Amber Pierce has more than ten years of experience in the pro women’s peloton and more than 60 race wins across 5 continents. She’s incredibly knowledgeable regarding performance, human physiology, and women’s specific issues within the sport of cycling, and we are excited to have her as our special guest!
More show notes and discussion in the TrainerRoad Forum.
Topics covered in this episode
- What it’s like to race in the women’s pro peloton
- How fast do you have to be to be competitive in women’s racing?
- The perks and challenges of racing for a pro team
- How to fuel your training
- Managing eating disorders as a cyclist
- The best way for women to get started in racing
- Why Americans have such a hard time with international racing
- The role of cognitive load in your performance
- How to psychologically recover from a crash
- How to balance training with hormonal cycles
- Women’s specific equipment
Links Mentioned in this episode
- More info on Amber: www.AmberPierce.us
- National Eating Disorders Association: www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
- ISM Saddles: shop-us.ismseat.com/
- Gavilian BFF Bike Bag: www.radicalvelo.com/trave/gavilan-bff
For more cycling training knowledge, listen to the Ask a Cycling Coach — the only podcast dedicated to making you a faster cyclist. New episodes are released weekly.
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Hi Jon, Nate, Chad and Amber,
Thank you for your efforts in creating meaningful content and your vulnerability in discussing all the topics addressed in this episode in particular. My husband introduced me to your resources soon after I began racing two years ago and I have so appreciated these podcasts! As a female cyclist, it is very refreshing and helpful to hear the same mental and physical struggles shared by someone who has excelled in her performance, so Amber, thank you SO much for sharing candidly of your thoughts and experiences.
My background is in competitive endurance running; I joined cross country in middle school and ran through college, where I finally learned to put a name and a category to my painful food relationship. It took me two years of intensive care, multiple counselling experiences and a long, difficult path, but by God’s grace I am a story of restoration even to racing and competing after battling an eating disorder. It is an incredibly prevalent issue, further exasperated by a “health and image” obsessive culture. You talked a little bit about how to stay away from stepping too close to this path and tips/insights. Though I am fully recovered, like any identity struggle, I still am tempted by comparison to others, but I think the best reminder for me to steer clear of these thoughts is remembering that I cannot have half of the bargain. What I mean by this is that an eating disorder is as much a psychological disorder as it is a physical problem, so the body comes with a very high price, namely your life and any glimpse of sanity. I felt like Jekyl and Hyde in a confused anger because my worth hung upon impossible standards each day. There are tons of resources and programs out there to help, but as Amber mentioned, getting the “secret” out and being transparent with others who can help is the best remedy. Thank you for talking about this topic; it is too often allowed to lurk in the dark corners where people suffer alone!
Awesome to hear Lindsay! Body image is a huge struggle for a lot of people and it can be extremely hard to disregard those temptations. It is truly commendable to be able to recognize this is an issue and work so hard to fix it. If you have any further questions regarding this, you can tag Amber in the forum post about this episode here: https://forum.trainerroad.com/t/special-guest-amber-pierce-ask-a-cycling-a-coach-193/9967/118