We asked YOU what you'd like answered from our pros George Bennett and Alex Dowsett.
Ian Swinscoe asked: "Do you find that wearing AfterShokz eases your training? If so why and would you use them while training indoors or just for outdoors"
Alex: Does it make any training easier? No. But it makes it more enjoyable, breaks the monotony on some of the longer days having podcasts, etc to listen to. I use them both indoors and outdoors - outdoors with the obvious benefits of being able to be more aware of your surroundings, and indoors so I can hear when my girlfriend shouts out 'lunch is ready!' but also when you get a countdown on zwift for your next interval session.
Dave Charlton: "I'm currently taking a bit off time away from the bike to focus on running and different types of training, including the gym. I'm wanting to ride regular century rides, my current best is 2 within a month while riding 750 total miles that said month. What would be better, simply more bike to be fitted on the bike or focussing on strength training (Legs), which is what I'm currently doing?
Alex: Get yourself a coach mate! But seriously, it's seasonal and depending on when your main goals are. If it's general fitness then "just being fit" is a never-ending target (because what defines fitness?) is that 4 century rides a month, more? Focus on what's going to make those century roads more achievable. If your area is hilly focus on your power to weight ratio, or if it's flat then power to aero.
Charles Trotman: "What are your key sessions for 10 miles 25 mile TTs?"
Alex: Making sure you ride your TT bike regularly is a must, otherwise over under are a staple diet for time triallists. That incorporates doing a prolonged session of blocks of time just above or just under your FTP.
Pete Griffiths: "When you are out training in the UK how do you react if at all to super close passes?"
Alex: Like anyone else really. I get angry that someone can maliciously put my life in danger without batting an eyelid about it. I understand the frustration of drivers sometimes being seemingly held up by thinking that they're being held up, but once they overtake they're only going to rejoin the queue they were in before. It doesn't seem fair to risk someone's life for a few seconds or a minute.
Mark Blackman asked: "How much weekly training do Pros do during pre-season and mid-season? I am guessing the races themselves are good training as well? Is there something about a real race that makes it less or more effective than dedicated training?"
George: It depends largely on what you are training for but a guy like me who has to be good every day for 3 weeks does a lot more hours than the sprinters on our team, leading into the tour I was often training up to 32 hours a week, in the last month I would be operating closer to 20 with a few grand tours in the legs and freshness becoming the main priority.
Paul O'Hare: What do you do when you've got a cold or flu? Just battle on through or do you give it total rest?
George: There’s a big difference between a cold and flu. Anything “below the neck” as in fever or GI trouble then I stay off the bike. It can do serious damage to push on in that situation. If I just have a sore throat and runny nose then I generally just soldier on, maybe lower the intensity but make sure I still do the hours.
Wendy Thomas: What’s your go-to food as soon as you’re in the offseason and did you ever sneak any of it during the race season?
George: When its time to launch into the offseason I think probably tend to add more liquid to my diet… that also means a few more burgers and grease to help soak it up. I find once I stop training I lose my appetite quite quickly.
Sean Gray: "What off the bike training do you do during both racing season and offseason to increase/maintain fitness? Running? Gym work etc"
George: I don’t do much when I’m putting in the big days leading into a grand tour or world championships its hard to add much to a 7 hour day on the bike. A lot of guys get stuck into core work and the sprinters often hit the gym but If I do anything it's in the sauna for a bit of heat adaption. As for the offseason, the whole point of it for me is getting unfit and let my body recover so I'm not too worried about maintaining fitness.
Luke Wass: "When you were younger, how did you balance training with school, etc?"
George: I think it's really difficult to find the right balance through school, I put in big hours and sometimes stepped off the bike at 10.30 pm. The main thing for me was making time to be a normal teenager because if you focus too much on cycling when you are young then you very likely to blow up early and throw it away. The main focus through school should be enjoying a normal life and cycling as a fun activity and not get too caught up in it because if you turn pro you will need a world away from cycling to turn to when things don’t go your way.
