Velo Podcast

Did you just tear up your list of Vuelta GC favorites? We did. Vincenzo Nibali, Richie Porte, and others are already off the back. We discuss how the race has unfolded so far and look back on the first mountaintop finish won by American Ben King. Also, there is sad news out of Ireland as yet another team is folding. Aqua Blue Sport made the unusual decision to cease operations immediately, putting an end to a weird saga that began with a premature announcement that they'd merge with Wout Van Aert's team. And finally, Megan Guarnier announced she's retiring at the end of the season, we remember some of our favorite moments from her decorated career.

Your drivetrain does a lot of work, and in order to do it well, a bike has to be designed with chain line in mind. What's that, you ask? That's exactly what we cover in this week's VeloNews tech podcast. VeloNews tech editor Dan Cavallari asks SRAM's chief system engineer for road drivetrains, Anthony Medaglia, how your drivetrain's chain line influences the way your bike is designed. Does chain line matter as much as it did ten years ago? What about 1X drivetrains — what kind of stresses affect the chain when it's angled like that? Medaglia's got the answers.

The Colorado Classic offered plenty of storylines over the past week. We hear from Travis McCabe on what the atmosphere has been like on a UnitedHealthcare team that could fold at the end of the season despite the team's dominance in Colorado. We also hear from Lauren Hall, for whom the Colorado Classic marked the final race of a long career. The podcast also looks ahead to the Vuelta a España. The season's third and final grand tour gets underway this weekend with a start list that includes GC heavyweights like Nairo Quintana, Vincenzo Nibali, and Richie Porte, and also the reigning world champion, Peter Sagan, returning to the Vuelta for the first time since 2015. This episode of the VeloNews podcast is sponsored by Feedback Sports, which makes the stable and easy to use Sprint Repair Stand. For more, check out www.feedbacksports.com.

This spring we sat down with Sepp Kuss, the recent winner of the Tour of Utah, to discuss what it was like to go from domestic U.S. racing to the WorldTour in three short years. The theme that returns again and again is the struggle of jumping to the highest level and the need to persist when your first year is a grind. There's also some great advice about training, raising your level, and the value of persistence. So, in honor of Sepp's Tour of Utah win, we present our interview. We talk with him about: - His career so far: Since Sepp did his first road race just three years ago, this part will be short. - What his spring was like in Europe, and surviving his first big race: the Tour of the Basque Country - The mental side of stepping up to a higher level and getting beat up over and over again - What training is like in Europe compared to what it’s like in the domestic peloton - Finally, we have a longer discussion with Sepp about something that may surprise you: his focus on the process rather than the results We'll also hear from Joe Dombrowski, a leader of the EF Education First-Drapac WorldTour team. Joe was one of Sepp's chief rivals at the Tour of Utah this year and won the race himself back in 2015. The discussion will serve as a good comparison of how the two riders train. So, get some popcorn, pull up the highlight reel of the Tour of Utah, smile along as Sepp dances away from the competition. Let's make you fast!

Sepp Kuss absolutely smashed the field at Tour of Utah. So is he America's next star climber? We hear from Dane Cash, who was covering the race this year and Chris Case, who did an in-depth sports science feature on climbing that featured Kuss (how prescient!). Then, Fred Dreier talks to another star climber, Katie Hall, who just announced she will race for super-team Boels-Dolmans in 2018. This episode of the VeloNews podcast is sponsored by Feedback Sports, which makes the stable and easy to use Sprint Repair Stand. For more, check out https://www.feedbacksports.com

The science on recovery has changed significantly in recent years. Once it was almost purely focused on reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS), now the science recognizes that inflammation and some discomfort are a necessary part of recovery, and the best recovery tools aid this process. The tools that seem to do this best are within the compression categories of recovery, including massage, cold water therapy, and compression gear. In episode 52 we’ll cover: 1. The current research on recovery: how it's changing and why getting out of the way of our bodies and letting them do their thing is often best. 2. We’ll also touch upon those areas where the body doesn't always do a great job and may need some help. This includes venous return, edema, and excess inflammation. 3. We'll zero in on compression therapies which have been showing benefits and explain these sophisticated tools called external pneumatic compression 4. Our guests will talk specifically about NormaTec: how the founder, a doctor, was looking to help her patients with vascular issues when she hatched the plan to create the company and the device; we’ll also discuss some promising recent studies. 5. And we'll warn you now, we'll go a little deep in the weeds about NormaTec's effects on inflammation, and whether they’re beneficial or inhibitory. 6. Finally, if you decide to give the recovery boots a try, we'll give some tips on when, where, and how to do so.

What is trail? No, not that dirt path you like to mountain bike on — we are talking about the often-misunderstood bike geometry measurement. In this episode of the VeloNews tech podcast, we speak to BMC Switzerland's head of engineering, Stefan Christ. He helps us better understand how trail affects a bike's handling. But more importantly, he explains why a variety of factors influence the way a bike feels — it isn't as simple as just one geometry measurement.

What is it like to finish the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysees? Fred Dreier is on the ground in Paris to hear from the riders. He speaks to (in the following order) Toms Skujins, Lawson Craddock, Rory Sutherland, Mathew Hayman, Andy Schleck, and Alexander Kristoff, who won stage 21. We also hear Geraint Thomas fans singing the Welsh national anthem to honor their first Tour champion. If you dig our podcast, please consider subscribing to VeloNews magazine. If you do so before midnight July 31, you get a free book! Subscribe here: https://www.velopress.com/books/subscribe-to-velonews-and-get-a-free-book/

There are few scientists who get Coach Connor more excited than our guest in this episode. Dr. Stephen Seiler has revolutionized our understanding of endurance training. (In fact, Coach Connor refers to him as the Jay-Z of physiology!) In this episode, we'll take a deep dive into the many theories he has brought to sport science and physiology. His three-zone model of training is built around two physiological breakpoints. He feels these breakpoints define three physiological zones. Zone 1 is below the aerobic threshold, and what we call easy base training. Zone 2 is between the breakpoints and has many names including no-man's land or sweet spot. The third zone is our high intensity training zone. Next we'll talk about how, by studying elite athletes, Seiler found a remarkable consistency: Most endurance athletes train about 80 percent of the time in Zone 1, around 15 to 20 percent in Zone 3, and very little in Zone 2. This has become known as polarized training. We'll also take a deep dive with Dr. Seiler into both Zone 1 and Zone 3 training and how to approach both. A theme will start to emerge, and you'll hear one of the top physiologists in the world repeat it again and again: Keep it simple. That might seem surprising, but the research is clear: Complex intervals and overly detailed training plans may hurt more than they help. Ultimately it may be as simple as accumulating time in the various zones in the right ratios. Finally, we'll discuss how these principles apply specifically to training. Seiler's research includes Nordic skiers, rowers, runners, and cyclists. So be warned, at times you'll hear some concepts that may be unfamiliar to you. For example, cycling is one of the few places where endurance athletes do five-hour workouts. In other endurance sports, they add volume by doing two-a-days.

We saw something very unusual in Tour de France stage 17: Chris Froome got dropped. Big time. Is this the beginning of the end of his era? We discuss. And, we hear from Dave Brailsford after the summit finish. So who will win the race now? We talk about how yellow jersey wearer (and Froome's Sky teammate) Geraint Thomas is a breath of fresh, rugby-watching, beer-drinking air in the world of dull pro cyclists. For more on that, check out Fred Dreier's recent story: https://www.velonews.com/2018/07/tour-de-france/who-is-geraint-thomas_472972 Like what you hear? Consider subscribing to VeloNews magazine: http://www.velonews.com/subscribe