Cycling is officially back, and as every year the season kicks off with the “Australian summer” for both the Men’s and Women’s peloton. Racing Down Under already brings its challenges, and the early position in the calendar adds to that. In this month’s blog, we give you some insights into how we, as Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, deal with those challenges to make sure we can deliver the most special moments out there on the bike.
First riders to start the season, first riders to end their season
It is important to start the preparations towards the Australian races at the end of the previous season, to ensure the most optimal build-up. This means that the riders on the line-up end their seasons a little earlier, start their off-season ahead of the rest of the riders, and restart training earlier to ensure they are in the best shape for the season kick off.
“Riders will restart with some general training for a couple of weeks. And by the time we get to December and have our first team camp together, the Australian group will follow a unique training plan compared to the rest of the riders. So, their condition is already more advanced by about, let’s say, four weeks, compared to the riders that will start their season later in Europe, maybe in February,” explains Team dsm-firmenich PostNL Trainer Tom Helleman.
If you want to learn more about the off-season or our winter camps, read our blog from November and December.