level of effort at which anaerobic energy pathways start to be a significant part of energy production, and occurs at approximately 80% of your lactate threshold (AKA Functional Threshold).  It is a level of power that you want to be able to sustain for 2+ hours once your base periods are complete. [Read more…]

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November 15, 2016 By Rob Kelley Leave a Comment

Indian Lakes Resort 2016 – M1/2/3 First Lap

Thanks to the oldest cycling club in Illinois.  The South Chicago Wheelmen have been around since 1923!  We loved ILR and you made some fantastic courses out of it.

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November 12, 2016 By Rob Kelley Leave a Comment

Indian Lakes 2016 – The Course

One wicked course that our buds at SCW put together

 

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