Chris Farhood
cced0ea6b8
The skill had mtb-xco-demands.md but road/TT demands were only diffused through the general docs — an asymmetry given the balanced MTB+road scope. Add two dedicated, self-contained demand profiles (kept separate because mass-start racing and TT differ as much as XCO differs from marathon MTB): - references/road-racing-demands.md: stochastic power profile (Vogt 2007, Ebert 2005/2006, Sanders/van Erp 2021), drafting economics (Blocken 2018), fatigued finishing sprint (Menaspà 2013/2015, Etxebarria 2019), durability as a success determinant (van Erp/Sanders/Lamberts 2021); power governs, HR unreliable (intermittent) — mirrors the MTB doc. - references/tt-demands.md: aero drag dominance + CdA as the top lever (Crouch 2017, Martin 1998, García-López 2008), critical power as predictor (Smith 1999), even-vs-variable pacing (Swain 1997, Atkinson 2007), long-TT durability (Maunder 2021); HR more usable than MTB but still secondary. All new quantitative claims carry verified PMIDs/DOIs (verified via PubMed/ CrossRef); citations.md gains Road-racing and Time-trial sections. Honesty flags: Blocken 2018 and Martin 1998 have no PMID (DOI only); the '~90% aero' soundbite (Kyle & Burke 1984) is unverifiable and marked approximate; criterium-specific literature flagged as a gap; no unverified HR-reliability citation added (TT HR defers to data-confounds.md). Router (SKILL.md) and README layout updated with both docs. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01TqrhBhC3GEcKyaw8RTk8G6
72 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
72 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: cycling-training
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description: >-
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Periodization logic, workout design, and research-backed protocols for endurance and off-road
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cycling (road/TT + MTB/XCO). Companions an Intervals.icu MCP server that supplies all data and
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computed metrics. Use when planning training blocks, designing VO2max/threshold/durability
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workouts, integrating heavy strength (esp. masters), setting CTL ramp or A-race taper targets,
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interpreting CTL/ATL/TSB or wellness trends, or deciding whether to trust HR vs power. Routes to
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focused, individually loadable reference docs; every quantitative claim is cited.
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---
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# Cycling Training — knowledge & reasoning skill
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This skill is the **reasoning half** of a two-part system. The **Intervals.icu MCP server owns all
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data and computed metrics**; this skill owns the **knowledge and interpretation**. Get the numbers
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from MCP, then use these docs to decide what they mean and what to do next.
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## Data / knowledge split (read this first)
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| Ask the **MCP server** for… | Ask **this skill** for… |
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| Activities, streams, best efforts, power curves | What workout to prescribe and why |
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| CTL / ATL / TSB, training-load ramp, TSS | How fast to ramp CTL; what TSB to target for an A-race |
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| Zones, sport settings, thresholds (FTP, MAP) | How to structure work:rest and rep length within a zone |
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| Wellness: HRV, RHR, sleep, readiness | Whether a wellness signal is trustworthy or confounded |
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**Never recompute what MCP already returns** (zones, TSS, load metrics). This skill contains no
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calculators by design — only periodization logic, workout design, protocols, and interpretation.
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> Relevant MCP tools (names may vary by server): `get_athlete_summary`, `get_athlete_profile`,
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> `get_sport_settings`, `get_activities` / `search_activities`, `get_activity_details` /
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> `_streams` / `_intervals` / `_best_efforts`, `get_athlete_power_curves`, `get_wellness_data`,
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> `get_training_readiness`, `get_events` / `add_or_update_event` (to schedule planned workouts).
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## Router — load the doc that matches the need
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| If the question is about… | Load |
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| **Fatigue resistance / durability** — training it, why fatigued-state power matters, the field test | `references/durability.md` |
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| **MTB / XCO** — race demands, why power (not HR) governs off-road, marathon vs lap XCO | `references/mtb-xco-demands.md` |
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| **Road racing** — mass-start road/criterium demands, stochastic power, drafting, fatigued sprint | `references/road-racing-demands.md` |
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| **Time trial** — sustained solo effort, aerodynamics/CdA, critical power, TT pacing | `references/tt-demands.md` |
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| **Strength training** — heavy lifting for cyclists, masters muscle loss, from-zero ramp, in-season | `references/strength-for-cyclists.md` |
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| **VO2max / high-intensity intervals** — rep length, work:rest, maximizing time ≥90% VO2max | `references/vo2max-intervals.md` |
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| **Season structure** — base/build/peak, mesocycles, CTL ramp, A-race taper & TSB targets, polarized vs pyramidal | `references/periodization.md` |
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| **Trusting the data** — when HR is unreliable, decoupling, RHR/HRV, heat/alcohol/sleep/travel confounds | `references/data-confounds.md` |
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| **A specific citation / PMID / DOI** | `references/citations.md` |
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### Plan & protocol templates (assets)
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| Template | Use when |
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| `assets/plan-template-base.md` | Building a base mesocycle, backward-mapped from an A-race |
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| `assets/plan-template-build.md` | Building a build block that integrates VO2, durability, and strength |
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| `assets/field-test-durability.md` | Running the ~1,500 kJ → 1-min hill durability field test |
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## Operating principles
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1. **Cite as you reason.** Every quantitative recommendation should name its source (author/year;
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full identifier in `references/citations.md`). This is so the athlete can verify, not just trust.
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2. **Separate mechanism from dose.** Where a doc marks a protocol
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`⚠️ under-researched — track individual response`, present it as a hypothesis to test on this
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athlete, not a fixed prescription.
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3. **Power governs; HR is conditional.** Prescribe from power. Use HR only where it is reliable
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(durability decoupling on steady rides, recovery trends) and always screen for the confounds in
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`references/data-confounds.md`. Never apply naive single-number rules
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(e.g. "decoupling <5% = fresh", "RHR +5 = overtrained") without those caveats.
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4. **Distribution is a principle, not a recipe.** Training age, volume, life stress, and phase
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decide the intensity distribution — see `references/periodization.md`.
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5. **Don't over-transfer.** Keep discipline-specific numbers labelled; small-n elite XCO data does
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not automatically apply to masters marathon riders.
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