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Cycling Training Tips

SRM and PowerTap Are Not Allowed in the Pro Tour 2009

APRIL FOOL: UCI has declared that power meters like SRM, PowerTap etc. will not be allowed in the Pro Tour next year. There also a couple of other implementations for next years’ Pro Tour that may surprise some of you. I will give you a short summary of the press release:

Why Power meters are no longer allowed:
Ӣ There are significant better results from riders using power meters which indicate that they have a huge advantage during the races than other riders. UCI wants to make everybody equal (at least their equipment status) to make a fair competition.
Ӣ UCI has chosen to avoid dictation of how riders should ride from e.g. power meters or radio communication. These steps should make riders using their instincts instead of just acting like a machine. UCI has already disallowed radio communication in the U23 Nations Cup this year and implements the same rule in the Pro Tour 2009.

The press release also indicates that 2009 may very likely be the last season with heart rate monitors, carbon wheels and disc wheels. Service cars leave the peloton from 2011 which should be time enough for riders to learn what to do when they have a flat tire. Seems like it is going to be old school cycling in the future…!

My comment:
I think this decision is a huge step backwards for pro cycling. Power meters have shown their relevancy in broad range of situations and made training even more sophisticated. UCI can’t disallow power meters in training situations which means that riders using power meters will still have a great advantage. UCI is obviously not aware that the biggest advantage of power meters are in training rides and post-race-analyses. During the races the bonus from having a power meter mounted is minimal (except time trials). But having data files from the races is a really helpful thing for analysis of performance.

I have started collection of names on people who dislike the mistake of UCI:

Support my campaign: Legalize SRM and PowerTap

If you want to support my campaign, please write your name here. I will send the full list of names to the President of UCI. 10408 riders have already shown their support in this way.

What do you think? Should power meters be disallowed next year?

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Why I Would Recommend The SRM Training System

The SRM Training System was the first power meter for road cyclists on the market. SRM uses a special crank system which measures the workload you apply. Thus, it is a direct measurement of the workload. That makes a lot more sense than the indirect methods used by e.g. Ibike Pro.

Several years of experience
SRM has had several years to optimize their products with valuable experience from top riders and scientists who have used SRM as power meter. As I have mentioned earlier, one of the best ways to learn more about power meters (or heart rate monitors for instance) is to spend several hours on the roads with the power meter mounted. The more data you can accumulate, the better picture you will get of your performance and what a power meter can do for you. Reading about training principles and basic exercise physiology will naturally help on your learning curve, but don’t underestimate the value of practical experience.

I think that SRM has a huge advantage against the new generation of power meters like PowerTap. These cranks are really good, comparable with stiffness from the best cranks on the market (though they are slightly heavier). A crank is a part of the bike so there is no problem when you e.g. want to put on your new carbon wheels for a special race. The SRM is still there and works properly.

Gold standard
SRM is the gold stand for power meters with very accurate measurement of workload. It’s a high quality product that will not disappoint you.

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Review of SRM, Power Tap and Polar

SRM FSA Crank

Kraig Willett has made a comprehensive review of the three most used power meters: SRM, Power Tap and Polar. He explains in details how these power meters measure power output and presents results from his tests. He gives us a very detailed review of how SRM, Power Tap and Polar perform in price, performance, and durability. The review might be a bit difficult to understand for beginners, but it is really worth reading.

Here are some of the points from Kraig Willett:

On how the SRM crank system measures power output
“Instrumenting a mechanical structure allows one to convert the phenomenon of interest into an electrical signal that can be subsequently analyzed, mathematically manipulated, and then displayed to the user. Strain gages do just that in the SRM power measuring device.

The strain gages that SRM uses are nothing more than a piece of foil embedded in a plastic carrier. The resistance of the foil element changes depending on how much it is stretched/strained. The strain gages unique characteristic of changing resistance under strain is what allows the mechanical deflections that naturally occur in the structure to be converted into an electrical voltage signal.”

On accuracy of power meters
“Additionally, it can even be argued that absolute accuracy is not an issue, but rather, consistency over time or measurement repeatability is most important.”

On installing a Power Tab hub
“The Power Tap system is just about as close to ‘Plug and Play’ as one can get. The straightforward steps of installing a cassette and a tire on the wheel built with the Power Tap hub are nothing too difficult for your average bike racer. Once these steps are accomplished, one must simply drop the wheel in the dropouts and install the receiver and CPU mount with the supplied zip ties. The whole process should take 30 minutes at most.”

Read the full review of SRM, Power Tap and Polar

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VO2 Max Is Essential In Competitive Cycling

Gonzalo is one of the more experienced riders into power meter training as he has been training with power for the last three years (SRM, Ergomo and now PowerTap SL). What he was looking for was a training program that could motivate him for training to cycling races of 80-90km. Motivation is the cornerstone in many riders training program, because even the best program will end up as a failure if the rider is not motivated. I guess a part of the predicted progress can be explained by motivation. A motivated rider trains harder and obtains better results than a non-motivated rider. Thus, my challenge was to motivate Gonzalo and keep track of his performance during the 12 weeks.

Focus on Aerobic Power
I decided to focus on 5 and 20min maximum power in the first 6 weeks and then work harder with anaerobic power in the last 6 weeks. I prefer to build a great aerobic base instead of just working on the anaerobic stuff from the very beginning. The reason for this is that it takes longer to build an optimal aerobic engine than anaerobic endurance. It is quite fast to train anaerobic endurance to a relative high level compared to the time it takes to optimize maximum oxygen consumption. Well, but he asked for more anaerobic endurance and sprinting power? Yes, but in cycling races of 2 hours it is essential to have a high VO2 max and endurance. If he got that, he has a chance to get home with the peloton or even make a breakaway. But if he is limited in these two factors, VO2 max and endurance, he will be dropped before they get to the final sprint. Thus, the primary goals for the first period were improvements in 5 and 20min maximum power.

Intervals
Like all the other riders in this project Gonzalo had to struggle with intervals three times a week. In the first couple of week it was two days with intervals and on Sundays he participated in some duathlon events of 2hrs duration. The following weeks were with intervals on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Gonzalo performed several intervals of 6min work / 4min active recovery with a workload around his 20min maximum power (Normally done three times on each interval day). There were also a couple of days 3x(3+3)min and 40/20sec intervals to maximize his VO2 max and add some fuel to his anaerobic enzymes.

Results
1min power increased dramatically making him a much stronger rider with more punch in his attacks. Combined with significant improvements in 5 and 20min maximum power, Gonzalo is now a lot more competitive in flat cycling races. I could wish that he was stronger in sprints, but the 1, 5 and 20min maximum power will result in more success for him in the races after all.

Maximum Power Tests 5sec 1min 5min 20min Body Weight
Week 1 (Watt) 1105W 557W 357W 321W 73kg/160.9lbs
Week 1 (Watt/kg) 15.1W/kg 7.6W/kg 4.9W/kg 4.4W/kg
Week 6 (Watt) 1148W 604W 389W 335W 72.5kg
Week 6 (Watt/kg) 15.8W/kg 8.3W/kg 5.4W/kg 4.6W/kg
Week 12 (Watt) 1113W 674W 416W 342W 73kg
Week 12 (Watt/kg) 15.2W/kg 9.2W/kg 5.7W/kg 4.7W/kg

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T-Mobile Team has selected SRM and Training Peaks as partners

T-Mobile Team has selected SRM and Traning Peaks software for their training analyzes. In a press release at Cycling Peaks official blog, T-Mobile and Cycling Peaks comments on this partnership:

“Training Peaks functionality will allow the T-Mobile Team Management to monitor, analyze and plan all aspects of a rider’s training program. “We are very pleased to be a part of the T-Mobile team for 2007. By using Training Peaks products the T-Mobile management and the riders have a one stop shop for collecting and analyzing data. T-Mobile Directors will also be able to easily manage travel schedules and race programs all within the Training Peaks platform. We believe we have the perfect solution for T-Mobile to stay on top of team performance,” said Training Peaks business development director Dirk Friel.

“T-Mobile Team improves the work and communication between riders, coaches, sport scientists and team doctors to set a new standard in training. The combination of Training Peaks & SRM is the perfect tool to collect and manage the data and will help to reach a higher quality of training and performance.” said team doctor Lothar Heinrich.

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