Tailwind Coaching

Classic Climbing – Free “Berg Buster” HIT Workout

[dc]T[/dc]he spring classics are in full swing, with fans and riders deep in the throes of Holy Week. With Scheldeprijs being only a day away and Roubaix looming on Sunday, the cobbled classics are nearing a close, although no doubt we are in for some more spectacular performances. Up next will be the Ardennes Classics, with their steep bergs and tortuous descents. For many cyclists, it's the absolute best part of the season, if not for riding but for watching.

Watching these races inspires many but saddens some at the same time: "Why can't I climb like that" and "I don't know how he does that" are common phrases uttered while riders shatter the steep bergs and cobbled pitches of the classics. It takes a special kind of rider to be able to climb that stuff, right?

Nope. What if I told you everyone can train to be better on the moderate length, steep climbs. And for the duration of the classics, I'm GIVING AWAY a HIT workout that will help you do just that.

Simply copy the enter the code "classicsgift" between now and April 21st (Liege Bastogne Liege) during checkout to get your FREE "Berg Buster" HIT workout (available below).

HIT Berg Buster Climbing Workout

Workout details: Paying homage to the medium length (1 mile in length or less) steep bergs of Belgium, this HIT workout is designed to train your body for the stresses of attacking moderate climbs. Grouped into blocks, the first block will focus on pushing hard gears through your most powerful muscles (glutes and hamstrings) and accelerating in the saddle using your quads, simulating surges in the peloton. The second block will force you to get comfortable accelerating out of the saddle to simulate covering attacks from the front. The third block puts it all together, teaching you how to be a berg busting ace!

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Tags: classics, climbing, Coaching|

Welcome To Holy Week

[dc]T[/dc]here's no better introduction to "Holy Week" than the celebration of Easter. However, the real thrill of the day (besides 55 degrees and no cars on the roads) is the 97th running of de Ronde Van Vlaanderen or the Tour of Flanders. As always, the storylines are written and the battle lines are drawn up:

Peter Sagan's amazing early season with his win at Ghent Wevelgem, Fabian Cancellara's realization of his Flanders/Roubaix double winning form of 2010, Tom Boonen's run of bad luck throughout the spring, Philippo Pozzato's eternal struggle for that big win, Thor Hushovd's newfound confidence….

It's the perfect soap opera to be played out on 256 kilometers of the roads of Belgium on a chilly Easter Sunday.

Welcome to Holy Week.

*UPDATE*

7:05AM, 3/31/13

I had written this post a few day ago and instead of editing it down, I'm going to just add this as a footnote: Tom Boonen, in the hunt for his record breaking 4th win at Flanders, has crashed out of the race after 19k. There will be no battle between Sagan, Boonen and Cancellara. There will be no Belgian tricolore on display today (or likely for Roubaix either.) This could be as game changing as Cancellara's feedzone crash in Flanders last season.

Get better soon, Tom.

Tags: classics, pro cycling|

Spring Training Myths (Podcast #9)

Spring has sprung in the northeast, and that means forums are humming with training discussions and group rides are filled with chatter of “how have you been training?” There's a lot of talk about sweet spots, hill repeats and base miles. If you dissect those conversations, how many of them contain legitimate information and how many are just stuffed with buzz words and poor implementation of (misunderstood) concepts?

In today's podcast, we'll discuss a few training concepts that I've seen talked about recently, what people are saying (incorrectly) about implementing them, and how you can avoid those pitfalls.

We'll cover:

I also hope everyone notices that the Tailwind Coaching podcast is now on STITCHER and PODBEAN. Check it out there for mobile options and more download options.

Questions or comments? Post below and start the discussion.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:22 — 24.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Tags: Coaching, podcast, training|

Review: SRAM Red Shifters

[dc]I[/dc]t all starts with some spy photos: blacked out parts, blurry shots of cyclocross races, SRAM team guys with suspicious shift levers and cranksets. Then SRAM made a splash early last year by redesigning their flagship group and releasing it just prior to the spring classics. They have marketed their new group as the best mechanical group on the market, making waves about Boonen winning Flanders and Roubaix on the new gear and have Hammered the media with their successes.

But how is it, really?

Some of you may have gathered that I'm something of a SRAM fanboy, and having ridden SRAM for the past 5 years (starting with the old original Force which is still kicking on my cyclocross bike) I wanted to do this methodically, piece by piece. I've started with the shifters, as they're the most important part of the group (in my opinion) and will compare them to the old model Red shifters that they have replaced.

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Tags: components, reviews, wrenching|

Knee Pain Primer

Knee injuries can destroy a season

[dc]W[/dc]ith spring rearing it's much welcomed head, a lot of riders are in the midst of building fitness towards their early season racing programs. A lot more are just ramping it up getting ready for the beck and call of sweaty summer club throwdowns. But whether you've been riding hard since December, hoping to podium at that spring "classic" or you're just starting up your training, one thing can slow all of us to a crawl: knee pain. At some point in our cycling lifetime we'll all experience it, and we'll all know the suffering of sitting on the couch while we wonder "why me" or "why now?"

Instead of asking those questions, it's more prudent to ask "what caused this" along with treating the symptoms that put you out of commission. Here we'll take a quick look at some of the reasons your knees may be throbbing and help you shed some light on why you're couch surfing.