TrainingPeaks member Cadel Evans discusses the Tour and more
16 September 2008
As the pro cycling season winds down for the year, the TrainingPeaks team interviewed member Cadel Evans of Team Silence-Lotto. Currently racing in the Tour of Poland, Cadel discussed his season overall, riding in the Tour de France, and how he uses TrainingPeaks to manage his training. You can listen to or read the entire interview, below.
TrainingPeaks: Congrats on your season so far. You once again showed you were one of the world’s best stage racers. Were you happy with your preparation for Tour and will you try to replicate the same program next season?
Cadel Evans: Yeah, it went better than I had expected, some of the results were much better than we had hoped for. I did have an injury problem caused by cleat problems in June, which was a bit of a worry, it caused a bit of tendonitis in my knee, but otherwise leading into the Tour I was very happy with the level I arrived at.
During the first week, I was really good, I was really happy, but from that crash onwards, I was well below my normal level, and considering that, I think I rode a very good Tour.
TP: You also crashed in the Tour on stage 9. Do you think that affected your overall result?
CE: Absolutely. From that day onwards, I was far below even just my normal level. During the first week, I was really good, I was really happy, but from that crash onwards, I was well below my normal level, and considering that, I think I rode a very good Tour. When I take everything into consideration I think I rode a very good Tour to finish second.
Bernard is a rider who Ive known for quite awhile, weve never been on a team together, but weve been good friends for a long time in the Peloton, so having him as a teammate, yeah, Im looking forward to it.
TP: A lot of people say you were the strongest rider, but on some stages you lacked team support, especially on the l’Alpe d’Huez stage when Carlos Sastre attacked. To try and alleviate that situation next year the team has signed Bernard Kohl, who was third in the Tour. You have to be pretty excited about that move?
CE: Absolutely, I couldnt have asked for a better acquisition for the team. Bernard is a rider who Ive known for quite awhile, weve never been on a team together, but weve been good friends for a long time in the Peloton, so having him as a teammate, yeah, Im looking forward to it.
TP: How has your knee injury progressed since the Tour?
CE: Yeah, Ive spent a lot of physio therapy time, and yeah, its coming back pretty well, already the recoveries are a bit premature, the Olympics was only 12 days, four of those days I was on crutches, and to be reasonably competitive in the time trial in the Olympics means I already had good recovery. From there Im just making up for the time that I missed during rehabilitation in order to get healthy for next year.
TP: Can you describe your off season? Do you mountain bike or lift weights? What do you like to do?
CE: In the off-season I follow a fairly careful and strict program of pilates and flexibility exercises, I used to like surfing, but now with my injuries I’ll do some open water swimming, I still need to fix things up a bit, and then of course road training.
Wherever I am in the world, my coach can access at all the information that Ive got there, not only volumes and so on leading up to the period we are focused on, but hes particularly interested in what I can do on the climbs, because, you know, thats a pretty important factor for winning the Tour and that is always what we are working for.
TP: You manage your training through TrainingPeaks. Can you tell us why you use TrainingPeaks?
CE: Because its the only program I know of that I can put any training I do into it and it puts it into a nice streamlined management.
TP: Does your coach access your training through TrainingPeaks?
CE: Of course, being in Australia for three months a year and my coach being in Italy, and even when Im training at the training camps in Europe especially leading into the Tour, day by day, looking at how everythings progressing and so on. Wherever I am in the world, my coach can access at all the information that Ive got there, not only volumes and so on leading up to the period we are focused on, but hes particularly interested in what I can do on the climbs, because, you know, thats a pretty important factor for winning the Tour and that is always what we are working for.
TP: Would you say you have structured workout routine intervals and targeted power output?
CE: Yes absolutely, I am fairly regimented about my training. I follow a program very very closely, especially May through July, when my life pretty much stops, all I do is ride my bike.
TP: What is a key workout for you in June leading up to the Dauphine and the Tour?
CE: By then Ive got most of my racing, base and endurance in so by then Ill be looking at climbing training and also specific time-trial training at various levels and mixes of intervals on the flats and time trial bike, and on the normal bike on the climbs.
TP: What would your target power be on a time trial day?
CE: Ohhhhh, I don’t know, I’ll have to keep that a bit secret!
Ok, thanks! We will leave it at that. Good luck with your training and preparation for 2009.
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