click on this link to learn more….

http://www.rutrainingtoday.co.uk/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=110

Aerobic Endurance – the ability to maintain continuous activity for extended periods of time and is directly related to the level of sustainable power output. Aerobic endurance is the most important component of fitness and ultimately determines at which level a rider can compete. It can be limited by oxygen transport, energy supply, lowering of muscle pH.

Flexibility – the range of movement in a joint or series of joints, varies between individuals and can be improved by exercise to a certain extent. Often overlooked as cycling does not appear to have a large flexibility component in comparison to other sports e.g. swimming. But for cycling performance, flexibility is important for comfort, safety, aerodynamics, efficiency, injury prevention and control.

Road Race – for sufficient flexibility to view all around without discomfort.

Time Trial – to achieve and maintain aerodynamic position

Muscle Power (P) – the ability to quickly produce a very high power output over a very short period of time (P = F x V). Muscle power is a product of speed (V) and strength (F), improvements in either of these will increase muscle power (P).

Road Race – for repeated short intense acceleration i.e. initiating an attack or closing a gap.

Time Trial – for majority of events muscle power is a relatively minor component unless the course has very steep sections of road.

Short-term Muscular Endurance (STME) – the ability to sustain a high power output for a limited period of time, approx. 30sec – 2 mins. Developed through interval sessions using short duration efforts at high intensity i.e. above anaerobic threshold.

Road Race – for surges in pace, leading or chasing group, wearing down opponents in a breakaway.

Time Trial – has some influence on performance, particularly for shorter time trial events i.e. short hill climbs.

Speed (V) – how fast a muscle can contract e.g. ability to maintain a high leg cadence. Heavily influenced by the percentage of fast twitch fibres that a rider is born with but can be improved by strength and sprint training.

Road Race – faster responses to attacks by accelerating cadence without the need to change gear.

Time Trial – high cadences can assist riders maintain momentum over hilly courses and reduce the need to get out of saddle on uphill sections, allowing aerodynamic position to be maintained.

Strength (F) – the maximum amount of force that a muscle(s) can generate against a resistance, a key component of muscle power. Strength is required to exert the necessary high turning forces (torque) when climbing steep hills or sprinting. As pedalling involves a kinetic chain of movements through the body, strength training to develop upper body and core strength should also be considered to improve pedalling efficiency.

Table 1: Different components of fitness for different Road Race events

(From British Cycling Level 3 Coaching Handbook: Road and Time Trial)

(* low importance, ***** high importance)

Table 2: Different components of fitness for different Time Trial events

(From British Cycling Level 3 Coaching Handbook: Road and Time Trial)

(* low importance, ***** high importance)

Article by Paul Brennan

(British Cycling Level 3 Road & TT coach; UK Athletics Level 3 Performance coach; British Triathlon Level 2 coach)

With some research into the subject and some help from a very interesting and enlightening article I read at www.bikehub.co.uk, I’ve picked out and highlighted some of the more relevant sections of cycling law in my two part guide.

Highway Code

There are many ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ in The Highway Code. It’s important to note that cyclists have rights and responsibilities, not just rights.

The ‘must’ rules in the Highway Code represent laws and must be obeyed. Those rules which omit ‘must’ are advisable but not compulsory.

Road or Pavement?

Some cyclists are afraid of vehicular traffic so cycle on footways. While understandable at certain busy intersections, it’s very much against the law. If you ride on the pavement you could cop a fine and you’ll certainly antagonise pedestrians.

Bicycles are, in law, carriages and should be on the road not footway. This is why it is illegal to cycle across a pedestrian crossing and under Section 51 and Schedule 3 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 is punishable by a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £30.

Can Children Cycle on Footways?

According to the Department for Transport, the maximum fine for ‘cycling on the pavement’ from the courts is £500. However, there is a view that the FPN can only be issued to those over 16.

The age of criminal responsibility is 10 so, technically, only children below this age can cycle on footways without fear of redress.

Red Light Running

Don’t do it! Unless your life is in immediate danger. Red light running by cyclists is one of the number one complaints in the media against cyclists, yet motorists also often run red lights but motorists tend to forget these sort of transgressions. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but clearly, a red light running motorist is posing more risk to others than a red light running cyclist, who is mostly posing a risk to themselves.

Be Seen, Be Heard

Bikes ridden at night need front and rear lights, flashing or steady. At night a bicycle must also be fitted with a red rear reflector and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1st October 1985. Fitting such reflectors is now an impossibility with many ‘clipless’ pedals. While this part of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations is seldom enforced, if you are involved in a night-time accident however, any slight illegality with respect to your lights or reflectors may be regarded as contributory negligence.

All bikes sold from a shop now have to come fitted with bells but there’s no legal requirement for them to be fitted to bicycles no longer on shop display.

The Highway Code does not stipulate that bells must be used. It states: “Be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Let them know you are there when necessary by ringing your bell.”

Cycling While Drunk

A social tipple, weekend ‘pub run’ or the proverbial swift half will not lead to a massive impairment in your ability to ride home but, despite alcohol’s pain reducing effect, it impairs athletic performance so too much booze is bad for biking.

The Licensing Act 1872 makes it an offence to be drunk in charge of a bicycle on a highway or in a public place but this old law also forbids any public drunkenness, even in a pub, so is clearly never enforced!

If you do ride drunk you risk endangering yourself and others by your actions. Beer-goggles and bicycles do not mix. And cycling ‘dangerously’ can be fined by up to £2500. You cannot get endorsements on your UK driving licence for a ‘drink cycling’ offence.

Well, I hope you’ve found this enlightening and it’s answered some of those questions you never got round to looking up. Tune in next month when ‘Cycling and the Law – Part Two will take a look at Road Tax, Cycling Furiously and Helmet Wearing.

Until next time, stay safe and stay legal!

As this event includes the Inter Regional Road Race Championships the intention is to use the same selection procedure as last year. However due to the early date by which teams must be selected and their details sent to the UK SG organisers only the results from the first round of the South West Circuit Race Series will be known. This will mean that performances in the 2011 South West Circuit Race Series will also be taken into consideration.

Although not part of the IRRC as the final day of cycle racing will be on the velodrome the riders selected will also need to have track experience preferably including some racing.

8 riders will be selected for the UK SG 4 girls and 4 boys either Youth A or B categories from the South West and available to travel on Sunday the 6th of May with the rest of the team. The selection of riders will be completed by Team Manager Will Hornby whornby@yahoo.com after consultation with the South West Youth & Junior Development Group.

Tom Stockdale’s January Blog

Judith Smith head of European Sales  “we were so proud of the team in 2011, not only did they win lots of races but inspired the development of a totally new cycling club.”

The day started with a very brisk ride across the South Hams with all of the riders looking particularly fit perhaps down to the mild winter?

Finally the assembled audience got to see some unusual training tips from their youngest rider Tom Stockdale (below) before heading in for some fine pasta kindly provided by the Mountbatten water sports centre.

Riders for 2012:

James Williams (Elite) – Team Manager, Winner Green jersey at Tor2000 circuit series, James Smith (Elite) – Winner Kalas Two Day stage race, Martin Smith (Elite) – National Vets Champion 2011, Adam Bright (Elite) Winner Totnes Circuit race, Wayne Coombs – 1st Cat, Robert Willcocks – 1st Cat, Phil Borrett – 1st Cat, Tom Stockdale – 1st Cat, Peter Haworth – 2nd Cat, Richard Oram – 2nd Cat, Tom Stockdale 1^st Cat

Staff and Management for 2012:

Judith Smith – Team Soigneur, Alex King – Team Soigneur, Darren Stephens – Team Physio

Sponsors for 2012

www.primaleurope.com – Custom Cycling Apparel

www.rutrainingtoday.co.uk – Administration & race day support

www.sunwise.co.uk – Sunglasses

www.cnpprofessional.co.uk – Nutrition supplier

www.mjrmotorhomes.co.uk – Team Motorhome

www.windwave.co.uk – Suppliers of team bikes

www.colnago.com – Team bikes

www.c-originals-sports.com – Helmet suppliers

www.rideplymouth.co.uk – Professional bike fitting service

www.darrenstephens.co.uk – Team Physiotherapist

You can find out more about the team online or join their associated cycling club at www.rutrainingtoday.co.uk , on follow them on Twitter (@rutrainingtoday) and Face Book (rutrainingtoday.co.uk).

In order to structure training more accurately and to analyse sessions effectively, Heart Rate zones have been developed. The table below shows the 1-6 HR zones used by British Cycling. There are alternative models that use more or less HR zones and arguably the three broad zones of basic, intensive and maximal would be sufficient for most ages up to regional level competition.

Table: Training Intensity Zones (Adapted from British Cycling Level 3 Coaching Handbook: Coaching for performance)

VO2 max – The maximum amount of oxygen in millilitres, used in one minute per Kg of body weight.

MMP (Maximum Minute Power) – The maximum power average (Watts) achieved in the final complete minute of a ramp test i.e. British Cycling Ramp Test (for experienced riders) or Storer Test.

RPE – The Borg Scale (1982) rating of perceived exertion by the rider.

The Zones

Recovery Zone – Purpose: Recovery

Adaptation: Increase blood flow to muscles to flush out waste products

Zone 1 – Purpose: Base endurance

Adaptation: Increase in cycling economy, improves fat metabolism i.e. fat is the main energy source.

Zone 2 – Purpose: Improve efficiency

Adaptation: Mainly fat burning, significant cardiovascular overload, improvements in biomechanical and physiological efficiency.

Zone 3 – Purpose: Improve aerobic power and endurance

Adaptation: Improves carbohydrate metabolism, some fast-twitch fibres change to slow-twitch fibres, increased cardiovascular efficiency.

Zone 4 – Purpose: Raise lactate threshold

Adaptation: Improves carbohydrate metabolism, develops lactate threshold, some fast-twitch fibres change to slow-twitch fibres. Note: Continuous conversation is difficult, breathing is powerful and rapid.

Zone 5 – Purpose: Sustained maximal aerobic power

Adaptation: Develops cardiovascular system & VO2 max, improves anaerobic energy production and tolerance/removal of end products i.e. lactate shuttle.

Zone 6 – Purpose: Increase maximum muscle power

Adaptation: Increases maximum muscle power & resistance to fatigue, develops cardiovascular system & VO2 max. Note: Should only be undertaken when fully recovered from previous sessions. Taking fluid/fuel between efforts helps avoid premature fatigue.

Measuring Maximal Heart Rate (MHR)

Londeree and Moeschberger (1982) found that MHR varies mostly with age and that neither the sex nor race made any significant difference. They found that trained athletes had 3-4 beats lower MHR than inactive people. They also found that the MHR was 5-6 beats lower for cycling and approximately 14 beats lower for swimming than the corresponding MHR for running.

The most accurate method to obtain maximum heart rate is to perform a stress test. As you are pushing your body and heart to the very limit it should not be performed if you are returning from illness or have any previous medical condition. You may have come across stress tests involving riding up a hill repeatedly in an aggressive manner. However, this not advisable for various reasons, including loss of coordination/control and that maximal intensity testing in an un-controlled and inherently dangerous environment is not safe. It is better and safer that a stress test is done in a controlled environment such as on a static bike in a sports laboratory with the assistance of suitably qualified personnel.

As an alternative to stress testing there are various methods to calculate MHR based on various sports science research. It should be noted that these calculated MHR values can by up to +/- 15 beats of actual value but it will still produce a baseline to work from.

Heart Rate Lag

Following on from the recent article by Forme Coaching, there is a significant delay in the metabolic responses to changes in power output. Looking at the Polar HR graph during a hill interval session (see below) it can be seen as the altitude/effort increases, there is a lag (yellow lines) before the HR catches up. Therefore using just a HR monitor during short intervals may not be the most accurate method to gauge intensity. It may be better to rely on perceived effort (RPE) during the session and to analyse the HR results after the session to check that you have been training at the correct intensity. Ultimately for cycling a power meter is the more accurate tool for measuring intensity.

Figure: Polar HR graph for hill intervals at Zone 4, 1m effort with 1m 20s recovery

Paul Brennan

(British Cycling Level 3 Road & TT coach; UK Athletics Level 3 Performance coach; British Triathlon Level 2 coach)

XX

Club Registrations

RUTrainingToday CC is now a British Cycling affiliated club – yay! For those of you who are racing this year, remember to click on RUTTCC (not Primal Europe) in their drop down bar when applying for your licence.  The BC Race calendar for the region has been posted so members can see what’s on offer this year.  Full information about the races and entry forms can be downloaded via BC’s website.

Ken has registered the club with CTT.  However, being a new club we missed the window to have our own event this year, so Ken will be offering his services to other clubs to get some experience of putting on events and we will organising our own in 2013.  Tom has put together a list of local TT events and this will also be our website.

We also have Go-Ride status and our coach, Sorrelle has already started teaching her pupils how to ride their bikes safely and teach them skills.  We are currently in talks about hosting some Go-Ride events in the warmer months and will post location and date details once confirmed.  We expect these sessions will be aimed at youngsters between 12-17 years old, but could cater for younger children if the demand is high.  If you have a son, daughter, niece, nephew etc that you think might be interested in learning some bike handling skills or learning how to race, then please e-mail Sorrelle so she can start compiling a list – sdplec00r@aol.com.

Club Rides

We are currently holding rides on Saturday and Sunday and meet at the Legacy Hotel (Marsh Mills side) at 9.00am.  If numbers allow the group splits into a race pace bunch (suited to riders who want to race or reach gold standard times in Sportives) and a slower ride.  It helps those leading the rides if members post on facebook or the forum their intention to attend.  Ride frequency and times may vary once the race season is upon us.  Also feel free to post on either site if you are planning on riding other days and would like some company.

Club Kit

The official race kit for RUTTCC is the black and white kit.  We do know that this still has the Primal Europe logo on it but this has been approved by BC.  There is a red and white short sleeve jersey and bib shorts available to purchase which just has the RUTTCC logo on and you are welcome to wear this on club runs if you wish. Once we’re better established we can look at a new kit if that’s what the members want.

Leon Marshall has very kindly offered to be in charge of the club race kit and will be placing an order on 24th January.  See below for current prices and e-mail your requirements to ocelotracing@hotmail.com with your name, address and phone number and DONT FORGET TO INCLUDE SIZES!!!!  (Lycra already stands for Let Your Clothing Reveal All, so we don’t want anyone squeezing into a size smaller than they need!).  Then drop a cheque in the post for 50% of the total order to L Marshall, 2 Radford Park Drive, Plymstock, Plymouth, PL9 9DT.  Please make cheques payable to “rutrainingtoday.co.uk” and write your name on the back.

Delivery is expected around March / April time when the remaining 50% will be due on collection. Unfortunately the suppliers require a minimum of 15 items per order so if we can’t get what you wanted we will let you and refund any monies owing.

Member Coaching

Paul Brennan is a UK Athletics Level 3 Performance Coach, UK Athletics Strength and Conditioning Coach, British Cycling Level 3 Road and TT Coach and British Triathlon Level 2 Coach and has recently coached at Plymouth Athletic Club and Plymouth Triathlon Club.

Paul has offered us his knowledge and experience to do a series of coaching articles that will put more structure and purpose into training. This will be targeted more at club members (rather than the team) on a weekly basis: goal setting, components of fitness, demands of the event, types of training, lifestyle audit / rider profiling, periodisation / yearly planning, long-term development, benchmarking, etc. As we get closer to the competition phase he will tell you how to deal with race prep, tapering, technical / tactical issues, etc.

If there are any other areas that you would like Paul to cover let him know. He does not purport to know it all but can usually get information from more knowledgeable sources.
When the light / weather improves and riders have built up a good endurance base, Paul wants to organise some mid-week sessions to develop power or designed to help develop lactate threshold.
The clocks change (1hr forward) on 25th March 2012 and sunset is around 19:39pm or later. Ideally mid-week sessions could start on or around this date. Please post interest below or on the forum your preferred day of week and time.

A Date for Your Diary

We have been given the date of Sunday 8th April to put on our RUTTCC Road Race.  Jackie is currently looking at circuits in the West Devon area and is hoping that we will be able to use one of the new routes BC are currently assessing. We may need some help with marshalling, so if you know anyone who would be willing to wear neon yellow and wave a red flag at cars, please let us know by e-mailing jec68@blueyonder.co.uk. NB: bullying people into helping will be frowned upon but we have no problem with begging or bribes! J

Membership

If you would like to become a member of RUTTCC the annual cost is £20.00 per year which runs from January to December. Membership forms can be found on the website along with details of member benefits. As you see from the information above, we are more than just a race club and welcome applications from all cyclists – at the present time were are catering for road cyclists who can maintain an average of 12mph during a ride.  However this may change in future as the club develops, so please keep checking our website for updates.  Potential members are very welcome to come along and try some of our rides so you can see if we’re the club for you.

The South West Youth Circuit Series for 2012 will incorporate the following 6 events.

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• 18^th March     1st Chard Wheelers Spring Circuit Races Toby Gilmore toby@gilmore.eclipse.co.uk
• 21^st April         Portreath
• 13^th May          Totnes Town Centre Circuit Races Mark Dolan
• 3^rd June            Crewkerne Town Centre Criteriums Brandon Ellis brandon_ellis@btinternet.com
• 9^th July             East Devon Circuit Series Race 5 (Dunkeswell)                Keith White wbarrett36@yahoo.com
• 17^th August     Paignton Regatta Circuit Races Thomas Norrish cherylandtom@sky.com

All Youth A & B riders who reside in the South West are eligible. The leading Girl & Boy will wear a leaders jersey sponsored by Kalas which will also be presented to the overall winners at the culmination of the series on the 17^th of August at the Paignton Regatta Criterium.

A good showing in the series will be highly desirable for those with aspirations of repenting the South West in May 7^th – 9^th at the UK School Games which will incorporate cycling and require each region to pick 8 cyclists (4 Girls & 4 Boys). The 3 days of cycling racing will include Road Racing, Team Trial, Criterium, and Various Track Races at the London Olympic Velodrome (track schedule as yet undisclosed)

Please circulate this information throughout your club.

Any questions about the series or selection for the South West team should be sent to Will Hornby whornby@yahoo.com South West Youth Team Manager