Tricks To Get A Winning Edge

Podcast

June 22, 2020

Once your training is sound, how do you find an edge over your competitors? Specific tips for triathletes and cyclists. Get Fast Podcast, Ep 29.

Get Fast Podcast, Ep 29, with Gerard and Jordan Donnelly

Once your program is sound, your edge comes from the small things you do inside each session. Gerard starts with cadence and steady pressure on the pedals, then looks at where you train and how you warm up. Put two athletes on the same program, and these one-percenters help explain why one gets more out of it.

Why does cadence matter?

Each cadence does a different job in a structured program:

Under 75 rpm builds strength through your quads, hamstrings and glutes.
80 rpm, building to 100, warms you up.
95 to 100 rpm teaches pedalling technique and lifts your heart rate.

What is a go-to cadence?

It's what you fall back on under pressure. Late in a race you're tired, your heart rate climbs, and you drop your cadence to stop it spiking. Gerard says that solves one problem and creates others. You have less ability to change pace, your legs fatigue, and cramp could be next.

For a triathlete, grinding at 60 to 70 rpm is a strength session just before the run. Hold your chosen cadence in training, so it's your natural go-to on race day.

What does pressure on the pedals mean?

It means constant, even force through the whole pedal stroke. Aim for 200 watts on three-second power and you might see 210, then 195, then 204. Those spikes fatigue your legs. Gerard's picture is a car on cruise control beside an older car that surges and drops back.

It shows over the top of hills. In Belgium, Jordan watched Gerard open a gap on the bunch at the crests. Riders asked why he kept accelerating, and he asked why they were decelerating. He was holding the same power. Above 60 km/h on the way down, it's okay to stop pedalling and get aero.

Switchbacks work the same way. Hold your pressure where the gradient eases and you move away from riders who ease off. They burn a match catching you, and "it does their heads in".

Should you freewheel in training?

Gerard calls that sound "my pet hate". In a race it can save energy when it counts. In training you lose the pressure on the pedals, and on a long descent you lose blood flow, so keep turning them over.

In a bunch, the riders in the middle aren't doing much of the work. Sometimes Gerard drops 50 metres off the back, so he's riding in the wind.

How do you pedal more evenly?

Think 360 degrees. Push and pull. When Gerard's mind drifted on a ride and he started pulling up again, his power rose 10 watts within 10 seconds.
Use recovery rides. He aims to hold 105 rpm at 100 watts, with no jumping around.
Try rollers. Uneven pedalling bounces you around.
Keep still from the hips up. A bobbing upper body means you're only pushing.

You don't need this in every session. Practise it at the right times, then use it on race day.

Does where you train matter?

Yes. The same session on a better course gets you more.

Bike: Choose roads without traffic lights, so you can hold your cadence. Gerard drives 45 minutes for a session that needs flat road.
Swim: The pool is like a ride with traffic lights. Practise cold, sighting and swell in open water.
Run: Do your endurance run in the hills. You build strength without running hard. Gerard moved to the Dandenong Ranges to train, and says it transformed the back end of his Ironman marathons.

Do warm-ups and cool-downs give you an edge?

Yes. Start cold and you can be left behind when someone takes off. Cool-downs prepare you for the next day. Pro cycling teams now do them even after a mountain stage.

What should you think about during a race?

What you can control. In a 30-minute time trial, Gerard keeps asking: what's my cadence, am I pulling up, what's my power, what's my heart rate? Other athletes tell him they got tired and drifted off. Anything that keeps your head on the job beats drifting.