THE SHORT ANSWER
Brian Smith, former british pro cyclist, olympic road racer, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Smith lands on coaching. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
WHO IS BRIAN SMITH?
Brian Smith won the British National Championships twice in the early 1990s entirely self-coached, then went on to direct MTN-Qhubeka — the first African registered team to ride the Tour de France. He is one of the rare voices in cycling who has been a pro, a sports director, and a commentator, which makes his read on race tactics, motorbike pacing, and rider intent sharper than most. For amateurs interested in coaching philosophy, his perspective on what real coach–athlete trust looks like is unusually grounded.
SMITH ON COACHING
Smith’s key positions on coaching.
- Self-coached pros built fitness on phone calls — Robert Millar's prescription of low-cadence (50–60 rpm) big-gear flat work was Smith's template before power meters existed.
- Coaching is a relationship, not a service — a coach can only realistically coach 6–10 riders well at any one time because trust takes years to build.
- A coach who has been a pro, a sports director and a commentator reads races more accurately than any pundit who has only one of those perspectives.
IN SMITH’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from Brian Smith’s appearances on the podcast.
“My philosophy is if you can suffer more than others you'll win more it's not about yeah you can have good legs and feel good and how many people do and even now in the interviews we get after the wealth or the jira or the tour i had good legs but you didn't win so there's a lot of people felt their good legs have felt good but they didn't win.”
“When i was a pro bike rider it was probably 25 science and 75 percent go out and ride your bike and it seems to be it seems to be going the opposite way more people are getting into the signs than anything else.”
“He used to not look at his power on anything when he was a trainer he used to look at his heart rate and that's something that i grew up with before power meters it's all about heart rate so he'd look at his heart rate more than anything and then afterwards he would look at his power once he was back home but not look at his power and training.”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where Brian Smith covers coaching and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does Brian Smith say about coaching?
Brian Smith, former british pro cyclist, olympic road racer, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Smith lands on coaching. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
What is Smith's main point on coaching?
Self-coached pros built fitness on phone calls — Robert Millar's prescription of low-cadence (50–60 rpm) big-gear flat work was Smith's template before power meters existed.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover Brian Smith on coaching?
Smith discusses coaching in this episode: "Brian Smith on Suffering, Coaching & Winning | Roadman Cycling Podcast".