https://www.onlinecyclecoaching.com/

North Cycling Performance, Road (2026)

26/09/2024

As we come to the end of the 2024 TT season, we wanted to congratulate Tom on all that he has achieved this year.

Tom came to us in August 2023 with the aim of completing his first season racing 10 and 25 mile time-trials.

Firstly, it was critical that we established a baseline and training background.

Upon initial consultation, Tom made us aware of his previous training history, highlighting he had competed in middle-distance running. This was confirmed to us following a block of testing where he produced outstanding results across short, medium and long range tests.

Following a further review, however, we found that there was a large anaerobic component driving the result in his long-range test, which led to a moderate result in his fatigue resistance test. From here it was clear the direction we needed to take with Tom’s training.

After a winter focussed on developing the gaps in his performance, he set about his first race where he saw significant improvements in his long range power, having increased his aerobic contribution to power.

Starting the season with a 24:10 for a 10 and 57:27 for a 25, Tom rounded out the year with PB’s of 20:37 and 55:12. For Tom to experience such an improvement in his 25 PB, he achieved an increase in power from 274w to 312w.

It’s been a pleasure to work with Tom this season and to see him achieve so much in such a short space of time.

Brilliant work mate. Onto next year. Exciting things to come.

17/09/2024

Great ride by Alice who took 2 second place finishes and a win in her catergory on Sunday.

Over the weekend, Alice made the trip to Somerset to compete in the Minehead Triple (double) Header. The race consisted of 2 longer hill climbs at ~15 and 20 minutes, courses we knew suited Alices strengths well.

Producing some of her best numbers this season, Alice managed to achieve a fantastic result against some stiff competition.

Brilliant ride Alice! Can’t wait to see what the rest of Autumn has in store.

16/09/2024

I am over the moon with this performance. The initial goal in training with Masha was to build her engine as big as possible. The higher we can take her FTP and the more she can clear lactate, the stronger we set the foundation.

As we approached the season's first race, I was particularly intrigued by Masha's performance. She had yet to exceed 85% of her Critical Power in training. Based on her iLevels targeting, I set a power slightly above her all-time 10-minute power PB.

Masha's clearance capacity had to be high to achieve this power. If she achieved this power, I knew the foundation was set.

What was interesting about this race was that her main rival was Maddy, an individual I have coached for a number of years and who is also in her engine-building phase.

When I was planning the pacing strategy, I knew that this was going to be a very tight race. Seeing Masha win and Maddy come in 5s behind for second place was a beautiful start to the season.

Two awesome athletes I am incredibly proud to coach.

After a few more weeks of engine building, we will engage the pathways over Critical Power.

16/09/2024

You are rewarded in public for what you practice in private.

Seeing Iustin selected for the European Championships for Romania was a beautiful reward for all the hard work and dedication he has put in over the years.

Iustin has grown in confidence these last few months and stepped into his future potential. Seeing you grow has been an absolute honour, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Next stop, the Worlds!

15/09/2024

Buzzing to see Laurence take third at the Brickworks on Saturday and back it up with third place at Cragg Vale on Sunday.

Laurence has always had what it takes to be a podium contender at prestigious hill climbs, but unfortunately has experienced his fair share of bad luck.

He has faced considerable hurdles throughout previous seasons. Whether it be illness or injury, it led to significant time off the bike.

Coming into off-season 2023, Laurence was coming off the back of a consistent hill climb season and without illness or injury. This excited us as it gave us the time required to make the crucial improvements that were needed to help him become a consistent podium contender in 2024.

With the Autumn approaching and the hard yards done, Laurence had made considerable improvements in his short, medium and long range power PB’s so all that was left to do was get him to the start line fresh so that he could execute the ride we knew he was capable of.

Congratulations mate. Plenty more to come 💪

03/09/2024

Our first peak of the year was back in May for The Gralloch UCI Gravel—Scotland. Matt finished third, which was arguably his best-ever performance.

Whenever I have the opportunity to take a rider through a full base, build, and peak phase, I learn so much about them as cyclists.

Once the first season peak was complete, we set our sights on season peak two, which was the British National Gravel Championships. The way Matt performed at the Gralloch, I knew if we could drive his engine that little bit further, he could be in with a good chance of becoming National Gravel Champion.

From a training perspective, everything went as planned, with Matt entering the Nationals in race-winning form. Now, only one person can win, but three people have the opportunity to stand on the podium, and Matt did exactly that with an excellent second place and silver medal. This performance was outstanding, and I am proud of how Matt has committed this season.

With a good off-season and a few subtle tweaks. Matt has what it takes to win both at the Gralloch and Nationals in 2025.

It’s been an honour coaching you this season.

02/09/2024

Nick's main goal this season was to finish in the top five in the National 10 Mile Time Trial Championships. I knew that if we could find an extra 20-25w, this would be enough for a top-5 finish.

Coming into the peak phase of his training, we found those 20w, with Nick winning his last two events and also producing back-to-back 17-minute rides. This was the moment I knew we were on for a top-5.

With a time of 18.41, Nick finished in an excellent 5th place, only 11 seconds off a National Podium. I am so proud of this performance. You have been an absolute honour to coach.

Now it's time to establish what's needed to take that step onto the podium in 2025.

Thank you for trusting me as your coach.

29/08/2024

This week, I have had three consultations with some high-level UK Elite road racers. They have been frustrated because they feel like they have underperformed this season.

When analysing a rider's data, I don't coach. The first thing I do is establish their fresh power profile. I then establish their individual fatigue resistance range and finally look at their ability to produce power after that accumulated fatigue.

I fully understand what's needed for elite road racing in the UK. All of these riders ticked the boxes in terms of fresh and fatigued powers.

If they tick all the boxes, why did they not perform?

The answer is the timing of form. They came into good form but continued to train hard when in good form.

This eats away at your peak fitness quickly. If you continue throwing more races and training on top, the body will fight against you. You could do the best training sessions in the world, but you will only achieve the potential if the timing is right.

When I saw this pattern, I could see that the periodisation was wrong. I explained to the riders that they don't need to train harder. All they need to do is set up the phases differently, stop pushing in training when they peak, and rest when they feel the peak has finished.

By following the natural ebb and flow, they will see periods of good form at the back end of the build phase and excellent form in the peak phase. Most people do two of these cycles, but for some, they can do three cycles.

Changing a simple thing with your training can have a huge impact on your season results.

28/08/2024

Saint Piran changed the dynamic of the national events for my elite road racers in the UK. With such a strong team, the dynamic changed in terms of how my riders could win. You must be very smart with your tactics when you have such a strong and diverse team to compete against.

With Saint Piran's strong representation in the 2024 Victor Berlemont Trophy, coached rider Josh Housley had to be very smart to get a result because if you show good form, it's very easy to be cancelled out.

During any race, you accumulate fatigue, which can result in a significant decline in your power production at the end of the event.

For Josh, this was our focus. The training was 100% designed to make him as durable as possible. Then, for the key events, we would switch his upper pathways on so we could tick the boxes.

With the Victor Berlemont Trophy being one of the longest road races in the UK, I knew Josh had the fatigue resistance capabilities to perform even against a strong team.

Coming into the final few km, Josh was in a race-winning position. He should have just gone in hindsight, but he tried to be tactical. Those tactics meant another Piran rider came across. Once in this position, it's tough to dispatch two team members.

Baker and McKay worked well to execute 1st and 2nd with coached rider Josh in 3rd.

This season, Josh has constantly taken steps forward. Looking at the data, we know what needs to be done to take that next step forward into 2025.

I am really proud of the athlete you have become, Josh. Here's to many more years of development and growth.

22/08/2024

It’s common to see my riders have a strong end to the season. There is a reason for this, and I plan it on purpose.

The season should never be one long peak. It’s literally not possible to hold anywhere near peak form all year. You can hold 90% form, but let’s face it, who wants that?

I like to plan a two-season peak. The second-season peak is usually met with a lot of competition fatigue.

So, if you think about it, the competition starts to get tired, and you start to come into form. This gives you the opportunity and chance to beat cyclists who are actually better than you.

I like to call it the coaching puzzle. How do you put the pieces together to formulate the best strategy for the individual?

21/08/2024

The beauty of supercompensation.

When an athlete finishes a tough event like The Haute Route Pyrenees, once recovered from the event, the body can undergo a process of super-compensation. This is where, after a period of extreme physical stress, followed by rest and recovery, the body adapts by improving beyond its original condition.

This does not always happen, but for some individuals, it can. This is exactly what happened to Tiago. Once he recovered, you could see his strength and conditioning developing.

The Mountuiri Crit was a race we didn’t have in the plan, but Tiago decided to give it a go at the last minute. Coming into the race, everything just clicked, with Tiago producing one of his best performances ever and taking an awesome win.

The human body is a marvellous thing, and I am over the moon to see Tiago not only produce an amazing performance in the Haute Route but also receive some beautiful fruits of his labour in the weeks after the event.

Top work brother!

North Cycling Performance

26/09/2024

17/09/2024

16/09/2024

16/09/2024

15/09/2024

03/09/2024

02/09/2024

29/08/2024

28/08/2024

22/08/2024

21/08/2024

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category