Strong legs and a scrawny upper-body… that’s the stereotype for lycra clad cyclists. Just look at the photos of pro-riders after a three-week stint of the Tour de France, the alien-like body of Chris Froome suggests that pro-cycling is just about leg strength and the time spent in the saddle. This may have been true in bygone eras but modern cycling is a different beast and saddle-time is just one part of the path to success.
Effective training goes beyond the bike and factors-in physical and psychological aspects such as nutrition and mental exercises like goal-setting.
Top cyclists often get automatic access to comprehensive training from coaches and experts from national sports bodies (such as the Australian Institute of Sport) and from their cycling team or club. But for amateurs riders and everyday cyclists who just want to get better on the bike, expert training can be unobtainable. A new digital training service called Volt is seeking to change this by putting expert training within reach for everyday people, they cater to a range of sports and include cycling specific programs.