We recently built this single free city bike for a customer to ride across the city to work each day. A single freewheel for commuting is ideal as it requires little maintenance…
Michael Barry: Sports psychology does not play a big enough part in pro cycling
The former pro weighs in on an important aspect in the sport that seems to be lacking Bike racing requires grit, sacrifice, and passion. The physical demands are met with…
Are gear restrictions the answer to slowing down professional cycling?
Are gear restrictions the answer to slowing down professional cycling? Perhaps not, but it’s past time that safety is more seriously addressed. By Michael Barry. Over the last few years,…
AI is influencing bike racing outcomes. How will that affect the Directeur Sportif’s role and value?
In a cycling team meeting, the best team directeur sportifs will explain the intricacies of the courses, they know where the peloton will shatter, where the winning attacks will be…
The risks of gamified training: balancing PBs with true development
Former pro and current coach Michael Barry weighs in on the risks of putting too much weight into awards The lure of an award, a badge, a personal best (PB),…
Michael Barry on performance and the power meter
How the advances of data have helped, and hindered the sport Bike racers at every level of the sport are now breaking records in all disciplines whether the track, road…
The Group Ride
By Michael Barry The group settles into formation meters after leaving the café. Like the table manners learned as children the formation is innate to us. Two abreast, tight against…
Riding to survive: Tales from the gruppetto
By Michael Barry We are no longer racing. The lead group has left us and is up the road, under the gaze of the cameras. For now, I ride alone…
An ex-pro asks: What’s the future of gravel racing?
By Michael Barry We can talk about ”the spirit’ but what actually lies ahead When gravel racing began to grow in popularity across North America a decade ago, and as…
How a Tour de France rider prepares for the worst
What a professional cyclist has in the team car for every emergency on the road During the Tour de France, as in every professional bike race, the team cars will…
Winning UCI Gravel On A Steel Frame
You don’t expect steel bikes to be ridden to the top steps of the podium in international races any longer these days, but that’s exactly what happened last weekend when…
A rider’s long wait for the Grand Départ at the Tour
A professional cyclist’s longest days of the season are often the few days before a Grand Tour, where they sit around a hotel, often in a sleepy suburb or business…