431W for 2+ Hours?! | Matt Beers’ Unreal Big Sugar Power | Ask a Cycling Coach 556

Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast
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Matt Beers joined us on the podcast to discuss more unreal power output–this time from his win at the final round of the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix, Big Sugar.

The race distance was cut in half due to severe weather, so Matt just dropped the clutch and didn’t hold back. 431np 405ap for 2hr11min!!!

Hope you enjoy this quick dive into Big Sugar, how that gravel race was the same and different than Little Sugar (mountain bike race), and a quick recap of what happened with my race there at Little Sugar.

We’ll be digging into a new study on strength training next week with Derek Teel from Dialed Health!

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(0:00:00) Intro – Matt Beers Wins Big Sugar and Lifetime GP Finale

(0:01:20) Matt’s 431W for 2+ Hours: Breaking Down the Power File

(0:02:03) Early Race Chaos and Tactical Start Decisions

(0:03:24) Opening Attacks: 693W for a Minute, 1,000W Surges, and the Breakaway Forms

(0:05:36) Working in the Lead Group with Riley Amos and Matthew Wilson

(0:07:04) Testing the Competition – Matt’s 600W “Probe” Effort Before Going Solo

(0:08:49) Winning Move and Mechanical Drama in the Final Miles

(0:09:11) Comparing Big Sugar vs. Little Sugar – Gravel vs. MTB Power Profiles

(0:11:57) Lessons from Little Sugar: Raw Power vs. Drafting Dynamics in Gravel

(0:13:05) Mechanical Mayhem: Flats, Crashes, and Surviving Big Sugar

(0:14:08) Jonathan’s Little Sugar Recap and Power Insights

(0:16:11) Fueling for 400W – Matt’s Nutrition Plan (150g Carbs + 600mg Caffeine/hr!)

(0:19:04) Looking Ahead to Gravel Burn Stage Race in South Africa

(0:20:25) Closing Thoughts – How TrainerRoad Athletes Get Faster

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Much respect for Matt, but it is just not relatable anymore. The numbers lost all meaning to me. :melting_face:

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Agreed. The YT podcasts have become boring. Especially to us non USA residents.

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I get that it must be hard and a real drag to regularly record a podcast like they have done for so long. But it’s been a while now since I have listened to one. I read the description to this one and like almost all of them in the last year, did not listen.

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Yeah, to be fair I do still rate the podcasts and appreciate them. There are still some quality ones out there, like about nutrition etc.

And obviously they covered most of the topics already, but I feel they could revisit certain topics and see if new ideas have emerged or if there are great ways to incorporate them practically in like 6hr/wk vs. 9hr/wk vs 12hr/wk schedules.

Because frocking about 450w FTP and 25hr/wk training schedules are not really relevant to 99% here I guess.

That said, the podcasts are still high quality and I think Jonathan does it really well.

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It’s be great if they did like a “beginner series” or something to target a new audience. That triathlon show has been going on for just as long if not longer than ask a cycling coach and been successful with revisiting topics.

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I listened to this one today and thought it was good. It was interesting and entertaining from my perspective, but I also follow the Grand Prix and do some of the races (so probably a biased viewpoint). And I like Matt Beers, he’s got an good way about him.

I like that the podcast mixes it up, sometimes it’s more educational, other times it’s more about entertainment. And obviously we all have different things that spark our interest. Race reviews are some of my favorite content, both amateur and pro. And while us amateurs can only dream of hitting the power numbers of some of these pros, their tactics often translate well to amateur racing.

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I hit 431W for 8 seconds on yesterday’s ride. So I’m pretty close to Beers! :joy:

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They had a cool offshoot with Sarah, Science of Getting Faster, shame she’s no longer around.

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