Constant improvement is not just the realm of juniors and PROs - the principles definitely apply to all competitive cyclists, no matter where you’re at. Planning in advance, monitoring all aspects of your riding and life outside of cycling, and learning how to overcome setbacks, are all ways to continue cycling at a high level for a long time. Learn from Dr Stephen McGregor about the steps to becoming a PRO.
If you watched the Tour of California this year then you may or may not know Carter Jones. The 24 year old cyclist that took the KOM jersey in this years edition.
Often times when a rider comes out of the blue like this - it’s seen as an overnight success, or a breakout performance. But I know it takes years to get to this point - this all may seem quite removed from your riding - but in many ways you may follow the same pattern - maybe not on a world stage like the tour of cali - but the idea of constant improvement definitely stands true whether we talk about your journey to fitness, or a junior riders road to glory.
Dr. Stephen McGregor - Carter Jones’ coach, has PhD in Exercise Physiology and is the Director of the Applied Physiology Laboratory at Eastern Michigan University. He was also a competitive cyclist.
I recently had a chance to talk the Steve about Carter Jones, and this idea of constant improvement. We also discussed development, and facing setbacks.
Here is some of the questions I asked him:
What changes in training must occur when progressing through levels or categories?
How long does it take to build a solid aerobic base to be competitive at the higher levels of endurance events?
What is the one piece of coaching wisdom can you impart on us?
How far should you look ahead?
Stephen also drops what most coaches and athletes know deep down - but we rarely hear - performance is the primary metric - everything else is secondary.
