Scott Steele

Minneapolis

Man of Steele

Scott is a 22-year-old avid cyclist from Minneapolis who entered the sport only one year ago.

Background about Scott Steele’s use of Xert

On May 7th he entered his first Criterion race expecting to do very well given his fitness levels, gained from Triathlon training over the past 3 years.

Riding 9-12 hours a week, Scott was excited about the Criterion and was prepared to “give it” on the day and to stay with the leaders.

 

Bike Set Up

  • Orbea Orca GDR
  • Garmin Edge 520 – set up with Xert mobile to display MPA and Time to exhaustion
  • Quarq DFour power meter
  • Simple Heart rate monitor

Race Day

Charging off the line, Scott was surprised at the power used by his colleagues on the first lap. Keeping up with the leaders,

Scott noticed that he was digging into his reserves to keep up with the leaders, all the while not using more than his MPA but more than his threshold power.

By the fifth lap, Scott knew he was in trouble as his output crossed over his MPA threshold (going into the red).

As you can see from the image below, the point where the two lines cross is the classic example of “dying.”

 

Scott’s fitness signature

 

Needless to say, as the lead group powered away into the distance, Scott was left to recover (while still putting up above Threshold Power it should be pointed out) and finish off the ride.

 

Lessons Learned

 

Scott’s Xert Fitness Signature was very accurate.  It was able to show Scott that he was heading for an issue as he raced with the leaders and, after the fact, show the time and place where that point was.Criterion racing is a lot about your power.  No matter how much you may hide in the peloton, you need power, and, when finishing a race, its a good idea to know what is ‘left in the tank.So now Scott is training with Xert to increase his Threshold Power through a combination of Xert Smart Workouts, regular rides and other training.  He continues to user Xert to model his Fitness Signature and is very happy that he doesn’t have to do FTP or other tests as Xert tracks his fitness.