TIME TRAVELLER | 03

The base line testing is done, the plan has been made, the wheels are very much in motion. This week, we're coming at you in collaboration with The Breakaway. Founded by David's former teammate Christian Vande Velde, it's our new favourite way to keep track of how we're doing on the bike.

This week is all about The Training.

How to approach it, how to handle it and how to enjoy it, after all, this time round it's for the fun of it. So here's where we hand over to Christian who can tell us a bit more...

"I spent my career getting trained by the best in the world. Now, with The Breakaway, we are working to bring world class analysis and guidance to anyone who wants to get better."

We created The Breakaway to simplify data and help better yourself with less effort. In the modern age of sport we have so much data coming at us all, but understanding what is pertinent to your wellbeing and better yet, what ISN’T, is always a chore. We all have constraints in our lives and time is our most coveted commodity, let’s make the best of what we have!

When you start with The Breakaway we analyze your power from the rides you have on file and assess what type of rider you are and put you into one of three different categories. Showing you your strengths and weaknesses across the board. This can evolve as many (myself included) haven’t pushed themselves in some of these disciplines in quite some time, or ever.

“Sprinter”

You love the short extreme efforts but not the long aerobic efforts. This category is always unique with myself and many others as we dont sprint that often (15-30 seconds all out) in everyday life but working these systems help you become a well rounded rider.

“Attacker”

These efforts are in the 2-10min range. You’re not a sprinter and not necessarily a climber either, you love pushing yourself on short climbs and have the ability to bridge a gap to the breakaway.

“Climber”

Or endurance/time trialist. You enjoy pushing yourself over a longer distance or time and shy away from the shorter, all out efforts (in my case all slow twitch muscle)

Within these categories we rank you against the best in the world by age, gender and weight. “World Class” being the golden standard and “Beginner” at the bottom and 6 categories in between. Yes, these high water marks are from the best in the World Tour (men and women), then adjusted for age. Although it can be fun (and humbling) to compare ourselves to what is possible, this journey is all about YOU! What can you accomplish with some goal setting? Are you stronger than you think? We think you are.

JOIN OUR WEEKLY ZWIFT RIDES

David has set his sights on going fast again, can he still do a 10mile TT in 20 min? 20min is the standard of where the endurance world sets their FTP (Functional Threshold Power). And since speed is such a wide variable (some might find it impossible to find a flat route without traffic etc) and Power is the only constant, we set our goals there, 20min power. You can’t go fast without the engine, no matter how much aerodynamic gains you have.

SIMPLE. BUT NOT EASY. GETTING INTO A FLOW STATE WITH DAVID MILLAR.

“Teams function” This challenge sounds hard and it will be hard to hold yourself accountable on the days that you aren’t feeling it. That’s where our teams function play a massive role. In The Breakaway you can invite up to 10 people to be a part of your “team”. Compare yourself to your friends, make it fun, have a little competition if that helps drive you. Most of my competitive spirit has been exhausted after racing professionally for almost 20 years but David challenging me? If I can crush David's soul and get fit again at the same time, I’m in! For me these days accountability is everything.

"If I can crush David's soul and get fit again at the same time, I’m in!"

All joking aside, this is all about you. How much can you improve from now till May 14? For many of you, I feel that you might surprise yourself. When is the last time you truly pushed yourself, set a goal, and worked hard towards it? For me, it’s been a while and I’m looking forward to seeing what is still possible.

What are you capable of?

The Breakaway is currently available on IOS devices, compatible with- Peloton Garmin, Zwift & Wahoo.