Maybe he is thinking about becoming a full time cyclist?
He also just became World Champion in the total of 4 disciplines, 500m, 1500m, 5000m and 10 000m.
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A really good documentary where VdP and his coach discuss his training, lifestyle, and general philosophy. Really gets across his unique approach. Definitely worth the 30min watch (w/ english subtitles)
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I donât understand the pushback on these phrases (not just your comment, I see it ALL the time on instagram). I feel like it is an overreaction to something I agree with you on - the fetishization of clean eating.
At the most fundamental level, there is 100% high quality and low quality food. The USDA literally ranks beef on its quality. McDonaldâs beef is lower quality than beef from Snake River Farms. Of course, that is not what most people are talking about. Usually, it is in reference to nutrient dense food. In that sense, there is food that is more nutrient dense and less nutrient dense.
Pushback on food as fuel is another one I donât get. It is literally what it is. Moreover, the fact that the article mentions how much he eats at all implies that he is acutely aware of that. Indeed, the idea of eating potato chips until one goes to bed to make sure they can complete the next dayâs workout is specifically because food is fuel. Acknowledging that doesnât mean one has a bad relationship with food.
Alternatively, how else should we describe eating copious amounts of sugar on the bike? Suppose I am a coach and my racer has a 6 hour race where he will average 220 watts. When I tell him he needs to train his stomach to take more sugar on the bike, how should I explain it without implying that he needs food to fuel his work?
I donât get this sense from the podcast, to be honest. My overall impression is that when they refer to something as a good or bad choice, it is in reference to something. E.g., just yesterday I sent a video from them about eating and food choices to a friend and when Nate said something like âCinnabon might not be a good choiceâ he put it into context of âIf you are trying to hit a specific ratio of Macros for that dayâ. What is wrong with that advice?
This is only my experience with the podcast though. So if you are coming from a difference space, it might very well leave you with a different perspective. Yourâs is not wrong, I just wanted to point out that they have helped me with my âdietâ. I used to not eat on the bike because I liked knowing I had âan extra 1000 caloriesâ I could eat that day. Now I eat a ton on the bike and just eat a balanced diet off the bike. It helped me lose weight and gain fitness.
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Most likely itâs a nothing story, but itâd be amazing to see him picked up by Jumbo.
My suspicion is itâd be kind of like with Colin Strickland and they wonât pay enough. Plus, he seems to enjoy speed skating too much given how many times heâs retired and returned.
On a related note, German Olympic gold medal rower and former Zwift E-sports world champion (or however you call this gimmick) Jason Osborne tried to move over to pro cycling. Got an initial (semi-)contract from Quickstep. However, this did not get renewed after half a season or so. Apparently he was not very good in moving around the peloton.
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So I did two weeks of his base as a âmight as well try, this is probably a great way to build a huger aerobic baseâ experiment. Figured Iâd share some thoughts. Was coming off SSBHV, SPBHV, and Century HV, IIRC, and then a couple weeks of random fun riding. This is in some preparation for the Tour Divide, which naturally requires a ton of time on the bike and aerobic power for days without much high end, so figured itâd be a good fit.
Some random notes and thoughtsâŚ
- I work 6 days a week, but typically 3 evening shifts and one mid shift, so have a lot of mornings into early afternoons to ride which made this more feasible than a typical 9-5.
- My FTP and weight is similar to Nils, though at this point I absolutely couldnât do his 4x30 at 400 craziness. Maybe after a couple months of this aerobic training, and if I didnât have a job and could rest more.
- I live at 6k feet, and all of the riding was done between 5k and 9k, none on the trainer.
- Broke the crank on my road bike recently, so mileage was mostly either gravel bike or HT mtn bike.
- I commute to work ~4 days a week, each of those days is like 45-50mins, mostly at mid z2, though there were a couple days I was just too spent or didnât think itâd be productive to ride since it gets me home later at night and would impact sleep before riding the next day.
- My days basically consisted of eat, ride for 4-8 hrs, eat, work (eat at work a ton), sleep and repeat. No time for anything else. I think that was the most difficult part. Thereâs just not enough time in a day.
- The two day off concept is cool though. Typically I train/ride 6 days a week and kind of all blends into one. The two days off is a nice refresh to have some forced time away from the bike and know that thereâs always an end in sight at the end of the week and youâll feel halfway decent again to start weeks.
- I gained 10lbs in two weeks, which is crazy. 183-193. Iâm sure itâs mostly inflammation/water weight and will all come off and itâs happened before when Iâve done high volume stuff, but itâs pretty strange to be burning 7+kcal a day and gaining weight (though I did make a point to be eating non-stop).
- The TR FTP estimator said I was 406 about a month ago, and now thinks Iâm 346. 60 watt decrease, thanks Nils! I donât think the TR algorithm appreciates the volume that much.
- My general goal was to spend as much time within each ride with pressure on the pedals at 240-280 watts, but without getting too glued into the power meter and take away from the fun of it. So if I needed to ride tempo for a bit to get up a steep hill or couldnât pedal on a descent because I was spun out I didnât really stress about it.
- I have some sweet helmet tan lines now.
Week 1 - Starting CTL 109, ATL 97
5:36, 244np, 215avg - Started off on mellow side and spent some lower wattage time riding with my uncle on mtb trails, but still 4hrs pretty strict mid z2.
Totals were 31hrs, 31mins and 1300 tss, almost 27000kjâs. Ending CTL 121, ATL 165.
Week 2 - Starting CTL 116, ATL 124
7:04, 279np, 259avg - Long solo gravel ride in the wind. Did a 45min sweet spot effort in the middle to keep it interesting. Better at eating all the way through the end and felt better than the previous weeks 7+hr rideâŚ
Totals were 33hrs, 7mins and 1400tss, 30000kjs. Ending CTL 135, ATL 200. Oof.
Originally was thinking about doing 3 weeks on, 1 week lower volume, but now have some other goals in mind and a bikepacking route I want to doâŚso will probably do that first and then maybe another 2 week block like this before TD. I think another week would push my CTL up to 145-150 too, which is likely over training zone and too high a ramp up, so best not to get carried away.
Iâll probably try a ramp test or an FTP test at some point or go back and do the last couple TR workouts I did before this block to see how they feel in comparison. Are they easier because of the volume and potentially increased aerobic capacity, or have I lost too much top end. Could be interesting.
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