By Ric Stern, Founder, Performance Director and Senior Coach for RST Sport Solutions

Track racing is an exciting and physically demanding sport. Its popularity has significantly increased in the United Kingdom within the last 15 years, due, undoubtedly to the success of the Great Britain Squad. However, the sport is dominated not just by Great Britain, but Australia, Russia, New Zealand and the USA, with the USA women holding the world record for the Team Pursuit.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the CycleOps Warm up zone.

CycloCross racers were treated to some unseasonably warm Wisconsin weather during the 2012 National Championship in Verona, WI from January 4-8. Race directors were prepared for a cold and snowy race, but instead the 2.1 mile track was often muddy due to the above freezing temperatures.

by Jessi Stensland, Professional Triathlete and Movement Specialist

There will always be times in life when it is necessary to put training on the back burner. It could be the off-season, career or family commitments, injury, lack of motivation or just because you feel like it. Whatever the reason, although your fitness might flounder, you can never afford to forget about your health. Conveniently, maintaining optimal health is the foundation of any proper training program. Simply being diligent about a few things in your day-to-day routine can make a positive impact on your health while helping you maintain a great foundation for piling back on the fitness once you are able to get back at it.

As the popularity of the power meter increases so does the need for education on its application. The underlying training principles of cycling are not new. However, the way we use technology to redefine cycling and enhance everyone's experience is relatively new. Power measurement objectifies training output allowing users to quantify almost every aspect of training.

CycleOps PowerCal is a compact, lightweight, versatile inexpensive power meter customized to your own biometrics that can be used both on the bike and off. The PowerCal Power Meter will be available for purchase soon at http://cycleops.com/en/products/power-meters/powercal.html

by Russell Cree, Cycling coach, Upper Echelon Fitness

Cyclocross continues to grow across the nation and especially in the Pacific Northwest. We are now seeing up to 1,500 participants at a single race in Oregon. It’s safe to say cyclocross has arrived and is its own legitimate sport. Many people focus on this discipline of cycling exclusively. Cross is a unique sport with a unique skillset; one needs a combination of bike handling skills, fitness and strategy to win in this sport. As the competition grows and the bar is raised, you will need to become increasingly effective with your preparation. Cross has unique demands and your training should incorporate these specific demands.

by Frank Overton, FasCat Coaching

One of the most popular requests that we get from cyclists is "I'd like to lose some weight". Of course we are happy to help because the performance benefits are HUGE. The increase in an athlete's power to weight ratio is usually the key reason why a rider upgrades from cat 3 to cat 2, for example, or from finishing in the top 20 to consistently finishing on the podium.

by Matt Dixon, Elite Coach and Owner of Purplepatch Fitness

Following an Ironman event (or any major endurance event), it is absolutely critical to fully recuperate before resuming full training and another build to your next event.  When coaching, I like to boil down complicated concepts into simple and digestible pieces of information, that are easy to follow and understand, hence will do the same in this article.

An Ironman event causes a tremendous amount of damage to your system, both muscular damage to the working tissue, hence the few days of having trouble walking, as well as metabolic stress (a simple coined term we use to make things simple) and ‘damage’.  The localized muscular damage, while sore to the touch and certainly disruptive, is quick to recover, but ‘metabolic stress’ takes much longer to fully restore back to normal levels.  This is a key reason that athletes often feel pretty good after a few days, but when they return too quickly to normal training, will feel very flat and tired 8 to 14 days after the event.  So what can you do to maximize recovery, while not losing too much central fitness?

by Angie Sturtevant, Fitness Education Director for CycleOps Power

As the cycling season is drawing to a close, it is common to see riders either try to maintain their peak fitness or become inactive, both being counterproductive. It is necessary to find the balance between the two. In order for there to be another true peak performance for next season, you have to recover and recharge both physically and mentally now. A limited amount of detraining is a good thing as it prepares your body for transitioning into your ramp up of training that will start in a few months and minimizes the risk of early burn out when you restart your riding season. However, do not become inactive. The idea is to come back next season better, not the same, so you need to stay active. Keeping active without the high training volume and intensity assists blood circulation, circulating nutrients into the body and removing toxins. This will speed up muscle recovery from the season, while still maintaining fitness level. Plus, activity directs food to the muscles, not the fat cells. Inactivity will only enhance weight gain.

By Gordon Paulson, USAC Level 1 Coach

In a recent article, Petra Kilian-Gehring explained how strength training can be included as an effective complement to on-the-bike training for cycling performance. Petra's points are equally pertinent to the cyclocross racer. Cyclocross racing, however, presents unique additional demands for the cycling athlete. The cyclocross racer muscles are stressed by repeatedly lifting the bike, running up hills, jumping over barriers, as well as mounting and dismounting the bike.