You don’t have to be Lance Armstrong to have access to high tech, cutting edge cycle training – you just need to be able to spend some time with your bike on a stand at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town.
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The Institute’s Cycle Science unit uses cyclists’ power output to gauge where they need to focus their training.
It’s achieved by varying the resistance to the cyclist’s pedalling, but it’s a world away from the stationery bikes featured in gyms everywhere, says unit head Ian Rodger.
“The wow factor is that we’re able to make this technology available to not only those at national team level, but also those who simply want to get more out of their cycling.
“People seem to forget that cycling is supposed to be fun and it can be, when you know where your weaknesses and strengths are and how to progress steadily.
“What the cyclists who use the system find exciting is that you don’t actually need to train deathly hard to improve. It’s more a matter of continuity than agony.”
Available to all “Overseas they do this sort of thing by putting all sorts of doodads on bikes to measure output. That’s a hideously expensive way of doing it. Thanks to our sponsors Boehringer Ingelheim this system is available to virtually anyone who’s interested in getting the most out of the time they spend training.”
The whole course starts off with two sessions: the first one involves an incremental test: “You pedal at a set rate and increase your power steadily until you can’t maintain the target power output. When the cyclist falls off that’s their maximum output,” Rodger deadpans.
A few days later they do a time trial, where the cyclist is asked to maintain the maximum power they can for 20 km, usually about half an hour.
“These results provide a baseline for setting the intensity of their training. It’s very effective because we measure your output while you’re going at it. That way we can alter the intensity of the workout on a minute-by-minute basis.”
Use your own bike “The wisdom of using the cyclist’s own bike is that it reduces the cost. Also, the cyclist is more comfortable, so you get a more true reading of how they actually perform on the road. And it’s all saved on PC, so your can trace progression constantly.
“It’s difficult to quantify your training on the road because you often don’t know how far your can reasonably expect to go. To achieve something similar on your own you’d need to keep incredibly detailed records – a really complex accounting system.
The programme is likely to appeal to the slightly more mature, sophisticated and efficient cyclist, or to the casual cyclist who wants to train more productively, he says.
Rodger adds that about 98% of cyclists have not reached their potential and even a very small percentage of professionals ever reach their ultimate level.
“Most cyclists don’t know how to evaluate their potential. It’s only when you try a programme of this sort that you become fully aware of your potential and how to reach it. “In reality, most cyclists don’t want to spend their whole lives feeling tired. They’d far prefer to enjoy their training and have their performance improve steadily,” he says.
So how much does it cost? Three- and six-month contracts cost R870 and R1 320 respectively, which includes the R270 fee for the initial testing.
For more information, call Ian Rodger on: 021 – 659 5636 or email him on: irodger@ssi.uct.ac.za . - (William Smook)
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