From dealing with setbacks to the right gear ratio and heatwaves: Here is how you can use the knowledge of the pros for your own rides.
Anyone who follows the world's major cycling races is quickly left in awe. But behind the spectacular performances of the pros lie tangible tactics, equipment choices, and behaviours that can be transferred surprisingly easily to your own everyday cycling. Whether it is about the right gear system, dealing with crashes and illnesses, or the right nutrition on hot days – the pro scene provides valuable lessons for every amateur athlete.
In the cycling tech scene, an intense debate is raging over the number of chainrings. While single-ring drivetrains (1x) have long been standard in mountain biking and gravel, the topic remains controversial on the road. According to an opinion piece by Velo magazine, the classic double chainring (2x) still offers decisive advantages on the road. Although modern 1x groupsets like the SRAM XPLR achieve a similar overall gear range of 460% compared to Shimano 2x systems (approx. 438–455%), the devil is in the details: to achieve this range, single-ring cassettes have larger gear steps, especially in the easier range. A Shimano 2x system, on the other hand, offers finer increments in the climbing gears. For you, this means: if you like to ride at an exact cadence and want to conquer steep climbs with precision, the classic system with two chainrings is often the better choice. For relaxed recreational rides without extreme performance demands, however, an uncomplicated 1x drivetrain can be completely sufficient.
A serious crash or a stubborn illness sets any athlete back. Pros show us here how important a structured and pressure-free comeback is. German cycling pro Florian Lipowitz crashed heavily at the Tour de France and suffered a broken collarbone. As reported by Sportschau and Radsport-News, he is making his comeback around seven weeks after the accident. The crucial point: Lipowitz is explicitly using the first races only to "assess his current level" without any pressure for results. He emphasises that while training data shows physical fitness, only real riding in the peloton proves how the body reacts to race pace and changing loads. Mads Pedersen also pulled the plug at the Vuelta a España: after an illness, his form was no longer there, which is why he left the race early to make a full recovery. For your training, the rule is: do not force anything after breaks. Use the first rides to get into a rhythm, and listen to your body instead of immediately chasing old personal bests.
Everyone knows that adequate fluid intake is important. Just how extremely this topic is handled in professional sport was demonstrated at the Vuelta a España. According to reports from Velo, extreme temperatures of sometimes over 35 to nearly 40 degrees Celsius prevailed there. The UCI even had to decide on a rare exception to the feeding rules: teams were allowed to hand riders entire musettes with several bottles at the same time, instead of just individual bottles. This shows how massively fluid requirements increase under extreme conditions. If you are planning longer tours in the summer, you should plan your route in advance so that you can regularly refill your bottles, or plan for sufficient capacity on your bike from the start.
Anyone who believes they cannot achieve success on a bike at an older age should take a look at Mavi García. According to Cyclingnews, the Spaniard has extended her professional contract until the end of 2027 – she will be 43 years old by then. The exciting part: she only switched completely from duathlon to road cycling in 2016 at the age of 32. Her career shows that cycling is a sport in which you can be extremely successful even as a late starter through experience, tactical skill, and endurance, and above all, have fun for a very long time.
Your takeaway: Return to the bike after injuries or illnesses without performance pressure and test your form carefully before putting yourself under full load again.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.