Q&A with Richard Stern (RST Sport – Aero-Coach)

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Q & A with Richard Stern, a long time coach in the cycling world who started racing time trials & road races in 1984

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Richard’s favourite discipline is road racing and says his highlight of 2013 was seeing his riders do well in their events. Richard coaches himself with input from

the other coaches at RST Sport and says the races that he finds most fun are the crits on motor racing circuits.

Richard trains between 10 and 15 hours a week when time allows, but when work is busy, it can drop down to eight hours a week. Nearly all his training is on the bike, but he sometimes does supplemental conditioning exercises to help with other things (like picking my little boy up!).

Asked whether he likes to train alone or in a group, Richard replies “I like to train alone in general. It’s a good time to be reflective of what’s been happening at work and also good to think of new stuff for work. Occasionally I ride in a small group or just with another rider. That said, I’ll be running some group rides next year – structured quality training sessions.

Richard admits the best thing about racing bikes is being on the front and smashing it but the least enjoyable things are riding in the rain or washing the bike. “I’d love to be able to sprint, but at 840 watts it’s just not happening! It’s a major weakness, but not something that can be rectified” he explains.

Richard says deep section wheels rule and that he’s as geeky as you can get when it comes to bikes and their components. “Each of my bikes has an SRM and a Power Tap power meter on it and I’ll have been aero optimised with Aero-Coach! Geekiness rules :)”

Asked about his training, he says “it’s a structured programme – a mix of intervals (short and long ones) and endurance rides. More intervals on the turbo when the weather is naff, and more endurance based work when weather is better. It’s useful to know that on occasion it’s okay to move some sessions around to fit in with the weather for example.”

His winter bike is his old race bike (Specialized S Works E5, with some Dura Ace kit on — it’s old Dura Ace. There’s a Power Tap G3 hub on it and a Dura Ace SRM). No mudguards though as he rides the turbo if it’s raining!

Finally, on things he needs to improve in his own racing, Richard says “patience so I don’t burn my ‘matches'”

 

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