The Value of an End-of-Season Cycling Performance Review

A Deep Dive into a Dutch Diesel Cycling Athlete’s Stats

Most cyclists train with good intentions: ride consistently, follow workouts, and maybe chase a few PRs along the way. But without stepping back to review the entire season, it’s easy to miss what actually made you faster — and what quietly held you back.

At Dutch Diesel Cycling, every athlete we coach receives an end-of-year performance review that looks far beyond a single ride or test. It’s a deep dive into the season as a whole, designed to turn a year of training into a clear, personalized plan for what comes next.

In this blog, we’ll take a deep dive into stats from one of our athletes, and show how a coach-led season review turns raw data into insight, direction, and smarter training decisions.

Overall Stats

A season review starts with reflecting on the goals and training focus, and looking at the overall stats — training volume, intensity, consistency, and key results. But the real value comes from interpreting those numbers in context. With our clients, we look at:

• How training load evolved over the season

• Whether fitness gains matched the athlete’s goals

• Where effort produced meaningful returns — and where it didn’t

LT1 Power: Building a Bigger Aerobic Engine

LT1 (Lactate Threshold 1) tells us how efficiently a rider can produce power while primarily burning fat — the foundation of endurance performance.

In this client's review, LT1 power improved by double-digit watts, confirming that base training at the right intensity paid off. That kind of gain doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from riding just hard enough, often when it doesn’t feel dramatic or exciting.

A coach ensures this work is done consistently — and correctly.

FTP Power: Turning Fitness Into Performance

FTP reflects how much power a rider can sustain over long, hard efforts — the kind required for climbs, events, and pacing challenges.

Rather than focusing on a single 20-minute FTP or ramp test that simply can reflect a one-time peak performance, this review examined 60-minute power trends across multiple seasons, revealing steady improvement and highlighting one standout performance. That context matters: it tells us whether fitness is stable, improving, or peaking too early. This helps prevent common mistakes like chasing FTP at the expense of durability.

VO₂ Max Power: Handling Surges and Steep Climbs

Top-end power matters too. The 5-minute VO₂ Max analysis shows clear season-over-season improvement, confirming that targeted high-intensity work helped this rider handle surges, attacks, and steep sections more confidently. Without structured coaching, these gains are often inconsistent or avoided altogether.

Fatigue Resistance: The Hidden Performance Metric

One of the most revealing sections of the review is fatigue resistance — how well a rider maintains power as hours accumulate.

This rider showed improved late-ride performance compared to previous seasons, especially after the four-hour mark. That’s the difference between finishing strong and simply hanging on. This metric directly influenced next season’s focus: long rides with purpose, not just time in the saddle.

Turning the Review Into a Plan

The season review doesn’t end with numbers. It ends with an action plan and next steps:

• Time to mentally reset

• SMART goals for the coming season

• A conversation to align cycling/life balance, motivation, and performance goals

This is where coaching delivers its biggest value — connecting the athlete’s real life with a realistic, personalized training roadmap.

Why Coaching Makes the Difference

Training apps provide data. A coach can help provide clarity and a plan. At Dutch Diesel Cycling, end-of-year reviews ensure athletes:

• Understand why their fitness changed

• Stay motivated by seeing progress clearly

• Enter the next season with purpose, not guesswork
  

If you’re curious what this kind of personalized coaching could look like for your own riding, visit our Personal coaching page or send an email to erik@dutchdieselcycling.com and I’ll be happy to talk through how we can help you achieve your goals.