Preparing for the Tour de France takes more than fitness. It takes a clear view of workload, recovery, readiness, and performance trends across every rider on the team. TrainingPeaks helps bring that data together so coaches and performance staff can plan smarter, adjust faster, and keep athletes aligned through every stage of preparation.
That’s why over 80% of the WorldTour teams on the start line in Barcelona trust TrainingPeaks to build, manage, and optimize their training data.
With We Speak Peak, TrainingPeaks is going beyond race results to spotlight the coaches and performance teams behind cycling’s biggest stage. Here, Soudal Quick-Step Head Coach Koen Pelgrim shares how Team Soudal Quick-Step, the Architects, uses TrainingPeaks as the central hub of their Tour de France preparation.
Meet Team Soudal Quick-Step, the Architects
Q: How does your team specifically utilize TrainingPeaks to prepare for the unique demands of the Tour de France?
A: For us, TrainingPeaks serves as the central hub of our entire performance program. We use it to plan and prescribe each rider’s training, while riders provide daily feedback and training data directly through the platform. It’s where we analyze performance trends, monitor progression, and make informed coaching decisions.
What makes TrainingPeaks particularly valuable is that it brings the entire performance team together. Our strength coach, nutritionist and coaching staff all work within the same ecosystem, each contributing insights from their respective areas of expertise.
This shared environment keeps everyone, including the rider, aligned on the training plan, current status and progress, ensuring a coordinated approach to preparing for the demands of the Tour de France.
Q: What specific data metrics or tools within TrainingPeaks are absolute keys to your team’s Grand Tour preparation?
A: The basic key metrics to start with are the usual suspects: Training volume, CTL, ATL, and TSB, and how those compare to previous training blocks and Grand Tour preparations for that specific rider.
We also closely monitor the relationship between power and heart rate, alongside HRV and resting heart rate, to assess readiness and determine how well a rider can absorb a given training load or intensity.
Just like the riders on team Soudal Quick-Step, you can track key training trends like Fitness, Fatigue, Form, training load, and how your body is responding over time in TrainingPeaks. Pair that with Health Insights like HRV and resting heart rate, and you get a clearer picture of whether you’re ready to absorb more work, maintain your current load, or prioritize recovery.
Q: What are the key physiological indicators to you as a coach that your athletes are peaking and preparing in the right way?
A: The key indicators are an athlete’s ability to handle a high training load while maintaining a healthy heart rate response to increasing intensity. We also want to see riders hitting strong numbers in their key quality sessions, combined with low cardiac drift during longer efforts, which gives us confidence that they are both fit and well-prepared for the demands ahead.
