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Unlocking the Power of Indoor Training with Kevin Poulton

BY TrainingPeaks CoachCast Host Dirk Friel

Indoor training is undoubtedly challenging but can lead to untapped gains come race day. Coach Kevin Poulton divulges his secrets in this episode of the Coachcast.

Kevin Poulton, coach to some of the best cyclists in the world, including Caleb Ewan, Alex Dowsett and Matthew Hayman, has more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Lucky for other coaches, he’s a total open book and more than happy to share his learnings and insight into the sport with anyone who cares to listen. Listen as Dirk and Kevin talk about heat adaptation, carbohydrate manipulation and making serious VO2 gains from adherence to specific indoor trainer sessions.

Stand-Out Quotes

“If you’re asking someone to go ride 7 hours, you’ve gotta have a good reason behind that.”

“When a rider does well in a race, the Director Sportif [says] fantastic work from him, [I’m] very happy. When the rider doesn’t do well [they go] straight to the coach, ‘What went wrong today?’So, we’re always accountable.”

“It’s about having that connection with the athlete to go and do what you’ve asked them to do and give them a reason to do it to the best of their ability. That’s the coaching art.”

“For a sprinter, we will obviously want all that glycogen for the finale over the climbs and that final sprint…so we wanted to make him efficient, but also gain endurance. And this is where the double day sessions and the indoor sessions provided that benefit.”

Resources

Kevin Poulton’s Coaching Business
Kevin Poulton’s TrainingPeaks Coach Profile

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Coachcast Host Dirk Friel
About TrainingPeaks CoachCast Host Dirk Friel

Dirk Friel is the host of the TrainingPeaks CoachCast and Co-Founder of TrainingPeaks. He is a lifelong athlete with a passion for cycling and ski mountaineering and firmly believes in goal setting, dedicated deliberate training and coaching for all. Learn more about his work at TrainingPeaks and follow his adventures on Instagram @dirkfriel.

Visit TrainingPeaks CoachCast Host Dirk Friel's Coach Profile