Originally Posted by
Moyene Corniche
On Podiums in which categories ? If you got spat out the back it points that (1) you are not at that level to stay in contact (2) You have not allowed your system to refresh. (3) You can hammer out rides every week in Cat 5 and Cat 4 and do well, but in Cat 3 no way, your weaknesses will show immediately. In Cat 1-2 you will not even make the distance, let alone when the hammer drops.
People who do hammer rides are strong, but only up to a certain point. Cycling is much more about versatility than putting your head down and hammering it out. It certainly didn't keep you in contact, so then something is missing.
Then again what Cats are your teammates ? If they are the same then you should be on the level to stay with them and not get dropped until the last couple hundred feet.
Don't know what your coach is telling you but climbing well is both about power to weight ratio as well as efficiency. Both mechanical and biomechanics. No better example of that then Miguel Indurain. Here was a big guy who could climb regardless of his size, he did sometimes get nailed by the colombians but more often than not everyone else was trying to stay in contact with Big Mig without blowing up.
Also how are your descending skills ? hopefully not like Wiggins. Being able to descend is a skill which seems to have been lost by the majority.
There you can make up great chunks of lost time or gain time.
I know a few 2's and 3's that basically just do the local group rides as their training and they do pretty well. A few people on this board do the same (I'll let them speak up about it) and have done well.
These guys were all Cat 3's and above. I see it as a positive I stayed on for so long. As far as group rides go, I'm in a no man's land of too fast for the slow group, too slow for the fast group.
My descending sucks, though I was able to stay attached going down.
Originally Posted by
shovelhd
Did your coach OK today's hammer ride? Did he/she explain to you where they fit or don't fit into your program? If so, then maybe coaching isn't for you. If not, then you need a new coach.
Don't talk to me about old.
You do a great job of making a snap judgement on things and I'm not sure why everyone on this forum has to justify every ride to you. I take the advice because I appreciate it and so does everyone else. We do not have to agree with it or follow it, and most on here tolerate the attitude. There are 3-4 guys here that think if its not done their way its wrong. I post about a group ride and you tell me to fire my coach, I post that I did a training crit and you scream and yell that training crits don't exist. At this point the whole thing is comical.
I don't mind being constantly jabbed, mocked, whatever. You touched a nerve with fire the coach comments, I'm sure the family insults are soon to follow...