Cycling Science Podcast

In this episode of the Cycling Science Podcast, Professor Richard Davison speaks with Dr. Fran Oficial Casado of the Universidad de Valencia about pacing in long, mountainous Gran Fondo events. Using data from the Quebrantahuesos race, they discuss why starting too hard early can damage performance later, why lower pacing variability is linked with better results, and what recreational cyclists can learn from endurance research.Fran shares how his background as a swimmer, triathlete, coach, and researcher led him to study pacing, and he offers practical advice for riders and coaches: start very conservatively, trust perceived effort, and make smarter decisions about when to push and when to hold back.If you race Gran Fondos or long climbs, this conversation will help you think differently about pacing, fatigue, and strategy.Reference: Sánchez-Jiménez, J.L., Priego-Quesada, J.I. and Oficial-Casado, F. (2026) ‘Pacing strategies in Gran Fondo cycling: a large-scale analysis of the Quebrantahuesos race’, Sport Sciences for Health, 22(3), p. 236. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-026-01828-0.

Every year hundreds of talented young cyclists compete for a handful of world tour contracts. For decades, selectors relied on race results and raw power numbers. John and colleagues built a new framework — the Compound Score — that predicts podium performance with 83% accuracy. But the most important factors, he argues, still can't be measured at all.John Wakefield is highly experienced and well known for his broad expertise in cycling science. He is currently the Director of Coaching, Sports Science and Technical Development at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe World Tour cycling team. Before this, he spent four seasons with UAE Team Emirates, with the role of Performance Coordinator and Coach.John’s expertise spans two decades, earning him multiple accolades, working with Multiple Tour de France and Cape Epic winners, World Champions and numerous National titleholders, while being an advocate for developing youth riders and shaping their careers.In addition, John manages the Science to Sport performance laboratory based in Girona, Spain. In his free time, he remains active in the cycling community, contributing his insights through interviews and articles in sports science publications.Leo, Spragg, Wakefield & Swart (2022). The Compound Score in elite road cycling. Journal of Science and Cycling. https://www.jsc-journal.com/index.php/JSC/article/view/733

In this episode I interview Prof Rob Lamberts and we discuss his recent publication ‘Reliability of Recovery Heart Rate Variability Measurements as Part of the Lamberts Submaximal Cycle Test and the Relationship with Training Status in Trained to Elite Cyclists’. European Journal of Applied Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05385-z. Prof. Rob Lamberts, head of Research at the Division of Movement Science and Exercise Therapy at Stellenbosch University, is renowned for his work in high-performance cycling, focusing on optimizing training prescriptions to manage fatigue and prevent overreaching. With a PhD from the University of Cape Town, where he developed the Lamberts Submaximal Cycle Test, Rob is a leading applied exercise physiologist and expert in cycling physiology. He serves as an associate editor for the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, contributes as a Scientific board member to the European College of Sport Science, and has collaborated with top cycling teams and associations. Lamberts boasts over 100 peer-reviewed publications, a Scopus h-index of 26, and more than 2300 citations. Consider attending the European College of Sport Science Congress in Glasgow 2-5th July https://sport-science.org/index.php/congress/glasgow-2024. I am the President of the congress and Rob will be there too.

In this episode I speak to Prof Gerry McCann who is a heart specialist with a subspecialist interest in MRI scanning; he conducts experimental research in people to better understand heart disease and clinical trials to assess the optimal investigation strategies and treatments for patients with, or at risk of developing, heart disease. Professor McCann is the Cardiovascular theme lead for NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, the immediate past-chair of the British Society of Cardiovascular MRI research group, lead of the PhOSP-COVID cardiovascular working group and East Midlands Cardiovascular Clinical Research network. Gerry and I actually studied together at Glasgow University and in this interview we discuss atrial fibrillation, or AF as it is known, as it relates to cyclists. There is some evidence that high volumes of endurance training like cycling may be a contributory factor the the development of atrial fibrillation therefore we discuss exactly what it is, what are the specific risks and potential treatments.

Ron Maughan obtained his BSc (Physiology) and PhD from the University of Aberdeen, and was based in the Medical School there for almost 25 years before moving to England. He is now semi-retired but is still a Visiting Professor in the School of Medicine at St Andrews University. He spent much of his career trying to understand the physiological and metabolic responses to exercise and the nature of fatigue, but has included many digressions along the way. He chairs the Nutrition Working Group of the Medical and Scientific Commission of the International Olympic Committee. He is a director of the IOC Diploma programs in Sports Nutrition, Sports Medicine, and Sports Physical Therapies. He organised the IOC Consensus Conferences on Nutrition in Sport in 2003 and 2010, the FIFA/F-MARC Consensus Conferences on Nutrition in Football in 2005 and 2011, and the IAAF Consensus Conference on Nutrition in Athletics in 2007. More recently, he organised the 2017 IOC Consensus conference on Dietary Supplements in Elite Sport. He has published extensively in the scientific literature and is author or editor of a number of books on sports nutrition and exercise biochemistry. Not only that he has inspired, educated and supported a large number of sport scientists throughout their career, myself included. In this episode we discuss a number of the core themes in sports nutrition and debunk a few myths. In particular we talk about one of his more recent publications. The 'IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete'. In particular to emphasise on of the key findings that "Supplements claiming to directly or indirectly enhance performance are typically the largest group of products marketed to athletes, but only a few (including caffeine, creatine, specific buffering agents and nitrate) have good evidence of benefits."

In this episode I explore the topic of ageing and cycling, an area that I have researched extensively myself. But in this episode I interview Ray Maranette who has established a Facebook group called the Academy of Octogenerian Cyclists that can now boast after only a short time in existence, over 1.1k members across the globe. While this interview is a departure from my usual interviews of research scientists it is a very good reminder that cycling has a huge amount to offer all of regardless of our age. The fact that The Academy of Octogenarian Cyclists has very quickly grown a strong membership from a wide range of backgrounds from the pure leisure cyclist to ex professional riders I suppose gives testament to the fact that regular cycling can help you stay fit healthy and intellectually alert into later life.

In this episode I interview Dr Nicki Winfield Almquist who is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. We discuss one of his publications 'The Effect of 30-Second Sprints During Prolonged Exercise on Gross Efficiency, Electromyography, and Pedaling Technique in Elite Cyclists' published in the [[International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance]]. https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/15/4/article-p562.xml. This paper is one of the studies in his PhD and thus our discussion does expand to include some of his other work. 

In my interview with Chris Fennell we discuss the importance of optimising aerodynamic position for successful time-trial performance. Air resistance is the major resistive force for cyclists on level ground accounting for up to 96% of a rider's power output. Over the past few years the time-trial positions have become more extreme in the quest to reduce that all important drag factor (CdA). Reduction of CdA is most easily achieved by lowering the front of the rider to reduce the frontal surface area. While with it is possible to significantly reduce CdA this comes at a cost in terms of ability to produce and sustain power output. In addition we also know that time-trial intensity exercise reduces cycling efficiency and thus the focus of Chris's research was to look at these two factors in combination. So what happens to cycling performance during a 20 minute time-trial at 3 different torso angles 0 degrees, 12 degrees and 24 degrees relative to horizontal. In addition what happened to cycling gross efficiency over the 20 minutes in the three torso angles. https://www.jsc-journal.com/index.php/JSC/article/view/607

In recent years there has been a significant interest in using nitrate supplements to enhance athletic performance with sports nutrition companies producing beetroot and cherry supplements to try and increase our nitrate intake. In this interview with Dr Mia Burleigh I discuss why nitrate  supplementation might be good for cycling performance and then go on to discuss her work which also looks at the health benefits of nitrate supplementation and why this may be particularly important for the oral health of athletes who would regularly consume large volumes of carbohydrate drinks during exercise.

David Smith is a remarkable athlete and individual who from a young age had an overwhelming desire to be an elite athlete and compete at the Olympics. Things did not start well as he was born with club feet which required an operation, requiring him to have to learn to walk again. Not really the start of a promising career as an elite athlete or Olympian. Not only that he would go on to have to endure medical misdiagnoses, followed by tumours, blood clots, strokes and paralysis, a life of agonising pain and multiple further life threatening operations. Despite all of this David's story is one or remarkable determination and resilience which has resulted in a career as an elite athlete and a successful one at that as a 2x World Champion and London 2012 Gold medalist. These success coming as a member of the Rowing Paralympic team in the legs, trunks and arms adaptive mixed coxed four. To summarise he has to date had to endure 6 operations on the tumour in his neck and has come close to not surviving those operations on several occasions. On each occasion he has had to learn to walk again. After his 5th operation he is now significantly paralysed down his left side but this still does not stop him riding his bike. Yes having dabbled in several sports, winning Olympic Gold he says that his true passion is cycling and he loves the freedom that the bike gives him. This interview covers his life story, all of the ups and downs to where he is now, training on his bike 14-16 hours a week trying to build up his strength with an eye to the UCI World Championships in Glasgow in 2023.