Hello Reader,

Yesterday, we quietly released another incredible blog by our mathematical wizard, Dr. Andrea Zignoli. In this latest entry, Dr. Zignoli delves into the emotional story of Giulio Pellizzari's bittersweet performance during Stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia, as well as how his post-race data was analyzed using Athletica’s Workout Reserve.

The analysis revealed Giulio's maximal mean power (MMP) achievements across different durations giving insights into the critical moments where his performance was at its historical peak. Andrea's new blog nicely complements Athletica's latest release, where we’ve added more relevance to your Workout Reserve number using the "Limiting MMP" duration in your session chart analysis (Giulio's finishing sprint example here below).

Now that the dust has settled over the Giro, it’s time for reflection. What should the performance team think about doing to improve Giulio's performance for next time?

To recap from the blog, we learned that Giulio's performance pinch points were in the 5-minute and 36-minute time domains for that stage. That's where he was limited from a historical standpoint.

So at first glance, the reactive solution might be simply: "do more VO2 and threshold work in the 5-minute and 36-minute durations".

Right?

But unfortunately physiology doesn't work that way. Focusing solely on those aspects neglects other critical components of performance that make up those efforts, such as zone 2 work to enhance fat oxidation and low cadence high torque exercises to make fast-twitch fibers more fatigue resistant.

No one really knows the answer but I'll give you my opinion. With a 20-year-old rider like Giulio, he’ll continue to develop. Maintaining a holistic approach in his training will lead to more results like this one and even greater successes in the future. While specific papers to support my opinion are hard to come by, this blend of science, art, and intuition in our coaching practices has driven significant successes across many of our Athletica users. Reflecting on my own coaching, this same approach was associated with Andi Boecherer's Ironman Lanzarote win just prior to his retirement.

And now, back to you. Hopefully, you’re starting to appreciate that you have many of the advanced tools at your disposal within Athletica — just like elite athletes. You have a data analyst capable of calculating your Workout Reserve and identifying your limiting performance pinch points. You also have a trainer, or assistant coach, who can deliver sessions designed to enhance future performance. While we acknowledge there's more work to do to make these insights even clearer, we hope you can begin to understand the great potential of Athletica to help you build your ultimate performance.

Thank you for being part of our community and for your continued trust in Athletica.

Best regards,

Paul Laursen, PhD

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