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The Power Meter Handbook

A User's Guide for Cyclists and Triathletes

Published by VeloPress
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

In The Power Meter Handbook, Joe Friel offers cyclists and triathletes a simple user’s guide to using a power meter for big performance gains. In simple language, the most trusted coach in endurance sports makes understanding a power meter easy, no advanced degrees or tech savvy required.

Cyclists and triathletes will master the basics to reveal how powerful they are. Focusing on their most important data, they’ll discover hidden power, refine their pacing, and find out how many matches they can burn on any given day.

Once they understand the fundamentals, Friel will show how to apply his proven training approach to gain big performance in road races, time trials, triathlons, and century rides.

With The Power Meter Handbook, riders will:
  • Precisely match their training to their race season
  • Push their limits step by step
  • Track fitness changes--reliably and accurately
  • Peak predictably for key events
  • Vastly improve training efficiency

Power meters aren’t just for the pros or racers anymore. Now The Power Meter Handbook makes it easy for any cyclist or triathlete to find new speed with cycling’s most advanced gear.

About The Author

With a masters degree in exercise science, Joe Friel was a marathoner and running coach throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. After his first triathlon in 1983 and falling in love with the sport he began coaching multisport athletes becoming one of the first triathlon coaches in the country. The following year he opened a triathlon store in Ft. Collins, Colorado—probably the first in the world. Throughout the 1980s his race management company organized several triathlons in Colorado. He left retail and race management in 1987 to focus on coaching. The athletes he coached for over 30 years ranged from novice to high-performance amateur to professional to Olympian. In 1997, he was a founding member of the USA Triathlon Coaches Association. He served as co-chair in 1999-2000. In 2000, he attended the Sydney Olympics to assist with team preparation. The following year he was the coach of team USA for the World Triathlon Championships. Throughout the 2000s he was a frequent speaker at USAT coach seminars. He wrote 17 books on training, the most notable being The Triathlete’s Training Bible, which is now in its 5th edition and translated into 15 languages. It remains the best-selling book in the world on triathlon training. In 1999, he co-founded TrainingPeaks, online training software for endurance athletes. As an athlete he competed in hundreds of events including national and world championships, was an All-American Age Group Triathlete several times and a USAT-regional multisport champion. He stopped competing after a bike crash in 2014 restricted range of shoulder movement. He continues to present at triathlon camps and clinics for triathletes and coaches around the world. Joe currently lives and trains in the mountains of northern Arizona and is working on his 18th book—this one for coaches.

Product Details

  • Publisher: VeloPress (September 1, 2012)
  • Length: 240 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781937716196

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Raves and Reviews

"Much of Pro Cycling on $10 a Day spins as pure pleasurean inside account of what it's really like to race for a living and occasionally be among the sport's elite. The best parts read like an unpretentious insider's diary, full of the kind of wisecracks, gossip and advice traded on memorable long rides."

– Wall Street Journal

"At a time when pro cycling has struggled with its image, Phil Gaimon has emerged as a refreshing voice from the pelotonintelligent, humorous, articulate, and above all, transparent. As a college-educated latecomer to the sport, as an outsider who struggled to be given a chance, and as someone with the perspective to laugh at the absurdity of being paid to ride a bicycle for a living, Gaimon's insights into the pro cycling world resonate with a wide audience. His self-effacing humor, commitment to clean sport, and extraordinary talent have made him a bit of an everyman hero within pro cyclinga rider you want to hear from, and know more about, win or lose."

– Velo magazine

"Having watched Phil race over the past few years we know he is a great, versatile rider with a huge amount of talent. Beyond that, he is also funny, smart and unique addition to the team. We think he'll be a great fit both on the road and off and we look forward to helping him take the next step in his career."

– Jonathan Vaughters, CEO, Team Garmin-Sharp

"An outspoken proponent of clean competition, Gaimon sports a tattoo of a bar of soap with the world 'clean' on his right bicep, and he was attracted to Garmin-Sharp for its ethical code."

– CyclingNews.com

"Pro Cycling on $10 a Day is the story we all want to hear: a regular guy who rides from overweight amateur to European pro in a short time, finding his way and making the best decisions from the resources he had. Phil's story inspires hope in up-and-comers about what hard work can produce. If you listen, pay attention and surround yourself with the best people you can, then no dream is out of touch."

– Jeremy Powers, professional cyclist for Jelly Belly Cycling Team and Team Rapha-Focus and two-time U.S. Cyclocross National Champion

"We have discovered a light-hearted, hard-working rider with strong convictions."

– Podium Cafà ©

"I believed in Phil and he worked hard to make the best of his opportunity in racing. He lived out of his car, trained hard, drove hours to get to races, and always showed up ready to fight at each race. He didn't have it easy. I never knew what was going to come out of Phil's mouth but I always knew he would race himself into the ground to try and win for himself or the team."

– Frankie Andreu, Team Director, 5-hour ENERGY presented by Kenda, 9-time Tour de France finisher, and 2-time Olympic cyclist

"The first thing you'll notice about Phil's house is a sit-up bench in his living room instead of a TV. The next thing is all the framed Calvin and Hobbes cartoons on the walls. In the strip, Calvin's bike was always trying to kill him and this was true for Phil when he needed race results so bad, he was willing to risk it all. Phil's book tells the story of the guy who mastered his bike, worked hard, and finally found a contract that pays a little more than $10 a day."

– Gwen Jorgensen, professional triathlete, Olympic athlete, and two-time U.S. National Champion

"Phil Gaimon embodies what every aspiring cyclist wants to be: skinny, fast, and clean. He attacked his dream of going pro so hard he ended up in a nightmare with me. Read his book and you'll realize that Phil speaks the truth: bike racing is hard, but becoming a pro is even harder."

– Brad Huff, professional cyclist for Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies

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