Tour de celeb

pblakeney

diamonddog wrote:

Still doesn't make it a sensible thing to do, but each to their own I just thought ex pro sportsmen would have more sense.

Old school rugby and cricket.
Hardly the epitome of athletes.

mamba80

Fenix wrote:

Yes Hugo wasn't 'digging in' was he on that climb. Pootling was the word. He's happier with the clueless trainer getting them to do step ups on a slippy floor....

Surprised about Amy W not liking the downhills ? I'd have thought a skeleton track was way scarier to do and harder to control ?

The cricketer is carrying a lot of timber. Has nobody mentioned this to him ??

yeah but there isnt a coach coming up on the wrong side of the ice track or a 100ft drop off and/or a rock face when you screw up a corner.

i think its good TV and shows many problems new cyclists have inc not really being into it, being scared of traffic and how hard it is to give up old habits to either get fit or stay there.

homers_double

The Cyclist of Catan wrote:

What kind of halfwit spends until the early hours of the morning out drinking with the lads before taking on a Pyrenean climb or two?

Oh hi!

bianchimoon

The Cyclist of Catan wrote:

Besides, I learned earlier this year that it is possible to go from zero to 100 miles in about eight to ten weeks. With a lot less drama.

You do realise that's not very fast don't you? I'll wager a lot on here have done it on a day or less!

crescent

Not a fan of "reality" shows, but it's cycling, so I'm watching it. Not quite sure why there are so many tears though. Amy Williams is the only one that is maintaining any air of dignity about her I think. It's harmless enough though.

itboffin

homers double wrote:

The Cyclist of Catan wrote:

What kind of halfwit spends until the early hours of the morning out drinking with the lads before taking on a Pyrenean climb or two?

Oh hi!

is that not what everyone does?

oops :roll:

pilot_pete

Are any of the pros/ ex-pros actually qualified coaches? I know the thrust of the program is entertainment for the masses, but I could have done a better job of coaching them to clip in/ out, brake and corner, climb and descend and group ride! Also, if they are doing this under BC guidelines you are not supposed to coach on open roads anyway.... :roll:

PP

bianchimoon

itboffin wrote:

homers double wrote:

The Cyclist of Catan wrote:

What kind of halfwit spends until the early hours of the morning out drinking with the lads before taking on a Pyrenean climb or two?

Oh hi!

is that not what everyone does?

oops :roll:

Shirley he was being facetious?

rolf_f

What was it they said about that Surrey Hills sportive? Some of the most challenging terrain in the country?!

Tashman

Rolf F wrote:

What was it they said about that Surrey Hills sportive? Some of the most challenging terrain in the country?!

I was waiting for someone to pick up on that

mpatts

Did they say what the day 1 FTP results were? Quite interesting that (to cycling folk at least!)

StillGoing

mpatts wrote:

Did they say what the day 1 FTP results were? Quite interesting that (to cycling folk at least!)

It's not really though is it unless you're of similar build and do similar levels of exercise. FTP is personal to the individual as far as performance goes. A lightweight person putting out low numbers, may have similar watts per kilo to a heavyweight putting out bigger numbers.

mac9091

mpatts wrote:

Did they say what the day 1 FTP results were? Quite interesting that (to cycling folk at least!)

I'm about 58kg. A recent FTP test came back with 193W so a P-W ratio of 3.32

My max power (best) was 1152W a massive P-W of 19.86 (Granted that was for about a second)

6 Second sprint of 896W so 15.45

Although the max power and sprint were early last year. All tests were on a Wattbike

Hoping to see at least a 10% increase in FTP over the winter months if not closer to 20%. Giving me between 210 and 230W.

itboffin

Rolf F wrote:

What was it they said about that Surrey Hills sportive? Some of the most challenging terrain in the country?!

yep i did chuckle at that one

OnTheRopes

mpatts wrote:

Did they say what the day 1 FTP results were? Quite interesting that (to cycling folk at least!)

How anyone can expect somebody with no athletic experience whatsoever to complete an FTP test on their first day on a bike with any meaning is beyond me. Firstly they would not be able to give 100% for 20 minutes which would render any data taken from that figure as next to useless

cougie

So they gave as much as they could. Its just a baseline.

A couple of them are cyclists anyway.

pblakeney

OnTheRopes wrote:

mpatts wrote:

Did they say what the day 1 FTP results were? Quite interesting that (to cycling folk at least!)

How anyone can expect somebody with no athletic experience whatsoever to complete an FTP test on their first day on a bike with any meaning is beyond me. Firstly they would not be able to give 100% for 20 minutes which would render any data taken from that figure as next to useless

It was a fitness test, not a cycling test.

OnTheRopes

PBlakeney wrote:

OnTheRopes wrote:

mpatts wrote:

Did they say what the day 1 FTP results were? Quite interesting that (to cycling folk at least!)

How anyone can expect somebody with no athletic experience whatsoever to complete an FTP test on their first day on a bike with any meaning is beyond me. Firstly they would not be able to give 100% for 20 minutes which would render any data taken from that figure as next to useless

It was a fitness test, not a cycling test.

Then they should call it that, no way they would find their threshold

kentphil

Great as a reality TV show,but not the best advert for showing how to start and improve your cycling for a newcomer to cycling.
One part that stood out was using clipless pedals. I spent ages stationary clipping in and out to get my technique right before actually riding with them.

pblakeney

OnTheRopes wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

OnTheRopes wrote:

mpatts wrote:

Did they say what the day 1 FTP results were? Quite interesting that (to cycling folk at least!)

How anyone can expect somebody with no athletic experience whatsoever to complete an FTP test on their first day on a bike with any meaning is beyond me. Firstly they would not be able to give 100% for 20 minutes which would render any data taken from that figure as next to useless

It was a fitness test, not a cycling test.

Then they should call it that, no way they would find their threshold

Based on??????

Tashman

This is entertainment people, not a documentary. Just take it for what it is.

fenix

KentPhil wrote:

Great as a reality TV show,but not the best advert for showing how to start and improve your cycling for a newcomer to cycling.
One part that stood out was using clipless pedals. I spent ages stationary clipping in and out to get my technique right before actually riding with them.

That wouldn't make for great telly though would it ? It's not meant to be educational - we have youtube for that. This is entertainment. I could watch them fall over all day long...

StillGoing

OnTheRopes wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

OnTheRopes wrote:

mpatts wrote:

Did they say what the day 1 FTP results were? Quite interesting that (to cycling folk at least!)

How anyone can expect somebody with no athletic experience whatsoever to complete an FTP test on their first day on a bike with any meaning is beyond me. Firstly they would not be able to give 100% for 20 minutes which would render any data taken from that figure as next to useless

It was a fitness test, not a cycling test.

Then they should call it that, no way they would find their threshold

Of course they can find their threshold. The whole idea was for them to know their power outputs from the start and then be able to see the improvements after a period of time. They were talked through the test and whilst their 20 minute effort may not have been an even effort for the duration (how many of us weekend warriors actually manage that anyway?) it would still give them a baseline to work from. It also gives the coaching staff the evidence to see whether they're putting the off camera efforts in in their own time, or sitting sipping cocktails with their Chavski mates.

lostboysaint

How on earth can a thread that should be dedicated to admiring Jodie Kidd and Amy Williams in lycra (again, in the latter case) have ended up on thresholds of forumites? You lot should be ashamed!

mpatts

Oh, and I'm in the backgroud of episode 1 whizzing round the track. I saw the posh dude having a fag outside.

DeVlaeminck

philthy3 wrote:

Of course they can find their threshold. The whole idea was for them to know their power outputs from the start and then be able to see the improvements after a period of time. They were talked through the test and whilst their 20 minute effort may not have been an even effort for the duration (how many of us weekend warriors actually manage that anyway?) it would still give them a baseline to work from. It also gives the coaching staff the evidence to see whether they're putting the off camera efforts in in their own time, or sitting sipping cocktails with their Chavski mates.

Not sure why a weekend warrior with a power meter or a watt bike can't manage to hold a relatively even effort any more than a pro can - some of us weekend warriors have been riding longer than some pros after all.

You do need some experience to know what kind of effort you can aim for though and unless the celebs had some prior testing though - as I'm sure you are aware. If they just sat the celebs down and said go for it then the effort would probably be so far from being even that it would be completely meaningless - if they had someone standing over them giving them advice then that's a bit different but even then it's unlikely to accurately reflect their ftp so maybe not completely meaningless but not that far off.

StillGoing

DeVlaeminck wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

Of course they can find their threshold. The whole idea was for them to know their power outputs from the start and then be able to see the improvements after a period of time. They were talked through the test and whilst their 20 minute effort may not have been an even effort for the duration (how many of us weekend warriors actually manage that anyway?) it would still give them a baseline to work from. It also gives the coaching staff the evidence to see whether they're putting the off camera efforts in in their own time, or sitting sipping cocktails with their Chavski mates.

Not sure why a weekend warrior with a power meter or a watt bike can't manage to hold a relatively even effort any more than a pro can - some of us weekend warriors have been riding longer than some pros after all.

You do need some experience to know what kind of effort you can aim for though and unless the celebs had some prior testing though - as I'm sure you are aware. If they just sat the celebs down and said go for it then the effort would probably be so far from being even that it would be completely meaningless - if they had someone standing over them giving them advice then that's a bit different but even then it's unlikely to accurately reflect their ftp so maybe not completely meaningless but not that far off.

You doubt the coaching staff will have advised them that the 20 minute effort is to be at a pace they can sustain for 20 minutes? And it wasn't a dig at the weekend warriors per se. More that i'll wager plenty of amateur riders doing CP20 or FTP tests don't maintain an even pace over the 20 minutes. Whatever figure they come up with will be a useful baseline to improve on. Be that in increased watts per kilo or by managing to maintain an even pace at threshold next time around.

pblakeney

DeVlaeminck wrote:

[
You do need some experience to know what kind of effort you can aim for though and unless the celebs had some prior testing though - as I'm sure you are aware.

But, but, but........
How do you get that prior testing without the first test? That may come up in a later episode.

mac9091

PBlakeney wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

[
You do need some experience to know what kind of effort you can aim for though and unless the celebs had some prior testing though - as I'm sure you are aware.

But, but, but........
How do you get that prior testing without the first test? That may come up in a later episode.

Surely in the same way that employers expect 20 years industry experience from a 21 year old

I'd agree that the 1st FTP in terms of reliability when compared with future FTP tests can be ignored completely for those who have never pushed themselves hard on a bike. A weekend ride with family is not the same as riding hard for 20 mins. This is because they will not know how to pace themselves for the 20mins (likely go too hard to start and then blow up (someone who considers themselves to be fairly fit) or go too easy for the whole 20mins (Posh twat springs to mind), for me the 3 min MMP test would be better to find their power. If the test was solely to find out the state of the rider after 20 mins "perceived" hard effort then the test would have been suitable.

On the plus side It will however give the rider an idea of how much more they could have pushed afterwards (or perhaps not as much). So on reflection the rider will maybe think "OK so i could have gone a bit harder therefore rather than a 200W FTP i should be looking at aiming for holding 220W on the next test."

neil h

philthy3 wrote:

Whatever figure they come up with will be a useful baseline to improve on. Be that in increased watts per kilo or by managing to maintain an even pace at threshold next time around.

Surely this is the important thing to take away from the exercise? At the end of the day it is mainstream TV so I wouldn't expect everything to be 100% technically accurate. Yes it may not be a true FTP figure but it gives the average punter a way to see how each riders fitness has changed during the series.