Sport Science Support what benefits

Following on from a post made by Ric where it is obvious that much of the information that you need as a cyclist can be gaind from a power meter and field test (e.g. TT). Have any riders had lab testing or scientific support and what was the outcome. Was it a positive or negative experiance, did the information gained make a meaningfull difference in training or performance, did you get value for money, was it pointless.

I'm not really after the opinion of the sports scientists here (I'm one myself), but after riders opinions.

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I joined the UCT Sports Science Institute's Cycle Science program in Cape Town in May 2002, with the aim of doing a 109km race in 3h15m. My previous time for the race was 4h17m.

When you joined their program, they did a bodyfat assesment, a PPO (on a indoor Lode Bike), and a 20km TT on a KingCycle trainer. Once this is done, they worked out a program for you and then it was up to you to come in and train as they saw fit.

What was really nice, was also the race and training logs they kept, and every 2 months I would have to do a 20km TT to see how I was improving. I was also assisted by one of the dieticians to manage weight loss during the program.

Unfortunately in January 2003 the Cycle Science program was stopped, and I had to continue my training on the road, just using the information gained during my 9 months of training with them. That said, I had by then already learned the value of a decent training program, and using a decent HRM, applying what I had learned on the road was not difficult.

And yes, I managed to ride the 109km race in 3h15m07s, exactly on the time we were working towards! As for the value of science to the sport...I'm a believer!