What will make my clients faster, stronger, more efficient?
Posted by Matt Moran about 1 day ago
Today we have a guest blog from Jay McStay who runs his own coaching consultancy, M1 Performance Coaching. Some will recognise Jay's name as he is also a HotChillee Ride Captain for the upcoming London-Paris where he will be passing on his experience and knowledge to help riders get the most out of their experience.
Jay has been training with power since 2004 so is well qualified to give us the lowdown on how the Wattbike has slotted into his coaching services. Here is Jay's story...
As a Performance Coach you look at equipment with the sole purpose of asking questions such as:
“Will this make my clients faster, stronger, more efficient?” or “Will it help me as a coach monitor and analyse the individual in order that I can continually develop them to reach their full potential?”.
If the answer is yes then it is something I look at investing in and bringing into the melting pot. When Wattbike became a sponsor for Hotchillee and Londres-Paris the opportunity came to implement the Wattbike into the M1 Performance Coaching programme. As an individual and coach I had always trained with various power systems since 2004.
The Wattbike allows me to monitor individuals pedal efficiency and power output along with other metrics such as cadence and heart rate. I use both the Power and Expert software that you can download for free from the Wattbike website, the Power as a motivational tool for my clients in front of them and Expert for myself to view their Polar Force (pedal efficiency).
I use Training Peaks (TP) to analyse the data the individual produces and breakdown specific intervals to review their IF (Intensity Factor). By monitoring the IF within the interval blocks we ensure that the goals that were set were reached and ask the questions “if not, why not”.
Each workout produces a TSS score (Training Stress Score) which then links in with the individual’s PMC (Performance Management Chart). The PMC allows me to monitor the individuals progression through structured periodization and gives a guidance on tapering for an individual’s “A” Race.
Training Peaks works in unison with Wattbike as you can upload the Wattbike session direct to TP and I can view the data from anywhere in the world. Many of my clients have invested in a Wattbike and using TP with it allows them flexibility to work with me wherever they may be based. Each week we discuss the findings over Skype or in person allowing that all important face time.
As part of the M1 Performance package, benchmark testing is key to ensuring an individual is improving whilst also being a motivational and confidence builder. Personally, I use the 2x8min protocol for less conditioned individuals and the CP20min (critical power) test protocol for stronger athletes.
From this we find their Functional Threshold Power (FTP) in order to establish their power zones. An example of this is shown below where the test was conducted on the Wattbike and uploaded to TP for analysis. Power (w) is shown in black, HR in red, cadence in green.
You may remember that former Arsenal and England footballer Lee Dixon has been training on his Wattbike for the Dallaglio Flintoff 2012 Cycle Slam which saw riders take on a 2,800km ride from Olympia in Greece to the Olympic Park in London.
Well, Lee, Lawrence and 'Freddie' (and about 200 other riders!) completed their incredible ride this past week and we've been sent some fantastic images. We hope to catch up with Lee in the next few weeks to get his thoughts on how it went but in the meantime you can still donate to his fundraising efforts. You can find out more about the event on the Dallaglio Flintoff 2012 Cycle Slam website.
Our favourite photo has to be Lee and former Chelsea player Graeme Le Saux on a tandem, wearing their rival clubs shirt!
Photos kindly supplied by Dallaglio Flintoff 2012 Cycle Slam.
We love anything that motivates us to train more and get on the bike so when we read about The People's Grand Tour II we thought, why not, let's get involved.
It's a fairly straight-forward idea, you just need to log the kilometres you ride between May 19th and June 10th and when you're done send your logged kilometres and a few bits of other info to lionel@lionelbirnie.com.
You might recognise the name Lionel Birnie from some of the cycling magazines, he writes for Cycling Weekly Cycle Sport and The Sunday Times amongst others and came up with this great idea last year.
Why get involved I hear you ask, well, for me and others in the Wattbike team it's a case of staying motivated and on track with our training. It'll be nice to track our increase in kilometres as some of us head to The London-Paris and others to the Right to Play Ride.
Yes, Lionel has managed to sort a few prizes out but we just like the idea of being part of something and sharing the common joy of riding a bike. Lionel's message of 'All that matters is you keep the pedals turning' probably sums it up best.
We were relieved to hear we could log our kilometres done on the Wattbike as it's still playing a very important role in our training, combined with some longer rides at the weekend. We wouldn't want to waste that quality time now would we.
If you're a member of Strava (it's free for the basic version), there is a group for The People's Grand Tour, a really easy way to track your total distance.
There are many advocates of training by heart rate or by power as separate activities. Both have merits (note I don’t say advantages and disadvantages). Many opponents of either method point to disadvantages only.
Training by a number of variables has only advantages. Training on a Wattbike with both heart rate and power, coupled with pedalling technique and cadence are powerful combinations to get the best out of a training session.
With power meters on road bikes, excellent as they are, it is difficult to look at the data whilst keeping an eye on the road and therefore the full data profile is only available after the session when downloaded to analysis software, I liken this to driving a car by looking in the rear view mirror. In fact, at times the rider is not training with heart rate or power as they can be in the dark during some of the session.
An even worse situation is riding without any monitoring of heart rate, power or cadence at all.
For me, the key variables to measure for every training session are:
Mechanical intensity (power)
Physiological intensity (heart rate)
Cadence (leg speed)
Muscle activation (pedalling technique) on an indoor session
Bringing these together can provide a powerful impetus to improving training and race performance.
And let me deal with the cry I often hear, ‘but heart rate is so variable’. Of course it is! It measures the physiological, psychological and environmental conditions influencing the body at any moment in time and is therefore critical to the success of the training session. There is no point in riding at 200 W with HR at 65% of max on one day and on another riding at 200 W with HR at 85% of max – they are not the same training sessions.
Conversely, of course, just training with power ignores the variation in physiological response.
So, using heart rate and power and then adding into the mix the ability to make sure that every pedal revolution is balanced and cadence is maintained, at the correct rpm and power output required for the session, and you have the most powerful training system possible.
Training on a Wattbike provides a unique opportunity to train with live, real-time and accurate data, visually represented on the Wattbike Performance Computer or, in the live running software (either Expert or Power Cycling).
Simon Vincent runs a coaching consultancy and uses the Wattbike not only with his own clients but also for his fitness and cycling endeavours. When you read of the results Simon has been acheiving personally on the Wattbike it makes for very interesting reading and validates our mantra of 'Train Less, Ride Faster.' Simon is a big advocate of the Wattbike so we'll let him give you the lowdown on how he's been using it...
Having put almost 35 clients (primarily cyclists) through pedalling analysis, correction of technique and the pain of max watts/true HRM tests on the Wattbike, my experience and ability to take someone with poor pedalling technique and get them improved by up to 25% before they leave is really starting to pay dividends. My business, www.totalcyclingperformance.co.uk, is based in South Wales, just 4 miles from the Brecon Beacons National Park, surrounding by some of the best cycling roads anywhere in the UK.
My business has grown totally organically since November 2011 and now sees me privileged enough to get visited by many local clients as well as more and more from England, to go through a complete physiological spectrum of performance tests that involve so much more than just cycling power or FTP. See www.race-pace.net for a recent appraisal of my services.
My whole business ethos is based around “great cycling being about so much more than just cycling” and to date common weaknesses that occur time and again with clients are the ones that a lot of “old school” types just don’t recognise; these include core instability, nutrition deficiencies, dehydration, coronal strength imbalances and shocking flexibility to name just a few. My biggest bug bear of all though has to be the mantel that weights make you bulky and slow – Lance Armstrong anyone?
With my business growing so quickly and other demands upon my time such as a young family, study and assisting a local diabetes charity with its nutrition guidance, the availability of training time for myself over the last 5 months has fallen to around 8 hours per week maximum, many weeks less.
An invite to ride the Forest of Dean sportive on the 6th of May 2012 with a small local club would, having never ridden more than 50 miles in a single ride, demonstrate if my body could cope on such little volume of training.
92 miles completed and although my back was a little sore after 8 hours in the saddle, I felt great. My Garmin gave me a ride time of 6hrs 38 mins which proved what I could have achieved if not waiting for the others at the top of each hill, and riding alongside them on the flat, which was not a problem as we had agreed to ride together and it was a great day. Best of all though, despite pushing up every hill to a level just below Lactate Threshold my average heart rate for the entire ride was just 124 bpm.
All this achieved in just 3 hours a week of structured controlled sessions on the Wattbike, 1 X 3 hour road ride (when dry weather permited) and 2 X 1 hour cycling specific strength and conditioning sessions.
Therefore anyone contemplating a long distance Sportive but worrying that their body just will not cope due to a lack of time in the saddle, should have faith that combining amazing equipment such as the Wattbike with the right level of full body conditioning, nutrition and structured recovery, will be able to do themselves credit through “training smarter and not longer”.
Many of my professional business clients simply do not have the time to dedicate to high volume hours in the saddle due to their huge work commitments, so this is where my extensive experience, combined with the Wattbike, proves to be a winning combination for them.
If you're looking to set up your own coaching business or want to add value to your existing coaching business with a Wattbike then please get in touch for a friendly chat.
Recently we welcomed seven members of the British Cycling marketing and coaching teams to the Wattbike Sport Science Lab to be put through their paces by Wattbike’s Eddie Fletcher.
Eddie gave a guided tour of the Wattbike, explaining the history of the bike and how it works before getting the guys set up properly to try it for themselves. Some were familiar with the Wattbike as there are 20 bikes permanently at the Manchester Velodrome where British Cycling are based.
After an explanation about the Wattbike Performance Computer, it was on to pedal technique analysis, or as we call it, the Polar View. This is where the competition really started to hot up! Normally, five men and two ladies shouting “look at my sausage” would seem weird, but blog readers will know that a sausage is what we are all aiming for.
After lunch, Eddie put the team through a 20 minute session using the Power Cycling software which showed how the Wattbike can be used in an exercise class environment. The new software gives a totally different experience as all the riders can see what each other is doing.
After that, the competition was really on. Eddie turned on the race software and the guys went for it. Josh won a couple of the races and was sure to let his colleagues know who was in front!
Having seen all that the Wattbike can do, there were lots of new ideas about how British Cycling Members can get more out of the Wattbike. The future is looking bright!
Don't forget that British Cycling Members benefit from a 10% discount on the purchase of a Wattbike - all you need to do is call us on 0115 9455450 and quote your British Cycling membership number.
Our friends at Team Cycles are taking their Wattbikes around the country again in 2012 to help out JDRF with their Spin to Cure Diabetes events. The concept is simple, get yourself a team of five colleagues together and pit yourself against others for 8 minutes on a Wattbike.
The event fits nicely into a lunch break so if you're in and around the London area and can get over to Royal Exchange this coming Friday (18th May) get involved, so far there's 33 teams signed up! Money raised will fund cutting-edge research into type 1 diabetes.
Posted in Case Studies by Andy McCorkell about 2 weeks ago
We now have Aussie rules football to add to the ever expanding list of sports and Collingwood AFC as the latest profesional sports club to see the benefits of training and rehab on the Wattbike.
We were very proud to drop off 20 bikes to them last week, and I think they fit in quite well:
Proving the Point: An Olympic Champion’s Polar View
Posted by Matt Moran about 2 weeks ago
We're human like everbody else, so when we get a sneak peek at an Olympic Champion's data from a Wattbike session, we tend to get a little bit excited. Our Sport Scientist, Eddie Fletcher, has seen training data from World and Olympic Champions, across all of the cycling disciplines and from every corner of the world.
It's this kind of 'black book of data' that confirms time and again that the 'sausage' shape we see via the Wattbike's Polar View pedal technique analysis is very much what all cyclists and triathletes should be aiming for in their quest to get that perfect pedalling technique.
Check out the video below for a more detailed explanation of what the Polar View illustrates from Eddie. Oh, you wanted to know who that Polar View belongs to above? I'd be shot if I told you that, suffice to say the rider competes on both the road and the track and will be gunning for Gold again in London this summer.
Simon Richardson Trackathons raising money for Wales Air Ambulance
Posted by Matt Moran about 2 weeks ago
Simon Richardson has been kind enough to take some time to pen a new blog for us. You'll remember that Simon is currently undergoing rehab after being hit by a vehicle in August of last year. Simon is still finding it very tough and it really does put into perspective what hard work and determination it is taking to continue on his road to receovery.
Please do support Simon where you can, whether it's going along to one of his Trackathons, buying the SimonStrong kit or simply donating on his JustGiving page. Simon is raining money for Wales Air Ambulance, they people who played a major role in saving Simon's life.
Here are Simon's words:-
This blog has been the most difficult one I have written even though it's only short. In the last blog I was saying about getting back on the road and doing some good long rides, but I have been told not to go on the road yet as they are not sure if my back will take it as I'm collapsing to the left and forward.
My physio was so concerned the other day she has sent me back to see the specialist to see what he has to say as last time I saw him I was not to bad but also at that time I had not long come out of the body brace.
There is good news that the insurance claim is moving on and the insurance company is being helpful at the moment and for all that have forgotten, the man that hit me is in court on 17th May.
I am sill doing my little bit on the Wattbike and my physio every day, it's just hard to get motivated each day when you have lost your goals. It sounds wrong but I can get up on the track and do an hour without training, so some days I look at the Wattbike and say why do I need to get on this what am I training for but I do get on it.
I was doing the 120 mile Dragon ride on June 10th for Wales Air Ambulance but I now have a friend doing it for me. If you are doing it look out for him, he'll be wearin simonstrong Air Ambulance kit so give him a shout.
We are still doing the #simonstrong Trackathons at Newport, Manchester and Calshot. The Newport Trackathon takes place on 15/16th June so come along and ride the track all night long. See the poster below for details on how to get involved.
I want to say a big thanks to Wattbike for all their help.
We've been sent this fantastic poster which features US track cyclist Sarah Hammer. We liked it so much we thought we'd share it with you. It makes us really proud to be part of Sarah's 'team' throughout the last 12 moinths and through to the Olympics. We've met Sarah a few times now at her Mallorca training base and, alongside her coach Andy Sparks, is always a pleasure to talk to, and more importantly listen to.
This year the conference, backed by FIFA and The FA, was centred around Football Medicine Strategies for Knee Injuries, with over 1000 delegates from 60 countries in atttendance.
The image above shows The Altitude Centre Performance Scientist, Harvey Galvin, at their stand showing off the Hypoxic equipment for rehabilitation and performance, which is used in conjunction with the Wattbike.
You can see the official trailer for the conference below:
The Altitude Centre exhibited at the International Conference on Sports Rehabilitation and Traumatology on the 21st-22nd April 2012. Over 1000 delegates from 60 different countries attended the conference held at Stamford Bridge Stadium, Chelsea FC. The picture attached shows our Performance Scientist, Harvey Galvin at the Altitude Centre stand showing off our Hypoxic equipment for rehabilitation and performance, which we enjoy using together with the Watt Bike.
Author Chris Cleave visits Wattbike Sport Science Lab
Posted by Matt Moran about 3 weeks ago
Last week we had author Chris Cleave at our Sport Science Lab to give him the lowdown on the history of the Wattbike, from its roots as an elite training and testing tool developed in partnership with British Cycling through to its uses by pretty much every sport.
Chris is taking part in The London-Paris in June and is currently being coached by M1 Performance run by HotChillee Ride Captain Jay McStay, who uses the Wattbike as his primary testing tool. With Chris being no stranger to the Wattbike, Eddie worked him through a 20 min cadence-based warm-up and it's clear that even though he's has only been taking his cycling seriously in the last 18 months, he is in very good condition.
Eddie also took Chris through some examples to show the physiological effects of producing the same power at various gears/cadence to illustrate the importance of choosing the correct gearing when cycling.
Chris' enthusiasm for cycling is obvious from the moment you meet him, he's currently writing a book about his experiences of cycling culture over the last 18 months, the people he's met, the places he's been and above all getting under the skin of why we all love cycling so much. The book is due for publication in 2013 but in the meantime you can check out Chris' new book 'Gold' which is due for publication next month on his website.
A great day and we look forward to seeing Chris on The London-Paris along with all of the other participants.
It's the first of the month so that can only mean one thing - it's time for the latest Wattbike #TrainingTracks. We've included a few of your suggestions from Twitter and had a browse across some recommendations from Spotify to help you get through these windy and rainy early days of May.
Don't forget we might just add your favourite track if you tweet @Wattbike the artist and song title using the hashtag #TrainingTracks.
We're using the new Spotify Play Button which means that if you have Spotify running on your computer already the playlist will simply play in your browser from below. Slick.
Wattbike a no-brainer for Jessica Ennis’ coach Toni Minichiello
Posted by Tom Crampton about 3 weeks ago
A few weeks ago I dropped a Wattbike off for Jessica Ennis' coach Toni Minichiello at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield where Jessica does most of her training and preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games.
I asked Toni how Jessica would be using the Wattbike as part of her training, he told me: "Following the foot injury in 2008 that caused Jessica to miss the Beijing Olympics, finding ways of training that reduce the amount of force through that are but still develops the type of training effect we need has been part of my training plans for Jessica."
Great Britain 800m athlete Jenny Meadows is also using the Wattbike to reduce the amount of impact on the body in the run up to the Games and has recently increased her workload on the Wattbike due to an achilles injury.
It's not the first time Toni had tried using an indoor bike but the Wattbike offers him something genuinely different, telling me: "We have used static bikes mainly as warm-up but it was always difficult to measure real power output and have a systematic progression to workloads." Regular readers of the blog will already know of the accuracy of the Wattbike and its ability to enable you to train in a progressive way using Heart Rate and Power.
Toni wanted to get a feel for who and how the Wattbike was being used in elite sport and received some high praise indeed! He told me: "I spoke with Dr. Steve Ingham, Head Physiologist (English Institute of Sport), who has been part of Team Jennis for 6 years and he suggested Wattbike might suit our needs. I also spoke to Matt Parker (Head of Marginal Gains) at British Cycling and he also recommended Wattbike and explained the sort of things they used them for. In the end it was a no-brainer."
It's a rare thing for elite athletes and coaches to let anyone know what kind of sessions they are doing on the Wattbike, but Tony did tell me: "Jessica uses the bike to replace one running session per week and for warm-ups, to be honest it makes her work harder than Jessica or I expected, so I love it…not quite sure that's how Jessica sees it!"
Toni is very much practising what he preaches and has been jumping on the Wattbike to do some sessions himself including 30 minutes of 11 x 30s efforts with 2 mins recovery. Good work Toni!
Being able to measure the intensity of your workouts and see the progression is as important to elite coaches and athletes like Toni and Jessica as it is to those wanting to improve their times in a triathlon or sportive. The Wattbike gives you the immediate feedback and data needed to train, anlayse and make those all-important performance gains.
Toni uses his Wattbike with Wattbike Expert Software to anaylse Jessica's sessions and it's available for you to use as a free download. Combine the software with our Sportive, Triathlon or Weight Management Training Plans and you too can be heading to the top step of the podium.
Triathlete Non Stanford completes her winter on a Wattbike (aka Clive!)
Posted by Matt Moran on Apr 29, 2012
Elite triathlete Non Stanford has just returned from Australia where she had her best performance with an 11th place finish in the Sydney ITU World Champioship Series. After training on a Wattbike this winter she's now in full race mode as the season continues in San Diego in a couple of weekends.
If you remember her last blog for us, you'll have noticed that Non doesn't take life too seriously when it comes to talking about herself (or in this instance, talking about Clive).
Non ditched her turbo trainer this winter in favour of the Wattbike which gave her the ability to monitor her pedal technique via the Polar View and train using Heart Rate and Power Training Zones.
Whether you're an elite triathlete or taking your first steps into this great sport, there's simply no more effective way to train than using Heart Rate and Power; it has the added advantage of being very time-efficient for people with three disciplines to train for (nevermind family and work commitments).
Enough from us, let's hear what Non has to say...
So the time finally came to wave goodbye to my beloved Clive.
Lover you’re thinking. No, no. Something far more reliable than a man; My Wattbike of course!
I was quite sad as it was bundled into the back of a van and driven away into the distance as the rain
battered down on my window.
OK so it wasn’t quite as dramatic or heart wrenching as I like to make out but all the same I wasn’t
looking forward to the prospect of riding in the rain later that afternoon.
Ahem weather man, I hope you’re reading this...
But as with most things in life, all good things must come to an end and I definitely appreciate the
time I did get to spend with Clive. The Wattbike was a saving grace this winter especially when the
snow came down hard and the roads were a write off, or when I was trying to acclimatise for a 30’
race and the thermostat read -5’C. Yes my dusty turbo lay forgotten in the corner and me and Clive
spent many an hour getting to know each other.
Luckily we both shared a common goal; the demise of the peanut and the rise of the sausage. No
innuendo intended; purely a dream of perfect pedalling efficiency. Additional common ground
included a love of the Vaccines and Kings of Leon; peach cordial and countless repeats of Desperate
Housewives; power outputs and heart rate zones.
A match made in training heaven one might say. And like any good friend he shouldered the burden of my bad sessions and didn’t once complain
when I sung ‘I’m Mr Brightside’ at the top of my voice for the hundredth time!
However, don’t be sad that our ways have now parted. Clive is off to a new home, and hopefully
more tuneful owner, and I’m off to warmer climates, where the sun shines and ‘wettest days of the
year’ don’t exist! Yes the end of this great friendship signifies the end of a long hard winters training
and the start of the fair weather triathlon season, where wind and rain are unthinkable at the glitz
and glamour of the elite triathlon circuit...
Non picked out this great video which showcases the drama of triathlon quite nicely...
There's a fantastic article on the Telegraph website looking into the main venue for Team GB's pre-Olympic preparations at Loughborough University. It'll be the place where many of the athletes taking part in the big event will come to make their final preparations before going on to compete for medals.
Take a look at the video below from Telegraph.co.uk but also read the article which contains a nice image of the Wattbikes at the facility.
First to respond was Ryan Scott, he's been training on a Wattbike for 18 months and commented: "This is going to sound odd, but after training on a Wattbike for 18 months I believe I have a greater "feel" for what my legs are doing when riding on the road."
"Much has been written about mountain bikers having the ability to spin there legs better than roadies and also about the importance of cadence in efficient cycling but having actually seen what your pedal stroke looks like is worth so much more. I have often warmed up on the Wattbike before heading out on the road and having seen what my pedal stroke looks like and felt like prior to riding really helps. I'm a believer!"
Great feedback from Ryan and the most satisfying part of it is that he's getting the benefits of his training on a Wattbike out on the road.
We also got some feedback from Peeps Leino (pictured above) who told us: "Same here! I've used WB only for about 2 months (one or two 1-1.5 hour sessions in a week) and I can "feel" now when my legs are not doing all the work that they should, outside on a road bike. In that sense I'm looking forward to autumn again, to start using it more often."
Love these stories, if you want to leave us your experience of how training on a Wattbike has helped you improve your on-road performance then leave us a comment below or on the Facebook post. And if you want to Buy or Hire a Wattbike then there's no better time to do it, take a look at our Wattbike Shop.
Yesterday we headed up to the Velodrome in Manchester for the press day for Team GB Paralympic Cycling squad - it was a real privilege to see the unreported hard work that goes into getting these athletes to a level of competing on the world stage. We'd specifically gone up to the velodrome to speak to Jon-Allan Butterworth who joined the British Para-Cycling Development Programme via Battle Back, a joint scheme between Paralympics GB and the Ministry of Defence.
We'll have an insightful video interview with Jon very soon on the blog but in the meantime we thought we'd share some photos from our day...
Word comes in that US Track Cycling sprinter has hit a new personal best on his peak power on a Wattbike with a mind-blowing 2372W! That is some power!
Jimmy will top the Wattbike Rankings in the Men's Peak Power category. We can see from the image of the Wattbike Performance Computer that Jimmy hit a maximum cadence of 222rpm during the initial kick-down phase of his effort and we're hoping to get hold of his file via the Expert Software to analyse the numbers a little more for you.
We got in touch with Jimmy to see what kind of resistance he was using for this record, his answer was a simple: "...just lowest setting revouts." If you look up 'Understatement' in the dictionary it just says - Jimmy Watkins Peak Power PB acheived on a Wattbike on just lowest setting revouts.
It all adds credence to our view that choosing an appropriate gearing combined with high cadence is more likely to achieve a higher peak power score than high resistance and low cadence.
Anybody think they can beat it? If so, tweet us a photo via @wattbike and don't forget to add your data to our Wattbike Ranking.
Another great update from Ian RIchards who has recently taken on his first elite tour and his first foray into France this season at the Tour du Piémont Vosgien. A superb insight into taking on the likes of Omega Pharma-Quickstep. Thanks again for the update Ian and congratulations on a great result:-
I was ecstatic for this race, my first elite tour and first race out of Holland or Belgium this season. After starting at the front of the bunch expecting the usual Dutch neutralised zone, I was surprised to find that sitting in a bunch in France was considerably easier than in the Netherlands.
The course for the first stage was 135km, 12 laps through some beautiful French countryside. The course went over two hills, one of which was a category 2 climb. This is not easy, especially when repeated 12 times! The descents had many fast and dangerous corners, one had a permanent ambulance stationed there. Just to help with my confidence…
The typical French racing pattern flowed throughout the race, there were a few breaks off the front. Arian Oosthoek and Bart Buyk were in some of the breaks but they were pulled back throughout the day over the tough, fast course.
With 40km to go the pace really lifted and many riders couldn’t sustain the pace over the 2 hills which lead to 11 riders not finishing within the time limit. The pace stayed at this level till 20km to go and then the peloton was strung out into a long line. Fortunately five out of the six de Mol riders held their positions up in the front bunch and with one lap to go I dragged myself up to the front of the 40 man group over the second last climb to prepare myself for the final uphill sprint.
The last hill was a 1km sprint up a tiny road. I positioned myself wrong which meant it was a lot tougher to get up for the final sprint. Arian played a near perfect race and scored 3rd place. I finished in 15th, david in 17th, Jasper in 20th, Bart in 27th and Jacob in 86th.
The next day we had a 7.4km time trial… up a hill! I was not expecting to do so well in this, but after calculating my sustainable power before the race, i was able to finish my best time trial ever in 27th place. 1 minute behind the winner, but this is a great result for me and I can really see my Wattbike training shining through. I Slipped back 2 places in the general classification into 17th place.
The final stage was a fast and hilly 5.5km lap. The Quickstep-omega-pharma team held the yellow jersey and from the onset of the race they controlled the front. This wasn’t the best plan. The typical first break went but was pulled back way too quickly, allowing for a second, stronger break to go. In the break once again was Arian… what an animal!
This break held a gap of just under 1 minute for the last 30km. By this time Quick-step was cooked and other teams were controlling the front of the race. Unfortunately for Quickstep they lost the yellow but they rode a very strong race… I finished in 29th place and because of the breakaway I slipped into 20th place overall.
I am very happy with my results in this race, as I am the youngest rider in the race. I am keen to return to some more hilly races where I hope I can prove that I can do more in the mountains…
WIN a place at British Cycling’s Coaching 2012 Conference
Posted by Ben Addison on Apr 20, 2012
It's not just athletes who are looking to excel in 2012, there are also the people who teach, encourage, motivate and provide a whole host of support to talent and are often they are the unsung heroes of sport.
We know them as the coaches and our friends at British Cycling have organised a fantastic coaching conference on May 10th in Birmingham - and we've managed to grab a free place to give away in a competition. Before we get to the question, here is a little more info on what is a great line-up of speakers...
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In the year of a home Olympic Games, Coaching 2012 is a unique opportunity to reflect upon and celebrate the significant progress made in UK coaching since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Taking place at the University of Birmingham on 19th May, Coaching 2012 is open to everyone, not just coaches, so if you’re interested in coaching across all sports or are a self-coached athlete, a great line-up of experts - including former pro cyclist Roger Hammond - has been compiled to provide an unparalleled insight into key aspects of coaching in the UK today.
To win a free place to the British Cycling: Coaching 2012 conference, follow the link below and email British Cycling with the answer to the following question by 12pm on Wednesday 25th April 2012.
Dean's preparation for the Tour Series is focused around sprint efforts on his Wattbike and as he says, "You can fit so much into a 45 minute session".
Here are Dean's words...
The Wattbike took a bit of a hammering when I was recovering with my broken collarbone. It was an excellent piece of kit to use in my rehab, as I wasn't allowed out on the road. To start with I was sitting so upright the power outputs that I was trying to ride at were quite hard. But towards the end of the 3 week block, I was back in my normal position that I use on my race bike.
The thing I noticed most with using the Wattbike, is that my power outputs went up whilst doing the same sessions 3 weeks on.
3 months has gone very quickly. March came around and I didn't have much time for the Wattbike. With a bit of international racing in Taiwan and great weather in the UK, I was packing the km's in. I've now started the next phase of my training block for the 6 week long Tour Series criteriums which start on 15 May.
The Wattbike is back in my life and I've been smashing my legs to bits doing lots of sprint efforts in my training sessions. I even managed a 3LC.TV sprinting DVD to really make the legs hurt. The beauty of sprint training is that, it is short and sweet. Be warned though, it hurts like. You get the picture.
You can fit so much into a 45 minute session, and at the same time, really hit the numbers and feel the benefit in your fitness. Or my case feel the burn in my legs.
All I'm going to say is that my power and pedalling action have both improved since back in December and January when I was doing rehab.
Thanks so much to Dean for sending us the update and we hope to catch up with him during the Tour Series - if you missed it first time around here is our video interview from January...
Your training's going well and then a holiday you booked 4 months ago suddenly appears on the horizon and you wonder what will happen next?
This just happened to me, I was following the London-Paris training plan diligently, getting some good feelings in the legs and then, it was off to New York for two weeks.
That's two weeks of no Wattbike, no outdoor rides, in fact pretty much a fortnight of no 'exercise' at all so I was a little worried about not only losing what codition I'd built up but also putting on weight.
It was also two weeks of eating some great tasting food but also food which didn't perhaps contribute to my overall wellbeing. It tasted good at the time though, right? Pizza, cheesecake, muffins, ice cream and every kind of sandwich under the sun laden with cheese. My god, it tasted good!
The first ride back in the UK was interesting, I got dropped on a local climb but knew better than to try to push it and risk injury. I've just spent a week gently easing myself back in - not just simply picking up the training plan where I left off.
I'm now feeling ready to get back on track with 'the plan' and am starting to combine my Wattbike sessions with some longer rides to prepare for the 3 x 100 mile days of The London-Paris. I'll also be putting together some back-to-back longer rides during May to get a better handle on my recovery and nutrition.
So, the moral behind this story is that if you're taking an enforced break from your training, whether it be for work or holiday reasons (and who doesn't need a holiday every now and again!), make sure you listen to how your body is reacting to those first few training sessions on your return and adapt your plan accordingly.
Today we've got a great guest blog post from Phil Jones, you may recognise his name from the excellent Race-Pace.net blog which is essential reading for anybody wanting to improve their cycling performance. He's also on Twitter at @roadphil and is well worth a follow.
Phil has been training on his Wattbike all winter and it was great to hear he was targeting The London-Paris this summer as his main event of the year. Phil 'de-mystifies' much of the cycling geek talk on his blog which makes it a great read, so it would be wrong of me to not just let him tell his Wattbike story in his own words.
Like Phil, you can also hire a Wattbike, just follow the links to get the details on how to hire or buy a Wattbike.
See you on the start line in June Phil!
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Turbo your Training with a Wattbike Rental
An indoor trainer is a necessary training aid for anyone serious about their cycling. Our weather systems are becoming ever more peculiar and as the met office can predict a sunny day, you draw back the curtains to see the wind blowing a gale with driving rain - you know what I mean!
I own a turbo trainer, but have to confess I haven’t used it much since owning it; it was an impulse purchase in a bike shop. Preferring to get out on the road at every opportunity, rather than spin away and go nowhere, the turbo trainer has been gathering dust. With the winters becoming harsher and the nights darker, indoor cycling is becoming the only option if you want to enter the Spring with miles in your legs.
Turbo Your Training
I spotted Manchester Velodrome did some spinning classes using Wattbikes, which caught my eye as an alternative to turbo training. I’d read about the Wattbike and how GB cycling used them for power training and coaching. The velodrome is on my way home from work, so I thought I’d give it a go as I love anything techie. I got hooked on the Wattbike after the first session, like a junkie.
Getting home that night, I saw on the web that you can hire a Wattbike for £60 per month, which considering what I’d been spending on kit, stuff, bits, gadgets, gizmos and anything remotely bike related, seemed a bargain. I got one ordered. After having a Wattbike for three months, here’s my assessment of what I’ve learned: -
1. My scrape through was bobbins, bordering on the “non existent”.
2. That my left leg was dominant to the right on the down stroke.
How has the Wattbike helped?
1. I spent the winter mostly focusing on my pedalling technique, above everything else. My pedal stroke is in much improved and hopefully now embedded into my muscle memory.
2. My pedal stroke has balanced out with balanced power through both legs (50/50).
On the Numbers
The big difference between the time on a turbo trainer and the time on the Wattbike has to be data. A bit like golf, there’s no point smashing a basket of balls if you’re not getting the feedback from a coach as to where you’re going wrong.
The wattbike screen has been my virtual coach, allowing me to spend sessions getting the “feel” right in my legs, so that I can spend quality sessions making the right adjustments using feedback from the LCD screen, rather than an hour just turning the pedals. You can also clip in with your cleats, which makes it feel more real.
Having a power output reading with heart rate monitor, allows you to spend sessions working on specific training zones, aligned to power as well as heart rate. This gives you an additional set of data to understand if you are improving. As an indication, my power output has increased by 10% since renting the Wattbike, mainly through a combination of pedal technique and HIIT sessions (High Intensity Interval Training).
Fitting in the Miles
I’m no Bradley Wiggins. I’m short on time, with a BMI a bit higher than I’d like and a diet which is often about what an airline or service station has on offer, plus the usual long list of business and family commitments – hey what’s new. I’m not the fastest rider you’ll ever meet, a long way from it, however, I do love riding my bike and I’d like to try and be the best I can be with the genetics I’ve been given. Having a Wattbike means I can slip in a quick hours training, either in the morning or the evening to keep the miles up, whilst not disappearing for hours, fitting the miles around my lifestyle.
Non-fat Latte or Non-fat You?
If you are one of those people that spend money on bike stuff, I’d thoroughly recommend that before you part with another £60 for a new bit of clothing that promises you an immediate upgrade to the Pro peloton, that you consider chucking it behind a Wattbike rental instead and having a proper look at where you can make some long term improvements. It’s less than the cost of a Starbucks Cappuccino per day when all said and done.
You’ll see far more tangible benefit, be able to do more specific training and have some fun evenings doing power tests with your cycling buddies before realising what it really takes to make it at the top of the sport, or the top of your road.
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Phil Jones is UK Country Head for Multi-National Technology business Brother UK (Twitter @philjones40). He also writes a blog about road cycling for those new to the sport at http://www.race-pace.net (Twitter @racepaceblog) and Tweets about cycling related topics via @roadphil.
You don't have to be a World or Olympic Champion to ride inside the Manchester Velodrome. You don't even have to be able to ride on the track (although we highly recommend one of the taster sessions!) to ride inside the Manchester Velodrome.
As you can see from this cool video below, the velodrome hosts Wattbike sessions five days per week for people of 12 years and older. Sessions need to be booked in advance with reception by phoning 0161 223 2244 (option 3).
If you're based in the North-West then what better place to Wattbike than at the home of British Cycling.
It took a while to get the virtual tombola turning, but we did it eventually and we've picked out Hannah Pole and Tim Loveridge from our Facebook fans, Twitter followers and Newsletter subscribers as the winners of a bundle of the fantastic 3LC.TV training DVD bundles. Our Matt tried one of the DVDs recently and survived...just.
Congratulations to them both - we didn't ask awkward questions or get them to do a flying 200m on a Wattbike to be in with a chance of winning, all they needed to do was be connected with us on Facebook, Twitter or our Newsletter - preferably all three as that got you three entries.
So make sure you've got us covered and be the first to know about our next great competition.
Picked up on a good article about Irish track cyclist Martyn Irvine on the excellent SBS Cycling Central website, which details the struggles of a guy who is far from the glitz and glamour of the big track cycling nations such as GB, Australia, France and Germany off the track, but is definitely up there when it comes to being on the track.
What really shines through is Martyn's determination to be the best possible athlete he can be. We know of Martyn through our relationship with elite track cycling coach Andy Sparks at Performance United. Martyn is part of a great group that Andy is coaching from his base in Mallorca which includes the likes of USA's Sarah Hammer, Turkish rider Recep Unalan and Mexican Sofia Arreola. They are all using the Wattbike to help them prepare for the Olympics.
As the article on SBS Cycling Central suggests, Andy is one of those guys who has equal measures of knowledge, motivation and enthusiasm when it comes to cycling and there is no doubt that when his athletes step off the track at the end of London 2012 they will have left nothing in the tank - no regrets.
But back to Martyn, I can highly recommend reading back through the archives of his blog, 'Racing to nowhere but going places', it's a really great insight into both the struggles and rewards of being an athlete, albeit one competing for one of the smaller nations in the cycling world. We wish Martyn the best of luck in the Olympic Velodrome.
The Wattbike is the only place I can practice precise power training
Posted by Matt Moran on Apr 10, 2012
Under-23 cyclist Ian Richards sent us an update last week following what sounds like a very tough Omloop van de Glazen Stad. Ian told us: "My 5th classic this year, the 173km Omloop van de Glazen stad; a city of glass greenhouses wrapped itself around the tight twisting course. The first 100km of the race didn’t drop below 47km/h. With constant crosswinds and strung out groups it meant that more that half of the 180 man peloton didn’t finish today’s echelon filled race."
We asked Ian how he copes with a race running at that speed, in those conditions: "Staying up the front in a classic such as this one is the most difficult yet important things to do. With every change of direction means that the wind is also affecting the peloton in a different way. Your position with 100km to go can mean the difference between 1st and not finishing."
"Echelons are the place to be, and if you’re not in an echelon, you’re cooked! I finished 28th, scoring de Mol’s first prize in a classic this year and my first top 30 for the year."
Ian is a big advocate of training on a Wattbike and gave us an insight into why he finds it essential for coping with the efforts required in a race like the Omloop van de Glazen Stad: "In the last 2 months I’ve been increasing my usage of my Wattbike for effort training. I can see this is definitely having a large effect on my power in the classics. With power dropping to zero then slamming upwards of 600 watts for a short while, the Wattbike is the only place I can practice this type of precision power training."
We're looking forward to Ian's next update which will be later this week as he takes on his first Elite tour race. If you want find out how you can improve your power by training on a Wattbike check out our Training Guide and Shop.
It's been a while since we've had an update from Simon Richardson so it was good to see an email drop into my inbox telling me about just some of the great things he has planned this year and next.
As always with Simon, it's look forward - never back, and so he has started to arrange a number of fundraising activities to help raise money for Wales Air Ambulance - the organisation and people who saved Simon's life.
Simon is still not able to ride on the road just yet but we know it's not too far away. He's already been on the track at Newport to complete a few laps and that's given a massive boost to his recovery,
The first event which Simon will be involved in is on 15th June 2012 at the velodrome in Newport and he is looking for riders to help him complete 10 hours riding on the track. Doors opens at 10pm and close at 8am, so definitely one for the insomniacs. There's certain to be a great atmosphere at the track so get in touch with Simon via his @simonstrongfund twitter account or donate on his fundraising page.
Simon is also hoping to arrange similar rides at the Manchester and Calshot velodromes.
The big event for 2013, where Simon is hoping to raise a significant sum of money, is the SimonStrong Ride Around Wales - which will take place in February 2013 and cover 780 miles, visiting each of the Wales Air Amublance bases.
Part Two of our video interview with Rebecca Romero features her thoughts on training on a Wattbike. As a former rower, Rebecca was used to a life of work on ergometers and this continued through her time with British Cycling, who use Wattbikes for training and testing of their elite athletes.
Rebecca gives us the lowdown on the kind of Wattbike sessions she would endure as a track rider and how this has changed now that she is preparing for her very first Ironman.
We must thank Rebecca for her time in sitting down with us and sharing her knowledge and experience, she's a pretty unique athlete and I'm sure we can all learn a thing or two from her.
It's always a pleasure to meet up with elite track cycling coach Andy Sparks when out in Mallorca so this time I once again pointed a camera at him and got a great insight into what the feelings are like for a coach during an Olympic year. We've heard from lot of athletes so it was pretty good to see it all from a coaches point of view.
Andy reckons the London velodrome is one of the loudest he's ever been in when he visited for the test event although he says that things will be slightly different for the Olympics, with the one rider per nation per event rule.
The track centre will be a lot quieter and he'll need to ensure his athletes remain focused in a somewhat very different environment from the busy Track World Cup events.
Andy trains riders from a number of nations under his Performance United banner including Sofia Arreola from Mexico, Martyn Irvine from Ireland, Recep Unalan from Turkey and of course, Sarah Hammer from the United States.
Andy sent us this great photo of his athletes from his base in Mallorca.
Thankfully, the hours of daylight are gradually stretching out, allowing me to get on my road bike and do a bit more training in the evenings after work. Until now I 've been surviving solely on the Wattbike for my cycling, but today I rode to work and last Sunday I managed to get out with a friend for a couple of hours.
The first thing I noticed on Sunday was how great I felt, especially on the hills. I've been riding with this particular friend for a while and previously I've spent most of the uphill sections staring at his back wheel as it slowly moved away from me, but not any more!
I decided to attack the first hill and put into practice the technique I have been working on with the help of the Polar View along with the tips about cadence and gearing I got from the Training Guide. It’s not a mountain by any stretch of the imagination but normally I would quickly be up out of the saddle and really out of breath at the top. This time would be different.
I stayed in the saddle the whole way up, spun my legs and dropped my gears. I was amazed at how different my legs and lungs felt at the top. I looked back for my friend and he was nowhere to be seen. For the first time EVER, I dropped him! His first question when he caught me up was “what have you been doing this winter?” There was only one answer, “Wattbike.”
I have been concentrating hard over the last few months whilst training on the Wattbike on keeping my cadence high and adopting good pedalling technique and despite not having the Polar View to guide me on my road bike, my legs knew what they should be doing.
I‘m going to continue with two Wattbike sessions per week so I can keep improving my technique (I’m still a peanut and occasional sausage) but also to ensure I am training at the right intensity. I established my heart rate and power zones earlier in the year so I’ll use the Performance Computer to monitor the data whilst on the Wattbike. When combined with a couple of either early morning or evening rides and a long ride at the weekend I think I’ll be in pretty good shape for the Right To Play ride in June.
ps. I've just heard that Omega Pharma-Quickstep rider Matt Brammeier is also riding the Right to Play ride, so why not join us by registering here.
Bikeradar.com, CyclingNews.com and MyLifePT have put together a fantastic set of videos following Oli Beckingsale's recovery from his accident in 2011.
Here are all five installments from the series which shows just how important the Wattbike was to Oli's rehabilitation.
Here are some great tunes to get you through the month of April, summer is just around the corner and all that winter training is beginning to pay divididends. Enjoy the Spotify playlist...
I arrived just as Sarah had returned from a long ride on the sunny Majorcan roads but, ever the professional, she was happy to sit straight down and give us a quick update on her thoughts about the Olympic Veldorome in London, her slighltly longer-than-usual schedule for the 2011/2012 season and her thoughts on the upcoming Games.
Sarah took the Gold medal at the Olympic Test event and we can't wait to see how she gets on at the World Track Championships in Melbourne, Australia and then onto the big event at the end of July.
Next week we'll have a great extended interview with Sarah's coach, Andy Sparks of Performance United.
A couple of weeks ago I headed down to see 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Rebecca Romero. For those who don't know, Rebecca is one of those very rare people who have won Olympic medals in two different Olympic Games AND in two different sports.
In 2004 at the Athens Games she took silver in the quadruple sculls rowing event then went on to win that memorable gold medal in the Individual Pursuit in the velodrome at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Rebecca has now turned her focus to the Ironman dicsipline and will make her debut at Ironman UK in Bolton in June of this year.
Although Rebecca isn't a full-time athlete anymore, she still has that same drive and determination to do the best she possible can in both training and competition.
In the first of a two-part video interview we hear her take on how she came to move from being an athlete who does a 3km pursuit to taking on one of the toughest endurance challenges around.
Part two will be on the blog soon with Rebecca giving us an insight into how she uses the Wattbike in her training.
It's clear that lots of people simply love the data coming out of the Wattbike - we hear of people spending endless hours poring over their heart rate, power ouput, cadence figures and more. It really is the best way to track your progress and see the first signs of over-training and/or injury. Of course you can do all of this within the free Wattbike Expert Software.
We also know that many of you like to study your performance data not only in our own Expert Software but also using Training Peaks. So how do you get your Wattbike data into your Training Peaks account?
The answer is, with just a couple of clicks - simply follow the steps below.
And if you're transferring files from the Wattbike Performance Computer to Expert Software then it's even easier as a pop-up box will ask if you want to trasfer to Training Peaks.
Les-Stables: If it’s good enough for British Cycling then it’s good enough for us
Posted by Matt Moran on Mar 26, 2012
Mark Shaw from Les-Stables came up to the Wattbike Science Lab recently to get some advanced training with our Sport Scientist, Eddie Fletcher.
Mark had known about the Wattbike for some time and summed up one of his main reasons for adding the Wattbike to his roster of services on offer at Les-Stables as: "If it's good enough for British Cycling then it's good enough for us."
Les-Stables, based in the Dordogne region of south-west France, caters for all kinds of triathletes, from complete novices through to elites, providing coaching and training across all three disciplines.
The camp focuses on providing not only everything you would expect from a training camp experience, but also offers an educational aspect by using equipment such as the Wattbike to provide tangible benefits to attendees.
Triathletes leaving the Les-Stables camp come away not only in better condition but also with real data to help them continue making improvements when they return home.
Our guys in Finland have just sent us the results from the official Wattbike Championships in Finland.
The event took place in the Liikuntamylly sports centre in Helsinki and saw an increase in entrants from last year for the 10km time trial.
Samual Halme took home the trophy in the male categaory with a time of 12:25.59 while Riina Miettinen stood atop the womens podium after completing her 10km in 14:31.21 - Samuel's brother Saus took the Under-18's titles with 13:42.69.
HotChillee Ride Captains complete some Epic training
Posted by Matt Moran on Mar 21, 2012
Today's guest blog comes from HotChillee Ride Captain David Kirkby (aka Capt) - four of the guys are heading to the Cape Epic mountain bike race in South Africa on Thursday and Capt has sent us this update:-
David Bryant (the Bull), Will Watt, Jay McStay and myself fly out to South Africa next Wednesday night, landing early Thursday. We have entered the Cape Epic mountain bike race, covering approx 800km and 17000m of climbing over a prologue and 7 stages.
I am quite confident in saying this is the most difficult undertaking we have all taken on and with some trepidation we are all excited to be riding the event and wearing the HotChillee strip. Our teams are HotChillee red and green and we are all on Specialized 29ers.
Jay who is my partner and a qualified coach has ensured we trained smart and knew when to push hard and when to back off via some very sophisticated software and analysis. The Wattbikes have been an invaluable tool to get us all in great shape when time and the weather were our enemies.
Doc Attenborough (who was my original partner until he had a bad crash) has been our race liaison and his invaluable knowledge has been key as well as a South African cheer squad hopefully!
We will keep you updated as we go.
The contenders:
The Bull our strongest power climber and roulier made of muscle and granite will be focused on not trying to win a stage but pace himself and partner to a solid finish.
Will, our wipet climber always graceful and strong of mind, knows how to suffer and seems to enjoy it (I have seen the man on a Wattbike in my garage leaving nothing to chance) his calm and graceful nature will ensure good harmony in HotChillee green.
Jay has been our jedi trainer both on the dirt and via the data. Ex Red Bull mountain bike rider he has some quality skills and is more than happy to share his knowledge. Always calm, organised super fit and strong. Will deliver race knowledge and pace.
Capt, although the veteran of the bunch, I have been very lucky to be able to put in some consistent and solid weeks and months of training so my endurance will be good. We have all trained together and although some healthy rivalry will be afoot we will also look after each other and hopefully all get to the finish safely having not only raced but really enjoyed the Cape Epic.
So a really long note for why we are not at the HotChillee Sportive / Training Ride #3. The rest of the Ride Captain squad can think of us while their skinny black Mavics are whizzing along effortlessly with a cool wind in their hair. We will be baking in an oven, dust in nostrils, jumping weaving and crunching rock beneath knobby tires and when we finish the hard days ride we sleep in a pup tent and do it over and over and over again.
See you all at the April training ride, we will be the four skinny suntanned HotChillee Ride Captains!
150bpm - that’s my heart rate on the start line of my first pro race
Posted by Matt Moran on Mar 20, 2012
If you want to know what it's like to stand on the start line of your first pro race then let Ian Richards give you the lowdown on his experience.
Ian told us: "One hundred and fifty beats per minute, that’s what my heart rate was standing on the start line of my first professional race. Rabobank, Christina Watches, Katusha and Leopard-Trek were just some of the teams that surrounded me at the start of this year’s Dorpenomloop Rucphen."
My heart rate has already risen just sitting here typing this at the though of rocking up to a start line with the likes of those teams.
Ian isn't new to racing in Holland but his first pro race saw a quieter than usual intro to the days events: "The first 100km of the race was surprisingly relaxed for Dutch racing. The occasional crash spiced things up but for the majority of the time there was just a small break in front of the huge 200 man peloton. After the wind started to pick up, the peloton strung further apart into a long thin line of suffering riders."
What you really don't need in a situation like this is wind of any kind, especially a cross-wind; it often results in huge efforts being made just to stay in the front group and even bigger efforts to regain position if you lose contact.
Ian told us: "These crosswinds split the peloton multiple times and after some reorganisation the peloton finally came back together and 160km into the race with 40km to go it really kicked up into the big gears. I don’t think we dropped below 50km/h for the last hour. After fighting my way through the remaining 160 riders I managed to finish in a comfortable 58th place. Congratulations go to Giorgio Brambilla of Leopard Trek who took his first pro victory."
Just the 50km/h for the last hour eh? Great work Ian on completing your first pro race and it being such a positive experience. Seems like a good winter's training is paying off.
Ian left us with a teaser of more to come: "For my first 1.2 race I am extremely happy with myself and I hope to continue this form for the next few classics in my early season."
Duathlete Helen Russell credits Wattbike training with improved run performance
Posted by Matt Moran on Mar 19, 2012
Helen Russell kindly gave us an interview after a hard session with her coach, our very own Eddie Fletcher, and gave us an insight into life as an Age Group Duathlete/Triathlete. Helen has been progressing fantastically well and does much of her training on a Wattbike. Last year she won the 2011 ITU Sprint AG Duathlon World Championship (AG 35-39) in a time of 1:08:43.
She originally came to duathlon from running and would be the first to admit that cycling was her weakest discipline until she joined a cycling club and hooked up with Eddie and the Wattbike. She loves the data coming from the bike and recognises the importance of being able to see when performance improvements are being made.
Helen mixes up her Wattbike sessions but often builds in some pedal technique work via the Wattbike's Polar View - she credits her training on the Wattbike for a big improvement in her running and is looking forward to focusing on her long-term goal of qualifying for the 2013 European Triathlon Championships.
Best of luck to Helen and we look forward to tracking her progress throughout the season.
At the start of the month we took a van loan of Wattbikes to the 2012 Triathlon Show at Sandown Park Racecourse in Surrey, to say we were all over the Show is an understatement. If I rattled off the list of places you could sit on a Wattbike they'd include the 220 Triathlon magazine subscribers lounge, the Fit Brands Fashion Show, the PowerBar Indoor Time Trial and of course our very own Wattbike stand.
We were overhwhelmed at the response to our pedal technique analysis sessions, with 3 of the 5 Wattbikes available fully booked out nearly a week before the show started. Suffice to say the other two Wattbikes were not let off lightly and were in action throughout the entire 3 days of the show.
The technique on display by Show visitors was impressive with one visitior in particular impressing us a lot - he'll remain anonymous but we couldn't do anything other than admire his smoothness on the bike. Each person visiting the stand has received a copy of their pedal profile via email and we'd love to see you all again to see if you have improved.
The lucky winner of a personalised training session with Wattbike Sport Scientist, Eddie Flecther, was Debs Hunt - you'll have a great time Debs, lots of learning and equal measures of inspiration from Eddie.
We also gave coach Joe Beer a demo on the Wattbike and it's fair to say he was impressed with the Wattbike, you can find out more about Joe in his regular column in 220 Triathlon magazine.
I then took a trip upstairs to see the PowerBar Indoor Time Trial (see video at bottom of post)which featured Ironman Pro Scott Neyedli, everybody gave it their all and it was fantastic to see our Power Cycling group software in action.
Finally, you might wonder what we do at the end of day when we've done over a hundred demos (yes, that's well over 300 throughout the show), well, here's our Rich getting in another training session on the Wattbike. We just can't get enough.
Thanks to everybody that came to see us - see you next time.
Fit Brands Fashion Show - The video kicks off with Ironman Scott Neyedli on the latest Wattbike.
Road.cc have published the last of their monthly articles on their website today after having a Wattbike in the office, some great comments from writer Mat Brett and we're really pleased with the feedback from the guys there. If you'd like to take an honest and independent view on what the Wattbike is all about then take a look at the articles below:-
If you have any questions about training on a Wattbike then feel free to leave us a comment below, call us on 0115 9455450 or email us on info@wattbike.com.
To all the hotshots in the Tour, beware, I will be Wattbike-powered!
Posted by Tom Crampton on Mar 14, 2012
In last month's Newsletter we asked for stories about how people use their Wattbike. We had some great responses but the winner of the Wattbike kit was Tony Kuipers from Australia.
Tony only recently got into cycling having been unable to run due to a serious knee injury. After only three weeks of cycling he entered a couple of mountain bike events and in his own words “did everything wrong”.
After this experience Tony was looking for a training tool which would allow him to follow a more structured training programme and after some research he chose the Wattbike.
He's been following the Wattbike training guide, created by our Sport Scientist Eddie Fletcher, to the letter and is now starting to see the benefits.
Tony is training intensely in preparation for the Tour de Timor, a six stage mountain bike race cover over 600km of off road terrain, claimed to be the toughest race in South East Asia.
As you can see from the photo, he's copied sections of the training guide and has added his own power and heart rate zones and stuck them on the wall next to his Wattbike along with his training plan. This ensures he's always training at the right level and getting the most out of his Wattbike sessions.
We wanted to find out a little more about how specifcally Tony is using his Wattbike, he told us: "To all considering getting a Wattbike. GET IT!! I never do not look forward to getting on it. I even found the TV Monitor I set up does not get used as there's too much to concentrate on with the in-built screen. The memory effect on your legs with the polar graph works. You don't get bored on it!"
High praise indeed and Tony left his fellow competitors with a warning, "To all the hot shots in the tour, if you see me behind you, do not blink. Beware, I will be Wattbike-powered !!!! THANKS EDDIE."
Tony has just completed week 15 of the sportive training plan and we wish him the very best of luck on this huge challenge.
We hope Tony enjoys training in his new Wattbike kit which he won through entering the compeition in our monthly newsletter - sign up to get ensure you receive our monthly newsletter today.
One of the great things about being part of the Wattbike community is seeing Tweets and Facebook updates telling us how much people have beaten their personal bests by on a Wattbike, or better still telling us how much faster they have gone in a race, a sportive or a triathlon after a good block of training on a Wattbike. This kind of sharing of experiences and training data is the kind of stuff that gets us out of bed in a morning and puts a smile on our face.
With that in mind we want to make sure you're conencted in all the right places with us - whether it be here on the blog, on Facebook, Twitter or through our Newsletter.
We recently took on one of the Three Legs Cycling DVDs featuring World Champ Mark Cavendish (purely for research purposes!) and liked them so much that we thought we'd give a few away in a competition. The workouts are hard enough as it is so we won't tax you any more by asking difficult questions.
To be in with the chance of winning a Sprinting/Road Race bundle or a Time Trial/Climbing bundle all you need to do is make sure you're hooked up with us on Twitter, Facebook and subscribed to our Newsletter
For every place you're connected with us, you'll get an entry into the draw - so triple your chances with just a couple of clicks!
We'll pick the winners out at the end of March - Good luck!
The boring stuff...aka Terms and Conditions
1. This Prize Draw is open to all, excluding employees of Wattbike Limited, or any of its subsidiary companies, their families, agents or anyone else connected with this promotion. No third party entries, bulk entries or entries submitted by agents will be accepted. Wattbike reserves the right to verify the eligibility of entrants. Wattbikemay require such information as it considers reasonably necessary for the purpose of verifying the eligibility of an entry and the prize may be withheld until and unless Wattbike is satisfied with the verification.
2. The winners will be selected at random from all eligible entries received. Each winner will be notified within a reasonable time after March 31st 2012 either by email, Direct Message on Twitter or Private Message on Facebook. The prize is awarded conditionally upon acceptance and if a winner is unable to be contacted after a reasonable period or if any prize is unclaimed or declined within a reasonable period, the prize shall be deemed as unclaimed or unaccepted and a supplementary winner may be drawn at Wattbike's discretion.
3. Wattbike's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
4. This promotion is governed by English Law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
5. The promoter of this Prize Draw is Wattbike Limited, Vermont House, Nottingham South & Wilford Ind. Est., Wilford, NG11 7HQ.
More Wattbike in the news and this time it's from The Telegraph - John MacLeary is taking part in the London-Paris and to help him reach the start line in the best condition he'll be training on a Wattbike. We invited him up to our Sport Science Lab recently to take a look at his pedal technique, set his training zones and offer advice on how he could make the biggest gains in the short time before the great event starts in June.
Eddie offered some sobering advice to John who reported: "An hour on the Wattbike, under Eddie's supervision, taught me a few things. I know that because he showed me lots of numbers. And graphs. What the Wattbike didn't say though was "you're overweight." No, that was Eddie."
An Indoor Sprint Session with Cav and Three Legs Cycling
Posted by Matt Moran on Mar 09, 2012
Sometimes we need just that extra bit of motivation to do a Wattbike session so last night I tried out one of the offerings from Three Legs Cycling, which features none other than World Champion Mark Cavendish. Naturally, I decided on the 'Sprinting' DVD, which is an hour's session including a warm-up and cool down.
The warm-up involved increasing gearing at a constant cadence in order to bring the heart rate up to a level ready for the short but very hard sprint efforts to come. There were some well-timed and much-needed(!) rest periods within the session and I found these a great time to focus on technique using the Wattbike's Polar View.
The sprint efforts came thick and fast and I'm happy to say that I did have a couple of things in common with Cav during the session, we were both working incredibly hard and sweating in equal measures!
What really stood out was the pace of the session and the interaction between the on-screen participants - they really provided some good humoured motivation - I think my favourite quote is 'If it was easy, footballers would be doing it'.
After the session I looked at the data via Wattbike Expert Software and it was quickly obvious that I'd had a great session - some nice peaks on HR, cadence and power and pretty good technique during the specificed efforts.
We'll be offering you the chance to win a couple of bundles of DVDs next week so stay tuned to the blog for details of the competition. Three Legs Cycling offer a range of indoor training DVDs including Sprinting, Road Race, Time Trial, Climbing and Women's Road Race - all can be found at www.3lc.tv.
An eagle-eyed snapper from PezCyclingNews spotted Team Sky's warm-up protocol stuck to the side of the team bus for the opening 9.4km Individual Time Trial at this year's Paris-Nice. It's always interesting to see what the pros are doing and as we have often talked about on the blog, a specific and relevant warm-up is crucial, whether you are training or racing.
Gustav Larsson of Sweden took victory in 00:11:19 with Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins finishing just a second off the pace in much worse riding conditions.
2 min to include - 3 x 6s accelerations to activate
3 mins easy
Notes:
Progressive means building to the power zone over the 8 minutes. Only in the last 1 min do you get to Z5
6 second accelerations are sprints & for a whole 6 seconds!
What you can see here is a nice progressive 20 minute warm-up using power zones, preparing the body for the effort about to be undertaken. We cannot stress how important a good warm-up is to your training so please do take a good look at our Warm-Up and Cool Down Guide.
The Team Sky ITT Warm-Up protocol has a very familar look about it (see our recommended 20 minute warm-up above) and includes some 6s accelerations, identical to what we call 'rev-outs' in our own recommended warm-ups.
Learn how to find out your own Heart Rate and Power Training Zones in our Training Guide written by Eddie Fletcher - it's packed full of essential information and as you can see above, mirrors much of what the pros are doing. We recommend a 3 minute aerobic test to set your own personal zones.
I went over to see Lee Dixon a few weeks ago to see how he was getting on with his training - Lee used to play football for Arsenal and England and can now be seen every weekend on BBC's Football Focus and Match of the Day 2.
It's fairly obvious that Lee has been bitten by the cycling bug quite badly - it gets us all eventually, right?
He's now in training for the Dallaglio-Flintoff Cycle Slam which will see him cover nearly 3,000km in less than a month whilst riding from Olympia in Greece to London. He doesn't do challenges by half does he!
Watch as Lee talks about his love for cycling, training on a Wattbike, tips from Dave Brailsford and a call out to Will Carling!
You can help Lee raise money via his Fundraising Page - he's raised just over £13,500 in his quest to raise £15,000 so if you can spare a few quid to help him reach his goal I know he'd be most grateful.
A small delay on this one for March, mainly due to the hundreds of demos we were doing at the Triathlon Show over the last weekend. Enough of the apologies, let's get to it, here's the Spotify link to get you through an hours session on your Wattbike - Enjoy!
"I'm a 39 year old soon-to-be 40 year old ex-rugby player. Years of yo-yo dieting and exercise kicks during the past 15 years, where I had hit the gym seriously and lost 5 stones on 2 occasions, only to put all of that weight back on, and some."
A familiar story and one we hear a lot when people ask us, can the Wattbike play a part in helping me to lose weight or is it just a machine for cyclists and triathletes? The answer is, the Wattbike is for everybody, don't forget that it was originally conceived as a training and testing tool with British Cycling, to cater for anybody from the age of 10 years upwards.
In the last few months we've added a Weight Management Plan to our roster of free Training Plans and with some sensible eating, it will really help you to acheive what you want to acheive in the most effective way possible.
The story below is from Paul Jones; I'd seen Paul's name on Twitter and he was looking for assistance to help him lose weight and, importantly, do it in a way that he could sustain. We asked Paul to tell us more about his challenge:-
My rugby playing weight was 16 st 7lbs, being 6ft 1" I was a prop forward during my playing days. Work and family life took over, and I didn't have time to play rugby, or do the training as I was working away from home quite a bit.
I first realised how big I had become when I got married at 27 , looking at the wedding photos spurred me on, I lost 5 stone in a year by dieting and running
By 30 years old I had put all of this weight back on, and was weighing around 22st. A lifestyle of working away 5 days a week, staying in hotels, eating heavy duty food, motorway services food and zero exercise helped that!
At 32 years old I had hit the gym, the diet clubs and again lost another 5 stones. Work and family again took over, and by the time I had reached 38, I was hovering around the 22 stone again, and had been diagnosed a couple of years earlier with type 2 Diabetes
My daughter had asked if she could play rugby, so I took her along to our local club and she took to it like a duck to water. This rekindled my passion for rugby, but I found I was so unfit I couldn't really help her. My Damascus Moment was when I was concerned about my daughters general fitness, and approached a coach at the club for advice. His advice was, "you are not setting a great example by being as unfit and the size that you are, how can you expect your daughter to take fitness seriously!" Although his words stung at the time, I knew he was right.
I knew I didn't have the time to go to a gym, but I joined my 2 children and myself up to one, and was paying circa £100 pcm for all of us. We visited it around 5 times in 3 months!
I then noticed that the Concept 2 rowers that I loved using at the gym were available to hire direct from the company. I made the call and less than a week later I had my rowing machine and was back enjoying getting fit again and losing weight.
Then the rails came off last summer. I was involved in a serious boating accident whilst on holiday in Mexico which frankly left me lucky to be alive, I had serious ACL damage to my knee, and this put me back 4 months of rehab and rest. What I found though was that the damage to my knee had left me unable to do that level of rowing that I was used to without causing pain
My GP suggested swapping for a static bike. I had heard about Wattbike through Twitter, as I was following Will Carling. I had asked him some questions about the Wattbike and he was kind enough to answer. I decided it was the bike for me.
I had read the documentation that was online, but decided to build up slowly, as my weight had hit 23st by Christmas 2011. Short increments of 5 minutes at around 75 cadence had seen me reach 30 minutes continuous riding within 2 weeks.
I then had a break of a week due to working and decided to try and go shorter times, but higher levels and higher cadence.
Being a complete bike novice, I got stuck, but found Matt and Steve at Wattbike so helpful at putting me on the right track.
So I have had the Wattbike now for 5 weeks, through usage and eating healthy and calorie control my weight has dropped to 21st 7lbs. I use the bike at least 5 times per week, for 30 minute sessions. I also try and split my usage on a weekend so I do 20 minutes in the morning, and 20 minutes in the evening.
I am at a very modest ave 85 cadence and 150 - 160 watts ave at level 6 on the Wattbike Trainer. I know that this compared to professional athletes or cyclists would seem quite low. My goals are long term, and starting from zero fitness and being so overweight and seeing the gains weekly I am making are spurring me on. What would be my goals?
Realistically to get back to my playing weight, the lightest I would have weighed for 20 odd years, and push on from there. To lose enough weight and gain my health back that I could reduce my diabetic medication or even eliminate it. And maybe get involved in rugby coaching of refereeing, as well as saving and purchasing a very good road bike and entering a charity ride
So some serious goals to aim for. From Fat to Fit, the journey has begun
Wattbike has turned me into a personal stats lover!
Posted by Ben Addison on Mar 01, 2012
We recently caught up with Loughbrough Universty triathlete, Josh Cardwell, who has been training hard on a Watttbike over the winter.
First up, we asked him how his winter training had changed compared to last year, now that he has a Wattbike, he told us, :"Last January I was fortunate enough to go to Fuerteventura for two weeks, which meant I escaped the cold and damp weather allowing me to get some quality cycling in. Unfortunately this year I was not able to do the same."
"However, with the Wattbike all set up in the garage my cycling hasn’t suffered during the recent cold period. In fact, having the computer screen in front of me with the different data sets available has motivated me to try and improve the efficiency of my pedalling stroke and increase my cadence on the bike. In the garage I have set up a television and DVD player so I can watch some great movies whilst training hard which certainly makes the time fly by."
It's always good to get peoples' first impression when they get the Wattbike, there's often a mixture of excitement and trepidation about the training they are about to take on, Josh said: "When first receiving the bike I was amazed at how much data was available to you whilst training. Having previously undertaken cycling physiology tests to measure my different training zones, now having my watt output on the monitor screen has meant that I can make training sessions more specific whilst using the Wattbike data. Previously when I have been riding or doing turbo sessions I have had to go by how I feel, which is never as accurate."
On the blog we try to get an understanding of how people are using the Wattbikes, there's a huge variance in training, very much depending on the sport - who can forget those killer Wattbike sessions from Wigan Warriors? Josh told us: "The majority of the time I use the “Just ride setting” with the “Polar View” on screen. This allows me to keep an eye on my pedal stroke to try to make it as even as possible. Since first getting the bike in November I have seen an improvement on my pedalling efficiency and I am getting closer to that “sausage” shape on the polar view, as opposed to one which resembles a “peanut” shape. This improvement will make a big difference over a 40km bike and will hopefully make me feel fresher for the 10km run."
"I credit this to me focusing on the polar view and giving myself the target of making the “sausage” shape. However, I think it will also be due to the increased cycle volume that I now am able to achieve since we have had the Wattbike."
It's rare that a Wattbike enters a house and only one person uses it, even less so when your house is full of triathletes! Josh said: "My housemate Matthew Wright, one of Barbados’ leading Triathletes has found the Wattbike extremely beneficial as part of his rehabilitation programme after he tore his Medial Collateral ligament in his left knee last summer. He has used the Wattbike to build his strength back into his leg and has found the “polar view” very helpful as it has helped him focus on that weaker leg."
What we're all looking for from our training on a Wattbike is to see those gains made out on the road and Josh has certainly seen some improvements: "Since using the Wattbike, I have felt stronger on my long easy/steady runs but even more so on the longer tempo sessions. These are the sessions which will really help me improve my running efficiency and speed off of the bike come race season. So the Wattbike really is proving to be very useful for cross training also."
"Often in the past I have snubbed those that like to monitor all of their speeds, power outputs and distances cycled. However, those that have recently seen my tweets about my Wattbike sessions might have noticed that I now often tweet about my average watts, cadence and distance from sessions just completed. Wattbike has turned me into a bit of a personal stats lover. I wish I had the same data range available for when I am out on my road bike."
We'll be keeping an eye on for Josh's results at the end of the month and wish him the best of luck for the start of the 2012 season: "At the end of March I shall be racing in the British Elite Duathlon Championships. This will be my first chance to put my hard training on the Wattbike into action against my other competitors. I have been feeling great in training, so I am pretty excited to get racing."
Wattbike in the News: BBC, Cycling Fitness and Muscle & Fitness
Posted by Matt Moran on Feb 29, 2012
A busy month at Wattbike HQ and some eagle-eyed followers on Facebook and Twitter have spotted the Wattbike appearing in TV and in magazines. Here's where we've been over the last week or so...
BBC1 - England v Wales - Six Nations Rugby - the Wattbike is used by the England national team in changing rooms and pitchside
BBC2 - Horizon: The Truth About Exercise - Michael Mosley looks at the surprising new research about exercise, that may have the power to make us all live longer and healthier lives - Wattbike featured during testing
Cycling Active - Get in Balance - Wattbike featured as 'Object of Desire'
Muscle & Fitness - Wattbikes featured in a behind-the-scenes look at Wigan Warriors training session
If you spot a Wattbike on the TV or in a magazine, let us know via our Twitter or Facebook!
‘How’s your holiday going?’ - it’s a question I’ve been asked a dozen times over the last week. I’ve been in Mallorca at the HotChillee Rendezvous at Stephen Roche Cycling Camp.
I did see sun, sea and sand – I also saw the back of somebody’s wheel for much of the time I was going uphill on a bike here – a great week to find out where your fitness is and get some high quality on-road miles in the bank in a structured training environment. It’s been fantastic (and a reality check for my own fitness in February).
The great man was with us on the camp this week, along with a healthy number of London-Paris and Alpine Challenge participants. I’ve said it before on the blog but it’s an honour to ride alongside a winner of the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and the World Championships. All in the same year.
The daily rides are structured into 4 groups, with Group 1 being for the fast boys and girls and so on. Suffice to say, I was not in Group 1. Each group is assigned either one or two Ride Captains who guide the groups throughout the day along the route – a lot of thought has clearly gone into each day and the length and intensity of climbs builds as the week progresses.The scenery was spectacular from day one.
A few familiar faces on the camp too (other than Stephen Roche), we had a good turnout of the HotChillee Ride Captains for London-Paris, great to hear they’ve been training hard on their Wattbikes and also giving out some superb training advice to fellow riders – all helps to make us better and enjoy this fantastic sport.
My favourite day had to be riding the Corniche route, the most glorious roads you could ride on and the temperatures were up to high teens, early twenties – climbing always feels less painful when the scenery is good and the sun is out. What goes up must come down and so we had some challenging descents with off-camber hairpin bends – I’d class them as technical rather than dangerous and the Ride Captains were great to follow with their detailed knowledge of the roads. Certainly a rare opportunity to improve descending skills.
Food, there was plenty of it and boy did we refuel every morning and evening! If you have a sweet tooth then I would almost come to the camp for the deserts alone. I think every single rider did a turn on the front when it came to lapping the desert bar. You won’t go hungry, that’s the point.
I didn’t bother taking my bike over to Mallorca but instead used one of the new Vitus bikes offered on the camp, great bike and perfectly geared for these hills (and my legs!). Mechanics and support crew at base and out on the road took all of the worry out of those niggling back-of-the-mind things that can go wrong with a bike. Have to say, my Vitus never skipped a beat, probably the best I’ve descended in a while.
Having said all of the above I was there in the main to showcase the Wattbike, of which two were proudly displayed in the boutique area of the Stephen Roche Training Camp. I gave lots of demos and advice to riders and reminded them of the London-Paris Training Guide. There was a big interest in how to train more effectively, particularly from those who are pretty short on time with work and family commitments. The Polar View pedal technique display was as popular as always and it’s fair to say that there were some impressive shapes being shown.
What will I remember most? In no particular order – the roads, the scenery, the people, chatting to Stephen, the ice-cream, the (one and only!) late night at the bar and getting blown off the back of the group at 40kph on the flat. (Actually, I loved all of the above apart from the last bit!)
So, thanks to Dave and Tracey who run the Stephen Roche Training Camp throughout the year, Stephen himself for being so generous with his knowledge and time, Neil and all of the Ride Captains who looked after us and gave us much encouragement, the chef for producing some great food(!), the HotChillee crew for their never-ending enthusiasm and all of the new riding friends I made in just a single week.
As I was about to board the plane home I heard a rumour that there’ll be another HotChillee Rendezvous in April, but if you can’t wait until then and you want to get some fantastic training on beautiful roads with great company then you need not wait – all of the details you need to book are here, you won’t regret it.
Damn you hindsight. I guess I’ll never know better than you.
Posted by Matt Moran on Feb 27, 2012
Today on the blog we hear from Non Stanford, an elite triathlete who recently finished 10th at the 2012 Cape Town ITU Sprint Triathlon African Cup. She's been training on a Wattbike during the cold UK winter and sent us this rather amusing but honest report - a great read:-
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So I’m sitting here, on my sofa, knee deep in snotty tissues, massively regretting going out on my bike this Wednesday. Why didn’t I just stay in and use my Wattbike? It’s definitely warmer, a damn sight drier, and the chances of snapping a chain and arriving home hypothermic are slim to none. Unless you’re very unlucky. I guess hindsight is a marvellous thing.
Rewind a week ago and I’m sitting on a beach, in 30’C glorious sunshine, Table Mountain to one side and Robben Island to another. Albeit nursing concussion and a dented sense of pride; but I feel this detracts from the image I’m painting for you here. Although I am afraid this is an image that’s becoming synonymous with me. I seem to attract disaster these days. So much so no one was overly surprised when I told them I’d been tripped by the Czech mid race, on that lovely Sunday morning in South Africa. According to all reports I did quite a spectacular somersault on to my head (cue appropriate gasp from crowd), before jumping up and running 10m in the wrong direction. Comedy gold I will admit...in hindsight.
And there it is again, the little devil. Always a bit late. Always cocky and confident with its delayed wisdom and intuitiveness. Damn you hindsight. I guess I’ll never know better than you; you’re like my bloody mother.
But the intention of this blog was not to wallow in my own self pity. No I’m definitely not a ‘should’a, would’a, could’a’ kind of girl. After all, the wise Beverley Knight once sung,
“should’a, would’a, could’a means I’m out of time...should’a, would’a, could’a are the last words of a fool” Inspired I’m sure you’ll agree. So onwards.
I was asked to provide something that people would like to read. Something informative that provides insight into the glamorous life of an athlete. With cunning references to how fantastic the Wattbike is of course. It’s been a lifesaver this winter. In the weeks leading up to South Africa it all turned a little Baltic here in sunny Blighty; far from ideal preparation for an hour race in 30’C heat. Cue Wattbike.
When the roads were icy and temperatures didn’t just dip below 0, they bloody well dived head first, I was able to keep training, and with a little initiative and stone age sport science, try and acclimatise for what lay ahead. See me having a fantastic time in the picture. I actually look pretty cheery. Must be the warm-up. (Please note: discarded turbo in the background; Wattbikes are the future. Clearly).
And now February is nearly at an end; which means March will soon be upon us, and with that warmer climates and the 2012 season loom ever closer. The back of winter training has well and truly been broken, which is both satisfying and scary. Satisfying in that you can look back at all the hard work you’ve put in, but also scary in that the time will soon come to consolidate all the blood sweat and tears (none of which is an exaggeration. See earlier reference to my disaster-esque qualities), and hope like hell that it will all pay off.
Although, I’m sure come the end of October when all’s said and done I’ll once again marvel at the benefit of hindsight.
I think if there was a way of bottling hindsight it would be an athlete’s best friend. Although such a powerful tool, it wouldn’t be long before it found its way on to the prohibited list. So I guess I’ll just have to battle on like everyone else and embrace the excitement of the unknown; the mystery of what lies ahead. Hopefully what lies ahead isn’t a plastic bottle, but that’s another story for another time. Plus you’ll probably just roll your eyes in exasperation at me like everybody else did.
I’m off and running…well…cycling to be more accurate!
I only joined Wattbike in January, and before the month was out I had been signed up to cycle from the Tour de France prologue in Liege to the Olympic Park in London to support the Right to Play Bike Ride 2012. I do cycle, but I have never attempted anything beyond about 50 miles before so doing three days with at least 100 miles a day is pretty daunting. As initiations into new jobs go, this is extreme to say the least! Fortunately, I am working at the right place to get the best training advice and of course, we are never short of a Wattbike to jump on at the end of the day.
To get my training started for this epic ride I have spent some time doing some testing with Wattbike’s Sport Scientist Eddie Fletcher. After some initial tuition on technique (I am a peanut with an occasional sausage) I felt ready and on Monday I went for my first test. Before I tell you my results (excuses coming), I think it's important to say I played my first full 90 minutes of football in a month on Saturday afternoon and was extremely battered and bruised so perhaps Monday morning was not the best time to give it my all, but I went for it anyway.
Before the test, Eddie put me through the standard 20 minute warm up that is available in the Wattbike training guide. I was pretty sceptical that a warm up of this length was necessary but Eddie explained that for any test I needed to be fully prepared. The warm up included a steady increase in cadence and some short rev outs to get my muscles firing and by the end of it I was ready for action.
After looking at the different tests available, it was decided I was going to try the British Cycling Test on a Wattbike Pro. Eddie started the ramp test at 120 Watts at 69 rpm on the Wattbike Pro and increased the cadence every minute. I lasted eight minutes before my legs said that was enough. Eddie took my scores (262w and a max Heart rate of 175) and fed them into the Training Zones Calculator on the Wattbike website to work out my training zones.
A really important stat for any cyclist is power to weight ratio. The more power you can create at a lower weight, the better cyclist you will be. My current power to weight is 3 watts per kilo. There is work to be done!
I'll be following the Wattbike Training Guide to get ready for the ride and will be adding regular blogs to let you know how I am getting on. If you want to join me on this fantastic ride you can find out more on the Right to Play website.
Great video from our friends at Team Evolution featuring Sarah Cuthbert's rehab on a Wattbike. Sarah injured her knee in a training camp back in October of last year but is now well on her way back to recovery.
Strength in numbers - Exertrain head to Wattbike HQ
Posted by Ben Addison on Feb 22, 2012
Last week we had the guys from Exertrain up to Wattbike HQ in Nottingham. If you're not familair with the name, Exertrain are a UK manufacturer and supplier of the highest quality sports and fitness training equipment, delivering bespoke design and equipment supply for facilities wanting to provide the very best in sporting excellence. And that's why they came to see us at Wattbike.
Dean Kent and Matt Johnston from Exertrain also bought Jack McIntosh with them - Jack is a Worlds Strongest Man competitor and is using a Wattbike in the build-up to his 2012 competitive season. Dean told us: "We came up to Wattbike to to get some hands on training and information on the benefits of how the Wattbike can assist in developing higher levels of training programmes as well as improving physical alignment and endurance."
"It was clear from the start that Wattbike has taken indoor cycle training to a new level with regard to product quality and sports science. It has proved to be the very best of equipment for accurately calculating the measurable output during repeated power exercises, therefore providing the best information to assisting the athlete in being able to plan and improve periodised training programmes."
Today we're featured in CityAM as fitness expert, Laura Williams, takes her very first ride on a Wattbike and although she is not usually keen on cycling, she immediately saw why the Wattbike is very different from any other indoor bike.
Laura tried the Wattbike at Reebok Gym in Canary Wharf, a place where members generally have little time to exercise due to the nature of their job. The gym love having the Wattbike there (in fact, they have 4!) as it allows their members to get a really high-quality workout without spending endless hours in the gym, not to mention those who love all that lovely performance data.
Laura also took a look at her pedalling technique via the Polar View and, not unexpectedly, showed the trademark 'figure of eight', but we reckon with some work she'll soon be moving to that intermediate level.
You can read the full article online on the CityAM website.
Last Friday evening we took a trip to the London Olympic Velodrome for the UCI Track World Cup, we hadn't quite expected to see some awesome performances and two world records in a single night. The building is awesome, both inside and out, and the racing throughout the weekend was equally as good. If that was just a taster for the Olympics then we're all in for a real treat come the Games. Here are just a few of the photos we took on the evening...
There is no comparison between the Wattbike and any other static bike
Posted by Matt Moran on Feb 16, 2012
When you're 6 feet and 7 inches tall it's not that easy to find fitness equipment that can handle the sheer size of your body and with an inside leg measurement of 37 inches, Steve Bainbridge has found just a solution to help him train for triathlons in the Wattbike.
Steve is a former rugby union player, representing both the British and Irish Lions in their 1983 tour to New Zealand and England at the 1987 Rugby World Cup. After he retired from rugby he took up the challenge of indoor rowing at the age of 50 and after just 5 months training finished second in his age group at the world championships in Boston.
Having pretty much conquered the indoor rowing challenge he turned his attention to triathlon and, in his words, "...appreciated that I must hone my cycling fitness to be competitive at 106kg in triathlon! My first step towards increased cycling efficiency and fitness was to start using the Wattbike."
We asked Steve what his initial experiences were with his Wattbike, he told us: "First step was to be physiologically tested and gain an understanding of the Wattbike's immense capabilities. I got in touch with Eddie Fletcher an exercise physiologist and Wattbike guru. Second step, I now have a training plan that will ensure that I maximise my sessions by tapping into the Wattbike's potential."
"I quickly learned that there is no comparison between the regular turbo trainer I bought and the Wattbike, in fact there is no comparison between the Wattbike and any other static bike that I had been on before! If you're looking for performance improvement in the shortest period of time for me there is no comparison – the Wattbike wins hands down."
We get some very funny looks when we ask people why they love the Wattbike so much, mainly becuase it's hard to talk about something which provides such intensity (and often pain) during workouts - we'd defnitely get some very different answers if we asked people for their thoughts mid-session, most of which would never make the blog!
Steve was as enthusiastic as most about telling us why he chooses to train on a Wattbike: "Where do I start? Comfort! I can get it to fit my body! That may seem like an obvious statement but at 6 feet 7 inches tall with a 37inch inside leg it's not easy."
"The vast array of data that is available either as you are riding, displayed on the monitor, or as I have it, up on a large 50" plasma, is immense. In fact, there is more data than you will ever use at one time but you can select a personalised display which for me was: Duration, Heart Rate, Cadence, Watts and average Watts. You also have the ability to design your own personalised sessions and save them for future use."
"It even allows you to become a more efficient cyclist by analysing and graphically displaying each pedal stroke allowing you to develop a more efficient and powerful pedalling technique."
Steve, not unusually, prefers to ride outdoors - a dislike of indoor training in our experience is often due to poor equipment, poor setup and a lack of performance data to make indoor training efficient and importantly, effective. Ask almost any of the team here at Wattbike HQ and they'll tell you that their number one reason for training on a Wattbike is to be able to enjoy riding out on the road even more, whether that be for competiing in a triathlon, a sportive, other sports such as rowing or just riding for general fitness.
Steve told us: "I don’t really like training on a static bike indoors, I would rather be outdoors but what the Wattbike allows you to do is get the maximum effect in the shortest period of time. If I have a threshold session to do at certain duration and at certain wattage I want to ensure that I am cycling at that wattage. I don’t want to dilute my efforts by riding at the wrong intensity. The Wattbike is deadly accurate every time you get on it, nothing is left to chance."
"I believe enjoyment is an essential part of any training program. Because of its accuracy and smoothness you can deliver highly focussed, intense sessions in a short space of time knowing that when you repeat the session, you are performing with the same parameters thus allowing you to feel the buzz associated with tracking performance improvement. This performance improvement is achieved by having your bum on the saddle for the shortest period of time."
Given that Steve is an ex-pro rugby player, we're not suprised that he can't resist the competitive element on the Wattbike, he's posted his times on our Wattbike Ranking leaderboard - if you haven't posted your best times up there then get them up today! Steve said: "There's also an online community where you can test yourself against others, be it a max wattage age group test (1698watts top of age group rankings but a long way off my 2000+ watts when I was playing – see still competitive!) or a 200m sprint. It gets the competitive juices flowing!"
Thanks so much to Steve for sharing his Wattbike story with us, what really comes through are three things, 1) At 6' 7", the Wattbike works for Steve and can be setup for pretty much any body type; 2) if you're going to train indoors it simply has to be effective and efficient, for this you need the quality data produced by the Wattbike; and 3) Competition is for everybody, get your times uploaded to Wattbike Ranking, this will give you some motivation to track your improvements and measure yourself against others.
Free pedal technique analysis at Triathlon Show 2012
Posted by Ben Addison on Feb 15, 2012
If you've got any kind of interest in the sport of triathlon then you'll need to be at Triathlon Show 2012, taking place at Sandown Park racecourse from March 2nd to 4th. You won't be able to miss Wattbike at the show as we'll have our own stand, a Wattbike in the 220 Triathlon subscribers lounge, a couple of Wattbikes on stage during the Fit Brands Fashion Show and they'll also be used for the PowerBar Indoor Time Trial.
As I said, we'll literally be everywhere. A must-do at the show is to visit the Wattbike stand though, we're offering a FREE 15 minute pedal technique analysis to all visitors. The session is low intensity so no need to bring any kit, we'll even loan you a pair of cycling shoes for the occassion. To avoid the queues we get every time we turn up to a show like this, we'd highly recommend you pre-book your 15 minute slot in advance. It's easy and takes a few clicks on our booking form.
FIrst off we'll talk you through how the Wattbike measures and records your personal performance data and then show you a live profile of your pedalling technique. We'll help you to identify any weak spots in your technique and give you some pointers on where you can make improvements. It's also your opportunity to ask those burning questions about how to train more efficiently and get the most out of each and every training session.
Finally, you'll get a printout of your pedal technique so that you can really start to make those changes which will improve your performance on the bike. Place an order for a Wattbike at the Show you’ll be entered into a draw to win a year’s Triathlon England Membership and a one day Cycling Assessment with Wattbike Sport Scientist, Eddie Fletcher, worth over £300. If I was you, I'd come over to the Wattbike stand to help get your pedal technique ironed out before heading over to the PowerBar Indoor Time Trial - 'marginal gains' and all that.
I’m excited about riding the Etape. I’m also nervous.
Posted by Matt Moran on Feb 13, 2012
Summit of Col du Soulor
We're always on the look out for insiprational stories from Wattbike owners across the world and this is no exception, a tale of a comeback to the bike and nerves and excitement ahead of a first foray into the challenges of some iconic Tour de France climbs.
Jonathan is taking on the Etape du Tour - Acte II, it's the Queen stage of this year's race and features the likes of the Col d'Aubisque and Col du Tourmalet, each a challenge in their own right, but Jonathan aims to take them all on in a single day. His training time is limited due to a busy professional lifestyle so the Wattbike has been perfect to enable him to get the most of each and every training session. Here's Jonathan story in his own words...
I used to road race in my teens and twenties. An accident during a training session on the track left me with a broken leg and thirteen weeks in plaster to contemplate just how much of my time cycle racing took up.
I struggled to get back into the sport and eventually drifted away. I tried mountain biking but didn’t take to it. I ended up running to keep fit. I ran the New York marathon in 2006 in a time of 3hours 41 minutes. I carried on with the running but started to have problems with my calf muscles. I went to see a number of different specialists but none of them was able to tell me what the problem was or how to resolve it. After a few sessions with a physiotherapist, he told me that he didn’t know what the problem was and thought the only solution was for me to stop running.
I decided to get back into cycling. I rebuilt one of my road bikes and started to get out again. I cursed myself for having given up the sport years before - I loved getting out on the bike and exploring the countryside where I live (Stratford Upon Avon). Running was something I’d done to keep fit. Cycling was something I loved to do - the fact it helped me to keep fit was a bonus. In a rush of enthusiasm I purchased a new carbon framed bike and a Wattbike.
I’d resolved not to join a cycling club - I didn’t want to get sucked into competitive cycling again. So I ended up going out for short rides when I could fit them in around my work. I’d go out for an hour to two hours - push myself quite hard - and return home satisfied. I had no plan - I didn’t have a particular objective other than a vague “keep fit”. The Wattbike sat gathering dust - sometimes doubling as a rather expensive clothes horse. I contemplated selling the Wattbike on ebaY and wondered how I’d wrap it and what the postage would cost.
Col du Soulor
Towards the end of last year I decided that I should do something special in 2012 to mark the fact that I’d be turning fifty. I’ve always wanted to ride some of the climbs that my Tour heroes - Merckx, Hinault, Fignon, Roche - had ridden. So I decided I should enter the Etape.
If I was going to ride one hundred and ninety seven kilometres over some of the toughest mountain passes in the Pyrenees then I knew I’d need to train properly. I decided to have a fitness test to see how unfit I was and to give me a starting point for a training plan. I booked an appointment with Garry Palmer at Sportstest.
Road between Col d'Aubisque and Col du Soulor
The results of the fitness test showed that I needed to drastically improve my “low-end” fitness - improving my body’s ability to burn fat. Garry put together a training plan for me.
The training plan covered the period up to mid-February (I’m due for another test soon) and involved a lot of “Endurance” training at a low intensity, as well as some “Threshold” and “Unstructured fun” sessions. The Endurance and Threshold sessions require working within specific heart rate zones.
I have quite a demanding job. I’m a lawyer working for a US multinational corporation. I regularly have late night telephone meetings and do a fair bit of business related travel. My training time is therefore somewhat limited and I have to remain flexible as to when I can fit training sessions into my schedule. Making sure I’m training as efficiently as possible is therefore essential. And that’s why I’m glad I didn’t put my Wattbike up for sale on ebaY!
It’s the perfect training tool - especially for the endurance sessions. I’m able to maintain my heart rate in the right zone far more easily than I’m able to on the road - where factors such as gradient, weather, junctions, traffic etc. all impact one’s ability to maintain heart rate at a particular level. In a three hour ride on the road the time spent in the target heart rate zone might be only an hour or less. On the Wattbike - apart from the time spent warming up and warming down - almost all of the training time will be in the right heart rate zone.
With my iPad propped on the Wattbike handlebars I can quite easily rack up two hours on the Wattbike. For the endurance rides I tend to watch tv programmes - I’ve got through season one and season two of The Killing (the original Danish version not the US version). For the threshold sessions I use the brilliant videos from The Sufferfest.
The training is going well - but at the time of writing I’ve had to take a few days off to get over a cold. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of my next fitness test.
I’m excited about riding the Etape. I’m also nervous. It’s longer than I’ve ever ridden before. Even if the route was as flat as a pancake it would be daunting - but the thought of climbing the Col d’Aubisque, Col du Soulor, Col du Tourmalet, Col de Peyresourde during those one hundred and ninety seven kilometers is both terrifying and exhilarating . But I have a clear objective, a well thought out training plan, and my Wattbike. The rest is down to me.
We're looking forward to catching up with Jonathan before his trip over to France, best of luck with your training!
Here is our choice of the best of the web from the last week....
HASTA LA VISTA
Rapha Condor Sharp have established themselves as a dominant force in UK racing over the last few years. In 2012, the emphasis is on developing young talent, with the introduction of a group of U23 riders. Among them is Felix English, the Irish track sprinter who famously defeated Chris Hoy. Here he tells us how he’s settling in at the team training camps ahead of an exciting new season.
Who will be the next great American cyclist?
When I was first getting into cycle sport, in the late 1980s, there was only one story. And that was Greg LeMond's.First, in 1986, he became the first American to win the Tour de France – deposing France's combative five-time winner Bernard Hinault. The following year, he nearly died after being shot in a hunting accident in California. To this day, he still has lead pellets in his body the surgeons couldn't get out.
New look for Ironman UK and Ironman 70.3 UK
World Triathlon Corporation have today announced a relaunch of the Ironman UK and 70.3 UK brands as part of the on-going development of the events since being taken under the WTC’s control in early 2011. Kevin Stewart who was appointed Managing Director of Ironman in UK and Ireland in 2011 said “Anyone visiting the Ironman UK websites this month will notice a fresh and new look for the Ironman UK and Ironman 70.3 UK logos. The new logos incorporate a clearer visualisation of the UK identity and some would say a more patriotic statement with the inclusion of the Union Flag.”
Tri Camp Race Team partner with Wattbike
Tri Camp is very pleased to announce that they have partnered with Wattbike who are supporting the Tri Camp Race Team in 2012. Tri Camp provides triathlon training camps in Mallorca and is run by Nick and Claire Dunn. The Tri Camp Race Team is newly formed this year and makes for an impressive line up with Nick Dunn, Heather Jackson, Andy Tarry, Matt Ellis, Hannah Shooter, Rob Brundish, Josh Cardwell, Kat Berry and Alistair Johnson making up the team. The team is based across the UK and will be coming together throughout the year to use the Wattbike as a crucial part of the team training.
Ian Stannard - Tour of Qatar Analysis
The Tour of Qatar was Ian Stannard’s first race of 2012 and his primary role was to work for Team Sky’s sprinter, the current world champion Mark Cavendish. The week ended with success with two victories by Cavendish, however he also crashed on the final stage but was not seriously injured. Besides Cavendish’s two wins the team also placed second in the points competition (Cavendish), third place overall (Juan Antonio Flecha), and second placed overall team
Hepburn remains critical of Olympic track program reshuffle
Australian calls for individual pursuit to be returned to 'holy grail' status at Games. Michael Hepburn (GreenEdge) says that he was bemused by the decision after the 2008 Beijing Games to remove his pet event, the Individual Pursuit from the Olympic program, and hopes that the IOC and UCI will reinstate the discipline for the next edition of the Games in Rio in 2016.
Dyer looks for riders to build form at London Track World Cup
Great Britain Olympic Programme Track Sprint Coach Iain Dyer has acknowledged that riders should be approaching top form at the London Track World Cup but stressed that sprinters ‘peak in different ways’.
Tour of Qatar success: Matt Brammeier writes
My season is well and truly up and running; it’s already my 11th day of racing so far this year. So, the Tour of Qatar, what can I say? It’s pretty much just what I expected. Each and every morning the talk of the peloton is; ‘There’s not so much wind today, it should be a nice day’. Yeah, right! We’ve had howling crosswinds every day so far! That said, it’s not exactly what I expected as I can’t believe how strong my team mates are! Yes, Tom [Boonen] is an animal, but he’s not the only one!
British professional road wins 2012
We keep track of British riders' professional road victories throughout the 2012 cycling season on this page. The British wins kicked off in style during the first half of February, with five wins coming the space of five days.
Paralympic Cyclist Simon Richardson turns the pedals again with Wattbike
A couple of weeks ago I headed down to South Wales to meet up with Simon Richardson. Regular readers of the blog will be familiar with Simon, he won two Gold and a Silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and is currently on the road to recovery from a second serious collision whilst he was out training on his bike.
Today we bring you the first in a series of interviews with the HotChillee Ride Captains(RCs), the people who keep the riders on track during The London-Paris and Alpine Challenge. We're sponsoring the RCs throughout this year and they're all well into their training for these events on their Wattbikes.
The RCs have quite varied and interesting backgrounds, many have raced at a high level while some have only caught the cycling bug in more recent years, but they are consistently some of the most passionate people you'll meet when it comes to being on two wheels.
First up is Ian Holmes, he's gone from triathlon to mountain biking to road racing and now spends much of his time putting cyclists back together through his new sports massage business. He took a top 10 finish at The London-Paris 2011, so he's a little bit nippy when it comes to riding a bike! He's also quit modest as he didn't mention that he also took the Sigma Red Jersey Winner, Alpine Challenge 2010.
We'll let Ian give you the details...
Although my memory is starting to fade with age I seem to recall starting riding bikes properly back in the early 90's. Back then I was introduced to triathlon and with no kids and an understanding wife I was able to train flat out.
I enjoyed the challenge of multi sport but started to struggle with knee problems whilst running and was forced to make a change. Mountain biking became my new focus.
Despite numerous crashes whilst training (resulting in a few broken ribs on my first ride!), several broken fingers and a displaced shoulder joint I competed at events across the country and took part in the famous and gruelling Roc d'Azur race in the South of France two years running.
I gradually began to train more and more on the road, initially to gain fitness for Mountain Biking, but soon just because I enjoyed it! I became captivated by the history, tradition and etiquette of Road Racing - I finally shaved my legs and started booking training camps!!
So back in 2007, together with a friend I joined a local club and began road racing. I raced 2/3 times a week during the season and loved it. In 2009 after stringing a few good results together I was asked to join the newly formed Virgin Active race team. We enjoyed some competitive racing including the Tour of Wales and Tour of the Abberleys and I began to get regular results at short criterium races at the MK Bowl and Hoghill circuits. It wasn't all good! My team record for a series of 5 races remains unbeaten - 4 crashes, 1 win = 100% record for races I finished!
In 2010, through the same friend, I was persuaded to take part in an event called 'The Alpine Challenge'. One of those 'Sportive' type affairs that I had only ever really viewed as training rides (numbers on the front!) I travelled to Annecy not really sure what to expect and was introduced to Sven, Jane and the HotChillee team. The event was to be the start of my HotChillee experience!
I rode pretty well, having just finished racing for the season, enjoyed the climbs and was thrilled to be awarded the first ever climbers jersey. (This was very kindly signed by Stephen Roche and is now framed and hanging pride of place at home.) This was what riding a bike was all about. Pure and Simple.
From the start I loved being part of such an incredible, dynamic cycle loving team. I arrived home from France and quickly signed up for my first L2P in 2011. A hard fought top ten finish and second place in the team standings was great reward and the chance to get 'dragged' along by the legendary Magnus Backstedt was priceless.
I was absolutely delighted to be asked back as a Ride Captain for The Alpine Challenge 2011 and it was great to see the event grow and still keep its character. Yanto Barker took the climbers jersey and well deserved too!
I am now firmly 'dug in' as a HotChillee Ride Captain for 2012 and looking forward to meeting more like-minded loons in the coming months as we all train towards The L2P in June and Alpine Challenge in September.
My training has benefitted from some milder than expected winter weather this year but our secret weapons have been deployed! Thanks to Wattbike all of the HotChillee Ride Captains are fortunate to have been given their fantastic power trainer the Wattbike Pro to help prepare.
I have been using mine to add some specific sessions to my week. After some initial testing to calculate FT (functional threshold) and training zones I have been working on intervals and sweet spot training to push LT (lactic threashold) and increase power.
What a great training tool. The pedalling curve system has really translated to riding on the road and the Wattbike gives such a real bike feel that it is genuinely the best trainer I have ever ridden. I fear Wattbike may need to employ the bailiffs to get it back!
As I work towards qualifying as a Sports Therapist, training, racing, riding The L2P and then back to Annecy in September my diary is getting pretty full!! Can't wait. Bring it on!!
One of the things that really comes to mind about our trip to the Alpine Challenge last year was the fantastic setup of the event, everything really was catered for. One thing that I will always remember is the massages from the the guys at TheTriTouch. At the time they were incredibly painful but they really did the business when it came to getting me through the following day's riding.
Dan Scott, one of TheTriTouch's sports massage therapists, not only kept all of the riders on the road in Annecy, he also took part in and won the Wattbike Peak Power competition! (see the video below)
Dan's now getting back on a Wattbike for a 24 hour challenge to raise money for UK Youth and got in touch to tell us more...
I decided I wanted 2012 to be a year of challenges for me, so what better way to start by doing a 24hr challenge and raise money for a great charity, UK Youth.
I'll be doing 2hrs on 2hrs off for 24hrs on February 17th 2012 and I'm encouraging people to join me and clock in some miles! It doesn't matter how far you pedal, as long as you pedal!
It's being held in a Starbucks store in Chiswell Green from 11am as Starbucks and UK Youth are working together on a project called Youth Action. Partners from Starbucks will also be joining on the fun.
I'll be doing a power to weight competition (£3 per go) which will be open to everyone for the chance to join me in the Alps in August. It's a great prize and I'm expecting a lot of interest so best to come down and set a marker early! One of our HotChillee Ride Captains will also be providing 10 minute massages for £5 for the charity (I'll be busy riding - you can't expect me to massage and ride for 24 hours can you?!?).
I've never attempted anything like this before and I really wanted to challenge myself to see what I was capable of and raise a load of money for a great charity at the same time. So please get involved.
You can donate on my fundraising page or by texting UKYH10 and the amount you want to donate to 70070.
Best of luck Dan and let us know how you get on!
Dan Scott takes on the Wattbike Peak Power Competition at Alpine Challenge 2011
Paralympic Cyclist Simon Richardson turns the pedals again with Wattbike
Posted by Matt Moran on Feb 08, 2012
A couple of weeks ago I headed down to South Wales to meet up with Simon Richardson. Regular readers of the blog will be familiar with Simon, he won two Gold and a Silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and is currently on the road to recovery from a second serious collision whilst he was out training on his bike.
I will leave Simon to explain what happened in the video above, where he also talks about the extensive rehabilitation he's undergoing and his plans for the future.
It was a pleasure to finally meet Simon after talking on the phone and exchanging many emails since last Autumn, I couldn't have had a better welcome than some great coffee and a selection of cakes (I'd arrived early and Simon's wife Amanda was in the process of baking me a cake, to ensure I didn't miss out she'd made an emergency trip to the shops to buy some - now that's what I call hospitality!).
I'd envisaged that we 'd have a chat and do the interview as Simon sat in bed, I'd then finish my coffee and be on my way North - however, Simon was failry insistent on getting some footage of him on the Wattbike! One thing that isn't broken is Simon's enthusiasm and determination (and his cycling technique - we see lots of elite cyclists and they just have this natural look on a bike - hard to explain - and Simon was right there, back in the saddle with a smile on his face).
Since the interview he's had his body brace removed which means that he can ride more comfortably on the Wattbike, slowly increasing from the 10 minute sessions he initially started with but now in a less upright position and with less restriction on his lungs. It's clear that Simon has had enormous support from the cycling community and a number of key partners in particular, not ony Wattbike but also Onix Bikes, Bikefood, POWERbreathe, Lake shoes and Brother UK.
We're proud to be supporting Simon on his road to recovery.
Wattbike is the Bugatti Veyron of Indoor Bikes - The Times
Posted by Matt Moran on Feb 07, 2012
It was fantastic to open The Times this past weekend and see the Wattbike described as '...a stationary bike. Yet it stands in the same relation to that rusting contraption in your mum's garage as a Bugatti Veyron does to a Robin Reliant.'
The Times journalist, Robert Crampton, is taking on the Deloitte Ride Across Britain later this year and we're helping him to get ready for the event. Robert would be the first to admit that it's a big challenge for him and given the nature of his work, he doesn't necessarily have the time required to put endless hours in on the road. The Wattbike is simply perfect for this kind of scenario.
We're inviting Robert to our Sports Science Lab where he'll meet up with Eddie Fletcher, who will run him through a series of tests in order to set his training zones and get him started on a training plan. The Ride Acorss Britain even consists of 9 stages of over 100 miles, a tough challenge for anybody.
If you're riding a multi-day event of over 100 miles per day then you can take a look at our London-Paris Training Plan which will put you on the right path.
Keep an eye out for Robert's progress in The Times throughout the rest of the year.
Andy Tennant's Ticker
"What's your heart rate doing Andy?" As we rode the back ten home of a chilly forty five mile run out yesterday, I glimpsed down at my heart rate monitor to see my ticker beating away at around 155bpm (HRZ4 for me which would be described as an intensive zone).
Will Carling on cycling, training and the RBS 6 Nations
Last week I met up with Will Carling, the former England rugby union captain. He captained the national side 72 times and led the team to victory in four 5 Nations Championships (as it was known before Italy were introduced), whilst also taking the 1991 group of players to the World Cup Final.
Wattbike February Training Tracks
Here's the much-anticipated link to February's tunes to get you through that Wattbike session on Spotify. Don't shoot the DJ, I merely put your requests into a list, mixed them up a little (that's what DJs do right, mix?) and then hit the publish button.
Team players key to success
Team Sky's riders explain the importance of working as a unit to get the best out of Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins
The 10 Biggest Sports Nutrition Myths
There’s a lot of bad sports nutrition information floating around. The only way to cut through the myths and find the truth about how to fuel your body for maximum endurance performance is to look at the science—or have someone look at the science for you. Well, we’ve done just that, and uncovered the 10 biggest myths of sports nutrition.
It's all about the sausage
It's all about the sausage. That's what Wattbike reckon. If you want to be a top level rider, you need to get your sausage sorted. I'll explain. I’ve got some time in on the Wattbike over the past few weeks and thought I’d give you a quick look at one of it’s most interesting features: the Polar View.
Renshaw ready for duel with ex-teammate Cavendish
2012 represents a new chapter in the careers of Mark Renshaw and Mark Cavendish. The two men rode together at the now disbanded HTC Highroad team and enjoyed a large amount of success, with the Australian Renshaw acting as the final leadout man for Cavendish as he swept up numerous victories and accolades along the way.
Save our cyclists: The Times campaign
By the time Mary Bowers first came to see me, she had already seen off hundreds of would-be journalists to make the shortlist of The Times graduate trainee programme. Within ten minutes, I knew that she had got the job. It wasn’t just that she was intrepid, irreverent and of obvious integrity. Her warmth and liveliness shone through.
Help hack day developers make the Guardian's cycling coverage better
I'm here just to pass on a message from Matt Andrews, a member of the Guardian's digital development team. Later this week, he and his colleagues will be, among other things, trying to dream up ways to make our web-based coverage of cycle events like the Tour de France more informative, interactive and interesting.
Rest and Recovery
You can only train as hard as you can rest. Rest is good. If you feel tired you probably are tired. Recovery between sessions is not all about the duration, intensity and physiological effort of your cycling sessions.
A nice review of a multisport charity event at Lougborough University last week, which included using Wattbikes to help raise over £3,000! The Wattbikes were supplied by our friends at Team Cycles:
On Friday 27th January, 2012, Monica’s Gold Challenge took place in and around SportPark at Loughborough University. The main aim of the day was to raise money for LOROS in memory of our dear colleague Monica Gibbs who sadly passed away in September 2010. Our 2nd target was to cover 2012km in total on the day by running, cycling and using rowing machines. With 82 people signed up to take part, it was going to be tough challenge.
The day started early for 5 eager participants as they covered a total of 150km before 8.30am and with a further 6 people going out on a bike ride at lunchtime we had already covered 330km before the main groups started.
At 1pm participants from all over SportPark began the main part of the challenge. With a big final push we finally finished at 5.30pm. By the end, we’d covered a combined effort of 2074KM which is an incredible effort from all those taking part. This has now risen to 2139.91KM after we added in a few people that couldn’t make the event but wanted to take part at other locations.
This is a big target for us to have to try and beat in 2013! We hope to have raised in the region of £3000 for LOROS and if you would like to find out more about how you or your organisation can help raise more funds for this very worthy cause then please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. We would also be happy to meet with you if you would like to run a similar event as part of your Workplace Challenge.
This event simply wouldn’t have happened had it not been for the support of the following people and organisations:
• Concept 2 for supplying the Rowing Machines
• British Cycling, Team Cycles, Loughborough University and Leicester City Council for supplying Wattbikes and exercise bikes
• GlaxoSmithKlein for donating drinks to keep us going during the day
• IMAGO for donating Bananas and of course Teresa Dalby for making her fantastic Flapjacks!
• Volleyball England for being a huge support in setting up the day and for the use of their Van
• SportPark Reception Staff for their encouragement and for putting up with all the comings and goings throughout the day
• LOROS and Gold Challenge for helping us with the logistics of the day
However, the biggest thank you of the day must go to all those that took part. We had participants from Leicester-shire and Rutland Sport, several of our partner organisations, many different organisations based at SportPark and most importantly members of Monica’s Family and their Friends. This was a great team effort and we hope to go on to even bigger and better things next year.
Will Carling on cycling, training and the RBS 6 Nations
Posted by Matt Moran on Feb 02, 2012
Last week I met up with Will Carling, the former England rugby union captain. He captained the national side 72 times and led the team to victory in four 5 Nations Championships (as it was known before Italy were introduced), whilst also taking the 1991 group of players to the World Cup Final.
Since retiring Will has been cycling as a way to keep fit, taking part in various events including The London-Paris which he will once again be riding in 2012. This is the kind of event where you don't just turn up and ride, there is training to be done and Will chooses to do much of his on his Wattbike. He's aiming for one of the faster groups in this year's London-Paris and has been putting some serious training in! It's great to hear in the interview that Will is a recent convert to using power and heart rate to train, and that he's finding that training on a Wattbike is so much more time-efficient than simply 'going out for a ride'.
You'll often find Will posting his Wattbike sessions on his twitter feed, when he's not winding ex-footballers up about their own cycling exploits (we've got an interview with Lee Dixon coming up soon here on the blog), so give him a follow. Given that the RBS 6 Nations is about to begin we couldn't let Will go without asking him for some brief thoughts on how he thinks things will play out (see video below).
Here's the much-anticipated link to February's tunes to get you through that Wattbike session on Spotify. Don't shoot the DJ, I merely put your requests into a list, mixed them up a little (that's what DJs do right, mix?) and then hit the publish button.
This month we've got a really nice intro track called 'Avalanche' and a few songs later we hear from David Bowie and Lady Gaga, not a duet in case you were getting all excited. Who wouldn't want a little bit of Jive Talkin' by the Bee Gees in the middle of their session, live too, and then we go back to the 80s with The Theme from S'Express.
The final track is special request from Brel, not actually from Brel himself but from one of our Twitter followers, it's a nice track to cool down too, chilled out and I chose it because as soon as saw it in Brel's playlist it reminded me of climbing the Col de la Madeleine, a beautiful, long climb which is so typical of the Alps. And isn't that a nice thought to end a Wattbike session on...
We've received a wonderful review of the first ever National Wattbike Fire Service Championships, held at the Friary Grange Leisure Centre in Lichfield. We often talk on the blog about individuals using the Wattbike for training, for rehab and for various charity events but there is also a great race feature within both the Expert Software and Power Cycling Software. The Fire Service competition replicated a full range of track cycling events and we've even got some great video footbage of the Team Sprint.
Here is the review, direct from the Fire Service...
The FSSAA cycling section entered a new era with the introduction of a new angle of cycling – Wattbikes!
On the 16th of January the British Fire Service Cycling Section held its national competition, dominated by West Midlands, but with a competitor from Cheshire entered it made it a National event.
The racing format consisted of two groups of four riders, starting with a 400m time trial. Richard Whitley from Cheshire coming in with the fastest time, taking an early lead in the overall event. The next race was the 3000m scratch race - a painful event for a sprinter. Endurance paid off though for Steve Horsley, taking a clear win by 13 seconds.
The Team Sprint followed, with teams made up of two riders decided by times from the 400m time trial to give each team an equal chance of wining. Steve Nutt and Lewis Commins proved they were the fastest over 2 x 250m.
With a choice of events including a devil, points and 2000m scratch for the fourth race the majority voted for the latter. Again Steve Horsley showed true form to come in 11 seconds in front of the rest of the field.
The final event was a 400m handicapped race and with this advantage Julie Cooper took the final race, closely followed by Steve Nutt and Iain Evans.
The scores were totalled and the positions were as follows:
1st Steve Horsley
2nd Steve Nutt
3rd Lewis Commins
4th Andrew Savage
5th Iain Evans
6th Richard Whitley
7th Julie Cooper
8th Paul Cockburn
After receiving positive feedback from all persons involved, with more support there is the potential of Wattbikes becoming an annual competition for the British Fire Service cycling section.
Goody bags were received by all, so a big thank you to all that sponsored the event including Friary Grange Leisure Centre. West Midlands Fire Service Academy and Zipvit.
Thanks for the update and we hope to see the 2nd National Wattbike Fire Service Championship in 2013!
Ian Richards is based out of Holland for most of the year, where he races with Team Drc de Mol, but has spent the past few months back home in Australia. He's just sent us through an update of what he's been up to, including news of a disappointing (in his own words!) Australian championships. Ian's mind is now very much focused on the 2012 season as he prepares for his first professional UCI race.
It’s been a while since I’ve written my last blog and like all cyclists after a winter season of no cycling I should apologise for not keeping you up to date on doing absolutely nothing. This however is not the case and during the European winter I travelled back to Australia to see my parents and train for the Australian championships.
Unfortunately this didn’t all go to plan and after more than 2 months of meticulous training I fell sick 2 days before the championships. I completed only 70km of the race and this was a huge disappointment for me. Life goes on and now I’m back home in Holland preparing for the season, which I hope to be a big one.
I learnt a lot about training, diet and my body after training so hard for the Australian champs and I hope to put this to good use this year when I’ll be racing my very first professional UCI races. Exciting stuff!
On the 5th of February I’ll be off to Spain for a training camp for 2 weeks and then my racing plan will be formed from that. I hope to start my season by the end of February or early March. At the moment the weather isn’t too crash hot here in Holland but lucky for me I can train indoors away from the freezing Dutch wind and rain on my Wattbike!
Thanks for the update Ian, we look forward to seeing how your season progresses.
We love receiving emails from Wattbike users across the world, most will tell us how the Wattbike has changed their method of training forever and some will highlight a great achievement where the user feels the Wattbike has played a major role. What I hadn't quite anticipated was an email from a dedicated Wattbike user that his employers were buying a Wattbike for their ship.
Simon got in touch to tell us a bit more about a Wattbike which will be taking to the seas very soon, "I work on a construction vessel mostly in the North Sea, carrying out construction and maintenance work for a company called Technip Offshore."
"We do saturation diving, which requires 12 of us to be in a pressurised system of chambers for up to 28 days at a time. Each team of 3 divers works for 6 hours each day, one stays in the bell, the other 2 work on the seabed, and although sometimes the work is physically hard, I find that because we are in the water, our legs don't really get much exercise."
"This has a definite effect on my performance on the road bike when I get home, so I use my Wattbike to help me get back to a good level of fitness when I return. I do various sessions, all power based, some hill sessions, and some aimed at pushing up my functional threshold. It usually seems to take a couple of weeks to get back to 'normal'. I also find it a lot easier to get on and train through the winter when the Northumbrian weather is doing its thing!"
"Our boss has just ordered a Wattbike for the gym onboard our vessel, which will be great for getting a few miles in before we get home, and there are alot of other people onboard who will use it aswell. There should be a few more names getting added to the rankings!"
This is such a great story, when the Wattbike was born we had no idea that it would be used in such a variety of locations, it does highlight one of the great features of the Wattbike though - the accuracy and calibration of every Wattbike means that Simon can be assured that the data he collects when he is onboard is comparable with his Wattbike at home.
Look forward to seeing the crew on their new Wattbike!
(Love that Simon has printed off and stuck up his Training Zones from our online Calculator next to his Wattbike - essential!)
Elite XC mountain biker Oli Beckingsale was having a great season in 2011 until he had an accident in a World Cup race in Czech Republic. It's the kind of crash that Oli's had hundreds of times throughout his career, except this time he came away with a serious injury.
In the video below, Oli takes us back to the day of the crash, his immediate thoughts and through every step of his rehabilitation. Oli had a great advantage in that he regularly trains on a Wattbike so had a wealth of performance data archived. This data has been essential in letting Oli and his team at MyLife PT in Bristol understand when he returns to pre-accident condition.
The fantastic news in this comeback story is the data from the Wattbike indicates that Oli will return as a stronger rider. You'll also get to hear the detail behind Oli's Wattbike sessions and some impressive numbers from his sessions.
It's an extended interview as we think Oli provides a fantastic insight into how an accident of this nature affects a pro rider and the hard work it takes to get back to world class competition. Enjoy!
We recently invited the HotChillee Ride Captains up to the Wattbike Science Lab to get to know the Wattbike a little better and to help them focus their training for both The London-Paris and Alpine Challenge. The Ride Captains role is to help riders both before and during these two great events to get the most of out of their experience, so it could be training or equipment advice, tips on riding technique or just some much needed motivation.
I personally experienced how great the Ride Captains are on last year's Alpine Challenge, Rachel and David looked after our group, ensuring we were safe, happy and having the best possible time. (I even forgive Rachel for shouting at me when I unknowingly wandered onto the wrong side of the road while struggling up one of the Alpine climbs!)
In 2012 we are proud to be sponsoring the Ride Captains. Why? Well, we think they're some of the most passionate people we've ever met when it comes to cycling. The Ride Captains are all training hard for The London-Paris on their Wattbikes and would be happy to talk to you about their experiences on one of the many HotChillee events. And don't forget to check out the free L2P Training Plan and a very special discount for The London-Paris participants.
If you're taking part in The London-Paris then please do come to the first Training Ride this Sunday (29th) and meet them or head to the HotChillee Rendezvous in Mallorca next month.
Check out this video of the HotChillee Ride Captains when they visited the Wattbike Sport Science Lab...
Wattbike VIP launches in UK
Today, we officially launched the Wattbike VIP programme, rewarding Wattbike owners across the UK for spreading the great news about training on a Wattbike. We've worked hard to come up with some great rewards for you and are pretty pleased with a list which includes Rapha, Bont, Castelli, Le Col, 2XU, Suunto and MuleBar.
James Fletcher on technique, endurance and life as a GB Age Group Triathlete
As 2011 came to a close we managed to grab a few minutes with Vivelo–Inverse CyClaim RT and GB Age Group triathlete James Fletcher to hear about how his 2011 season had gone and what his plans were for 2012. He also gave us some insight into how he is structuring his training on the Wattbike and combining that with outdoor road cycling sessions.
Cavendish, Wiggins, Sky and Team GB train in Mallorca: Photo special
Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins joined their Team Sky and Great Britain team-mates at a pre-season training camp on the Spanish island of Mallorca last week. Both the Sky and Team GB outfits have spent several weeks putting in the miles on the roads around Mallorca and in the velodrome in Palma.
London Bike Show: Wattbike from Tri247.com
The first of our video reports from the London Bike Show in the ExCeL last week features the legend that is Steve Trew working out on a Wattbike. He's actually using it to check out how well he's recovering from his knee operation last year but the instant feedback on how efficiently you are pedalling would be a great benefit to any athlete.
Fuel Like A Pro: Post Race
Last week we took a look at what the pros eat before and during the race. But what do they treat themselves to when everything is done and dusted?
Everything you need to know about European Sportives – part 1
First of all, let’s get things into the open – I am utterly addicted to European Sportives. They have dominated my goals and training focus for years. Cycling on the Continent is very different and through a series of articles I’ll try to take you to that world and, by sharing my experiences and passion, not only help you plan some events but help you ride them too.
Video: Beckingsale's road to recovery part 3
Here's part three of the series following British cross-country mountain bike racer Oli Beckingsale's rehabilitation from the broken leg he suffered on the circuit last season.
Vin Cox to embark on "Hungry Bike Ride"
Vin Cox, the man who up until last week held the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe, has revealed details of his latest challenge – the "Hungry Bike Ride".
New exhibition feature will test whether riders could beat Mark Cavendish
A NEW feature in the ‘Our Sporting Life’ exhibition at the Manx Museum will give visitors the chance to take up a bike riding challenge to test riders and their ability to challenge the likes of Mark Cavendish. A ‘Wattbike’ - created to assess the ability riders of all ages and skill levels - will be featured at the museum’s Body Shack Fitness Centre on January 28 and is available free for all visitors to join in the fun.
London Olympic hopefuls: Lizzie Armitstead
It's very special that the Olympics is in London. As a first Olympic experience it's going to be pretty incredible. In comparison to some of the cycling events I've done, the World Championships are often really big, but I guess that it will be 10 times bigger. I honestly can't imagine how huge it's going to be.
I'm now 4 weeks into the London-Paris Training Plan and I'm starting to notice a few changes. Christmas was a time of eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping, repeat ad nauseam. This would have been fine had it only lasted a week, but I'd also done the same thing when I took off to somewhere a little warmer the week before Christmas.
So, two weeks of almost no physical activity left me feeling a little rough around the edges when it comes to riding a bike. From a motivation point of view I like to follow plans; If I can see what is coming up then I almost look forward to the sessions, even the painful ones.
Eddie spent quite a bit of time carefully constructing the London-Paris Training Plan so I'm following it diligiently. All of the sessions so far have been in Zone 1 and 2, fairly low level stuff at 65%-75% of maximum heart rate and as I've started to get some feeling back into my legs I'm finding it really hard to resist the temptation to look ahead to Week 8 and do one of the harder sessions.
Eddie, I know you read this, and you'll be glad to know I've stuck to the plan.
It's even harder to stick to the plan when you are out riding in a group. Phil Jones, of www.race-pace.net, wrote a nice blog on keeping within specific training zones on group rides. The Plan I'm following features a mix of Wattbike and outdoor rides, it fits nicely with the time of year as I can get the single outdoor session in at the weekend and do the two or three Wattbike sessions during weekday evenings. (I experimented with a 07:30 Wattbike session and suprisingly felt OK for the rest of the day).
I've only been out on one group ride this year and purposely avoided using a heart rate monitor as I felt it would spoil the ride with friends; it's been my only deviation from the training plan but I didn't overstretch myself and enjoyed chatting with other riders.
It's back on the Wattbike again today for another Zone 2 session.
I want to go faster and harder but, for now, I'll resist the tempation.
Peter Keen tells the story of the Wattbike - Extended Interview
Posted by Alex Skelton on Jan 23, 2012
Many of you involved in sport will recognise the name of Peter Keen as Director of Performance at UK Sport, the body which ensures that investment in sport in the UK is targeted at the right areas to deliver winners at the highest level; essentially we're talking about creating and supporting World and Olympic champions.
He is also credited as the person behind the turnaround in success for British Cycling, where in 1997 he set up the High Performance Programme which laid the foundations of success for the likes of Chris Boardman in 2000 through to Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton in more recent times. Imitation is the best form of flattery and many other sports, both in the UK and overseas, have tried to copy the system set up by Peter, with varying degrees of success.
Peter was very much involved in the development of the Wattbike from 2000 onwards when we approached him at British Cycling with the idea to produce the perfect indoor cycle trainer. Following many years of back and forth, we finally produced what is now the Wattbike, to be used not only by elite athletes for training and testing, but also for use at home and in the gym environment.
During the interview Peter talks about his role at UK Sport, the development of the Wattbike and how he uses a Wattbike at home to train whilst balancing an extremely busy lifestyle. His enjoyment of the Wattbike comes from the feel ot riding a road bike and the ability for you to grow with the Wattbike as training device.
We've uploaded the entire interview, as it gives a real and unique sense into what went into the development of the Wattbike - we're very grateful to Peter for spending time with us to give us his insight into the Wattbike.
The Wattbike has been excruciatingly helpful in preparation for the Alps!
Posted by Ben Addison on Jan 21, 2012
It's always nice to catch up with people who have been training on Wattbike for a couple of years so we thought we'd share an update from former rugby union England international and London Wasps player Damian Hopley.
Damian currently heads up the Rugby Players Association, the body which protects the interests of professional rugby players in England, a role which leaves him with less time than he'd like to train for some of the fantastic charity rides he has been doing with some of his former teammates.
Damian told us, "I've been using the Wattbike for over 2 years now and it's been an invaluable training tool for me whilst preparing for a number of fundraising adventures with my old Wasps & England team mate, Lawrence Dallaglio. Given I’m not the classic size or build of a cyclist, the feedback from the Wattbike around my technique and form has been transformational in my endeavour to become more efficient when in the saddle."
"I've also found the ability to utilise different resistance levels has been excruciatingly helpful in preparation for the climbing we did through the Alps last year. I can’t recommend the Wattbike highly enough for a year round training apparatus."
Thanks for the update Damian - if you're taking part in this year's Dallaglio-Flintoff Cycle Slam a Wattbike will help you get to the start line in the best possible condition.
If you're a long-time Wattbike user and have a story or experience you want to share with us, then just drop a line to info@wattbike.com.
Today, we officially launched the Wattbike VIP programme, rewarding Wattbike owners across the UK for spreading the great news about training on a Wattbike. We've worked hard to come up with some great rewards for you and are pretty pleased with a list which includes Rapha, Bont, Castelli, Le Col, 2XU, Suunto and MuleBar; if you want to push your training to the next level we are also offering personalised coaching sessions with Wattbike Sport Scientist, Eddie Fletcher.
It's very simple to become a VIP, a case of a few clicks here on the website and then passing on your unique code to friends interested in purchasing a Wattbike. When they order their Wattbike two things will happen: 1) They'll get their own shiny new Wattbike to train on and receive a nice hard copy of our Training Guide; and 2) You'll collect your first VIP points which you can exchange immediately or save up for some really cool kit. (There is a third benefit too, your mates will stop making up even more excuses to 'just drop by your house for a go on your Wattbike' - yes, you know what we're talking about!)
Here's a little video we put together to explain how it all works or just head straight to the Wattbike VIP page.
James Fletcher on technique, endurance and life as a GB Age Group Triathlete
Posted by Matt Moran on Jan 18, 2012
As 2011 came to a close we managed to grab a few minutes with Vivelo–Inverse CyClaim RT and GB Age Group triathlete James Fletcher to hear about how his 2011 season had gone and what his plans were for 2012. He also gave us some insight into how he is structuring his training on the Wattbike and combining that with outdoor road cycling sessions.
James had previously spoken to us about how he was using the Wattbike to help improve his pedaling technique and with almost 2 years training on a Wattbike he's pretty much got that nailed, although he would be the first to admit that he still uses the Polar View to check his technique is holding good form. We're sure that his coach might have something to say if he's found not keeping an eye on the fantastic technique he's built up - his coach goes by the familiar name of Eddie Fletcher!
He's off to Israel for the 2012 ETU Triathlon European Championships in April and will be getting a good mix of Wattbike and on-road sessions in prior to the event. Good luck to James and we look forward to catching up with him post-Israel!
We've received a great update from Jen Muhl, a young rider in New Zealand who is using a Wattbike to help her progress through the junior ranks of cycling. She's just put in some fantastic performances, once again competing against older and more experienced riders.
Jen told us, "I recently rode the Lake Dunstan Cycle Challlenge, a 96km race road the lake. It was a hot day and a challenging race with lots of hills. The race was contested by riders of all abilities from recreational riders through to pros and I finished the 4th U20 girl."
She then moved on to race in a new event, the challenging Eglinton Challenge in Te Anau, which is the shorter version of the Milford Mountain Challenge. It seems like Jen has got herself into excellent shape and is holding her condition pretty well. " I was very surprised at how easy I found the ride as usually I struggle on the hills. A small bunch of 8 of us got away in the start and we gradually dropped riders until we were down to only 3. We stayed away until the finish, just holding off the chasing bunch and I won the race when it came down to a sprint finish."
Supporting women riders is important to us here at Wattbike, as you will have seen through our support for Sarah Hammer and Carla Ryan, and we're really happy to hear Jen is making fantastic progress helped by training on a Wattbike. We've also helped Jen out with some Wattbike kit and it was great to hear that she's wearing it during competition. "I was wearing my Wattbike kit as it is the most comfortable kit I own and I was proud to be representing Wattbike when I crossed the line. It was quite a strange experience to have the TV cameras following us on motorbikes and from a helicopter."
If you would like to be seen in Wattbike kit then take a look at our online shop, we can't promise it'll get you riding as fast as Jen but at least you'll look good.
It was a pleasure to have John Brame and Marsha El Hage of RG Active coaching up to the Wattbike Science Lab recently, they'd made the trip up from London to understand how they could deliver an even better training experience for their clients, through using the Wattbike. With a very impressive background in competition and coaching, the RG Active setup offers a range of services from group coaching through to fitness testing and online 1-2-1 remote coaching. They also organise a number of Training Races and are official training providers/sponsors to some of the UK's leading events including the RG Active Winter Ballbuster and the London Duathlon!
Our Sport Scientist, Eddie Fletcher, went through the basics of the Wattbike and took John and Marsha through the how to set the Wattbike up, the Polar View and getting the most from the Expert Software. Eddie also ran through some cadence-based sessions just to ensure they walked away with a bit of a sweat!
It's fair to say that judging by comments made by both John, Marsha and their clients on Twitter, the Wattbike has been very well received!
Take a look at the video below to hear John talk about RG Active, his thoughts on the Wattbike and how his clients will benefit from training on the machine.
Wattbike - London Bike Show Review
Back in the office today after an incredibly busy London Bike Show, apologies to anybody who missed out on having their pedal technique analysed due to the queues. Your next chance is at the Triathlon Show 2012, from March 2-4.
No Ironman for Chrissie
Four time World Champion and World Ironman Distance Record Holder, Chrissie Wellington has announced that she'll be taking a break from competing in Ironman during 2012 to explore other opportunities, including the forthcoming publication of her autobiography, A Life Without Limits.
2012 British cycling’s greatest year – Malcolm Elliott
British cycling has got off to a strong start in 2012, a pivotal year in which all things two-wheeled look set finally to gain the recognition they deserve, and move from the margins to the mainstream.
ITU release website dedicated to the Olympic Games
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) have released a new website solely dedicated to this summer's Olympic Games in London. The site will keep fans and media up to date with all the latest news and developments to do with triathlon at the Olympics, including a breakdown of the complex qualification process.
Fausto Coppi: the triumphs and the tragedies
52 years after his death, CN looks back at cycling's biggest headline maker. If we focus solely on his cycling, the career of Fausto Coppi is in simple terms one of the most decorated of all time. The Italian dominated the sport either side of the Second World War, using his all-round skills as a climber, sprinter and time-trialist to build a palmares that rewrote the record books and raised the bar for those that followed him into professional road cycling.
British Cycling announces new grass roots women's racing programme for 2012
With the 2012 Road Season nearly upon us British Cycling’s Regional Events Officers (REOs) have responded to the growing demand for grass roots events for women by launching some early season events around the country tailored to meet the needs of novice female riders.
London Bike Show: Wattbike
The first of our video reports from the London Bike Show in the ExCeL last week features the legend that is Steve Trew working out on a Wattbike. He's actually using it to check out how well he's recovering from his knee operation last year but the instant feedback on how efficiently you are pedalling would be a great benefit to any athlete.
Cyclingnews exclusive: Bradley Wiggins interview
British rider talks about fame, the media and why he's in the best shape of his career. As he admits himself, Bradley Wiggins has cut a more relaxed and reflective figure in the last year or so. Experience, maturity and a good run of results in 2011 - Tour de France aside - have lifted the storm clouds that at times followed him around since he finished fourth overall in the 2009 Tour de France.
Vuelta 2012: A La Bar!
Course Preview: A good Vuelta or a bad Vuelta? I needed to find out what the feelings are on this year’s Spanish Grand Tour and what better place than my local bar/office in the village. A bowl of almonds, a plate of meaty bits, some bread, a glass of coke with a coffee to follow and the Spanish sports papers to read, what more do I need? Just the comments from some people in the bar!
Forty!
This was the season that, no matter how fit I got or how hard I pushed myself, I could no longer stay away from that tireless chaser, birthday number 40. And it would be a big fat lie if I said I didn’t care at all.
Back in the office today after an incredibly busy London Bike Show, apologies to anybody who missed out on having their pedal technique analysed due to the queues. Your next chance is at the Triathlon Show 2012, from March 2-4. It's clear to see that in the past few years that knowledge of how to train smarter is increasing amongst cyclists and triathletes and there is a real hunger to find the best equipment to train using power and heart rate.
There were some really great pedal techniques on display over the four days and some which needed some work, we can't all be Bradley Wiggins or Chris Hoy though can we...If you came to the show and have your pedal technique printout and want to refresh your memory on what it all means then let our Sport Scientist, Eddie Fletcher, talk you through the important points of the Polar View. Lots of questions about customisation of the Wattbike, so don't forget that you can attach your own saddle and pedals to the Wattbike and of course the seat and bars can be adjusted so that you can get a really great bike fit.
So, you enjoyed visiting us at the Show, you've got your pedal technique printouts and you know where you need to improve. What next? You can buy or hire a Wattbike via our website or check out local faciltiies that offer the Wattbike experience. Take a look at our free Training Guides which are an essential read for any cyclist, triathlete or those who just want to manage their weight.
Our Alex met up with tri-legend Steve Trew to give him the lowdown on the Polar View, and Tri247.com were there to film it.
Wattbike Race League returns to Friary Grange Leisure Centre
Posted by Alex Skelton on Jan 16, 2012
If you fancy a bit of racing in these winter months and you're based in the Midlands then why not get involved with the return of the Wattbike Race League at Lichfield's Friary Grange Leisure Centre. Held over 4 consecutive Tuesdays, starting on the 17th January 2012, each round costs £5 to enter with a special rate for those entering all four rounds. One of the best things about Wattbike Race League's is that it caters for all ages, children are vey much welcomed and encouraged to get involved.
Warm-up starts from 18:15 with racing commencing at 19:00, a guaranteed great night out!
You might think that the benefits of training on a Wattbike are limited to sports such as cycling and triathlon. You'd be wrong, in fact you'd be very wrong.
If you're a regular follower of the blog then you'll have already read about elite athlete Jenny Meadows, Wigan Warriors Rugby League club and windsurfer Sam Sills who are all at the top of their game, not to mention that if you're wanting to simply stay fit then we have a Weight Management Training Plan ready and waiting for you to follow.
Today, I wanted to introduce you to Team Evolution skiiing, we've been working with them for some time now, helping them to prepare their talent for the demands of ski racing. The great thing about Team Evolution is their commitment to young talent, it's something that really comes through whenever we speak to the guys. More than just being skilled on the slopes, they provide education and personal development, and not forgetting the fitness required for such a demanding sport.
We asked Yannick from Team Evolution to give us an insight into what makes a great ski academy, how they are using the Wattbike and the results they are seeing. A good read.
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Team Evolution works as part of a structured, professional Alpine Academy programme, whilst providing educational support and personal development. The Team Evolution setup supplies unique and flexible annual training programmes to committed athletes, running individual programmes for mini's, children and junior racers. All programmes are individually designed to fit the needs of the athlete, and are based upon the Team Evolution philosophies, with proven results. Dependent on the goals of the trainee, execution of these programmes can vary from a minimum 10 week period, to supporting and mentoring athletes on a full-time basis over the course of several years.
The consequence of the elite Team Evolution setup is that over 80% of the athletes training with Team Evolution for the 2011/12 season are members of National Team programmes, and all are on the performance pathway towards achieving their specific athletic goals, whilst maintaining exceptional educational grades. All of our athletes have benefitted from the Wattbike at our training base out in St Johann Im Pongau, Austria.
For example, we put our minis who are all under the age of 11 on the Wattbike to compare the performance of their left and right legs during each training block whilst our National level juniors can do the same workout but at a higher intensity. The feedback from the the Wattbike allows us to closely monitor improvements in their leg strength which is crucial in alpine skiing because of the immense pressure they must exert on the skis in a race environment. Our athletes are all under the age of 16 and for them to see the benefits whilst on the Wattbike and what the data tells them, they all find it interesting and helpful.
Furthermore, in a sport such as alpine skiing, we at Team Evolution always bear in mind the fact that injuries do occur. Sarah Cuthbert, Children’s team athlete, fell in training at high speeds which resulted in her being out for the season and undergoing surgery on her knee. She has been using the Wattbike to stabilize the injured knee and is working well through her rehab because of the use of a Wattbike.
Another was Max Baggio one of our National Junior athletes and Team GB squad member who was the favourite to attend the Winter Youth Olympic Games 2012. Unfortunately he fell inside in a GS training run two weeks before the Team GB times trails and cut open his knee. His ski sliced through his patella and nicked his ligament, which cost him his place at the Youth Winter Olympics. Because the cut was so deep he was in a cast for 10 days and could not bend his knee.
During his rehab we used the Wattbike once his cast came off to regain the strength his injured leg had lost and improve the range of movement. Due to the Wattbike Max came back to 90% fitness in 2 weeks and is now currently back skiing, doing what he does best.
We believe that the Wattbike can extend our athletes careers as incorporating some off-feet conditioning into their programs and reducing time spent on their feet will minimise injuries and reduce the weight load as they ski every morning at a 100percent. We are impressed with the Wattbike as it is so versatile and could never go back to using any other bike. It's not just your typical exercise bike, it allows the athlete to carefully monitor every aspect of their workout.
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Thanks to all of Team Evolution for this insight into their fantastic setup, some great talent.
Photos:
Sarah Cuthbert career highlights
LSERSA Regional Junior 1 Champion 2011
Top 10 English Championships Slalom
English Schools Championships Team Winner 2011
Max Baggio career highlights
English Giant Slalom Junior 1 Champion
British Youth Olympic Squad 2011
British Childrens Team 2007-2010
There's a really great feature in the current issue of Cycling Plus magazine (issue 258: February 2012) on Training with Power. It includes an explanation of Power Training Zones and a few indoor sessions from our very own Eddie Fletcher.
One quote from the article that really stands out for me is: Combine Power with Heart Rate though, and you've got an incredibly powerful system for monitoring your training
The Wattbike enables you to monitor both your Power and Heart Rate to an unrivalled level of accuracy and it's important to remember that the Wattbike is factory-calibrated, for life.
Cycling Plus is available in shops now, there's also a wonderful article on riding the Etape which is essential reading for anybody heading to France this July.
Paul Pook - Performance Consultant and Strength & Conditioning Coach
Posted in Testimonials by Sam Granville on Jan 11, 2012
Paul Pook (former National Fitness Coach at Irish Rugby Football Union) is a great advocate of the Wattbike & got in touch recently to let us know what he likes about the Wattbike:
"What really impresses me about the Wattbike is its versatility; I work with elite road, mtb and track cyclists but also professional rugby players and they have all benefitted from the Wattbike at our Performance Centre. For example, we put a 130kg Russian second row on the bike to compare the performance of his left and right legs during rehab from a knee problem whilst my wonderful mother-in-law, who is 70 next birthday, is on the bike every day. The reliability of the feedback the Wattbike provides allows us to closely monitor improvements, which the athletes find reassuring and motivating.
Furthermore, I’m constantly reminding rugby players, young and old, that the Wattbike can extend their careers if they incorporate some off feet conditioning into their programs and reduce time spent on their feet.
The photo shown is of Sinead Jennings, former world rowing champion (single scull) using the Wattbike as she trains for the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Series. This is at our Allegre Performance Centre in South West France."
Thanks Paul, it's great to hear how the Wattbike benefits people of all abilities & ages.
Interviewing one of the nicest riders in cycling makes for an enjoyable day out, and so it was that we ventured to see Rapha Condor Sharp pro Dean Downing at his home in South Yorkshire.
Thanks for all the submissions for January's Wattbike Training Tracks, quite a diverse mix of songs as last month but this should last you through an hour's Wattbike session.
Before Xmas I went to see Jenny Meadows, GB elite 800m athlete at Wigan Warriors Rugby league training base. We talked about a range of things from looking back at a disappointing World Championships, taking a break from training and of course, her thoughts as we enter an Olympic year.
GreenEdge director Neil Stephens was pleased with Simon Gerrans' Mars Cycling Australia elite men's road race win, but said there were some nervous moments for the team leading into the final kilometres.
I wrote last week about heart rate zones and base mile training. The idea being to draw more on fat than carbohydrates as your fuel for your ride aswell as building an aerobic base. Ideally your heart rate should not exceed heart rate zone 2 for you to fully benefit.
Speaking as trade team‑mates for the first time since 2008, Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish seemed to have a single voice: this July, both men agree, it should be possible for Team Sky to reconcile their disparate goals in the Tour de France.
Andy Smith of Team Dillon on his Wattbike experience
Posted by Matt Moran on Jan 06, 2012
We've received another update from one of Team Dillon's triathlete's, this time it's Andy Shaw, giving us a great insight into how he is using the Wattbike to improve both their training and performance during competition. Lovely to see that Andy's daughter and son are also benefitting in different ways from using the Wattbike too. Look forward to seeing how Andy gets on in 2012...
I use the Wattbike every other day for an hour session and a double session at weekend, which has proved invaluable to me. Earlier this year I completed the Austria Ironman with a 5 hour bike split. This was certainly down to all the training on the Wattbike.
The feedback is excellent. Although of course turbo trainers and other exercise bikes give you information as well, none are as detailed and precise as the Wattbike. The data provided and accuracy is fantastic. This feedback enabled me to tailor my exact training requirements and wattage output to gain maximum efficiency for the Ironman.
I know what I am capable of and how much effort is needed to improve even the minimal of time improvements. You feel very confident when racing knowing what wattage you have been pushing during training sessions.
The solid build of the bike is excellent and I have had no issues whatsoever all year. The different adjustment levels afford you the opportunity of exactly replicating your bike position unlike many other static bike manufacturers.
Other members of my family are also gaining benefit! My 14 daughter used it to improve her fitness for sports day and a 5k race recently. My son who is recovering from an ACL operation finds the individual leg feedback incredibly useful for his rehabilitation. His consultant is even considering buying one for himself after seeing how well my son is recovering.
Finally I find the hill setting adjustment very useful for cardio fitness which is great to combine with occasional full effort sessions thereby helping maximise ones VO2 capacity.
At the end of November I took a whistle stop tour of New Zealand and Australia to visit with Wattbike NZ and Aus. The purpose of the visit was to catch up with BikeNZ and Cycling Australia, but this time with their teams who are responsible for grass roots participation (not with their performance squads).
Both of the meetings were great, and it is always good to meet with likeminded people facing many of the same issues that we see in the UK in terms difficulties in getting people active and out on their bikes. As in the UK we see the Wattbike as part of the solution to this problem, and will be working with NGBs around the world to help get people from in Gyms out onto their bikes and into cycling, triathlon and of course just enjoying riding.
While I was in Auckland we were walking past the Auckland University sports centre and as we remembered that they had Wattbikes we dropped in to see how they were getting on. It was pretty impressive set up, and all about to be ripped down and replaced by a new built custom facility. We headed downstairs to see where the Wattbikes were housed and came across one right by the reception and a 10,000m challenge going on.

The rest of the bikes were in an unused squash court where they were positioned at the front of the room for use in group cycling classes. They take booking for each of the Wattbikes and then fill up the rest of the bikes to anyone else who comes, and have even started charging more for using the Wattbikes as they are so popular – they will be getting more soon!
After a short hop from Auckland to Melbourne, (one laptop battery a movie and two episodes of the Big Bang Theory) and it was another time zone, but still spring which was nice, especially since back home the weather was pretty awful. We arrived in late afternoon and were walking down the banks of the Yarra River looking for a decent restaurant over-looking the river when what should we come across by the Spin Room. We like that sort of thing, so we popped our head in to see what we could learn and what should we find but...

We got a chance to talk to Sam, the owner, who loves the Wattbikes, and arranged to pop back the next day to see the beginning of a class before our first meeting of the day. I was not expecting to get that sort of chance so did not have the normal video camera with me, so apologies for the quality of the video below...
Interviewing one of the nicest riders in cycling makes for an enjoyable day out, and so it was that we ventured to see Rapha Condor Sharp pro Dean Downing at his home in South Yorkshire. Dean recently broke his collarbone and has been using a Wattbike to help with his recovery, it's been beneficial in a couple of ways as a)Dean couldn't actually hold his bars in the first few weeks after his accident and b)the weather has been so awful in the UK lately that it's made cycling outdoors nigh on impossible. In 2011 it was snow and ice, in 2012 we're suffering gale force winds. All hail the Wattbike.
As we arrived Dean had just finished his first Wattbike session of the day, an impressive hour with a few blocks at varying power levels. He's following a plan provided by team sponsor Claremont Hospital which progresses from a straightforward 60 minute session around the 150-200W mark up to hour sessions with a number of blocks of 5mins at 300W. Those have to be painful.
Dean's also been using some of the DVDs from the guys at 3LC.TV to help keep him motivated and we may just have to introduce him to our friends at The Sufferfest too. He'd be the first to confess (and does so in the video below) that he is not a fan of turbo trainers but we think we may just have helped turn him towards a better way of training indoors on the Wattbike. He particularly likes that he gets the feeling of riding out on the road.
It was interesting to hear that Dean trains using only heart rate when out on the road but has found being able to train with a combination of power and heart rate on the Wattbike has provided him with a lot more focus and knowledge about his condition and the quality of training sessions he can do.
Dean talked about the upcoming season, left us feeling jealous that he is about to head to Lanzarote for warm weather training and gave us some background on the club he has formed with his brother Russ, called Out of the Saddle, which raised over £13,000 for good causes in 2011. Definitely worth a look.
Jenny Meadows Season Review and Looking Forward to London 2012
Posted by Matt Moran on Jan 04, 2012
Before Xmas I went to see Jenny Meadows, GB elite 800m athlete at Wigan Warriors Rugby league training base. We talked about a range of things from looking back at a disappointing World Championships, taking a break from training and of course, her thoughts as we enter an Olympic year.
Jenny's husband and coach, Trevor Painter, also spoke to us about how Jenny's training regime may differ in an Olympic year and her use of the Wattbike as an essential part of her preparation for competition.
We also talked about Jenny's appearance on BBC's Celebrity Mastermind and despite not being able to choose athletics as her specialist subject she did incredibly well with her knowledge of Wigan Warriors Rugby League. She had certainly kept that one quiet!
Jenny is currently training in South Africa where no doubt the weather is infinitely better than it is in Wigan right now.
Take a look at the video below to hear Jenny and Trevor's thoughts.
Thanks for all the submissions for January's Wattbike Training Tracks, quite a diverse mix of songs as last month but this should last you through an hour's Wattbike session. Just click the link below to hear the Spotify playlist.
Well, where did 2011 go? It’s been a busy year here at Wattbike HQ and we’re all now well into our winter training and looking forward to some fantastic events and challenges in 2012.
We thought it would be nice to pull together our top 10 highlights of the year; we’ve interviewed some fantastic people over the last 12 months including Phil Liggett, Jenny Meadows, Sarah Hammer and Teun Mulder, attended some spectacular events such as the London Eye Wattbike Challenge and Alpine Challenge and most importantly to us, received some superb feedback from our loyal Wattbike community. Keep an eye out on the blog for even more great interviews, training tips and the latest news throughout 2012.
Here are our top 10 Highlights of the Year…
Teun Mulder – we took a trip to the home of the 2011 World Track Championships in Apeldoorn in the summer to see Dutch track cyclist Teun Mulder. Teun gave us a great insight into the Japanese Keirin School, his hopes for the track season and displayed some awesome power on the Wattbike. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/teun_mulder_talks_training_at_2000w_on_the_wattbike
Phil Liggett – quite simply, ‘The Voice of Cycling’. Phil generously welcomed us to his home and spoke about how he manages a hectic work schedule with training on his Wattbike. As the world’s leading commentator on cycling, he spends much of is his time living out of a suitcase, making his training time limited. Phil loves his Wattbike. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/phil_liggett_talks_all_things_wattbike_with_us
Jenny Meadows – we meet lots of nice people, but it’s fair to say Jenny is in a category of her own. Always willing to talk, Jenny provides an honest account of her ambitions and training alongside husband and coach, Trevor. We’ve got more coming from Jenny soon, as she enters the most important year of her life. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/jenny_meadows_on_recovery_tapering_and_the_wattbike
Doc Roddy – a leading voice in the Wattbike online community, @docroddy bought a Wattbike following a injury in 2009 and his only regret is that he didn’t buy one a year earlier. A regular on the Etape Caledonia, he completed the 2011 edition in just under 4 hours, no mean feat and over 20 minutes faster than his previous effort. Check out this Q&A we did with him in the summer. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/gaining_time_with_the_wattbike
Four Nations – the England national rugby league squad took their game to a new level in the 2011 Four Nations tournament, reaching the final and putting in a superb performance which gives real hope for the future. The squad trained on a Wattbike during the tournament and they were a regular fixture pitchside for warm-ups in each game. We met up with Strength and Conditioning Coach Mark Bitcon at England’s training camp. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_the_four_nations_rugby_league_tournament
London Eye – possibly the strangest location we have a seen a Wattbike challenge but also, without doubt, the most spectacular. Staff from Lloyds Banking Group cycled for 24 hours in a pod on the London Eye, raising a fantastic amount of money for Save the Children. We managed to get some awesome images from the day and as we said at the time, if you’re going to do a Wattbike session, you may as well have a good view! http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_flies_high_in_the_london_eye
Sarah Hammer – a trip to Mallorca saw us meet up with one of the classiest track cyclists in the World. Sarah started to train on a Wattbike in 2011 at her base on the Spanish island and it’s fair to say (and not surprised) to see that she had an incredible pedalling technique. Sarah opened her Track World Cup account with a crushing display to take the win in the Omnium in Cali, Columbia recently. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/double_world_record_holder_and_world_champion_sarah_hammer_talks_to_wattbik
Alpine Challenge – if we were forced to pick one highlight of the year then this would be it. Spectacular scenery, rolling road closures, a wonderful group of people and temperatures of 30C and more. 3 days of cycling around the Alps (with a little bit of competition thrown in for good measured) finished off with a fantastic evening on the side of Lake Annecy is something we will never forget. Did we mention we also got to ride with Triple Crown winner Stephen Roche? http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/tag/alpine+challenge
Ryan Scott – when somebody tweets that they have taken 40 minutes off a sportive time from the previous year and put much of that improvement down to training on a Wattbike, we sit up and listen. Ryan sent us a little more info outlining exactly how he did it, and it’s no secret. He just bought a Wattbike and followed one of our free training plans. What could be easier? http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/how_to_ride_a_sportive_40_minutes_faster_than_last_year
Cyclosport End of Season Party – a fantastic way to round of the year, a sunny ride through the leafy lanes of Surrey, taking in Box Hill on the 2012 Olympic Road Race course, a lovely 3 course meal, a Q&A with leading lights of the UK cycling scene and a Wattbike challenge thrown in for good measure. We couldn’t think of a better way to end the season. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/cyclosport_end_of_season_party_box_hill
We hope you’ve had the chance to review some of the above with us and that you have your sights set on some great challenges and events of your own in 2012. We hope that we can once again play a big part in helping you achieve your goals and if you are doing something special in the new year then get in touch and we’ll get it on the Wattbike blog.
Have a great Christmas and New Year, don’t worry about how much you eat and drink, an extra Wattbike session will sort out that extra mince pie and glass of wine you’ll no doubt have.
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Wattbike have a long standing partnership with British Cycling stretching back 12 years to when Peter Keen, then heading up British Cycling, was _(680x387).jpg)
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Elite triathlete Non Stanford has just returned from Australia where she had her best performance with an 
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In last month's Newsletter we asked for stories about how people use their Wattbike. We had some great responses but the winner of the Wattbike kit was Tony Kuipers from Australia._(640x478).jpg)
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We recently caught up with Loughbrough Universty triathlete, Josh Cardwell, who has been training hard on a Watttbike over the winter..jpg)
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When you're 6 feet and 7 inches tall it's not that easy to find fitness equipment that can handle the sheer size of your body and with an inside leg measurement of 37 inches, Steve Bainbridge has found just a solution to help him train for triathlons in the Wattbike.
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We love receiving emails from Wattbike users across the world, most will tell us how the Wattbike has changed their method of training forever and some will highlight a great achievement where the user feels the Wattbike has played a major role. What I hadn't quite anticipated was an email from a dedicated Wattbike user that his employers were buying a Wattbike for their ship.
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There's a really great feature in the current issue of Cycling Plus magazine (issue 258: February 2012) on Training with Power. It includes an explanation of 
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