TOOLBOX: Planning the whole nutrition for a multi-stage race in the UCI calendar is no easy task and requires coordination not only with the athletes but also with many staff members who are a crucial part of a cycling team. Today, I show you a Nutritionists’ perspective on what is required of us nutritionists in such scenario.

We know training is essential to improving fitness and performance, but we often neglect recovery and adaptation. What happens when we get that balance wrong and veer into overtraining?

The list of recovery tools the modern day cyclists has access to is quite long, and now there are tools promising to monitor and quantify your recovery. But we’re missing the best one, that’s right under your nose.

We exercise for many reasons, from the short-term hit of endorphins to the long-term promise of healthier aging. Can one of them be protection from higher mortality risks during periods of high pollution?

Even here in Canada, eventually hot summer weather will come. One strategy popular with athletes for reducing heat stress before or during competitions are ice vests. How effective are they?

It’s open season… for Strava segments, that is! Segment hunting has become an informal form of competition in its own right. What are ways to become the KOM/QOM, and how can Xert’s Segment Hunter help?

When it comes to breathing many of us think “Hey, if I'm not dead, I’m certainly doing it right!” Unfortunately this is not the case, and our poor breathing can keep us from unlocking our full potential and speed, as well as unnecessarily prolonging our recovery.

Much research has gone into studying both the physiological benefits from heat adaptation along with the practicalities of getting heat adapted. However, can a heat camp blunt your training adaptations?

Toolbox: Cycle sport is intricately mythologized with the heroism and agony of suffering. We watch and marvel not just at the speed and power of the pros, but for the thrill (for us) and suffering (for them) inherent in racing over cobbles, high mountains rain, extreme heat, and even snow. Does being fitter also make you tougher? Does improved fitness actually alter pain tolerance?