"My training with Dutch Diesel Cycling prepared me for every aspect of the Race Across America.  Overall, I am tickled to have felt as strong as I did through the entire event. 

 

I think one of the most helpful aspects of our training plan was the repeat tempo efforts. That's what this race was all about. The ability to go from racing to sleeping and back to racing is hard to train for, but what we did with our repeats during training was about as close as can be.

 

Some of the grades on the bigger climbs of Wolf Creek Pass and the one right after it were 7-8 miles of 7-8%. They reminded me of the Alpe du Zwift and the Watopia KOM – relentless, not brutally steep, but requiring a steady effort. My Zwift climbing and local rides prepared me well. On Wolf Creek, my teammate and I had a plan: I’d lead the 8-mile approach and the first two miles of the climb, he’d take the next three, and I’d finish the last three before he handled the 15–20 mile descent.

 

In the first bit of my final push to the top, I passed a rider from another 8-man team that was rotating fresh riders every quarter mile. Each time one of their riders surged past me, I’d catch them again as they burned out. After a few of these transitions the other team realized that the person passing them each time was a single rider – me! They began to cheer and honk with encouragement as they witnessed my determination to keep up with their efforts. This juice, this competitive inner self, thrived in the challenge.  It was something I will remember forever.

  

We rode through the heat of the desert and cold of the mountain nights – every sort of climate condition you may think of.  We rode single lanes edged with beautiful foliage and 4-lane freeways that were pretty scary.  I ground out 50 RPM and a few miles an hour on some short steep climbs and raced 50 plus MPH on fantastic descents.

 

Our crew and racers all endured sleep deprivation, became disoriented more than once, and learned to watch out for one another.  We truly became a team – helping each other achieve a greater goal than any of us could achieve on our own.  

 

The training plan from Dutch Diesel Cycling was spot on. The depth of intensity in each zone was well balanced. The duration and mix within zones replicated the event pretty darn well. We pushed hard during the builds and tapered leading up to the event.

 

This was one of the most amazing and thrilling events of my life and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing me with the base and depth that I needed to make my contribution to the team’s effort.  

 

– Chris, Race Across America Rider

​​​​​