The Cyclist's Training Bible: A Complete Training Guide for the Competitive Road Cyclist [Paperback]

Joe Friel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Represents state-of-the-art information on training for cyclists.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Periodization," nutrition, stretching, peaking--who knew that so much went into riding a bike? Joe Friel's The Cyclist's Training Bible is jam-packed with information, easily the most authoritative book on cycling to date. Friel, a lauded coach and masters athlete from Colorado, adopts the principles of Dr. Tudor Bompa, whose periodization training methods were used first by the dominant Eastern European athletes of the 1960s before becoming popular in the United States.

Review

"Joe Friel is arguably the most experienced personal cycling coach in the U.S., and his book The Cyclist's Training Bible has become, well... the Bible of the sport." — Bicycling magazine

"I find Friel's book a treasure of information for cyclists of all levels." — Andy Hampsten, 1988 Giro d'Italia winner, 1992 Tour de France stage winner at Alpe d'Huez

"This book will have you systematically training just as world-class cyclists do. If you scrupulously follow its guidelines, I'm confident your racing performance will dramatically improve." — Tudor Bompa, PhD

“Nothing else comes close to The Cyclist’s Training Bible's comprehensive approach to planning out a season, creating a training schedule and incorporating diet and resistance training to an overall plan.” — BikeRumor.com

"Packed with worksheets, charts, visuals and a dense index and references for further reading, The Cyclist’s Training Bible is an arsenal of encyclopedic information for ambitious riders." — DailyPeloton.com

"The Cyclist's Training Bible has become a cyclist's best chance at achieving their goals. This is the ultimate manual for growth as a cyclist." — BicycleSmile.com

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Velo Press; 2nd edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884737218
• ISBN-13: 978-1884737213
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #814,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Joe Friel has trained endurance athletes since 1980. His clients include elite amateur and professional road cyclists, mountain bikers, and triathletes and duathletes located around the world. He has a masters degree in exercise science, is an Elite-level USA Cycling Coach, and serves on the USA Triathlon Coaching Certification Committee.

Joe is the author of The CompuTrainer Workout Manual, The CyclistÂ’s Training Bible, and The TriathleteÂ’s Training Bible. He is a contributing editor to Inside Triathlon and VeloNews and frequently writes feature stories for Performance Conditioning for Cycling. He has written a weekly fitness column for the Fort Collins Coloradoan newspaper since 1981.

As an age-group competitor, Joe is a Colorado State Masters Triathlon champion, a Rocky Mountain region and Southwest region duathlon age-group champion, and is a perennial USA Triathlon All-American duathlete. A member of several national duathlon teams, Joe is a top five contender in world class events. In addition, he competes in road running and United States Cycling Federation races.

Joe speaks at workshops around the country on training and racing for endurance athletes and provides consulting services for corporations in the fitness industry. For information on coaching, speaking, or consulting services, contact him by email at [e-mail] or fax him at 970-204-4221.

From his home at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Fort Collins, Colorado, Joe enjoys mountain biking in the foothills with his wife Joyce, trail running with friends, and riding with his son Dirk, a professional bike racer."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

128 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Training Book Available, September 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cyclist's Training Bible (Paperback)

Having studied most of the works of Armstrong, Lemond, Hinault, Burke, Carmichael, etc. and having used personal trainers including Kirk Willett, the current Prime Alliance GM, I can say that this is the one book you simply cannot do without if you want to race a bicycle. Whether you want to train 100 hours a year as a first year racer, or are looking to rack up a thousand hours and get your first real pro contract, you will benefit from this text.

I work about a 50-60 hour week and raise a family. There is no way I could have achieved the level of cycling proficiency I have without this text. It makes the amount of time I decide to spend training pay dividends on race day.

This book has two potential drawbacks. First, it is possible to get too wrapped up in the minutae of planning each and every workout for the next six months. Friel offers literally hundreds of possible workouts to choose from, and a system for selecting workouts that will help you approach each ride with a specific purpose. So long as you have some ability to read and apply both principals and a suitable level of detail, this book can not be beat.

My second issue is that I have worn out the binding from so much use and now need to buy a new copy.

68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is not for everyone...Thank God, April 6, 2003

By 

John Hill (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cyclist's Training Bible (Paperback)

If your idea of a good season is to just ride, or be pack fill until the hills then don't waste your money. On the otherhand, if you can set goals, want results and need to raise your performance year over year then get this book. You have to read, understand and follow the content of this book closely. If you can, then you will be able to set up a year 'round training program which will provide the results you have been looking for. This book is technical. You will have to focus as with any effective performance program. No, you really don't need the expensive testing stuff. You can get the same test information with a cheap wind trainer or the recommended time trial tests. A bike, a good heart rate monitor, this book and a true desire to get faster (in this order)is all you need.

162 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overly complicated program, but useful for the dedicated, April 14, 2001

By 

J. Grattan "Ideas can move the world" (Lawrenceville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cyclist's Training Bible: A Complete Training Guide for the Competitive Road Cyclist (Paperback)

It is a little unclear for whom this book has been written. Professional, world class cyclists have their own training systems and don't need this book. It's difficult to see how 9-to-5ers who race on weekends have the time to follow a training program as complicated as this one.

The author starts by describing the basic cycling abilities of speed, endurance, and strength and goes on to describe the advanced abilities of muscular endurance, speed-endurance, and power. His training program consists of "periods" that emphasize the specific training of those abilities in varying proportions.

Those periods are Base I,II,III, Build I,II, Peak, and Compete. Throw in the factors of frequency, duration, intensity for all of the training periods, as well as lactate and cardiovascular monitoring and you have got yourself one complicated program. There is a lot of overlap in the training: to say that this manner of riding is this kind of training can seem somewhat arbitrary.

As a long-time runner and cyclist, I can attest to the fact that numerous training books exist for runners that are far easier to follow than is this one. There are a few basic workouts that can make one a successful runner. It is the opinion of this reviewer that the author would better serve those likely to buy this book or a next one if he would make the effort to simplify and reduce his descriptions of basic physiological systems and the corresponding training needed. And the author does readily admit that some cyclists are successful without going through such a complicated schedule. There must be some middle ground here.