TrainingPeaks’ Education Specialist, Cody Stephenson, is joined by returning guest and eSport cycling coach Zach Nehr and professional cyclist and esports racer Hayden Pucker—better known as Farm Watts—for an honest, high-energy deep-dive into the world of virtual endurance racing. We’ll hear about Hayden Pucker’s unconventional journey from riding a hundred miles before dawn in Wisconsin to racking up power records and chasing the podium at the esports world championships.
Zach Nehr, Hayden Pucker’s coach, shares nuts-and-bolts insights on how shifting training toward shorter, high-intensity intervals unlocked Hayden’s next level—and how dialing in things like core strength, fueling, and tactical savvy makes all the difference in esports. The episode tackles everything: race strategy, the key differences between virtual and real-world riding, handling setbacks, and why communication is everything between coaches and athletes.
And yes, we even settle the debate over ERG mode, learn about Hayden’s unique garage setup, and discover the unexpected secret sauce behind his training playlist. Whether you’re an endurance athlete, coach, or just curious about the future of virtual competition, this episode is packed with empowering takeaways and a wealth of actionable advice.
Plus, don’t forget to check out Zach’s new eSports Coaching Course through TrainingPeaks University that they mention in the podcast.
Standout Quotes
Hayden Pucker on his cycling progression: “Every weekend, I would try to go farther and farther. I would do 200, 300 mile rides on the weekends, 100 miles at 1AM before work, and I build up this massive aerobic fitness.”
“He has this unique physiology that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before where I would give him these intervals and he’s just able to hold 65 RPM at 600 Watts for like five minutes, which I mean, he’s, he’s literally broken trainers before.”
Zach nehr on hayden’s racing patterns
Zach Nehr on The Importance of Communication in Coaching: “It’s like the number of times I’ve seen a coach athlete relationship either not work or completely fall apart. It’s just because one side wasn’t communicating with the other, and there was just this this this mysterious resentment that existed on one side but didn’t exist on the other because they didn’t talk about it.”
I like how it feels without erg mode and it makes you push through it more and like learn different cadences and I don’t know. I just think that you’re better off without erg mode personally,
HAYDEN PUCKER ON USING ERG MODE
Zach Nehr Online
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