Cinch Cycling

I really loved this winning attack from Jonas Vingegaard to distance Felix Gall and win stage 9 at the Giro d’Italia.
There are some key concepts worth sharing that you can add to your training to improve your race craft.

1. Follow Your Rival and Let Them Show You What They Have
Jonas did a good job following Gall’s attack and not showing anything until he felt like he saw what Gall had in the tank.
This is hard to do. When someone attacks you like that, you can get emotional and want to immediately attack over the top to “show them” how strong you are. It’s better to sit tight and let them put as much out there so you can really see where their level is.

2. Counter-Attack in an Area from Slow to Fast
Jonas does a great job of this, attacking right at a steep transition to flatter terrain. This allows him to carry his higher speed longer from the attack. By hitting faster terrain first at higher speed immediately stretches out the gap. The higher speed exponentially increases the amount of power Gall must produce to close it down compared to steeper terrain. Finally the lower gradient gives Jonas the ability to ease off the power for a second to recover while not dropping speed much

3. High Cadence for Higher Power
Look at the high cadence shown by both riders here. This allows them to reach higher power numbers by amplifying the torque they’re pushing. I see too often riders try to attack at a lower cadence and while they are giving more effort, the speed is not what it needs to be.

4. Get Aero!
Jonas used the higher speeds and his aero position to increase the gap over a much less aero Gall. This is super hard to do at the end of a hard climbing effort as you want to be more upright to breathe, but Jonas does a very good job opening his gap all the way to the finish

Strava Is Killing Your Confidence? Here’s How to Fix It

While Strava is meant for connection and community, it oftentimes can lead people off track when they use it for comparison.

That’s mistake number one because a lot of times what happens on Strava doesn’t happen anywhere else.

Let me share a story about how this led me off track in my own race strategy.

I had a guy I raced last fall. I was so intimidated and so psyched out from comparing history training and power numbers to mine on that in the race I didn’t even follow him on one of his attacks. I should have as he ended up just exploding in the middle of the race and I caught and passed him. Turns out my comparison was wrong and costly as I wasted time chasing.

What you see on Strava with others should not change what you are doing.

The bottom line is If the reason you’re scoping out people’s information on Strava is to compare yourself to them, don’t do it.
You never know:
- If their power meter is calibrated (one of the biggest things)
- If they’re on an interval session
- If they’re racing full-on or going as hard as they can
- What their actual goals are
There are amazing performances every single day. If you’re comparing yourself to people on Strava one day, just one day, it’s not a fair picture.

A better use of Strava is to simply cheer and support people. This makes you feel better and makes them feel better.

Most riders bleed energy when they transition between standing and sitting which makes their standing effort cost instead o giving them added power. Here’s how to do it efficiently so every transition adds power instead of draining it.

Part 1: Standing Up (Out of the Saddle)
Step 1: Shift Down One Gear
Before you stand, shift to a harder gear. This gives you resistance to push against.
Step 2: Time It with Your Downstroke
Push down with your leg while you pull yourself forward and up with your arms.
Use your downstroke to lift yourself up out of the saddle. You’re using the power of the downstroke to lift your body weight, not wasting energy just to stand up.

Part 2: Sitting Back Down (Into the Saddle)
Step 1: Pull Yourself Into the Saddle with Your Upstroke
As you approach the crest or want to sit, pull yourself into the saddle with your upstroke. The upstroke effort pulls you forward and down into the seat. You’re not dropping dead weight, you’re using the pedal stroke to guide you in.
Step 2: Shift to an Easier Gear
Once you’re seated, shift to an easier gear to maintain cadence and recover slightly.

Master this and you’ll stand producing more power to go faster and use less effort.

The most important position you need for gravel cycling, for descents and rough terrain, is what we call the attack position.

I like to do the attack position in the drops. You can do it on the hoods, but for today I’m gonna show it to you in the drops.

The Attack Position Setup
Hands: In the drops
Cranks: Parallel (level)
Knees: Bent
Heels: Down
Butt: Back off the back of the bike
Elbows: Out
Weight: All your weight is moved over the rear wheel

How It Works
Your elbows are absorbing the bumps as they come.
Your legs are absorbing the bumps below.
Your body becomes a suspension system, upper body and lower body working together to smooth out the terrain.

1. It Evenly Distributes Your Body Weight Over the Bike
Weight back keeps the front wheel light and responsive while keeping the rear wheel weighted for traction.
2. It Absorbs All the Terrain You’re Hitting
Your bent knees and elbows act as shock absorbers. The bike can move beneath you while you stay stable.
3. It Keeps You Moving in a Straight Line
You’re looking forward, and your body and bike will always go in a straight line if you’re in this position.
Eyes up = bike goes where you look, not where the terrain pushes you.

When to Use the Attack Position
Works for:
- Sand�- Washboard�- Mud�- Steep terrain�- Any rough descents�- Technical gravel sections
Any type of steep or rough terrain, the attack position is where you wanna be when you’re descending or riding over tough terrain.

You’ve seen pros like Tadej using the aero position, here’s what to focus on to make it work!

1. Start with the Hand Position
Thumbs forward and wrap them around the hoods. Ideally, you can wrap your fingers around the top of the hood so that your wrists are straight to your forearms and not bent.

2. Move Forward on Seat and Rotate Pelvis Down
This helps you get a powerful pedal stroke while in the aero position while opening up your abdomen so that you can breathe better in this position.

3. Bend Elbows with Wrists Straight
With your wrists straight, bend elbows and try to bring forearms close to parallel with the ground while bringing elbows straight back in close to (but not hitting) your knees.

4. Head Position Is Everything
Head low and forward while moving your shoulders forward and in toward your neck. For your line of sight, look forward near the tops of your sunglasses. It is important to practice riding like this, as you need to have your head low—it makes the biggest impact on drag—but you need to be able to see safely forward.

*Big Disclaimer: You Don’t Need a Slammed Stem
You don’t need to have a low stack or a slammed stem to do this well. Using the technique to get those forearms parallel to the ground and getting that head low and forward will work just as well with higher handlebars.

How to Turn Setbacks Into Your Defining Moment
Setbacks and injuries aren’t the end. They’re moments of urgency.
When my athlete was hit by a car and suffered a broken leg and busted knee, I didn’t tell them to just “stay positive” or “take it easy.” I advised them to create a plan to win from their situation.

Three Steps to Win From a Setback
1. Find a Greater Purpose Aligned with Your Dreams
The question isn’t “How do I get back to where I was?”
The question is: “Who am I becoming through this?”
Use this forced pause to connect with the bigger vision. What do you actually want? Not just “get back on the bike” but why does this matter to you?

When your purpose is bigger than your pain, you move forward no matter what.

2. Use the Forced Downtime to Gain Clarity
Most athletes never get this gift: time to think.
You’re always training, racing, recovering. Never stopping to ask if you’re even on the right path.
Injury forces you to stop. Use it.
Get clear on:
* What matters most
* What you’ve been avoiding
* Where you actually want to go
* Who you need to become to get there
This clarity becomes your roadmap.

3. Lock In on Goals Strong Enough to Pull You Through
Your goals have to be stronger than your pain.
If your goal is just “get back to training,” that’s not strong enough when rehab gets brutal and progress is slow.
But if your goal is:
* Win the race that matters most
* Prove to yourself you can come back stronger
* Show your kids what resilience looks like
* Build the career you’ve always dreamed of
That goal will pull you through every hard day.

Why Challenging Moments Birth Excellence
These moments separate people:
Some crumble. They let the setback define them. They never come back the same.
Others rise. They use the pain as fuel. They come back not just recovered, but transformed.
True excellence isn’t born in easy moments. It’s born when everything falls apart and you choose to rebuild anyway.

For a long time I told myself I was doing everyone around me a favor by not training and not racing. Turns out that was just a story I was telling myself to make myself feel better about not trying.

Leadership comes from the top. When I am training hard and competing I am a better coach, a better dad and a better husband. What you build on the bike shows up everywhere else.

I had the best week dueling Fortunato Ferrara, the Italian climbing legend, while trying to hang with the incredible young talent coming up at . I have work to do in those explosive zones but that is exactly what I love about this process. There is always something to work on.

Returning to this race with my son was surreal. Grateful for him, our family, an incredible support group, and the opportunity to do this.

Thank you to for capturing it all.

The town of Silver City showed up and so did our boys.
Jaxon and Steve animated that race from the front with multiple attacks and zero hesitation. That is what growth mindset looks like in real time. Steve put Jaxon in perfect position with the lead-out and Jaxon took it home for third.

We came to Gila to grow and today again we got what we came for.

Congrats to , they did a great job with their team tactics and raced strong all day. Aggressive and fun to watch.

This group of young Americans is the real deal.

I wanted to quit before I even took the start line. Sinus thing, felt terrible, all the baggage with racing felt heavy.

But my son is here. And I thought, that’s not the example I want to set.

So I reset. And I raced.
Today was one of the best performances I’ve put together. Power. Strategy. Staying calm. Actually having fun. All of it came together.

Bridged a three minute gap to the break. Attacked again. Rode to the line with a strong ridet. Opened the sprint, went early, and held it to the line.

To think I almost missed out on this.

Cancer. An amputation. Years away from competing. But you can decide at any moment you’re not done yet if you don’t want to be done yet. You can still rebuild. You can still chase it.

Today I proved that to myself too.

Tour of the Gila is where careers are made. Mountains, descents, crosswinds… every stage is a different test at a level most U.S. races never touch. There’s a reason “Gila Proven” means something.

Stage 1 Results -Tom finished 2nd overall here in the pro men’s race 16 years ago. Cancer survivor. Today 7th in Cat 1-2 through a mechanical and while fighting off illness. He wanted back in it and he’s back in it.

Steve is 16 and just behind the 17/18 year olds in Cat 3 today. Strong climbing performance on the same roads that built the riders he’s trying to become. The WorldTour aspirations don’t feel far off.

Jaxon came from pro motocross. Year two on the bike and seconds out of the top 10, 16th in Cat 3. Every stage he’s proving the instincts transfer.

You can’t recreate this in training. Every stage rewards something different and you either have it or you find out you don’t. This is what we came for.

🎥