Training philosophy in various teams

[CQmanager]

In this exact forum it was reported some months ago that De Gendt had some weight issue; he wouldnt be able to avoid some foods like sausages if I recall correctly.
Now according to you this cant be true cause he's been cycling since early days, but as you see sometimes it does happen.
Plus stuff like diets and trainings plans have ever updates every year and each trainer/coach have a different approach.

If I may add there's also "each rider factor"; some need to have a trainer daily to tell them what to do, some don't and this doesnt depends on age or experience but just about caracters.

Where in my opinion above do you see the word "Sausage" or meat for that matter? No wonder he needed to lose some weight if he was eating sausages. Every cyclist is different. When I need to lose weight I wont even touch meat, pasta or rice. All I need is some fruit, vegetables and beans to provide protein and the weight goes down very easily. Obviously, I dont do this in the middle of the racing season but during off-season when the intensity is low. If you need to lose few pounds during the season, you just need smaller adjustments otherwise you may lose some power. Not exactly a science since the powermeter will show you exactly how many calories you burned during the training ride.

 

[Dutchsmurf]

You don't think that they practised this together, or that the team practice made the slightest bit of difference?

With the kind of riding Sky is doing, there is absolutely no need to train together. There is actually no need to go outside at all. Sky is all about maintaining a certain power output over a certain amount of time. You can train that on your hometrainer.

 

[Tei6chai]

With the kind of riding Sky is doing, there is absolutely no need to train together. There is actually no need to go outside at all. Sky is all about maintaining a certain power output over a certain amount of time. You can train that on your hometrainer.

Yeah, I guess that those boys have so much leisure and money on their hands, that they probably train together merely to fill the time.

 

[Catwhoorg]

Garmin do well in the TTT as they train specifically for that discipline.

Sky have been practicing this mountain train all year (and even before that, though not with the same guys in place), so its hardly any wonder they got quite good at it.

I'm not sure when the first alpine climb actually had a significant effect on the GC, so there was probably a surprise factor in there for some of the guys who did get dropped, maybe they didn't get their feeding right, not expecting to have the pace drilled by EBH even before the main climb.

Frandy's training is frequently mocked here and elsewhere. It is clear that there has been room for better methods in the world tour for some time, now I expect everyone else will follow suit and the gaps will close (like they did on the track)

 

[Magnus]

With the kind of riding Sky is doing, there is absolutely no need to train together. There is actually no need to go outside at all. Sky is all about maintaining a certain power output over a certain amount of time. You can train that on your hometrainer.

Either you're sarcastic or you haven't experienced the difference between indoor/outdoor road cycling.

 

[biokemguy]

Are the guys on teams that focus on training effectively paid more since they don't have to hire a private coach and nutrionist? Seems like that could be a significant cost for lower tier riders.

 

[Michele]

Where in my opinion above do you see the word "Sausage" or meat for that matter? No wonder he needed to lose some weight if he was eating sausages. Every cyclist is different. When I need to lose weight I wont even touch meat, pasta or rice. All I need is some fruit, vegetables and beans to provide protein and the weight goes down very easily. Obviously, I dont do this in the middle of the racing season but during off-season when the intensity is low. If you need to lose few pounds during the season, you just need smaller adjustments otherwise you may lose some power. Not exactly a science since the powermeter will show you exactly how many calories you burned during the training ride.

The De Gendt/sausage was just an example, sorry but my first language is not english.

It might not be a science calculating how many calories you take but as a pro you're busy with many things and that's when a doctor (dietologist?) come on hand.
Plus not all pro use a powermeter.
Is there anything wrong with it?
Not as long as they are fine with it and their performance is alright.

 

[hiero2]

Where in my opinion above do you see the word "Sausage" or meat for that matter? No wonder he needed to lose some weight if he was eating sausages. Every cyclist is different. When I need to lose weight I wont even touch meat, pasta or rice. All I need is some fruit, vegetables and beans to provide protein and the weight goes down very easily. Obviously, I dont do this in the middle of the racing season but during off-season when the intensity is low. If you need to lose few pounds during the season, you just need smaller adjustments otherwise you may lose some power. Not exactly a science since the powermeter will show you exactly how many calories you burned during the training ride.

I think you are missing the point here. Yes, you CAN train alone. You are right in that.

But, there IS something to be gained by training together as a team, even at the top level. No, if you are a top-level rider you do NOT thus know everything that is best and optimal for you. You should know what is optimal out of what you have learned so far, but that doesn't mean you are now god-like and all-knowing. Having other intelligent and focused individuals around you can still help. I will list one example - Ryder Heyjedal's tt position over the last two years. It is also quite evident and true that few people, very few, do exactly what they SHOULD do to be optimal - and having other people around helps maintain that focus.

 

[hiero2]

That kind of thinking rather neatly sums up why Sky are trouncing their opposition and so many people in these forum's can't understand why.

No rider, no matter how experienced, has either the knowledge or the time to research and test all the factors which influence their performance in a given situation.

Any of those factors could make the difference between winning and losing, but let's just consider the issue of teamwork.

Sky's team has judged their collective effort on every day of this TdF to near perfection.

With perhaps the exception of Porte, none of them has put in anything like a super human effort.

They have each given a great, but entirely believable, effort at exactly the right part of each stage, making the best of their particular characteristics.

You don't think that they practised this together, or that the team practice made the slightest bit of difference?

Makes sense to me.