November 19, 2025 • 57 mins
OVERVIEW
Nathan Cusack is an emerging talent in road racing, having won his first European race in 2025, racing for Team USA at Tour de l'Avenir, and ending the season by signing on with EF Education-Aevolo. Nathan has been a CTS Athlete coached by Adam Pulford for four years, and as he makes his transition to the U23 Elite ranks and a top international development team, it's time to take a look at what it takes to go from Junior to Pro in cycling.
In Episode 281, Coach Adam Pulford and Nathan reveal the power numbers required to reach the podium in international U23 races, the progression of annual training hours required to go pro, and how the young rider learned the race craft necessary to win against the best in the world.
Topics Covered In This Episode:
- Nathan's start in road racing
- Progression of annual training hours from Junior to Pro
- Power outputs indicative of an emerging talent in road cycling
- What wins races: race craft vs. power output?
- How to learn race craft in the United States
- Joining EF Education-Aevolo
Resources
- Nathan Cusack on IG: https://www.instagram.com/nathancusack_/
- EF Education/Aevolo Announcement: https://www.efeducationaevolo.com/racing/new-rider-alert-nathan-cusack-steps-up-with-ef-education-aevolo/
Guest Bio:
Raised in the Washington D.C. area and progressing from cyclocross to road cycling as a teenager, Nathan Cusack rode for DC Velo as a junior and Kelly Benefits Cycling Team as a U23. The 20-year-old had a breakthrough season in 2025, securing his first European road racing victory in Spain, making his debut in the prestigious U23 race, Tour de l'Avenir, and ending the year with a well-deserved 2026 contract with EF Education-Aevolo.
Currently in his third year of studying at the University of Vermont, where he is pursuing a four-year degree in data science, he joins the EF Education-Aevolo team as a rider of genuine potential and a swift finisher.
HOST
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
From the team at Seat Guest, this is the Time
Crunch Cyclist Podcast, our showdedicated to answering your
training questions and providingactionable advice to help you
improve your performance, evenif you're stopped for time.
I'm your host, Coach AdamPulford, and I'm one of the over
50 professional coaches who makeup the team at Seat Guest.
(00:27):
In each episode, I draw on ourteam's collective knowledge,
other coaches, and experts inthe field to provide you with
the practical ways to get themost out of your training and
ultimately become the bestcyclist that you can be.
Now, on to our show.
(00:52):
Today we'll be a bit ofstorytelling, showcasing a U.S.
rider talent, and we'll offersome tips you can apply to your
training in racing.
We usually aim for the shorter,more actionable episodes, but
settle in for just a touchlonger today because it's going
to be totally worth your time.
I'm here with U23 Pro Rider andCTS athlete Nathan Cusek to
(01:16):
unravel what it takes to go fromjunior to pro.
Nathan, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
I'm honored to be here.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
I am honored to be uh interviewing you, Nathan, and
uh uh you know part of yourjourney that that you've been
on.
But uh where are you talking tous from today, Nathan?
SPEAKER_02 (01:35):
Um I'm currently up in Burlington, Vermont.
I'm in school at the Universityof Vermont.
Um, so I'm just doing my fallfall semester up here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:44):
Yeah, somewhere between um, I don't know, Chem
Lab and the next class, I wouldassume.
SPEAKER_02 (01:49):
Yeah, pretty much.
SPEAKER_00 (01:51):
Excellent.
Well, uh disclaimer here, uhNathan is not a time-crunched
athlete, although he has momentswhere that's the case.
Uh, but some of you have writtenin wanting to hear more about my
athletes and others that wecoach to hear their stories of
how they train and race to reachtheir goals.
So today is exactly that.
A great story from a member ofthe CTS athlete family.
(02:16):
So we'll first start byrecapping Nathan's 2025 season,
then go back in time when Nathanwas a junior.
We'll look at uh total traininghours, power numbers, and the
development over the years, thenwe'll bring it back full circle
with what he has in store for2026 and beyond.
Along the way, we'll share whathas worked for him in both
(02:37):
training and racingpreparations.
And the whole goal here is toinspire everybody that's
listening, whether you're youngor old, on how to keep training
and chasing your dreams.
Because although it's nevereasy, if you keep on doing the
work, get good people aroundyou, develop your skills, you
can accomplish what you set outto do.
So, with that said, Nathan,let's look back at 2025.
(03:01):
We usually start the season herein the United States with uh,
you know, the great seasonopener of Valley of the Sun or
Voss as we like to call it, uh,roll into TBC.
Tell us tell us about that andthen your spring block in
Europe.
SPEAKER_02 (03:15):
Yeah.
Um so as always, the seasonstarted in Voss.
I've been down there four yearsum in a row, and it's always
nice to be in sunny Arizonaafter what feels like long
winters uh here on the EastCoast.
Um, but I've never really had aton of success in Voss, and this
year kind of um continued thatpattern, although it was able to
(03:38):
spark some fitness, and goinginto TBC um I won every road
stage.
Um so that was the crit, theroad race, and the um the
circuit race on the last day.
So that was just a great way tostart the season, uh set the
tone really for myself.
SPEAKER_00 (03:59):
Um super cleaned up, and I I guess when I was like on
Instagram watching and stuff, Iwas getting excited because uh
Cora, your youngest sister, wasno longer the most winningest
QSAC for the year.
SPEAKER_02 (04:13):
So Yeah, Cora definitely cleans up with the
local races, but I had to showout.
Uh yeah, so then I went over toBelgium with USA cycling um and
did a couple races over there,including Youngsters Coast, uh,
which is my biggest race todate.
And it's always a good time overthere.
(04:34):
Youngsters was really hard, butI was able to, in some interclub
races, pick up a fifth and thentop ten um in a stage race in
the Ardennes.
So it was good to kind of keepthe ball rolling, but no
nothing, no separation in termsof results in Europe yet.
SPEAKER_00 (04:53):
So why do you say Youngsters was like the biggest
race like at that point?
What makes that race so big?
Why is it prestigious?
SPEAKER_02 (05:00):
Well, I mean, lining up with the um all the dev teams
from I mean, you've got Sudal,uh Visma, um, Lotto, like it was
every big dev team, and justthey're wearing the exact same
kits pretty much and throwingeven sharper elbows.
SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
Yeah, so in terms of that like true development, when
you take it to the next leveland you're at that age, uh
that's where you need to be forum getting that development.
So you you come back from umfrom Europe and you jump into
Redlands, right?
SPEAKER_02 (05:36):
Yeah, uh, I think I had about a week here in Vermont
um in between Europe andRedlands, not even sure the bike
made it out of the box um inbetween and Redlands was uh a a
hard race.
It had a tough start with TT andthen the Onyx climb, um, two
stages that don't really suitme.
(05:58):
And then um later in laterstages I knew I had the legs,
but wasn't couldn't quite findthe luck.
So then on the last stage onSunset, I took a shot and um
followed some some big namesinto a move that stuck and was
able to get third there, uh,which was a pretty uh amazing
(06:18):
result for me.
I've never really had a goodresult from breakaway.
Um, and so that one felt really,really good.
SPEAKER_00 (06:25):
Yeah, that was and that was huge.
I think that was uh you know,kind of like tailing off of what
you did at TBC.
It was just like you know,getting those those whiffs and
inklings that this was gonna bea really good year.
And you did go full sin.
I mean, I I you probably justwanted to die in that in that
breakaway.
Um, but uh uh I mean I was I wasso stoked when when uh I got
(06:49):
that text message.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:51):
That was a great time.
SPEAKER_00 (06:53):
So then you rolled into uh collegiate gnats and
then road gnats, right?
SPEAKER_02 (06:58):
Yeah, yeah.
So we did some local racing umto get the number of collegiate
starts that I needed to racecollegiate nats, um, and then
went out to Madison to racethose.
Um and was able to take away thewin in the in the crit, in the
collegiate crit.
Um so that was like reallyamazing.
My first national title.
(07:19):
Um just kind of keeping themomentum going uh with that, and
then straight into road nets umfor the my main goal is the U-23
race there, and just facedstomach issues, and then in the
crit, um the team racedamazingly and seemed just got
out, sprinted in the last 200meters, um, and then in the
(07:41):
elite race I had a solid dayjust fighting back all day.
Um was able to come come homewith 16th uh in the final group
that finished.
But you know, winning the groupsprint there, I mean, for 16th,
you do what you can.
SPEAKER_00 (07:56):
Yeah, oh for sure.
And and not to get super deep inthe weeds, I mean, that result
on that course in the elites ishuge, especially for like a U-23
rider.
Um it's just it's hard, it'shilly, it's the top, the creme
of the creme.
But for those who maybe haveguessed, they're like, oh, what
kind of rider is this?
Is he a sprinter?
He's talking about crits.
(08:17):
Like, how would you categorizeyourself as a racer?
SPEAKER_02 (08:21):
Well, my director for like last three years, Nima,
has always said that um the bestrider to be is a racer.
And I I really like that.
Like, I when I line up, I justtry to win the race, get to the
get to the end in the frontgroup, and then sprint.
Uh that being said, I do like tosprint from a bigger group uh
(08:41):
where I can sit in the draft formost of the day.
So um I would say I'm more of asprinter, um, but like maybe the
tactical, like finding the rightwheels, launching at the right
type guy, not the Jonathan Milanum 2,000 watts type.
SPEAKER_00 (08:59):
Yeah, no, that there's very few of those out
there.
But but yeah, I mean I thinkthat when people have asked me
as well, like what kind of rideris is uh Nathan, I'm like, he's
crafty.
He's a crafty dude, right?
And I I think in this this willkind of like go into what we're
talking about, but but you are II'd say left up to your own uh
(09:23):
devices.
I mean, you would be probably asprinter phenotype in the way
that you make your power, okay?
And and we we just we determinethat based on your like
anaerobic and your aerobic uhpower outputs.
And you typically will come in,especially when we get tuned up
for a race, is like a sprinter.
But I train you more like anall-arounder to not neglect the
(09:44):
uh 20-minute, 40-minute,60-minute efforts, so that when
you do get in the breakaway, youknow, you've got the durability
and the depth to hang in there.
So I would say your phenotyperolls throughout the year based
on what how we're trainingbetween sprinter and
all-arounder.
And I think just on the coachingside of things, I'm I'm like
making sure that like justdialing each up a little bit or
(10:07):
the other one down, um, rollinginto it.
But I think too, what peopleneed to realize is like you
don't when you're rolling intosomething like Redlands and in
some of these other stage races,you don't always have to be
going for the win on these,especially if it doesn't favor
you.
So how does that factor intoyour equation when you do toe
(10:29):
the line and you're the theracer for the day that that Nima
wants you to be?
SPEAKER_02 (10:35):
Yeah, um, I mean, like starting NETT is I'm not
the racer that day, or even mostsummit finishes, not really the
racer that day.
But in that case, like you justgotta help your teammates, and
then any other day, like youjust try to be there, like just
being there, taking a spot up atthe front of the Peloton that's
(10:57):
in your team's jersey is helpingthe team no matter what, and as
long as you're there, I thinkyou're racing, and like as you
said, like we're trying tocontinue to develop that like
all arounder, just because as Icontinue to go up in the ranks
of cycling, like I gotta bethere at the end of the races to
sprint, and it like that justkeeps getting harder and harder,
(11:21):
and so just continue to dialdown that aspect of it.
SPEAKER_00 (11:26):
Now that we've kind of identified what what type of
rider you are, Nathan, um thepast couple years we've had a
Spain campaign uh in the middleof the season.
Tell us why that's important,um, what that campaign looks
like, and the value that thatbrings in your overall
development.
SPEAKER_02 (11:46):
Yeah, for sure.
I definitely think developmentis the key there.
Um I've raced in Europe the lastfew summers, um, Belgium, Spain,
France, and I would say myfavorite racing is Belgium, but
where I learn the most is Spain.
Um, because I'm racing inconditions that are really hard
on courses that don't suit me.
(12:07):
And I mean, that's how youlearn.
Um so when I'm racing in Spain,it's long stages, long stage
races, five, seven days, um, andthen off the bikes, not ideal,
sleeping in.
Um uh in hostels, just bunk rowswith your all your teammates, no
(12:28):
AC.
Um, you can imagine how how thatis, and you just kind of learn
to kind of fend for yourself inin the way of like just making
sure you have what you needdialed.
Like I have a special drink mixthat I like to use.
I like to make sure that I havemy three-hour meal and I just
carry out a Tupperware and makesure I get that.
(12:52):
Um stuff like that that youreally you can really learn, and
then on the courses you I mean,you learn how to race to your
advantages.
I feel like starting climbs atthe front front of the Peloton
is like something that I've kindof dialed and just like being
able to use know what mystrengths and weaknesses are in
(13:12):
order to succeed, and that'ssomething I've learned to do
well in Spain.
SPEAKER_00 (13:17):
Yeah, that's it.
And I and I think too, um, youknow, if you're if you're going
to uh have longevity in thissport, you gotta become really
efficient when it comes to theoff-the-bike stuff like that.
And and what Nathan was talkingabout, his three-hour meal, his
meal that works for him threehours out from the start of the
race.
And usually it's somethingsimple, high carb, has some
(13:39):
other has some fat and protein,um, but just have that ready to
go because that is the the thelast fuel that goes in the tank.
Um, but from the like thestaffing standpoint and being a
director, it's like you want anathlete like that.
Like like Nathan just described,somebody who takes care of the
stuff that he needs to take careof for himself.
(14:00):
Uh, because like I when I was adirector, I I had athletes that
were just all over the place andyou felt like you were just like
picking up after them or or uhjust doing everything that you
possibly could to like get themto the start line.
And when you have an athletelike Nathan, and I did have some
athletes like this that justwere super dialed, it it made
the whole machine just work waymore efficiently.
(14:22):
So I think like you know, goingfrom the first year in Spain or
or the to the second year inSpain, and even when I talked to
Nima, I mean it was like it wasa lot of that.
It's like, yeah, Nathan'ssimple.
Everybody want everybody wants arider like that, you know.
So uh but yeah, no AC at night,uh summertime in Spain.
That's it's pretty rough.
SPEAKER_02 (14:42):
And then what we do have like we had one uh Airbnb
that had uh the AC units and wehad them set to like 60 degrees,
and we were closing our doors toour bedrooms, and we would walk
in there just be an ice chamber,and it felt so nice.
SPEAKER_00 (14:59):
Yeah, the things the things we do on the road.
Yeah.
Um but yeah, yeah, and and Ithink too, it's like you kind of
like over race, you can't youlike and you just have to do
that to gain that experience.
And I think it is it set you upwell, especially for uh kind of
the tail end of the season whenum you know we we learned that
(15:20):
you got selected for lavanier.
And I know personally I was Iwas a bit surprised, and I was
um man, I was somewhere when youwhen you told me like super busy
doing something, and I was like,kiddy up, let's go.
But I'm like, holy crap, this isgonna be like his hardest race,
I think, ever.
So I actually don't know how youwere selected for this, Nathan.
(15:43):
Um the details of it.
So could you tell us whatLavenier is, why it's such a big
one, um, and how you gotselected and in some of the
story around that?
SPEAKER_02 (15:52):
Yeah, so Lavenier is uh French for the future, and
it's essentially the under 23Tour de France.
It's a seven-day stage race inFrance, in and out of the Alps,
that um just has the besttalents in the U-23 field, guys
like Paul Sachas, um, who justkind of had his breakout ride at
(16:15):
Worlds and in the Europeanchamps, and then uh Lorenzo
Finn, the under-23 world champ,um just duking it out every day.
So that's what Laveneer is.
I got selected.
I I kind of had been hearingover the summer that I was kind
of on the edge.
I was hearing from my sources uhthat I was in one day, out the
(16:38):
next day, and then we didn'treally get to this, but I uh was
able to come up with a win on myfinal stage of my final race in
Spain, and I heard that that waskind of what um put me over the
edge.
It was my first European win.
Um, so that felt really, reallygood to um kind of break that
that barrier, the mental blockthat it was like so I feel like
(17:01):
some guys only ever win in theUS and can only figure out that
style of racing, and I feel likeI was close, but I had never
really gotten there, so it wasgood to break that and get that
win.
And then I was actually with myfamily on vacation, um kind of
out on a boat, and I was gettingthese sporadic texts, um, just
(17:28):
like one every like a coupleevery few minutes, and I was
realizing I had pretty badservice, but I got a text from
my director, Nima, and he justsaid, You're not doing GMSR,
which is the Green Mountainstage race up here in Vermont.
And I was like, Well, that meansI'm doing Avenir because there's
no reason I wouldn't be doingGreen Mountain.
Um so that was kind of a crazyrealization there.
(17:53):
Um then I get I got back, gotconnected to some Wi-Fi, and
realized got all got all theemails, the official invites,
the um intake forms, stuff likethat, and it all kind of hit me
that I would be doing the under23 Tour de France.
SPEAKER_00 (18:10):
Yeah, that's wild.
As you were saying that, I waslike, where was I was in Spain
um with your sister, uh Lydia,who uh we were doing a nations
cup and and other uh athletes aswell, and I just remember I was
like, dang, like that is huge.
So when when you learn that,like what went through your
head, like and you're onvacation, mind you.
SPEAKER_02 (18:32):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, so I was like my seasonwas a little bit over.
Um like I was on vacation, I'dfinished up my Spain block, and
when I got that, I was just likeit was just a wow moment.
Um it didn't totally hit me.
I was finally gonna get like anopportunity to swing it with the
(18:52):
big guys, um, and that was superexciting.
So yeah, it was just amazing.
I don't think it truly hit meuntil maybe I got there and we
were driving driving up the Alpsto Um where we started the first
stage and we had the meeting,and I was like, wow, this is
incredible.
SPEAKER_00 (19:12):
Yeah, totally.
And I and I think too, just toscale this, is like I've had
another rider do it before.
It was it was and she was aclimber, and it was still like
the biggest race and andprobably the hardest race she
had ever done.
Um you just heard that Nathan'snot the climber, he's not bad at
climbing, but more of afinisher.
And and so in that way, when Iwhen I heard that you made the
(19:38):
team for it, I was like, likeshould have done some more hill
climbing, should have done somemore volume.
And it was just an opportunitythat we kind of like we didn't
see coming, we had to take it,so we did, obviously.
But um walk us through like highlevel, we don't need to get into
the super details of it, butlike how challenging was this
(19:59):
for you and and how did it go?
SPEAKER_02 (20:01):
It was the hardest thing I've ever done.
Um like hands down, easily.
Um stage one was a pretty longday and uh ended or there was a
15k three percent climb um thatended I think 10k from the
finish, and 15k 3% is prettydraftable, and I got dropped.
(20:28):
And I was like, oh boy, I'm infor it.
Um and so whenever I'm inmoments like this, I remember my
first training camp as a U23 umwas similar, where it's like I
feel like I was just gettingbeat up on the bike.
I just focus on everything offthe bike, um, eating, sleeping,
(20:49):
recovery.
Um, and that's pretty much themode I went into.
It was like do everything youcan in the races to be there at
the finishes, and then whenyou're off the bike, it's just
like you get your legs up, youget your massage, you get
dinner, you go to sleep.
Maybe you read the the techguide while you're getting your
massage.
Um so that that's pretty muchhow the experience was.
(21:14):
The days did get better fromthat first day on.
I kind of figured figured thingsout a little more um and was
able to make make a couple ofthose finishes, and then yeah, I
mean the whole experience wasreally eye-opening to see that
next level and the level thatthe guys are on was absurd.
SPEAKER_00 (21:36):
Yeah, and again, you like when you roll into that,
yeah you you get excited becauseit's about where you're going
and getting that experience inthe system versus getting
excited to to do somethingthere.
You know what I mean?
And that's where I think fromthe developmental side of things
is um you you really have totake the longer term approach.
And it can be as a young rider,or it can be as you know, a
(21:59):
middle-aged person that justwants to become like a better
climber or a better stage raceror something like that, where
it's like sometimes the firstyear you're doing something is
just to get the experience toget beat up, basically, and then
the next year you're gonna be ahell of a lot better because of
it, you know.
Yeah, and so I think like youknow, as we roll into 2026 and
beyond, but I mean you've alwayshad a really good, uh, I would
(22:21):
say mature uh uh look into thefuture about that, knowing that
when you get your teeth kickedin, it's not because you're a
bad racer, it's just about likethis is new, this was
challenging, and I'm gonna getbetter from it.
So and I and I do think that wasuh Lavanier.
And you had a speaking of thefinal end of this season, you
had a quick turn from Lavanierto the Maryland classic as well,
(22:45):
right?
SPEAKER_02 (22:46):
Yeah, I did.
That was I think four days, andyeah, Maryland was very hard as
well.
Um just a hard course, it wasway hotter and more humid than
um Avenir was, and definitelyhad a hard day on the bike
(23:06):
there.
SPEAKER_00 (23:08):
Yeah, and it was you know, the strategy there, folks,
was just he had just gonethrough his biggest race ever
and he needed rest, so it waslike shut her down, try to do a
few openers, you know, beforeMaryland and rock and roll.
But that you know, the the tailend of this season wasn't was
not really planned, andsometimes you just have to roll
(23:29):
with the punches like that.
Yeah, I think that also comeswith just bike racing.
Yeah, Nathan, I mean you'veyou've had some huge milestones.
We talked about Lavanier, wetalked about the huge win in
Spain.
Um you know winning, gettingthat success, turning the heads
of the you know, the directorsand the talent, you know,
scouters and stuff.
(23:51):
You you got an you got aprofessional contract for 2026.
How does that feel?
And can tell us more about thatteam.
SPEAKER_02 (23:58):
I'll be riding with uh EFA Volo for next year, which
is the EF uh development team.
And it's just amazing.
Um I'm not sure it's totally hityet, um, but it's pretty pretty
dreamy.
I can barely believe it.
SPEAKER_00 (24:19):
Did you uh now we're rolling back like into the
junior uh kind of ranks andstuff?
Did you did you ever like didyou dream about being a
professional bike racer?
Was this part of the agenda?
SPEAKER_02 (24:31):
No, no.
It was not.
The dream in cycling was to wina national championship.
Um when I first started racing,I went to Austin Nationals for
Cyclocross in 2015 and was like,this is it, I need to win one of
these.
Um and I would still like to winone that um doesn't have as many
(24:53):
asterisks in front of it.
Uh like the I just want to benational champion, not
collegiate club crit nationalchampion.
Um so that's still on the table,but this is beyond my dreams.
SPEAKER_00 (25:08):
Well, we'll we'll get one of those uh Stars and
Stripes jerseys.
I'm I'm confident in it.
Um But uh yeah, I I should ask,I mean, uh, how do Cora and
Lydia feel about you getting thefirst pro contract of the of the
family?
SPEAKER_02 (25:22):
I'm not sure anybody saw it coming, to be honest.
Um of course they're superexcited and proud.
Um it's gonna be awesome to livewith Lydia um in Girona next
year.
And yeah, they're they're notfar behind, I'm sure, of it.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:38):
So for context folks, those listening and and
uh catching on to the the insidejokes here, I coach Lydia, I
coach Cora as well.
Uh Lydia's the the the middlechild, and uh she's had quite a
bit of success uh on the bikeherself, uh rides for uh a team
based out of uh the UK rightnow.
Is that right?
Yeah, that's right.
(25:59):
Yeah.
And um and yeah, so she uh istaking the gap year as well uh
away from college.
She actually finished highschool a little bit early to
just pursue bike racing, and sonow uh both Lydia and Nathan
will be living in Europe and andpursuing the dream.
But but let's roll back evenfurther now.
(26:19):
Like, how did this all firststart?
Maybe tell the story of how youand I connected and and how I
became your coach and how youstarted just like to want to
race your bike.
SPEAKER_02 (26:30):
Yeah, for sure.
So um I've been racing since Iwas nine.
Um my dad kind of got me intoit, and it was mostly cyclocross
to start, be racing 10 to 15cross races a year and going to
nationals, just having a goodtime.
Uh, and then out of COVID, I wasDC Devo reached out to me and
got me on on the road.
(26:53):
And in the preseason, I wasriding a cross bike with uh road
tires and was invited to I thinka hundred-mile group ride, and
it was pretty pan flat, and Igot dropped.
Um and Adam waited for me andpulled me back uh to the group
(27:18):
and helped me finish that ride,and I'm not really sure how I
learned that he was a coach, butthen I needed a new coach, and I
was like, I I didn't knowanything about what Adam like
who he coached, like what hedid, but I was like, I want that
guy.
Like he was he was reallystrong, he pulled me back to the
(27:39):
group.
Um and so I think my parentsreached out and uh we got we got
something going and it's been apretty pretty dream team ever
since so that was what 2021 fouryears ago.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (27:56):
I mean it seem I mean it seems like longer in in
a good way.
Um but I mean because you wereall of like 98 pounds and and
for for the record people, likewe were riding with like growing
men, 180, 200 pounders, DJ Brew,who you've heard on the podcast
before, true sprinter types, andlittle Nathan here was 100
(28:17):
pounds soaking wet on this youknow cross bike.
And I think your your seat stayswere broken.
I remember like oh like comingup behind you.
SPEAKER_02 (28:26):
I remember that now, actually.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:28):
I was like, dude, your seat stays are cracked,
man.
Like you've got some rearsuspension going on.
SPEAKER_02 (28:32):
Yeah, that yeah, that's why that bike didn't last
very long.
Forgot about that.
SPEAKER_00 (28:37):
So and I didn't know anything of you at the time, but
I was like, this kid's gnarly,like he he they because we were
going fast, we're like ripping23, 25 miles an hour on coverage
in southern Maryland.
And I was like, who is this kid?
Um yeah, so that that is how ithappened, yeah.
Um good times.
Always.
(28:57):
So early on, I mean, our I I'lljust tell you, my strategy for
you was keep it fun, get youracing, and not be overly
specific.
Would you say that that workedinitially?
SPEAKER_02 (29:10):
Uh yeah, I would say so.
SPEAKER_00 (29:13):
Um do we still keep it fun?
SPEAKER_02 (29:15):
Always.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:16):
Yeah.
And you know you know, and fromthere, and I think like I'll
just keep it short and simplebecause I think that like if
you're coaching kids, like youyou do have to take that
strategy at some point you gottaup the game.
And I'm just gonna rip throughsome of your like the volume
increases.
So in 2020, I was just lookingback on on previous training
(29:38):
here.
2020, you were riding 331 hours,2021 was 417 hours, 2022 was
just under 500 hours, 2023.
That's when we made that leap uhup to 657 hours.
2024, and I believe you you werelike 17, 18 at that time.
Yeah.
And then 2024 was 757.
(30:00):
35 hours and uh this year uhwe're trajecting to aim for
maybe 780 plus, but all of thiscomes with a little bit of an
extra asterisk because uh uh Imean for everybody out there,
there are files that are notuploaded, there are rides that
um weren't recorded for forNathan who blows up, loses,
(30:22):
forgets, uh, kills wahoos.
Hey man, we're we're missingsome data, but that's that's
about what we got, high level.
And so I want everybody torealize that you know, starting
young, start low, go slow,right?
When you hit that 17 to 18 mark,now you boot it up quite a bit.
And as we keep on reaching, andyou know, we're gonna go, you
(30:43):
know, 900 hours of trainingprobably, 2026.
And that, you know, that is avery, I would say, conservative
but realistic and safe sort ofapproach on the volume.
Uh if there's anything I wouldhave on my criticism, it would
be probably maybe a little bitmore volume this year, but
again, that you know, did wehave it because of the uploading
(31:04):
or not?
Um, but would you say thatoverall, Nathan, you during that
time span, were you ever, Idon't know, overcooked,
underdone, or you know, overdoneor anything like that?
SPEAKER_02 (31:18):
No.
Um I just looking at thesenumbers, it's kind of incredible
to me because it feels like ithasn't really changed.
I still love it just as much.
And so being on the bike is justa joy.
And like the increase, like I Ican't believe that that increase
(31:39):
has happened because it reallyfeels like training has felt
very similar and the same.
And you know, that jump in 2023,um, that was my second year out
of juniors.
That was also the or the secondyear in juniors.
Um that was what I would thinkof as like one of my breakout
years on the road, and a bigpart of that was I had a really
(32:03):
good group of friends that I wasriding with, and we would go out
and Adam would have me scheduledfor like a four-hour ride, and
I'd roll in six and a half hoursand be like, coach is not gonna
be happy.
Um but who cares?
Because we just did like anawesome century with three cafe
(32:23):
stops, and just like that's howI like to spend my Saturday.
Um, and so and it just keepskeep finding more people, uh,
and so the hours just keepgetting easier, really.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (32:36):
One thing I learned from that, because I remember
when that first started tohappen, I was like, man, this
kid can handle more than I thanthan I realized, right?
And then it started to just belike, okay, you know, five
hours, plus or minus, no realcap, go for it.
And then it started to sprinklein, be like, hey, go like really
hard uh with the boys today,every once in a while.
(32:57):
You know, and and actually someof your numbers, uh we still
have some peak numbers comingfrom days like that where I just
don't limit you, you know, giveyou some guardrails and stuff,
but just like have at it.
And I think that when you'recoaching a like a developmental
rider, there's that point whereI think the coach or the
athlete, probably around 17-ish,18-ish, you just need to let
(33:20):
them go just to see like whatthat capacity is.
Because otherwise, I think youstayed limited.
SPEAKER_02 (33:25):
Yeah, for sure.
And like DC is like kind of agreat place to do that because
you've got all the group rides,um, and you can go and kind of
uh bash your head in with yourfriends, um trying to take KOMs
or like going for the the stupidlong-range attack on the group
(33:46):
ride.
It's like I mean, I I try myhardest not to sprint during
group rides because I know I canwin sprints.
Um and I don't know if I can winwith like a long move or
something like that, and so orjust like after pulling
everybody around.
(34:06):
So that's definitely some of myfavorite rides.
SPEAKER_00 (34:10):
Yeah, so it's like on the group rides the strategy
is work on your uh stuff thatyou're not as good at, right?
Versus the stuff that you knowyou're good at.
Yeah.
And that's what's so beautifulabout a group ride.
It's it's a mock race scenario,but you get to there's no um the
the bar is low, there's noexpectation, right?
So you mess it up, you gettired, you go back, you go to
(34:30):
the back and then try again.
SPEAKER_02 (34:31):
Yeah, and to be clear, these are race group
rides, these aren't endurancegroup rides.
For sure.
You're not attacking the coffeeride unless there's a town sign.
SPEAKER_00 (34:42):
Yeah, that is all of that is very true.
But I I I do want to mention, Imean, we should say that you
already mentioned, but the theDC area DMV is really special,
and I didn't know this before Imoved here, but there are just
so many freaking group rides,like so many opportunities to go
hard um with talented, fastpeople that I I do think that if
(35:05):
you're a if you're a bike racerand if you're a junior, I mean
it is it's a pretty solid placeto grow up.
SPEAKER_02 (35:12):
Yeah, it's it's incredible.
I didn't realize it until Istarted looking for colleges,
and I was like, I need like Iwould need people to ride with
when I go to college, and I waslike, what other places have
scenes like this?
And it was like you've gotBoulder, some places in
California, and like like interms of like having a group
ride every day of the week thatyou can like get like really get
(35:35):
going hard on doesn't superexist in a lot of places.
SPEAKER_00 (35:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's really unique from thatstandpoint.
Um, so I think like in that way,I mean you you know you still
come down from college, um, westill hit the noon ride every
once in a while, and uh so soyou're still East Coast based,
uh, but when you I didn't thinkabout this.
This is uh the B script, by theway, here, uh Nathan.
(36:00):
But do you remember when youwere trying to decide which
college to go to and you'relooking at California versus
Vermont?
Remember what I told you?
SPEAKER_02 (36:08):
No, not exactly.
No, not at all.
SPEAKER_01 (36:13):
No, I just say no, I don't.
Okay.
There's a lot going on in thattime.
SPEAKER_00 (36:18):
That's true.
There was a lot going on.
But I so I remember telling youwhat a good friend took.
I do remember.
I do remember.
SPEAKER_02 (36:24):
Yeah.
All right.
If you go out west, you got youcan't stay out there long enough
till you get soft, you gottacome back east or something like
that.
SPEAKER_00 (36:32):
Exactly.
So if you ever move west, moveback before you get too soft.
But he also said if you evermove east, move back before you
get too hard.
SPEAKER_01 (36:41):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:41):
Right?
And so it but in that way, yeah.
I mean, you were raised on theEast Coast, and I say that, you
know, it it's funny, but it'salso true.
Um, and having lived both WestCoast and East Coast and growing
up in the Midwest, I'd saythere's a lot of truth to that.
But I think that the reason Itold you that was knowing where
you grew up, how you grew up,seasons, the group ride, the
(37:04):
gnarliness that is kind of theEast Coast or the Beast Coast,
uh as some mountain bikers liketo call it.
Um, like I was encouraging youto stay east in that way because
there is there is uh uh I I feltlike it was right, but I I
couldn't tell you what to do,right?
Yeah.
Um and so I think I mean it'sit's playing out because you
(37:24):
know you still have good accessto DC.
I mean, there's a good scene upin Vermont, um, and it's shorter
to Europe.
So that's super helpful.
Yeah, totally, totally.
But I guess as I kind of likerip through some of the
highlights here, would you say,you know, from junior till now,
is there anything that standsout to you with how we evolve
(37:45):
training or just like maybe acouple things that really worked
for you that you'd want to sharewith uh our audience that's
like, hey, this this reallyworked well for me, you could
try it or leave it or or orsomething else?
SPEAKER_02 (37:57):
Yeah, we already touched on it, but just finding
that group that you have funwith.
Um then a big part of me thatlike I I would say the biggest
thing that motivates me to trainis I like to win races.
Um and so when I'm doing thoseintervals, I um I like to
imagine myself in racescenarios.
Um whether if if I'm doing3030s, just like pretending that
(38:21):
I'm following moves in races, orif I'm doing a long effort,
pretending I'm like in a breakor something, that really helped
me, especially as a junior, likekind of visualize my my efforts
um when I was doing intervals.
SPEAKER_00 (38:35):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean that's it's superhelpful.
In fact, I was asking um some ofthe girls on that Spain trip
when we were on, I was like,hey, does any of you like
picture like when you'reclimbing, does anybody picture
someone to like emulate, youknow, like on the bike?
Would you would you say thatyou're just like picturing
yourself like racing, or are youpicturing like yourself as Tate?
(38:57):
Or are you picturing yourself asas uh I don't know, uh name your
favorite racer?
SPEAKER_02 (39:03):
Usually I'm picturing myself.
Um but when I actually when I'mdoing hill sprints, like
repeated hill sprints, I dothink of Tate because he's the
goat.
SPEAKER_00 (39:13):
He's the goat, man.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
It's it's it's hard, it's hardto not, but yes, I think we all
do it.
We all do it.
Um just make sure to besprinting in your drops, right,
Nathan?
Yeah, for sure.
Learn that one the hard way fromyou two.
Um side note, I got stuck inthat summaries.
Nathan called me out publiclyfor sprinting in my tops.
(39:34):
Even though it was an uphillsprint, I'm still sour about it.
So speaking of hard effort,speaking of um power production
and things like this, one of thequestions that we had was you
know, what is what's an emergingpros number look like?
And so I'm just gonna readthrough and there's there's some
fun uh like as I was goingthrough, I was like, oh, this is
(39:57):
fun because these these peaknumbers of the past really
couple years, they come out invarious places.
They come out at at races, theycome out in training, they come
out in testing.
And I think what's so uniqueabout that is you're not you,
Nathan, you're not onlyproducing your best power at a
race.
(40:17):
You're not only producing yourbest power on the six-hour cafe
rides where you know youcollabor yourself with your
team, you know, your friends,your teammates.
You're kind of doing it all, youcan perform in all these
different scenarios.
So let me first start with 20second sprint.
Okay and Nathan's roughly 145 to150 pounds, kind of depending on
(40:39):
uh time of year where we're atand how much um heat training
we're doing in Spain.
So uh peak 20 second sprint wasuh so 20 seconds, by the way.
Not one second.
20 seconds was 1,070 watts or16.8 watts per kilogram.
And that was at Redland's stagerace, stage three.
SPEAKER_02 (40:59):
That was um on the Rico ride after that stage,
actually.
SPEAKER_00 (41:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (41:05):
Not the stage.
SPEAKER_01 (41:07):
That was a time trial.
SPEAKER_00 (41:08):
Yes.
Um, so whether we edit this outor not, I looked at that, I'm
like, it's not the stage.
Like so we can we can talk aboutthat, like what the hell
happened?
SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
We were just a one-up sprint with a teammate,
and I just put out a crazy powernumber.
SPEAKER_00 (41:26):
Crazy power number to the point where I'm like,
like I know how to edit out baddata and stuff, and I like even
and I remember when it happened,I was like, no, it's good data.
And I even last night I was Ispent about 10 minutes like
going back through three yearsof data using the tools that I
could to see if it was actuallybad.
I'm like, no, this is it.
But I'm like, this was not therace.
SPEAKER_02 (41:45):
It was like slightly uphill, it was with our
sprinter, it was in front ofNima.
It was perfect conditions.
SPEAKER_00 (41:53):
Perfect conditions.
So uh what I'm learning as acoach is I need to replicate
these conditions to produce asprint like this again and see
what kind of progress we'vemade.
Yeah.
I'm gonna keep on going withyour two-minute power because
this was kind of bonkers.
Um, two minutes at 546 watts,about eight watts per kilo.
And that was on a six-hour ridewith the boys, where I told you
(42:13):
just go hard everyone's time.
SPEAKER_02 (42:15):
I remember that one.
I was trying to ride my goodfriend off the wheel.
unknown (42:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (42:20):
That's up in Vermont.
Yeah.
Uh okay, let's see if you canremember this one.
Five minutes at 405 watts, 6.1watts per kilo.
And do you remember that onebefore I give any more
descriptor?
SPEAKER_02 (42:34):
Um, was that really field testing this this winter?
SPEAKER_00 (42:39):
It was.
SPEAKER_02 (42:40):
Yeah, it was.
So I do remember it.
I'm surprised that that's thepeak.
SPEAKER_00 (42:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you're going pretty good thiswinter.
Uh I always uh for reference andthose who have been listening to
this podcast, I'm um you shouldtest, in my opinion.
If you're not testing to seewhere your limits are, what are
you actually doing in yourtraining, my opinion?
Um, but you don't test all thetime.
You test maybe twice a year.
Okay.
Uh start of the year, tail endof the year, uh, see where
(43:04):
you're at, see how how muchprogress you made.
So at the start of 2025, yeah,five-minute VO2 max test solo.
Uh Nathan went for it and andhit those hit those numbers five
405.
SPEAKER_02 (43:16):
I had a really bad 20 minute the day before, so I
was mad.
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (43:21):
Which is why we did this 20-minute effort um in
March, because I was like, we Iknow it's better than what that
was.
So we did a 20-minute effort inMarch at 342 watts, and that's
5.0 watts per kilogram.
And do you remember that one?
Yeah, that was a drona.
So the final number that we'lltalk about, Nathan, is your
(43:42):
60-minute power, which youproduced a new 60-minute power
by five watts this year.
But your previous best was 300watts.
It's for 60 minutes, and thatwas about 4.7 watts per kilo.
And it ended up being like themost epic day on a bike that you
had had, uh, I think in like2024.
It was the Rasputista gravelrace.
(44:03):
Do you remember?
Do you remember that?
SPEAKER_02 (44:04):
Uh yeah, unfortunately, very vividly I
do.
Um it was a really hard day onthe gravel bike.
Um kind of decided to do it on awhim to hang out with this girl
and um did it and then justsuffered all day um in this in
this front group and and thendied on the final climb too.
SPEAKER_00 (44:29):
Because I feel like for three hours it was like 298
watts or something too.
Because I mean it it was justlong and hard all day, but I I
guess I should ask, uh did itwork out with the girl?
SPEAKER_02 (44:39):
Yeah, it did.
So I guess it was worth it.
It's worth it.
SPEAKER_00 (44:45):
Well, that's good.
I mean, you did for the for therecord, you pumped out 305 at uh
national championships this pastyear um in the crit.
SPEAKER_02 (44:54):
Yeah, shout out the Kelly boys for riding the front
all day.
SPEAKER_00 (44:57):
But uh overall, for for those kind of wondering what
these numbers look like, they'regood, right?
I mean, they're good, but at thesame time, they're not like the
Tade Pagaccha ground, uh, youknow, like earth-shattering
stuff, and it's not like thetrue sprinter stuff.
But when we when you heardNathan say, you know, you know,
he's a racer, and I and I saidhe's crafty, these numbers are
(45:19):
big.
They're big enough, but withwith that racecraft, with uh
continual kind of honing of ofhow to get it done on the bike,
now you get that pro contract.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (45:31):
And I think of it when you're being scouted or uh
displaying yourself to otherteams, you can be a power rider
or results rider.
Like what's going to be at thetop of your race resume?
And I'm definitely a resultsrider.
Try to get those those onesstacked up at the top of the
resume, um, and then kind of hadthis power numbers kind of off
(45:54):
to the side.
SPEAKER_00 (45:55):
Is there, I mean, kind of the shortest way that
you can answer it.
I mean, how did you develop thatracecraft over time?
Or is it just like a bunch ofracing?
SPEAKER_02 (46:04):
Uh yeah, a bunch of racing and group rides that I
mean, just race simulations.
I also love watching bike races.
Um, and I'll watch it, and thenI love the overhead cam.
And I'll look at where this isespecially for sprints, but like
where riders are startingsprints from and where they're
coming from.
I love the way Tim Mullierfloats the Peloton, and he comes
(46:26):
from pretty far behind, and thenI'll think about that when I'm
in the Peloton and like where Iwant to be.
SPEAKER_00 (46:32):
Tim Malir might be like the best looking sprinter,
like the way he sprints, the wayhe floats.
Like it's incredible.
He gets it done.
Did you ever have an aha momentin racing where you're just
like, you know, you're watchingTim, you're watching your races,
you're you're you're you'regoing into the next race.
Did you have an aha moment whereit's like, yeah, I I deserve to
(46:55):
be here or I should be, I am abike racer, or was it not until
the contract was given to you?
SPEAKER_02 (47:02):
Yeah, I don't really know if I can dial it down to
one moment.
Um I think I I kind of have thisidea that is like I'll do a race
and then by the next year I'lldo a race and I'll just like be
in the pack trying to finish it,and then by the next year I'm
(47:23):
able to race it.
So like this is kind of a longtime ago in juniors at Armed
Forces, which is our local likebig crit um that all the pros
come out to.
Yeah, exactly.
And the first year I rememberjust being in the pack and
finishing it, and then the nextyear, I mean this is still
talking two threes, but the nextyear I was able to be at the
(47:47):
front and be a difference makerin that race, and just learning
that like step by step I canlike impact races and stuff like
that.
That's kind of it.
Just like you're not gonna bethere immediately, but just
slowly you get there.
SPEAKER_00 (48:04):
Yeah, and I think what's so like powerful about
that answer is that number one,it's real, and number two, I
don't know, it's just like sooften there's not the aha or the
breakout or the when you see abreakout result, it's usually
years and years of going forthat result.
What you know, because if youdon't follow bike racing super
(48:28):
in-depth or anything like that,and you're just like the fan,
you have to realize that all ofthese results are like really
ground out over four, five,eight, ten years of you know,
the continual pursuit of ofperfection, essentially, uh uh
for a bike race.
And so uh you have to take thatand say, too, like how do you
(48:50):
how do you stay motivated andall this kind of stuff?
I mean, it it truly is sort ofuh an endgame of sorts with
intrinsic motivation propellingyou.
SPEAKER_02 (48:59):
Yeah, and I think it's kind of hard to have that
aha breakout moment in cycling.
Like it's gonna be a slow build,like slow build no matter what.
Like you look at even in WorldTour ranks, you can be like, oh,
like Skelmosa won Amstel Gold,he broke out this year, but then
you look back, he's like, thatguy's one tour Swiss, like he's
like done many other things.
(49:21):
Like that was not his breakoutmoment.
SPEAKER_00 (49:23):
So in a in a sport like this, Nathan, um like
you're of a younger generationthan I, obviously, and you know,
your generation is using a lotof AI, chat GPT to do a bunch of
bunch of stuff, right?
Do you think that you could useAI or Chat GPT to create a
(49:48):
training plan to get you whereyou are today?
SPEAKER_02 (49:52):
Absolutely not.
Um I always think of when I'musing AI is that I have to know
what the answer is or I wantwhat I want the answer to be.
Um when I ask it a question, andif I asked it to give me a
training plan, I would not havethe ability to vet it and know
(50:13):
like that is smart, or that'snot smart, or that's way too
much, that's not enough.
Um so I don't think that andalso it just doesn't have that
personal touch.
Um I can't get on a weekly callwith ChatGBT.
Um my chat my ChatGBT can't textme.
Um it's good to remember you'rehuman after you do pretty poorly
(50:37):
in a race.
Um that's just happenedrecently.
Yeah.
ChatGBT can't drop you on grouprides, so it's how it is.
SPEAKER_00 (50:47):
It is how it is.
However, I don't I don't know ifI can still drop you on a group
ride.
SPEAKER_01 (50:51):
Um Yeah, we're talking long ago.
SPEAKER_00 (50:53):
Yeah, yeah.
Uh one one year I did.
But um but yeah, and I didn't,you know, honestly, I didn't
know the your answer um to that.
I created an outline and I hadthat on there for Nathan.
But the reason I ask it isbecause I think it can be a good
starting point, but I I thinkNathan hit the nail on the head
with just like you have toprobably know something about
(51:16):
that content before you can evenmake a decision about what is
put out um from the inquiry.
And I think in this case,especially when it comes to
becoming your best, right, andand developing a race craft, is
like when I look at Nathan, it'snot only the years that he
spent, you know, watching racevideos, getting to the big
(51:37):
races, spending time and moneyand grinding it out in Europe.
It's not just him, and it's notjust the coach, you know,
building some training programsand hoping we crush it.
It's it's his director, it's histeammates, it's his friends,
it's his girlfriend, it's hissisters, it's his the the really
the true director sportif ofteam QSAC, Tina, your mom,
(52:00):
driving the ship.
We got Pat that is uh probablythe the king swaneer that I've
ever seen in my life.
Like you have a network likebeyond what I've seen of any
family to help you propel.
And I think that if there is youknow a magic that that that has
been you know curated for theQ6, is it's like that network.
(52:23):
It's pretty incredible.
SPEAKER_02 (52:24):
Yeah, for sure.
And chat GBT cannot providethat.
That's true.
SPEAKER_00 (52:29):
Not yet, anyway.
Uh yeah.
So I I guess you know, with thatsaid, final question is you
know, if if there are juniorslistening to this or college
kids listening to this, or youknow, really anybody could just
like wondering, well, you know,how do I make that network or or
something like that?
But especially to the younger uhcrowd, like what are some of the
(52:53):
other things like off the biketo consider when it's like going
pro?
Because you, I mean, you're incollege, you have you have
friends in college, you have agirlfriend, you have your
education, your degree, like howdo you factor all that into uh
screw it, I'm gonna go playbikes in Europe?
SPEAKER_02 (53:08):
There's yeah, there's a lot to cover in that
question.
I'd say off the bike is superimportant stuff.
Um school, I mean no one's gonnabe a pro cyclist forever, except
for maybe Wout.
Um but um He's got a foreverconscious.
He does, so he could be if hewanted.
(53:29):
Um but yeah, you're not gonna bea cyclist forever, so school so
important.
Um I'm really focusing on makingsure that I get that dial before
I fully commit to full-time planbikes for a living.
And then yeah, just making sureyou maintain um everything else
(53:50):
that's important to you, andmake sure you're like doing
what's fun.
Like, as I said earlier, like Ifind winning races fun, and so I
do what I can to have fun, andso that's the training, that's
the preparation, but also justdon't take it too seriously.
(54:13):
Like, it is supposed to be fun.
There have been points where Ihave like found myself in holes,
and I'm like, I just need tochill out and have fun, and then
I'll go smash some intervals andlike pretend to drop the entire
field during my intervals, andthat's fun.
So, yeah, that would be it.
SPEAKER_00 (54:32):
Yeah, it's it's I mean, truly it it has been uh
incredible to be on this journeywith you, Nathan.
I mean, I mean, I'm so proud andhonored to to be your coach.
Um, and I I truly just like hopethe best, you know, for the
years to come because I meanyou're you're you're the
athlete, like I said, that allthe directors want on their
(54:54):
team.
You're the athlete that thecoach wants to coach.
Uh you're even the kid that theparent wants, right?
Like just smart kid gettingafter it.
Messes up every once in a while,but we all do.
So uh it you know, I mean,chapeau to you.
I mean, you've uh you've hitmilestones, but you ain't done
yet.
So I'm just I'm honored tointerview you here and uh and
(55:18):
see where 2026 takes you.
SPEAKER_02 (55:21):
Yeah, I can't wait.
It's been it's been a greatride, and I can't see where
can't wait to see where it goes.
SPEAKER_00 (55:26):
Heck yeah, man.
So for those listening who areare now just like super fans of
Nathan Cusack, uh, if they wantto follow you and your future
story, I mean, where do we findyou?
Either on the socials or I don'tknow, uh do you got a YouTube
page?
What's uh how do we follow you?
SPEAKER_02 (55:45):
It's pretty much just Nathan Cusack on Instagram.
Um yeah, no socials.
Sorry, Strava nerds.
I'm private and you're notgetting that follow.
Um but that's it.
SPEAKER_00 (55:59):
Awesome.
And you're not uh you're not onthe TikTok game either?
No.
Uh stick to reels.
Fair enough.
Fair enough, man.
Well, I will uh you know, I'vekept you long enough, and uh you
know what, thank you for takingthe time to to be on the on the
podcast.
I'll let you get back to uhbikes and books and or I don't
(56:20):
know, watching some more races,whatever you're gonna do next.
But Nathan, thanks for the time.
SPEAKER_02 (56:24):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (56:26):
All right, ciao.
Thanks for joining us on theTime Crunch Cyclist Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
If you want even more actionabletraining advice, head over to
trainright.com backslashnewsletter and subscribe to our
free weekly publication.
Each week you'll get in depthtraining content that goes
(56:48):
beyond what we cover here on thepodcast that'll help you take
your training to the next level.
That's all for now.
Until next time, train hard,train smart, or train right.
From the team at Seat Guest, this is the Time
Crunch Cyclist Podcast, our showdedicated to answering your
training questions and providingactionable advice to help you
improve your performance, evenif you're stopped for time.
I'm your host, Coach AdamPulford, and I'm one of the over
50 professional coaches who makeup the team at Seat Guest.
(00:27):
In each episode, I draw on ourteam's collective knowledge,
other coaches, and experts inthe field to provide you with
the practical ways to get themost out of your training and
ultimately become the bestcyclist that you can be.
Now, on to our show.
(00:52):
Today we'll be a bit ofstorytelling, showcasing a U.S.
rider talent, and we'll offersome tips you can apply to your
training in racing.
We usually aim for the shorter,more actionable episodes, but
settle in for just a touchlonger today because it's going
to be totally worth your time.
I'm here with U23 Pro Rider andCTS athlete Nathan Cusek to
(01:16):
unravel what it takes to go fromjunior to pro.
Nathan, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_02 (01:22):
I'm honored to be here.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
I am honored to be uh interviewing you, Nathan, and
uh uh you know part of yourjourney that that you've been
on.
But uh where are you talking tous from today, Nathan?
SPEAKER_02 (01:35):
Um I'm currently up in Burlington, Vermont.
I'm in school at the Universityof Vermont.
Um, so I'm just doing my fallfall semester up here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:44):
Yeah, somewhere between um, I don't know, Chem
Lab and the next class, I wouldassume.
SPEAKER_02 (01:49):
Yeah, pretty much.
SPEAKER_00 (01:51):
Excellent.
Well, uh disclaimer here, uhNathan is not a time-crunched
athlete, although he has momentswhere that's the case.
Uh, but some of you have writtenin wanting to hear more about my
athletes and others that wecoach to hear their stories of
how they train and race to reachtheir goals.
So today is exactly that.
A great story from a member ofthe CTS athlete family.
(02:16):
So we'll first start byrecapping Nathan's 2025 season,
then go back in time when Nathanwas a junior.
We'll look at uh total traininghours, power numbers, and the
development over the years, thenwe'll bring it back full circle
with what he has in store for2026 and beyond.
Along the way, we'll share whathas worked for him in both
(02:37):
training and racingpreparations.
And the whole goal here is toinspire everybody that's
listening, whether you're youngor old, on how to keep training
and chasing your dreams.
Because although it's nevereasy, if you keep on doing the
work, get good people aroundyou, develop your skills, you
can accomplish what you set outto do.
So, with that said, Nathan,let's look back at 2025.
(03:01):
We usually start the season herein the United States with uh,
you know, the great seasonopener of Valley of the Sun or
Voss as we like to call it, uh,roll into TBC.
Tell us tell us about that andthen your spring block in
Europe.
SPEAKER_02 (03:15):
Yeah.
Um so as always, the seasonstarted in Voss.
I've been down there four yearsum in a row, and it's always
nice to be in sunny Arizonaafter what feels like long
winters uh here on the EastCoast.
Um, but I've never really had aton of success in Voss, and this
year kind of um continued thatpattern, although it was able to
(03:38):
spark some fitness, and goinginto TBC um I won every road
stage.
Um so that was the crit, theroad race, and the um the
circuit race on the last day.
So that was just a great way tostart the season, uh set the
tone really for myself.
SPEAKER_00 (03:59):
Um super cleaned up, and I I guess when I was like on
Instagram watching and stuff, Iwas getting excited because uh
Cora, your youngest sister, wasno longer the most winningest
QSAC for the year.
SPEAKER_02 (04:13):
So Yeah, Cora definitely cleans up with the
local races, but I had to showout.
Uh yeah, so then I went over toBelgium with USA cycling um and
did a couple races over there,including Youngsters Coast, uh,
which is my biggest race todate.
And it's always a good time overthere.
(04:34):
Youngsters was really hard, butI was able to, in some interclub
races, pick up a fifth and thentop ten um in a stage race in
the Ardennes.
So it was good to kind of keepthe ball rolling, but no
nothing, no separation in termsof results in Europe yet.
SPEAKER_00 (04:53):
So why do you say Youngsters was like the biggest
race like at that point?
What makes that race so big?
Why is it prestigious?
SPEAKER_02 (05:00):
Well, I mean, lining up with the um all the dev teams
from I mean, you've got Sudal,uh Visma, um, Lotto, like it was
every big dev team, and justthey're wearing the exact same
kits pretty much and throwingeven sharper elbows.
SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
Yeah, so in terms of that like true development, when
you take it to the next leveland you're at that age, uh
that's where you need to be forum getting that development.
So you you come back from umfrom Europe and you jump into
Redlands, right?
SPEAKER_02 (05:36):
Yeah, uh, I think I had about a week here in Vermont
um in between Europe andRedlands, not even sure the bike
made it out of the box um inbetween and Redlands was uh a a
hard race.
It had a tough start with TT andthen the Onyx climb, um, two
stages that don't really suitme.
(05:58):
And then um later in laterstages I knew I had the legs,
but wasn't couldn't quite findthe luck.
So then on the last stage onSunset, I took a shot and um
followed some some big namesinto a move that stuck and was
able to get third there, uh,which was a pretty uh amazing
(06:18):
result for me.
I've never really had a goodresult from breakaway.
Um, and so that one felt really,really good.
SPEAKER_00 (06:25):
Yeah, that was and that was huge.
I think that was uh you know,kind of like tailing off of what
you did at TBC.
It was just like you know,getting those those whiffs and
inklings that this was gonna bea really good year.
And you did go full sin.
I mean, I I you probably justwanted to die in that in that
breakaway.
Um, but uh uh I mean I was I wasso stoked when when uh I got
(06:49):
that text message.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:51):
That was a great time.
SPEAKER_00 (06:53):
So then you rolled into uh collegiate gnats and
then road gnats, right?
SPEAKER_02 (06:58):
Yeah, yeah.
So we did some local racing umto get the number of collegiate
starts that I needed to racecollegiate nats, um, and then
went out to Madison to racethose.
Um and was able to take away thewin in the in the crit, in the
collegiate crit.
Um so that was like reallyamazing.
My first national title.
(07:19):
Um just kind of keeping themomentum going uh with that, and
then straight into road nets umfor the my main goal is the U-23
race there, and just facedstomach issues, and then in the
crit, um the team racedamazingly and seemed just got
out, sprinted in the last 200meters, um, and then in the
(07:41):
elite race I had a solid dayjust fighting back all day.
Um was able to come come homewith 16th uh in the final group
that finished.
But you know, winning the groupsprint there, I mean, for 16th,
you do what you can.
SPEAKER_00 (07:56):
Yeah, oh for sure.
And and not to get super deep inthe weeds, I mean, that result
on that course in the elites ishuge, especially for like a U-23
rider.
Um it's just it's hard, it'shilly, it's the top, the creme
of the creme.
But for those who maybe haveguessed, they're like, oh, what
kind of rider is this?
Is he a sprinter?
He's talking about crits.
(08:17):
Like, how would you categorizeyourself as a racer?
SPEAKER_02 (08:21):
Well, my director for like last three years, Nima,
has always said that um the bestrider to be is a racer.
And I I really like that.
Like, I when I line up, I justtry to win the race, get to the
get to the end in the frontgroup, and then sprint.
Uh that being said, I do like tosprint from a bigger group uh
(08:41):
where I can sit in the draft formost of the day.
So um I would say I'm more of asprinter, um, but like maybe the
tactical, like finding the rightwheels, launching at the right
type guy, not the Jonathan Milanum 2,000 watts type.
SPEAKER_00 (08:59):
Yeah, no, that there's very few of those out
there.
But but yeah, I mean I thinkthat when people have asked me
as well, like what kind of rideris is uh Nathan, I'm like, he's
crafty.
He's a crafty dude, right?
And I I think in this this willkind of like go into what we're
talking about, but but you are II'd say left up to your own uh
(09:23):
devices.
I mean, you would be probably asprinter phenotype in the way
that you make your power, okay?
And and we we just we determinethat based on your like
anaerobic and your aerobic uhpower outputs.
And you typically will come in,especially when we get tuned up
for a race, is like a sprinter.
But I train you more like anall-arounder to not neglect the
(09:44):
uh 20-minute, 40-minute,60-minute efforts, so that when
you do get in the breakaway, youknow, you've got the durability
and the depth to hang in there.
So I would say your phenotyperolls throughout the year based
on what how we're trainingbetween sprinter and
all-arounder.
And I think just on the coachingside of things, I'm I'm like
making sure that like justdialing each up a little bit or
(10:07):
the other one down, um, rollinginto it.
But I think too, what peopleneed to realize is like you
don't when you're rolling intosomething like Redlands and in
some of these other stage races,you don't always have to be
going for the win on these,especially if it doesn't favor
you.
So how does that factor intoyour equation when you do toe
(10:29):
the line and you're the theracer for the day that that Nima
wants you to be?
SPEAKER_02 (10:35):
Yeah, um, I mean, like starting NETT is I'm not
the racer that day, or even mostsummit finishes, not really the
racer that day.
But in that case, like you justgotta help your teammates, and
then any other day, like youjust try to be there, like just
being there, taking a spot up atthe front of the Peloton that's
(10:57):
in your team's jersey is helpingthe team no matter what, and as
long as you're there, I thinkyou're racing, and like as you
said, like we're trying tocontinue to develop that like
all arounder, just because as Icontinue to go up in the ranks
of cycling, like I gotta bethere at the end of the races to
sprint, and it like that justkeeps getting harder and harder,
(11:21):
and so just continue to dialdown that aspect of it.
SPEAKER_00 (11:26):
Now that we've kind of identified what what type of
rider you are, Nathan, um thepast couple years we've had a
Spain campaign uh in the middleof the season.
Tell us why that's important,um, what that campaign looks
like, and the value that thatbrings in your overall
development.
SPEAKER_02 (11:46):
Yeah, for sure.
I definitely think developmentis the key there.
Um I've raced in Europe the lastfew summers, um, Belgium, Spain,
France, and I would say myfavorite racing is Belgium, but
where I learn the most is Spain.
Um, because I'm racing inconditions that are really hard
on courses that don't suit me.
(12:07):
And I mean, that's how youlearn.
Um so when I'm racing in Spain,it's long stages, long stage
races, five, seven days, um, andthen off the bikes, not ideal,
sleeping in.
Um uh in hostels, just bunk rowswith your all your teammates, no
(12:28):
AC.
Um, you can imagine how how thatis, and you just kind of learn
to kind of fend for yourself inin the way of like just making
sure you have what you needdialed.
Like I have a special drink mixthat I like to use.
I like to make sure that I havemy three-hour meal and I just
carry out a Tupperware and makesure I get that.
(12:52):
Um stuff like that that youreally you can really learn, and
then on the courses you I mean,you learn how to race to your
advantages.
I feel like starting climbs atthe front front of the Peloton
is like something that I've kindof dialed and just like being
able to use know what mystrengths and weaknesses are in
(13:12):
order to succeed, and that'ssomething I've learned to do
well in Spain.
SPEAKER_00 (13:17):
Yeah, that's it.
And I and I think too, um, youknow, if you're if you're going
to uh have longevity in thissport, you gotta become really
efficient when it comes to theoff-the-bike stuff like that.
And and what Nathan was talkingabout, his three-hour meal, his
meal that works for him threehours out from the start of the
race.
And usually it's somethingsimple, high carb, has some
(13:39):
other has some fat and protein,um, but just have that ready to
go because that is the the thelast fuel that goes in the tank.
Um, but from the like thestaffing standpoint and being a
director, it's like you want anathlete like that.
Like like Nathan just described,somebody who takes care of the
stuff that he needs to take careof for himself.
(14:00):
Uh, because like I when I was adirector, I I had athletes that
were just all over the place andyou felt like you were just like
picking up after them or or uhjust doing everything that you
possibly could to like get themto the start line.
And when you have an athletelike Nathan, and I did have some
athletes like this that justwere super dialed, it it made
the whole machine just work waymore efficiently.
(14:22):
So I think like you know, goingfrom the first year in Spain or
or the to the second year inSpain, and even when I talked to
Nima, I mean it was like it wasa lot of that.
It's like, yeah, Nathan'ssimple.
Everybody want everybody wants arider like that, you know.
So uh but yeah, no AC at night,uh summertime in Spain.
That's it's pretty rough.
SPEAKER_02 (14:42):
And then what we do have like we had one uh Airbnb
that had uh the AC units and wehad them set to like 60 degrees,
and we were closing our doors toour bedrooms, and we would walk
in there just be an ice chamber,and it felt so nice.
SPEAKER_00 (14:59):
Yeah, the things the things we do on the road.
Yeah.
Um but yeah, yeah, and and Ithink too, it's like you kind of
like over race, you can't youlike and you just have to do
that to gain that experience.
And I think it is it set you upwell, especially for uh kind of
the tail end of the season whenum you know we we learned that
(15:20):
you got selected for lavanier.
And I know personally I was Iwas a bit surprised, and I was
um man, I was somewhere when youwhen you told me like super busy
doing something, and I was like,kiddy up, let's go.
But I'm like, holy crap, this isgonna be like his hardest race,
I think, ever.
So I actually don't know how youwere selected for this, Nathan.
(15:43):
Um the details of it.
So could you tell us whatLavenier is, why it's such a big
one, um, and how you gotselected and in some of the
story around that?
SPEAKER_02 (15:52):
Yeah, so Lavenier is uh French for the future, and
it's essentially the under 23Tour de France.
It's a seven-day stage race inFrance, in and out of the Alps,
that um just has the besttalents in the U-23 field, guys
like Paul Sachas, um, who justkind of had his breakout ride at
(16:15):
Worlds and in the Europeanchamps, and then uh Lorenzo
Finn, the under-23 world champ,um just duking it out every day.
So that's what Laveneer is.
I got selected.
I I kind of had been hearingover the summer that I was kind
of on the edge.
I was hearing from my sources uhthat I was in one day, out the
(16:38):
next day, and then we didn'treally get to this, but I uh was
able to come up with a win on myfinal stage of my final race in
Spain, and I heard that that waskind of what um put me over the
edge.
It was my first European win.
Um, so that felt really, reallygood to um kind of break that
that barrier, the mental blockthat it was like so I feel like
(17:01):
some guys only ever win in theUS and can only figure out that
style of racing, and I feel likeI was close, but I had never
really gotten there, so it wasgood to break that and get that
win.
And then I was actually with myfamily on vacation, um kind of
out on a boat, and I was gettingthese sporadic texts, um, just
(17:28):
like one every like a coupleevery few minutes, and I was
realizing I had pretty badservice, but I got a text from
my director, Nima, and he justsaid, You're not doing GMSR,
which is the Green Mountainstage race up here in Vermont.
And I was like, Well, that meansI'm doing Avenir because there's
no reason I wouldn't be doingGreen Mountain.
Um so that was kind of a crazyrealization there.
(17:53):
Um then I get I got back, gotconnected to some Wi-Fi, and
realized got all got all theemails, the official invites,
the um intake forms, stuff likethat, and it all kind of hit me
that I would be doing the under23 Tour de France.
SPEAKER_00 (18:10):
Yeah, that's wild.
As you were saying that, I waslike, where was I was in Spain
um with your sister, uh Lydia,who uh we were doing a nations
cup and and other uh athletes aswell, and I just remember I was
like, dang, like that is huge.
So when when you learn that,like what went through your
head, like and you're onvacation, mind you.
SPEAKER_02 (18:32):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, so I was like my seasonwas a little bit over.
Um like I was on vacation, I'dfinished up my Spain block, and
when I got that, I was just likeit was just a wow moment.
Um it didn't totally hit me.
I was finally gonna get like anopportunity to swing it with the
(18:52):
big guys, um, and that was superexciting.
So yeah, it was just amazing.
I don't think it truly hit meuntil maybe I got there and we
were driving driving up the Alpsto Um where we started the first
stage and we had the meeting,and I was like, wow, this is
incredible.
SPEAKER_00 (19:12):
Yeah, totally.
And I and I think too, just toscale this, is like I've had
another rider do it before.
It was it was and she was aclimber, and it was still like
the biggest race and andprobably the hardest race she
had ever done.
Um you just heard that Nathan'snot the climber, he's not bad at
climbing, but more of afinisher.
And and so in that way, when Iwhen I heard that you made the
(19:38):
team for it, I was like, likeshould have done some more hill
climbing, should have done somemore volume.
And it was just an opportunitythat we kind of like we didn't
see coming, we had to take it,so we did, obviously.
But um walk us through like highlevel, we don't need to get into
the super details of it, butlike how challenging was this
(19:59):
for you and and how did it go?
SPEAKER_02 (20:01):
It was the hardest thing I've ever done.
Um like hands down, easily.
Um stage one was a pretty longday and uh ended or there was a
15k three percent climb um thatended I think 10k from the
finish, and 15k 3% is prettydraftable, and I got dropped.
(20:28):
And I was like, oh boy, I'm infor it.
Um and so whenever I'm inmoments like this, I remember my
first training camp as a U23 umwas similar, where it's like I
feel like I was just gettingbeat up on the bike.
I just focus on everything offthe bike, um, eating, sleeping,
(20:49):
recovery.
Um, and that's pretty much themode I went into.
It was like do everything youcan in the races to be there at
the finishes, and then whenyou're off the bike, it's just
like you get your legs up, youget your massage, you get
dinner, you go to sleep.
Maybe you read the the techguide while you're getting your
massage.
Um so that that's pretty muchhow the experience was.
(21:14):
The days did get better fromthat first day on.
I kind of figured figured thingsout a little more um and was
able to make make a couple ofthose finishes, and then yeah, I
mean the whole experience wasreally eye-opening to see that
next level and the level thatthe guys are on was absurd.
SPEAKER_00 (21:36):
Yeah, and again, you like when you roll into that,
yeah you you get excited becauseit's about where you're going
and getting that experience inthe system versus getting
excited to to do somethingthere.
You know what I mean?
And that's where I think fromthe developmental side of things
is um you you really have totake the longer term approach.
And it can be as a young rider,or it can be as you know, a
(21:59):
middle-aged person that justwants to become like a better
climber or a better stage raceror something like that, where
it's like sometimes the firstyear you're doing something is
just to get the experience toget beat up, basically, and then
the next year you're gonna be ahell of a lot better because of
it, you know.
Yeah, and so I think like youknow, as we roll into 2026 and
beyond, but I mean you've alwayshad a really good, uh, I would
(22:21):
say mature uh uh look into thefuture about that, knowing that
when you get your teeth kickedin, it's not because you're a
bad racer, it's just about likethis is new, this was
challenging, and I'm gonna getbetter from it.
So and I and I do think that wasuh Lavanier.
And you had a speaking of thefinal end of this season, you
had a quick turn from Lavanierto the Maryland classic as well,
(22:45):
right?
SPEAKER_02 (22:46):
Yeah, I did.
That was I think four days, andyeah, Maryland was very hard as
well.
Um just a hard course, it wasway hotter and more humid than
um Avenir was, and definitelyhad a hard day on the bike
(23:06):
there.
SPEAKER_00 (23:08):
Yeah, and it was you know, the strategy there, folks,
was just he had just gonethrough his biggest race ever
and he needed rest, so it waslike shut her down, try to do a
few openers, you know, beforeMaryland and rock and roll.
But that you know, the the tailend of this season wasn't was
not really planned, andsometimes you just have to roll
(23:29):
with the punches like that.
Yeah, I think that also comeswith just bike racing.
Yeah, Nathan, I mean you'veyou've had some huge milestones.
We talked about Lavanier, wetalked about the huge win in
Spain.
Um you know winning, gettingthat success, turning the heads
of the you know, the directorsand the talent, you know,
scouters and stuff.
(23:51):
You you got an you got aprofessional contract for 2026.
How does that feel?
And can tell us more about thatteam.
SPEAKER_02 (23:58):
I'll be riding with uh EFA Volo for next year, which
is the EF uh development team.
And it's just amazing.
Um I'm not sure it's totally hityet, um, but it's pretty pretty
dreamy.
I can barely believe it.
SPEAKER_00 (24:19):
Did you uh now we're rolling back like into the
junior uh kind of ranks andstuff?
Did you did you ever like didyou dream about being a
professional bike racer?
Was this part of the agenda?
SPEAKER_02 (24:31):
No, no.
It was not.
The dream in cycling was to wina national championship.
Um when I first started racing,I went to Austin Nationals for
Cyclocross in 2015 and was like,this is it, I need to win one of
these.
Um and I would still like to winone that um doesn't have as many
(24:53):
asterisks in front of it.
Uh like the I just want to benational champion, not
collegiate club crit nationalchampion.
Um so that's still on the table,but this is beyond my dreams.
SPEAKER_00 (25:08):
Well, we'll we'll get one of those uh Stars and
Stripes jerseys.
I'm I'm confident in it.
Um But uh yeah, I I should ask,I mean, uh, how do Cora and
Lydia feel about you getting thefirst pro contract of the of the
family?
SPEAKER_02 (25:22):
I'm not sure anybody saw it coming, to be honest.
Um of course they're superexcited and proud.
Um it's gonna be awesome to livewith Lydia um in Girona next
year.
And yeah, they're they're notfar behind, I'm sure, of it.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:38):
So for context folks, those listening and and
uh catching on to the the insidejokes here, I coach Lydia, I
coach Cora as well.
Uh Lydia's the the the middlechild, and uh she's had quite a
bit of success uh on the bikeherself, uh rides for uh a team
based out of uh the UK rightnow.
Is that right?
Yeah, that's right.
(25:59):
Yeah.
And um and yeah, so she uh istaking the gap year as well uh
away from college.
She actually finished highschool a little bit early to
just pursue bike racing, and sonow uh both Lydia and Nathan
will be living in Europe and andpursuing the dream.
But but let's roll back evenfurther now.
(26:19):
Like, how did this all firststart?
Maybe tell the story of how youand I connected and and how I
became your coach and how youstarted just like to want to
race your bike.
SPEAKER_02 (26:30):
Yeah, for sure.
So um I've been racing since Iwas nine.
Um my dad kind of got me intoit, and it was mostly cyclocross
to start, be racing 10 to 15cross races a year and going to
nationals, just having a goodtime.
Uh, and then out of COVID, I wasDC Devo reached out to me and
got me on on the road.
(26:53):
And in the preseason, I wasriding a cross bike with uh road
tires and was invited to I thinka hundred-mile group ride, and
it was pretty pan flat, and Igot dropped.
Um and Adam waited for me andpulled me back uh to the group
(27:18):
and helped me finish that ride,and I'm not really sure how I
learned that he was a coach, butthen I needed a new coach, and I
was like, I I didn't knowanything about what Adam like
who he coached, like what hedid, but I was like, I want that
guy.
Like he was he was reallystrong, he pulled me back to the
(27:39):
group.
Um and so I think my parentsreached out and uh we got we got
something going and it's been apretty pretty dream team ever
since so that was what 2021 fouryears ago.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (27:56):
I mean it seem I mean it seems like longer in in
a good way.
Um but I mean because you wereall of like 98 pounds and and
for for the record people, likewe were riding with like growing
men, 180, 200 pounders, DJ Brew,who you've heard on the podcast
before, true sprinter types, andlittle Nathan here was 100
(28:17):
pounds soaking wet on this youknow cross bike.
And I think your your seat stayswere broken.
I remember like oh like comingup behind you.
SPEAKER_02 (28:26):
I remember that now, actually.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:28):
I was like, dude, your seat stays are cracked,
man.
Like you've got some rearsuspension going on.
SPEAKER_02 (28:32):
Yeah, that yeah, that's why that bike didn't last
very long.
Forgot about that.
SPEAKER_00 (28:37):
So and I didn't know anything of you at the time, but
I was like, this kid's gnarly,like he he they because we were
going fast, we're like ripping23, 25 miles an hour on coverage
in southern Maryland.
And I was like, who is this kid?
Um yeah, so that that is how ithappened, yeah.
Um good times.
Always.
(28:57):
So early on, I mean, our I I'lljust tell you, my strategy for
you was keep it fun, get youracing, and not be overly
specific.
Would you say that that workedinitially?
SPEAKER_02 (29:10):
Uh yeah, I would say so.
SPEAKER_00 (29:13):
Um do we still keep it fun?
SPEAKER_02 (29:15):
Always.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:16):
Yeah.
And you know you know, and fromthere, and I think like I'll
just keep it short and simplebecause I think that like if
you're coaching kids, like youyou do have to take that
strategy at some point you gottaup the game.
And I'm just gonna rip throughsome of your like the volume
increases.
So in 2020, I was just lookingback on on previous training
(29:38):
here.
2020, you were riding 331 hours,2021 was 417 hours, 2022 was
just under 500 hours, 2023.
That's when we made that leap uhup to 657 hours.
2024, and I believe you you werelike 17, 18 at that time.
Yeah.
And then 2024 was 757.
(30:00):
35 hours and uh this year uhwe're trajecting to aim for
maybe 780 plus, but all of thiscomes with a little bit of an
extra asterisk because uh uh Imean for everybody out there,
there are files that are notuploaded, there are rides that
um weren't recorded for forNathan who blows up, loses,
(30:22):
forgets, uh, kills wahoos.
Hey man, we're we're missingsome data, but that's that's
about what we got, high level.
And so I want everybody torealize that you know, starting
young, start low, go slow,right?
When you hit that 17 to 18 mark,now you boot it up quite a bit.
And as we keep on reaching, andyou know, we're gonna go, you
(30:43):
know, 900 hours of trainingprobably, 2026.
And that, you know, that is avery, I would say, conservative
but realistic and safe sort ofapproach on the volume.
Uh if there's anything I wouldhave on my criticism, it would
be probably maybe a little bitmore volume this year, but
again, that you know, did wehave it because of the uploading
(31:04):
or not?
Um, but would you say thatoverall, Nathan, you during that
time span, were you ever, Idon't know, overcooked,
underdone, or you know, overdoneor anything like that?
SPEAKER_02 (31:18):
No.
Um I just looking at thesenumbers, it's kind of incredible
to me because it feels like ithasn't really changed.
I still love it just as much.
And so being on the bike is justa joy.
And like the increase, like I Ican't believe that that increase
(31:39):
has happened because it reallyfeels like training has felt
very similar and the same.
And you know, that jump in 2023,um, that was my second year out
of juniors.
That was also the or the secondyear in juniors.
Um that was what I would thinkof as like one of my breakout
years on the road, and a bigpart of that was I had a really
(32:03):
good group of friends that I wasriding with, and we would go out
and Adam would have me scheduledfor like a four-hour ride, and
I'd roll in six and a half hoursand be like, coach is not gonna
be happy.
Um but who cares?
Because we just did like anawesome century with three cafe
(32:23):
stops, and just like that's howI like to spend my Saturday.
Um, and so and it just keepskeep finding more people, uh,
and so the hours just keepgetting easier, really.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (32:36):
One thing I learned from that, because I remember
when that first started tohappen, I was like, man, this
kid can handle more than I thanthan I realized, right?
And then it started to just belike, okay, you know, five
hours, plus or minus, no realcap, go for it.
And then it started to sprinklein, be like, hey, go like really
hard uh with the boys today,every once in a while.
(32:57):
You know, and and actually someof your numbers, uh we still
have some peak numbers comingfrom days like that where I just
don't limit you, you know, giveyou some guardrails and stuff,
but just like have at it.
And I think that when you'recoaching a like a developmental
rider, there's that point whereI think the coach or the
athlete, probably around 17-ish,18-ish, you just need to let
(33:20):
them go just to see like whatthat capacity is.
Because otherwise, I think youstayed limited.
SPEAKER_02 (33:25):
Yeah, for sure.
And like DC is like kind of agreat place to do that because
you've got all the group rides,um, and you can go and kind of
uh bash your head in with yourfriends, um trying to take KOMs
or like going for the the stupidlong-range attack on the group
(33:46):
ride.
It's like I mean, I I try myhardest not to sprint during
group rides because I know I canwin sprints.
Um and I don't know if I can winwith like a long move or
something like that, and so orjust like after pulling
everybody around.
(34:06):
So that's definitely some of myfavorite rides.
SPEAKER_00 (34:10):
Yeah, so it's like on the group rides the strategy
is work on your uh stuff thatyou're not as good at, right?
Versus the stuff that you knowyou're good at.
Yeah.
And that's what's so beautifulabout a group ride.
It's it's a mock race scenario,but you get to there's no um the
the bar is low, there's noexpectation, right?
So you mess it up, you gettired, you go back, you go to
(34:30):
the back and then try again.
SPEAKER_02 (34:31):
Yeah, and to be clear, these are race group
rides, these aren't endurancegroup rides.
For sure.
You're not attacking the coffeeride unless there's a town sign.
SPEAKER_00 (34:42):
Yeah, that is all of that is very true.
But I I I do want to mention, Imean, we should say that you
already mentioned, but the theDC area DMV is really special,
and I didn't know this before Imoved here, but there are just
so many freaking group rides,like so many opportunities to go
hard um with talented, fastpeople that I I do think that if
(35:05):
you're a if you're a bike racerand if you're a junior, I mean
it is it's a pretty solid placeto grow up.
SPEAKER_02 (35:12):
Yeah, it's it's incredible.
I didn't realize it until Istarted looking for colleges,
and I was like, I need like Iwould need people to ride with
when I go to college, and I waslike, what other places have
scenes like this?
And it was like you've gotBoulder, some places in
California, and like like interms of like having a group
ride every day of the week thatyou can like get like really get
(35:35):
going hard on doesn't superexist in a lot of places.
SPEAKER_00 (35:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's really unique from thatstandpoint.
Um, so I think like in that way,I mean you you know you still
come down from college, um, westill hit the noon ride every
once in a while, and uh so soyou're still East Coast based,
uh, but when you I didn't thinkabout this.
This is uh the B script, by theway, here, uh Nathan.
(36:00):
But do you remember when youwere trying to decide which
college to go to and you'relooking at California versus
Vermont?
Remember what I told you?
SPEAKER_02 (36:08):
No, not exactly.
No, not at all.
SPEAKER_01 (36:13):
No, I just say no, I don't.
Okay.
There's a lot going on in thattime.
SPEAKER_00 (36:18):
That's true.
There was a lot going on.
But I so I remember telling youwhat a good friend took.
I do remember.
I do remember.
SPEAKER_02 (36:24):
Yeah.
All right.
If you go out west, you got youcan't stay out there long enough
till you get soft, you gottacome back east or something like
that.
SPEAKER_00 (36:32):
Exactly.
So if you ever move west, moveback before you get too soft.
But he also said if you evermove east, move back before you
get too hard.
SPEAKER_01 (36:41):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:41):
Right?
And so it but in that way, yeah.
I mean, you were raised on theEast Coast, and I say that, you
know, it it's funny, but it'salso true.
Um, and having lived both WestCoast and East Coast and growing
up in the Midwest, I'd saythere's a lot of truth to that.
But I think that the reason Itold you that was knowing where
you grew up, how you grew up,seasons, the group ride, the
(37:04):
gnarliness that is kind of theEast Coast or the Beast Coast,
uh as some mountain bikers liketo call it.
Um, like I was encouraging youto stay east in that way because
there is there is uh uh I I feltlike it was right, but I I
couldn't tell you what to do,right?
Yeah.
Um and so I think I mean it'sit's playing out because you
(37:24):
know you still have good accessto DC.
I mean, there's a good scene upin Vermont, um, and it's shorter
to Europe.
So that's super helpful.
Yeah, totally, totally.
But I guess as I kind of likerip through some of the
highlights here, would you say,you know, from junior till now,
is there anything that standsout to you with how we evolve
(37:45):
training or just like maybe acouple things that really worked
for you that you'd want to sharewith uh our audience that's
like, hey, this this reallyworked well for me, you could
try it or leave it or or orsomething else?
SPEAKER_02 (37:57):
Yeah, we already touched on it, but just finding
that group that you have funwith.
Um then a big part of me thatlike I I would say the biggest
thing that motivates me to trainis I like to win races.
Um and so when I'm doing thoseintervals, I um I like to
imagine myself in racescenarios.
Um whether if if I'm doing3030s, just like pretending that
(38:21):
I'm following moves in races, orif I'm doing a long effort,
pretending I'm like in a breakor something, that really helped
me, especially as a junior, likekind of visualize my my efforts
um when I was doing intervals.
SPEAKER_00 (38:35):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean that's it's superhelpful.
In fact, I was asking um some ofthe girls on that Spain trip
when we were on, I was like,hey, does any of you like
picture like when you'reclimbing, does anybody picture
someone to like emulate, youknow, like on the bike?
Would you would you say thatyou're just like picturing
yourself like racing, or are youpicturing like yourself as Tate?
(38:57):
Or are you picturing yourself asas uh I don't know, uh name your
favorite racer?
SPEAKER_02 (39:03):
Usually I'm picturing myself.
Um but when I actually when I'mdoing hill sprints, like
repeated hill sprints, I dothink of Tate because he's the
goat.
SPEAKER_00 (39:13):
He's the goat, man.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
It's it's it's hard, it's hardto not, but yes, I think we all
do it.
We all do it.
Um just make sure to besprinting in your drops, right,
Nathan?
Yeah, for sure.
Learn that one the hard way fromyou two.
Um side note, I got stuck inthat summaries.
Nathan called me out publiclyfor sprinting in my tops.
(39:34):
Even though it was an uphillsprint, I'm still sour about it.
So speaking of hard effort,speaking of um power production
and things like this, one of thequestions that we had was you
know, what is what's an emergingpros number look like?
And so I'm just gonna readthrough and there's there's some
fun uh like as I was goingthrough, I was like, oh, this is
(39:57):
fun because these these peaknumbers of the past really
couple years, they come out invarious places.
They come out at at races, theycome out in training, they come
out in testing.
And I think what's so uniqueabout that is you're not you,
Nathan, you're not onlyproducing your best power at a
race.
(40:17):
You're not only producing yourbest power on the six-hour cafe
rides where you know youcollabor yourself with your
team, you know, your friends,your teammates.
You're kind of doing it all, youcan perform in all these
different scenarios.
So let me first start with 20second sprint.
Okay and Nathan's roughly 145 to150 pounds, kind of depending on
(40:39):
uh time of year where we're atand how much um heat training
we're doing in Spain.
So uh peak 20 second sprint wasuh so 20 seconds, by the way.
Not one second.
20 seconds was 1,070 watts or16.8 watts per kilogram.
And that was at Redland's stagerace, stage three.
SPEAKER_02 (40:59):
That was um on the Rico ride after that stage,
actually.
SPEAKER_00 (41:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (41:05):
Not the stage.
SPEAKER_01 (41:07):
That was a time trial.
SPEAKER_00 (41:08):
Yes.
Um, so whether we edit this outor not, I looked at that, I'm
like, it's not the stage.
Like so we can we can talk aboutthat, like what the hell
happened?
SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
We were just a one-up sprint with a teammate,
and I just put out a crazy powernumber.
SPEAKER_00 (41:26):
Crazy power number to the point where I'm like,
like I know how to edit out baddata and stuff, and I like even
and I remember when it happened,I was like, no, it's good data.
And I even last night I was Ispent about 10 minutes like
going back through three yearsof data using the tools that I
could to see if it was actuallybad.
I'm like, no, this is it.
But I'm like, this was not therace.
SPEAKER_02 (41:45):
It was like slightly uphill, it was with our
sprinter, it was in front ofNima.
It was perfect conditions.
SPEAKER_00 (41:53):
Perfect conditions.
So uh what I'm learning as acoach is I need to replicate
these conditions to produce asprint like this again and see
what kind of progress we'vemade.
Yeah.
I'm gonna keep on going withyour two-minute power because
this was kind of bonkers.
Um, two minutes at 546 watts,about eight watts per kilo.
And that was on a six-hour ridewith the boys, where I told you
(42:13):
just go hard everyone's time.
SPEAKER_02 (42:15):
I remember that one.
I was trying to ride my goodfriend off the wheel.
unknown (42:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (42:20):
That's up in Vermont.
Yeah.
Uh okay, let's see if you canremember this one.
Five minutes at 405 watts, 6.1watts per kilo.
And do you remember that onebefore I give any more
descriptor?
SPEAKER_02 (42:34):
Um, was that really field testing this this winter?
SPEAKER_00 (42:39):
It was.
SPEAKER_02 (42:40):
Yeah, it was.
So I do remember it.
I'm surprised that that's thepeak.
SPEAKER_00 (42:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you're going pretty good thiswinter.
Uh I always uh for reference andthose who have been listening to
this podcast, I'm um you shouldtest, in my opinion.
If you're not testing to seewhere your limits are, what are
you actually doing in yourtraining, my opinion?
Um, but you don't test all thetime.
You test maybe twice a year.
Okay.
Uh start of the year, tail endof the year, uh, see where
(43:04):
you're at, see how how muchprogress you made.
So at the start of 2025, yeah,five-minute VO2 max test solo.
Uh Nathan went for it and andhit those hit those numbers five
405.
SPEAKER_02 (43:16):
I had a really bad 20 minute the day before, so I
was mad.
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (43:21):
Which is why we did this 20-minute effort um in
March, because I was like, we Iknow it's better than what that
was.
So we did a 20-minute effort inMarch at 342 watts, and that's
5.0 watts per kilogram.
And do you remember that one?
Yeah, that was a drona.
So the final number that we'lltalk about, Nathan, is your
(43:42):
60-minute power, which youproduced a new 60-minute power
by five watts this year.
But your previous best was 300watts.
It's for 60 minutes, and thatwas about 4.7 watts per kilo.
And it ended up being like themost epic day on a bike that you
had had, uh, I think in like2024.
It was the Rasputista gravelrace.
(44:03):
Do you remember?
Do you remember that?
SPEAKER_02 (44:04):
Uh yeah, unfortunately, very vividly I
do.
Um it was a really hard day onthe gravel bike.
Um kind of decided to do it on awhim to hang out with this girl
and um did it and then justsuffered all day um in this in
this front group and and thendied on the final climb too.
SPEAKER_00 (44:29):
Because I feel like for three hours it was like 298
watts or something too.
Because I mean it it was justlong and hard all day, but I I
guess I should ask, uh did itwork out with the girl?
SPEAKER_02 (44:39):
Yeah, it did.
So I guess it was worth it.
It's worth it.
SPEAKER_00 (44:45):
Well, that's good.
I mean, you did for the for therecord, you pumped out 305 at uh
national championships this pastyear um in the crit.
SPEAKER_02 (44:54):
Yeah, shout out the Kelly boys for riding the front
all day.
SPEAKER_00 (44:57):
But uh overall, for for those kind of wondering what
these numbers look like, they'regood, right?
I mean, they're good, but at thesame time, they're not like the
Tade Pagaccha ground, uh, youknow, like earth-shattering
stuff, and it's not like thetrue sprinter stuff.
But when we when you heardNathan say, you know, you know,
he's a racer, and I and I saidhe's crafty, these numbers are
(45:19):
big.
They're big enough, but withwith that racecraft, with uh
continual kind of honing of ofhow to get it done on the bike,
now you get that pro contract.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (45:31):
And I think of it when you're being scouted or uh
displaying yourself to otherteams, you can be a power rider
or results rider.
Like what's going to be at thetop of your race resume?
And I'm definitely a resultsrider.
Try to get those those onesstacked up at the top of the
resume, um, and then kind of hadthis power numbers kind of off
(45:54):
to the side.
SPEAKER_00 (45:55):
Is there, I mean, kind of the shortest way that
you can answer it.
I mean, how did you develop thatracecraft over time?
Or is it just like a bunch ofracing?
SPEAKER_02 (46:04):
Uh yeah, a bunch of racing and group rides that I
mean, just race simulations.
I also love watching bike races.
Um, and I'll watch it, and thenI love the overhead cam.
And I'll look at where this isespecially for sprints, but like
where riders are startingsprints from and where they're
coming from.
I love the way Tim Mullierfloats the Peloton, and he comes
(46:26):
from pretty far behind, and thenI'll think about that when I'm
in the Peloton and like where Iwant to be.
SPEAKER_00 (46:32):
Tim Malir might be like the best looking sprinter,
like the way he sprints, the wayhe floats.
Like it's incredible.
He gets it done.
Did you ever have an aha momentin racing where you're just
like, you know, you're watchingTim, you're watching your races,
you're you're you're you'regoing into the next race.
Did you have an aha moment whereit's like, yeah, I I deserve to
(46:55):
be here or I should be, I am abike racer, or was it not until
the contract was given to you?
SPEAKER_02 (47:02):
Yeah, I don't really know if I can dial it down to
one moment.
Um I think I I kind of have thisidea that is like I'll do a race
and then by the next year I'lldo a race and I'll just like be
in the pack trying to finish it,and then by the next year I'm
(47:23):
able to race it.
So like this is kind of a longtime ago in juniors at Armed
Forces, which is our local likebig crit um that all the pros
come out to.
Yeah, exactly.
And the first year I rememberjust being in the pack and
finishing it, and then the nextyear, I mean this is still
talking two threes, but the nextyear I was able to be at the
(47:47):
front and be a difference makerin that race, and just learning
that like step by step I canlike impact races and stuff like
that.
That's kind of it.
Just like you're not gonna bethere immediately, but just
slowly you get there.
SPEAKER_00 (48:04):
Yeah, and I think what's so like powerful about
that answer is that number one,it's real, and number two, I
don't know, it's just like sooften there's not the aha or the
breakout or the when you see abreakout result, it's usually
years and years of going forthat result.
What you know, because if youdon't follow bike racing super
(48:28):
in-depth or anything like that,and you're just like the fan,
you have to realize that all ofthese results are like really
ground out over four, five,eight, ten years of you know,
the continual pursuit of ofperfection, essentially, uh uh
for a bike race.
And so uh you have to take thatand say, too, like how do you
(48:50):
how do you stay motivated andall this kind of stuff?
I mean, it it truly is sort ofuh an endgame of sorts with
intrinsic motivation propellingyou.
SPEAKER_02 (48:59):
Yeah, and I think it's kind of hard to have that
aha breakout moment in cycling.
Like it's gonna be a slow build,like slow build no matter what.
Like you look at even in WorldTour ranks, you can be like, oh,
like Skelmosa won Amstel Gold,he broke out this year, but then
you look back, he's like, thatguy's one tour Swiss, like he's
like done many other things.
(49:21):
Like that was not his breakoutmoment.
SPEAKER_00 (49:23):
So in a in a sport like this, Nathan, um like
you're of a younger generationthan I, obviously, and you know,
your generation is using a lotof AI, chat GPT to do a bunch of
bunch of stuff, right?
Do you think that you could useAI or Chat GPT to create a
(49:48):
training plan to get you whereyou are today?
SPEAKER_02 (49:52):
Absolutely not.
Um I always think of when I'musing AI is that I have to know
what the answer is or I wantwhat I want the answer to be.
Um when I ask it a question, andif I asked it to give me a
training plan, I would not havethe ability to vet it and know
(50:13):
like that is smart, or that'snot smart, or that's way too
much, that's not enough.
Um so I don't think that andalso it just doesn't have that
personal touch.
Um I can't get on a weekly callwith ChatGBT.
Um my chat my ChatGBT can't textme.
Um it's good to remember you'rehuman after you do pretty poorly
(50:37):
in a race.
Um that's just happenedrecently.
Yeah.
ChatGBT can't drop you on grouprides, so it's how it is.
SPEAKER_00 (50:47):
It is how it is.
However, I don't I don't know ifI can still drop you on a group
ride.
SPEAKER_01 (50:51):
Um Yeah, we're talking long ago.
SPEAKER_00 (50:53):
Yeah, yeah.
Uh one one year I did.
But um but yeah, and I didn't,you know, honestly, I didn't
know the your answer um to that.
I created an outline and I hadthat on there for Nathan.
But the reason I ask it isbecause I think it can be a good
starting point, but I I thinkNathan hit the nail on the head
with just like you have toprobably know something about
(51:16):
that content before you can evenmake a decision about what is
put out um from the inquiry.
And I think in this case,especially when it comes to
becoming your best, right, andand developing a race craft, is
like when I look at Nathan, it'snot only the years that he
spent, you know, watching racevideos, getting to the big
(51:37):
races, spending time and moneyand grinding it out in Europe.
It's not just him, and it's notjust the coach, you know,
building some training programsand hoping we crush it.
It's it's his director, it's histeammates, it's his friends,
it's his girlfriend, it's hissisters, it's his the the really
the true director sportif ofteam QSAC, Tina, your mom,
(52:00):
driving the ship.
We got Pat that is uh probablythe the king swaneer that I've
ever seen in my life.
Like you have a network likebeyond what I've seen of any
family to help you propel.
And I think that if there is youknow a magic that that that has
been you know curated for theQ6, is it's like that network.
(52:23):
It's pretty incredible.
SPEAKER_02 (52:24):
Yeah, for sure.
And chat GBT cannot providethat.
That's true.
SPEAKER_00 (52:29):
Not yet, anyway.
Uh yeah.
So I I guess you know, with thatsaid, final question is you
know, if if there are juniorslistening to this or college
kids listening to this, or youknow, really anybody could just
like wondering, well, you know,how do I make that network or or
something like that?
But especially to the younger uhcrowd, like what are some of the
(52:53):
other things like off the biketo consider when it's like going
pro?
Because you, I mean, you're incollege, you have you have
friends in college, you have agirlfriend, you have your
education, your degree, like howdo you factor all that into uh
screw it, I'm gonna go playbikes in Europe?
SPEAKER_02 (53:08):
There's yeah, there's a lot to cover in that
question.
I'd say off the bike is superimportant stuff.
Um school, I mean no one's gonnabe a pro cyclist forever, except
for maybe Wout.
Um but um He's got a foreverconscious.
He does, so he could be if hewanted.
(53:29):
Um but yeah, you're not gonna bea cyclist forever, so school so
important.
Um I'm really focusing on makingsure that I get that dial before
I fully commit to full-time planbikes for a living.
And then yeah, just making sureyou maintain um everything else
(53:50):
that's important to you, andmake sure you're like doing
what's fun.
Like, as I said earlier, like Ifind winning races fun, and so I
do what I can to have fun, andso that's the training, that's
the preparation, but also justdon't take it too seriously.
(54:13):
Like, it is supposed to be fun.
There have been points where Ihave like found myself in holes,
and I'm like, I just need tochill out and have fun, and then
I'll go smash some intervals andlike pretend to drop the entire
field during my intervals, andthat's fun.
So, yeah, that would be it.
SPEAKER_00 (54:32):
Yeah, it's it's I mean, truly it it has been uh
incredible to be on this journeywith you, Nathan.
I mean, I mean, I'm so proud andhonored to to be your coach.
Um, and I I truly just like hopethe best, you know, for the
years to come because I meanyou're you're you're the
athlete, like I said, that allthe directors want on their
(54:54):
team.
You're the athlete that thecoach wants to coach.
Uh you're even the kid that theparent wants, right?
Like just smart kid gettingafter it.
Messes up every once in a while,but we all do.
So uh it you know, I mean,chapeau to you.
I mean, you've uh you've hitmilestones, but you ain't done
yet.
So I'm just I'm honored tointerview you here and uh and
(55:18):
see where 2026 takes you.
SPEAKER_02 (55:21):
Yeah, I can't wait.
It's been it's been a greatride, and I can't see where
can't wait to see where it goes.
SPEAKER_00 (55:26):
Heck yeah, man.
So for those listening who areare now just like super fans of
Nathan Cusack, uh, if they wantto follow you and your future
story, I mean, where do we findyou?
Either on the socials or I don'tknow, uh do you got a YouTube
page?
What's uh how do we follow you?
SPEAKER_02 (55:45):
It's pretty much just Nathan Cusack on Instagram.
Um yeah, no socials.
Sorry, Strava nerds.
I'm private and you're notgetting that follow.
Um but that's it.
SPEAKER_00 (55:59):
Awesome.
And you're not uh you're not onthe TikTok game either?
No.
Uh stick to reels.
Fair enough.
Fair enough, man.
Well, I will uh you know, I'vekept you long enough, and uh you
know what, thank you for takingthe time to to be on the on the
podcast.
I'll let you get back to uhbikes and books and or I don't
(56:20):
know, watching some more races,whatever you're gonna do next.
But Nathan, thanks for the time.
SPEAKER_02 (56:24):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (56:26):
All right, ciao.
Thanks for joining us on theTime Crunch Cyclist Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
If you want even more actionabletraining advice, head over to
trainright.com backslashnewsletter and subscribe to our
free weekly publication.
Each week you'll get in depthtraining content that goes
(56:48):
beyond what we cover here on thepodcast that'll help you take
your training to the next level.
That's all for now.
Until next time, train hard,train smart, or train right.
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