Austin

Bike Max: If you read what I said you will see that I am pretty sure( medals), but if we have to go into what other guys have established( eg Coggen et al at Cycling Peaks), then do yourself a favour and look at the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the dynamics of psychology in sport and the effect on performance. You quickly start realizing all the aspects of what creates a great athlete of performance of one. I respect all the work these great guys have done and then try through my own trial and error create a workable solution for my athletes. Many dont like it that way, but many of those who do have found results. Work with international athletes on my own unestablished methods and have got some good international results. Many of the current established methods had to also be "unestablished at some point" An as you said science is evolving and what is seen as established today, may not be tomorrow. Have fun! I am....

Ag, I am a bit off beat in some of the things I do, but it seems to be working. 45mins gives closer estimation to possible race performance( as this is always higher) due to loss of concentration, etc in such a long effort and even before it starts in the anticipation thereof.( again just a wacky thing of mine) The testing and interaction with athletes is more of a personal things than sticking to protocol. These guys have delivered 4 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze in the jnr and u23 cats at SA's in the last two years. I am really not going to go into a discussion on what methods to use or not. You got yours, I got my off beat ways... and I am not really a commercial institution.

BikeMax: Measured during 45min field test with Powertap. Incorporating a maximal output test at the end used to determine influence of lactic acid at the FTP level as guideline of true functional power. He has won a KOM Jersey in Europe, two stages of road TransAlp and SA Champs before.

My guy weighs 10kgs less. Good for mountains, but not for TT as on a normal racing course with high speeds it is not the power to weight that counts, but rather the true power at that threshold.

I have a rider who is at 5.5W/kg at threshold( 0.1Wkg under Brad). Only problem though: He weighs around 10kg's less!

ye, you got a point regarding the XC exposure . I know for a fact that most South Africans lack this aerobic base and excluding the only tour they will see this year, may not be such a good idea. My reply was to the fact that it would not be good in a training scheme of things. It fits perfectly into any European focussed program. Maybe then in adition to sound aerobic base, you exclude the marathons afterwards and find a friendly type XC racing circuit to biuld up to the next level. Maybe after this go for the Euro circuit.

Not entirely. Jaco Venter on that team has come 1st at the Sea Otter MTB race in the USA and also 2nd overall in the Karoo to Coast when he was a firt year jnr against the elites...

ye, you can- very early in the morning and very fast, making sure the okes on the Krieks dont catch you! Have at least found hordes more great singletrack in the area!

Mr Sauser said he is testing brand new, even better Specialized tyres at present. Will try and scale some from him or his mechanic when he joins us for the Giro...

I have recently started riding MTB and man oh man does it rock or what!! I never knew how much fun it could be and have found millions of trails in and around my town of Heidelberg. It has even gone as far as me wanting to go "lend" some pallets to build little bridges over the streams here too. Oh and I have gone onto Google Earth to zoom in on my aerea to search for hidden dirt tracks. And it worked! I have found so many and have had absolute fun going on a recce ride on them. Dont get me wrong. I still love road cycling and the planning and tactics of racing and training( and it is my job), but will from now on tow my ol mtb along to where ever I find myself and search for new trails and fun places! Had to share this fun experience....

What's so hard? I have 5 PDI riders in my team next year! No problem....Actually a huge problem. I got three of my PDi riders from YCA and the two other through other private systems pushing it. The problem with this development draft is not the draft, but the implementation thereof. Again there was a meeting of heads and then the actions to rectify the situation gets thrown onto the shoulders of sponsors, teams, etc. How about if it went this way: Teams, transformation is a negelected area in your setups. We have made a plan and for the past three years have set up an academy to regognise and train talented PDI riders( and for the matter of fact any talented riders). We require you to start taking action by hiring young talent for your teams. Please contact us so we can provide with the long list of names to choose from. The riders on this list have been properly trained by us for the past three years and are of the standard to be included in South African elite teams.

He is seriously talented when he wins the hardest Belgian junior classic in his 2nd season in Europe. He is ready to go over if he can successfully conquer previous setbacks, focus on the goal and is prepared to achieve it in a dedicated fashion.

I have said this for a long time and have done away with lactate threshold value based tests a long time ago. There are far to many variables when working with it. I have seen many of my riders actually use it as fuel. One guy only reaches the lactate threshold levels in his blood at 203 bpm. The challenge now is to dtermine whose body uses it the best and to what extent and then plan the way the must eat on the bike, train, etc. Fun hey!!! I am currently sitting in Belgium working on the training for September( big tours and Worlds) since 13h00. What a mission. There gonna be a couple more discoveries in the future and then we will see more and more how you cannot quantify humans into specific parameters are categories. Training is about correct stimulation and "Flow in Sport"(A happy, elieving, focussed mind creates the invironment for good taining results!) Epoh- Another note: Remember when we were in Lesotho the guys used 34/23? They have to use 34/25 for the hill TT in Japan!)

We have used the 10sp cranks with the older 9sp chains, etc on our old TT bikes with great success. I have a 2nd hand Dura Ace 9sp 172.5mm crankset you can buy for cheap! The only REAL change needed I would say is the crank arm length. In the Alps my guys ride 50 in front and 12 at the back and they come right.