Photo Story: Off Season with Emmy Lan
The UCI Enduro World Cup wrapped up its seventh and final round in Chatel, France last week. Overall series points were finalized and 2023 world champs were crowned.
In the U21 female category, Emmy Lan dominated the season from start to finish and claimed the 2023 overall title. With first places finishes in five of the seven UCI EDR races, the up and coming shredder defiantly staked her claim on the international stage.
Lan started the year by signing on with the Forbidden Synthesis Team and didn’t look back. With the EDR race season starting in March of 2023 in Australia, the off season for competitors was relatively short. So, what did the off season look like for this year’s overall winner? I met up with Emmy a few times to document some typical down-time training and activities in her hometown of Comox, BC.
Ski Touring
Emmy uses ski touring to get some cardio and leg work in while there’s snow on the bike trails. With nearby access to Forbidden Plateau and Mount Washington Alpine Resort, there are plenty of opportunities to hit the slopes in in her hometown.
Notice the bike in the back of Emmy's car alongside the ski gear.
The day we met was typical West Coast winter weather: drizzling and foggy.
Visibility:slim to none.
Gym Training
I met Emmy and her trainer, Janna Mackenzie in Janna’s garage gym in Comox. Janna is the director of strength and conditioning at Gravity MTB, a coaching company based in Cumberland, BC. During the winter, Emmy and Janna get together three times a week to train.
After warming up, the session started with back squats.
Max calorie intervals on the air bike.
Cool down stretching post-workout.
Beach Time
When Emmy and I first met to discuss the types of things she wanted to document as vital to her off season, one of the first things she wanted to highlight was the importance of staying mentally strong. Aside from the physicalities of racing enduro, being able to handle the pressure and stress of competing at an international level plays a huge factor in overall success.
Emmy’s favourite routine for calming the mind? Heading down the to beach near her family home with her dog, Pepper.
Yoga on the beach.
Bike Maintenance
I met Emmy at her house to document some routine bike maintenance. When I arrived, Emmy had her new Forbidden Druid on a stand and had just started getting it primed up for her next ride.
Paddle Boarding
A sport that is good for both physical and mental well-being, paddle boarding is another off season activity that Emmy likes to partake in.
Heading out for a paddle at sunrise.
Headed home.
Canadian Enduro League Racing
After returning from the first two UCI EDR races in Australia, Emmy jumped into the local enduro scene, racing at the first Canadian Enduro League stop of the year at Vedder Mountain, in Chilliwack, BC. She took the win with an impressive 38 second lead on the second place competitor.
In July, she would also take first place at the 2023 Crankworx Canadian Open Enduro in Whistler BC, before heading back out to compete on the international stage and earning first place overall in the 2023 U21 UCI EDR World Cup.
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He said they were old.
Secondly, lactate production happens when the body can’t take in enough oxygen to fuel the power output. Increasing FTP and VO2max, brings that point to a higher power. Therefor, problem tackled. So often in practise, coaches focussing on one aspect of a process and calling others out on it is highlighting the real lack of knowledge.
I haven’t slated strength training because I know it’s value in combination with other training methods. I’m well aware of the terminology I use and when it’s applicable.
If you want to start getting into legitimate qualifications and credibility I’m more than happy to do so.
Lactate production, Oxygen uptake and other specific metrics are not things that need specific individual focus in a training program, because then athletes will spend more time in a lab in-front of a computer than actually training.
These are factors influencing performance, but they don’t need portrayed in coaching or social media, and certainly don’t highlight a gap in knowledge.
FTP is a metric based off 1 hour, which is endurance. These metrics all influence an athletes FTP. That’s why its an internationally used figure by world leading researchers creating world leading equipment like Wattbike.
Without trying to contradict myself by talking too much about something. My point is, just because it isn’t plastered all over social media, doesn’t mean coaches don’t know it. It’s just not what everyone needs to know.
You’ve raised a valid concern about spending too much time indoors or in front of a screen, which could indeed be a problem. However, time is limited even for elite athletes. So, wouldn’t it make sense to use that time wisely and with a clear intent to make a beneficial difference in performance? I do miss our debates lol
FTP is an easy metric, easily tracked by athletes and something they understand. Lactate production is much more difficult for riders to be able to measure on their own and understand fully without 4+ years of education on physiology, which they don’t have time for. So it’s not effective as a standardised coaching practice.
The primary intent behind critiquing the prevalent lack of knowledge is not aimed at discrediting coaches or riders, but rather addressing the insufficient information available on platforms, such as Pinkbike. A simple search for ‘fitness’ within these platforms reveals a pronounced bias towards strength training and gym-based exercises. This emphasis significantly underserves endurance-based athletes, whose training demands are substantially diverse and multi-faceted.
From an actual programming stand point, gym work is potentially worth focusing on as it's an area mountain bikers are more likely to be deficient in. If you just ride your bike a lot that will tend to include a lot of low intensity volume, as well as a good amount of terrain dictated efforts: essentially most bike rides include a portion that is effectively a fartlek workout. While I'm sure elite athletes are still doing a whole lot of structured intervals, for most of us that probably means we get a pretty decent coverage of endurance training on the bike.
Does that sentence make sense to you?
Furthermore, wouldn’t you also agree that training focused on reducing lactate accumulation and maintaining power without inducing lactate buildup is far more beneficial for endurance athletes? If you concur with these points, then strength training and high-intensity interval work may not be the ideal methods to achieve these goals.
This can sometimes be confused with total power and total strength, as depicted in the images in the article.
In my view, based on my understanding of the discipline, there are other critical factors to consider:
Lactate Management, It's essential to reduce lactate accumulation during intensive physical activity. The efficiency with which athletes can process and clear lactate, increase their anaerobic threshold, and achieve their maximum lactate steady-state can have a profound impact on their performance.
Energy and Fuelling Strategies This plays a significant role in determining how much energy athletes have, especially during the latter stages of an event. If training overly emphasizes fast-twitch muscle fibres, namely Type II, it predominantly relies on the glycogen system. This could make an athlete deplete their glycogen stores early in an event.
Conversely, focusing on training that engages slow-twitch, Type I muscle fibres, which are primarily fueled by the fat system, can help preserve glycogen stores. This conservation is invaluable for crucial moments in a race, such as sprinting out of a turn or up a hill, ensuring athletes have energy reserves during the race's final stages.
Understanding Specific Demands and grasping the physiological demands athletes face during events, like Enduro MTB races, is crucial. Tailored training should reflect these demands, preparing athletes for the unique challenges of their sport. My point here is not that Strength Training is a waste or a bad thing quite the opposite, it is a key part of training. We just seem to feed this idea that the gym is king for riders and this portrays the wrong image, I believe.
It is part of what makes enduro athletes very balanced athletes, more so than cross country and way more so than roadies.
2. Endurance Metrics (VLaMax, Vo2 max, and MLSS): These are essential markers for any endurance-based athlete. A low VLaMax indicates a reduced rate of lactate production, a high Vo2 max represents the maximum amount of oxygen an athlete can use, and MLSS (Maximal Lactate Steady State) indicates the highest workload an athlete can maintain without lactate accumulation. Improving these metrics will certainly have a more direct impact on an Enduro rider’s performance during both the uphill transitions and the downhill stages.
3. Overdoing Strength Training: Too much gym work, especially if it’s heavily focused on hypertrophy (muscle-building), can lead to increased muscle mass. This added weight, if it doesn’t directly contribute to performance, can be a disadvantage in endurance segments. It can also potentially decrease an athlete’s flexibility and nimbleness on the bike.
4. Programming: Periodization and proper programming are key. A balanced training program that incorporates strength, endurance, skill work, and adequate recovery is essential. Training programs should change throughout the year based on the race season, off-season, and other factors. You sound like you know what talking about let’s debate?
Secondly, lactate production happens when the body can’t take in enough oxygen to fuel the power output. Increasing FTP and VO2max, brings that point to a higher power. Therefor, problem tackled. So often in practise, coaches focussing on one aspect of a process and calling others out on it is highlighting the real lack of knowledge.
Over here in North America the S&C certifications are so focused on team sports which are intermittent sprint sports so the education focuses on that. Coaches transfer that information over to MTB which is ultimately a skill/endurance sport which is supported by having appropriate strength levels. The educational system is currently not set up for coaches to be all encompassing strength, endurance, skills, etc.... they have to recognize it and go education themselves instead of sticking to their strengths.
Look back at the photo of Emmy doing the squats. Is she pushing 150 kg (or the female equivalent number)? Has she reached the point of diminishing returns? If she *has not*, is it OK that her coach has some squats built into her program? Or on the other hand if she *has*, is it OK that her coach has some squats built into her program? Do photo series of athletes engaging in strength training imply (or prove) that their coaches have a critical lack of knowledge of other forms of training and performance gains?