TrainingPeaks member profile: Rachel Neylan, cyclist
14 September 2009
Rachel Neylan used to be a great runner, but then she discovered that she was even better on a bike. “I had always been a runner competing at state and national levels, but I was determined to achieve world class success in sport, so decided to seek a sport that i would be physically and physiologically best suited to. I was selected into a national women’s cycling talent identification program after undertaking physiological testing. I really enjoyed the constant challenges and variability of cycling training and decided to take it on with 100% focus.”
For Rachel, 100% focus means serious training. “My training schedule is generally 6-7 days per week with anywhere from 2 to 6 hours per day of riding. The training sessions vary in intensity and length depending on the upcoming event being targeted and the time of year. I also do 1-2 gym sessions for core stability and yoga for flexibility. Whenever I can I train with groups, when at home we usually have 2 scheduled rides per week as a group with fellow state institute athletes. I use an SRM provided by my state institute of sport as part of my scholarship.”
As part of her training, Rachel started using TrainingPeaks to gain a better understanding of all the data. “I began to use TrainingPeaks so I could have an active part in analyzing, recording and monitoring my training along with my coach. I am a qualified Physiotherapist so I understand basic physiology.”
“I also wanted to start building a bank of data for retrospective purposes to be able to refer back to training versus performance trends. The software allows me to quantify each session with the Intensity Factor, and provides positive reinforcement when the numbers are compared against previous data. It provides healthy self competition with the daily mean maximal power always being measured up against your best data. It is also a great tool for monitoring fatigue and implementing recovery sessions. Most importantly, TrainingPeaks encourages hard training but smart training.”
Armed with so much data, Rachel has had a very successful first season of international competition. “I have only been riding a bike for 21 months and racing for 19 months so this is my first season of international competition. In this regard my season is going very well as I gained a spot on a pro team for 10 weeks in the USA (Proman www.promanracing.com) and now with the National team in Italy.”
“It has been vastly different from last year’s season, which was predominantly domestic Australian women’s road racing. The best past of my season so far has been my debut AUS National Team race at the Sparkassen Giro in Germany in August, with my teammate getting a podium result. Also there have been some unforgettable moments riding for Shelley Olds on Proman Cycling Team where i was part of 5 NRC podium wins during June/July in the USA.”
Happy training, Rachel!
2 Responses to “TrainingPeaks member profile: Rachel Neylan, cyclist”
September 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Hola Rachel,
Great training! Especially since you’ve only been riding for 21 months. Congratulations!
I am going to do my second sprint triathlon in 2 weeks, I was wondering if you had any last minute advice in how to make my biking part quicker. It is only 9 miles.
I wish you the best for you in your team! Have a fabulous Season!
rosymtorres@hotmail.com
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
[...] actually going to start to direct a woman’s elite team, formerly called ProMan. I’m really excited because the top girls are all affiliated with USA [...]