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THE KNOWLEDGE

Evidence-based cycling content — grounded in real conversations with the world's best coaches, scientists, and riders.

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How to Climb Faster on the Bike: 5 Fixable Reasons You're Getting Dropped (And the Pacing Trick That Beat Pogacar)
Coaching13 min read

HOW TO CLIMB FASTER ON THE BIKE: 5 FIXABLE REASONS YOU'RE GETTING DROPPED (AND THE PACING TRICK THAT BEAT POGACAR)

A 40-year-old amateur named Andrew Feather beat Pogacar up a climb in 2023 by sitting on a steady pace while Pogacar surged. The lesson isn't that the pro was off; it's that pacing wins climbs more often than power does.

12 May 2026Read →
Creatine for Cyclists: I Tried It for 30 Days and Here's What the Data Showed
Nutrition10 min read

CREATINE FOR CYCLISTS: I TRIED IT FOR 30 DAYS AND HERE'S WHAT THE DATA SHOWED

The cyclist's creatine fear is real — weight gain will kill climbing. My 30-day test showed sprint power up 5% and body weight up 1.5kg. Whether it's worth it depends on your event profile, not your fear.

12 May 2026Read →
Cycling After 40: The Science of Getting Faster When Everyone Says You Should Slow Down
Coaching12 min read

CYCLING AFTER 40: THE SCIENCE OF GETTING FASTER WHEN EVERYONE SAYS YOU SHOULD SLOW DOWN

Sedentary people lose 10% of VO2max per decade. Masters athletes lose somewhere between 5% and 46%. The gap is training, not age — and the research on what actually works is clearer than the cycling internet pretends.

12 May 2026Read →
Fuelling for Cycling: What World Tour Nutritionists Actually Recommend (And What They've Changed Their Minds On)
Nutrition12 min read

FUELLING FOR CYCLING: WHAT WORLD TOUR NUTRITIONISTS ACTUALLY RECOMMEND (AND WHAT THEY'VE CHANGED THEIR MINDS ON)

The 120 grams per hour pro fuelling message has migrated to amateurs who can't handle it. Dr Sam Impey, who works with Pidcock and Ganna, says it's probably hurting you — and the data from my own three-ride experiment agrees.

12 May 2026Read →
How to Periodise Your Cycling Season: The System Joe Friel, Dan Lorang, and Dylan Johnson Actually Use
Coaching11 min read

HOW TO PERIODISE YOUR CYCLING SEASON: THE SYSTEM JOE FRIEL, DAN LORANG, AND DYLAN JOHNSON ACTUALLY USE

"Just ride more" stops working at about 5 hours a week. The amateurs who keep getting faster across years are running real periodisation — and the three frameworks below cover what works.

12 May 2026Read →
How to Peak for Your Cycling Event: The Taper and Race-Day System That Actually Works
Coaching12 min read

HOW TO PEAK FOR YOUR CYCLING EVENT: THE TAPER AND RACE-DAY SYSTEM THAT ACTUALLY WORKS

The taper paradox: you need to do less, but doing less feels like losing fitness. The riders who get this right show up sharp; the ones who don't show up tired and wonder why the form they had two weeks ago has vanished.

12 May 2026Read →
How to Build a Cycling Training Plan That Actually Works: The Framework from Friel, Lorang, and Johnson
Coaching12 min read

HOW TO BUILD A CYCLING TRAINING PLAN THAT ACTUALLY WORKS: THE FRAMEWORK FROM FRIEL, LORANG, AND JOHNSON

Most training plans fail because they ignore the rider. The plan that works fits your weekly hours, your A-race, and your recovery profile — not the other way round. Here's how to build it.

12 May 2026Read →
How to Get Faster on 6 Hours a Week: What Roglic's Coach Prescribes for Time-Crunched Cyclists
Coaching11 min read

HOW TO GET FASTER ON 6 HOURS A WEEK: WHAT ROGLIC'S COACH PRESCRIBES FOR TIME-CRUNCHED CYCLISTS

I went from 15 hours a week to 6. Power dropped less than expected and recovered fully within 12 weeks. The structure that made it work is the same one Dan Lorang prescribes to time-crunched amateurs.

12 May 2026Read →
The 5 Mistakes Self-Coached Cyclists Keep Making (And How to Fix Each One)
Coaching12 min read

THE 5 MISTAKES SELF-COACHED CYCLISTS KEEP MAKING (AND HOW TO FIX EACH ONE)

The cyclist who coaches themselves can get faster — but most don't, and the same five patterns repeat. Here's the diagnostic and the fix for each.

12 May 2026Read →

THE SATURDAY SPIN

Get the week's training takeaways in one email.

65,000+ serious cyclists. What worked this week, what the pros did differently, and how to apply it.

How to Improve Your FTP: 7 Evidence-Based Methods That Actually Work
Coaching10 min read

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR FTP: 7 EVIDENCE-BASED METHODS THAT ACTUALLY WORK

Most FTP plateaus aren't a ceiling — they're a sign you've been stuck on the same two stimuli for too long. Seven methods, each backed by a named study or a coach who's seen it work in the peloton.

12 May 2026Read →
Low Cadence Training: The Session World Tour Coaches Kept Prescribing While They Waited for Science to Catch Up
Coaching11 min read

LOW CADENCE TRAINING: THE SESSION WORLD TOUR COACHES KEPT PRESCRIBING WHILE THEY WAITED FOR SCIENCE TO CATCH UP

The coaches knew. The pros were doing it. The internet called it outdated. Then a 2024 study in PLOS ONE showed 8.7% VO2max gains versus 4.6% with the same intervals at higher cadence. The coaches won.

12 May 2026Read →
Polarised Training for Cycling: What Seiler, Lorang, and World Tour Coaches Actually Prescribe
Coaching12 min read

POLARISED TRAINING FOR CYCLING: WHAT SEILER, LORANG, AND WORLD TOUR COACHES ACTUALLY PRESCRIBE

Most amateur riders sit 50% too hard on their easy days and arrive at hard days half-cooked. The fix is the same 80/20 structure the world's best endurance coaches converge on — and it's harder to execute than it sounds.

12 May 2026Read →
Power Meter Training: How to Actually Use Your Power Data to Get Faster
Coaching12 min read

POWER METER TRAINING: HOW TO ACTUALLY USE YOUR POWER DATA TO GET FASTER

You bought a power meter. Now what? The gap between owning the data and using it is where most amateurs stall — and the fix is simpler than the cycling internet makes it look.

12 May 2026Read →
Recovery for Cyclists: The Protocols World Tour Riders Use Between Sessions
Recovery12 min read

RECOVERY FOR CYCLISTS: THE PROTOCOLS WORLD TOUR RIDERS USE BETWEEN SESSIONS

Recovery isn't passive — it's the other half of training. The Pogacar first-hour routine, Dr Plews on HRV done properly, and why the same hard session at 50 needs more recovery than it did at 35.

12 May 2026Read →
Strength Training for Cyclists: The Exercises, Frequency, and Programming That Actually Transfer to the Bike
Strength & Conditioning11 min read

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR CYCLISTS: THE EXERCISES, FREQUENCY, AND PROGRAMMING THAT ACTUALLY TRANSFER TO THE BIKE

After 30 years coaching, Art O'Connor says he's never seen a rider whose legs were the bottleneck. The 2025 meta-analysis of 17 trials and 262 trained cyclists agrees. Here's the protocol that earns its place in your week.

12 May 2026Read →
Sweet Spot vs Threshold vs Polarised: Which Cycling Training Method Actually Works?
Coaching11 min read

SWEET SPOT VS THRESHOLD VS POLARISED: WHICH CYCLING TRAINING METHOD ACTUALLY WORKS?

The cycling internet argues about this endlessly. The honest answer is that the right method depends on your weekly hours, your current limiter, and where you are in your season. Here's the decision tree.

12 May 2026Read →
VO2max Training for Cyclists: 7 Fixable Reasons Yours Is Low and How to Fix Each One
Coaching10 min read

VO2MAX TRAINING FOR CYCLISTS: 7 FIXABLE REASONS YOURS IS LOW AND HOW TO FIX EACH ONE

VO2max isn't a genetic ceiling. It's the visible expression of seven underlying systems, and a low number is almost always one of those systems being neglected. Here's the diagnostic and the fix for each.

12 May 2026Read →
Winter Cycling Training That Actually Builds Spring Fitness: The Indoor Protocol Pros Use
Coaching12 min read

WINTER CYCLING TRAINING THAT ACTUALLY BUILDS SPRING FITNESS: THE INDOOR PROTOCOL PROS USE

The amateur who hammers every indoor session for four months arrives at spring tired, untrained, and unable to absorb intensity. The pros do almost the opposite. Here's the structure that earns its place.

12 May 2026Read →
Race Week Carb Loading for Cyclists: The Protocol That Actually Works
Nutrition6 min read

RACE WEEK CARB LOADING FOR CYCLISTS: THE PROTOCOL THAT ACTUALLY WORKS

Most cyclists either carb load wrong or don't do it at all. The modern protocol is shorter, simpler, and more effective than the old depletion method — and it starts 36 hours out, not a week before.

11 May 2026Read →
7 Warning Signs You're Overcooking Your Cycling Training
Recovery7 min read

7 WARNING SIGNS YOU'RE OVERCOOKING YOUR CYCLING TRAINING

There's a line between training hard and training stupid. Most riders don't know they've crossed it until they're sick, injured, or staring at a power curve that's been declining for six weeks. Here are the seven warning signs — and what to do when you spot them.

11 May 2026Read →
Cycling Goal Setting That Actually Works: The 3-Layer Framework
Coaching6 min read

CYCLING GOAL SETTING THAT ACTUALLY WORKS: THE 3-LAYER FRAMEWORK

"Get faster" isn't a goal. "Win my age group" is a wish. The difference between the two and the framework that turns both into something you can actually execute.

11 May 2026Read →
Heat Training for Cyclists at Home: The 10-14 Day Protocol That Works
Coaching6 min read

HEAT TRAINING FOR CYCLISTS AT HOME: THE 10-14 DAY PROTOCOL THAT WORKS

You don't need a heat chamber. A turbo trainer, extra layers, and a closed window will get you 80% of the adaptation. Here's the 10-14 day protocol before your next hot event.

11 May 2026Read →
How to Pace a Long Climb: Stop Blowing Up in the First 2 Minutes
Coaching7 min read

HOW TO PACE A LONG CLIMB: STOP BLOWING UP IN THE FIRST 2 MINUTES

Everyone goes too hard in the first two minutes of a long climb. The adrenaline hits, the gradient kicks up, and you're suddenly 20 watts above plan. Here's how to fix it permanently.

11 May 2026Read →
The Cycling Recovery Week: What to Actually Do (Not What You Think)
Recovery7 min read

THE CYCLING RECOVERY WEEK: WHAT TO ACTUALLY DO (NOT WHAT YOU THINK)

Recovery weeks feel wrong. You feel flat, heavy, sometimes slower than usual. That's not a sign it's failing — it's a sign it's working. Here's what to do, what to avoid, and why the adaptation happens during the rest.

11 May 2026Read →