THE SHORT ANSWER
Jimmy Whelan, australian former worldtour professional cyclist (ef education first, 2018–2021); won u23 tour of flanders 2018; now a competitive distance runner, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Whelan lands on periodisation. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
WHO IS JIMMY WHELAN?
Jimmy Whelan is the former EF Education WorldTour cyclist who, after retirement, became a competitive runner — and one of the most useful guides for cyclists trying to add running into their week without injury. His perspective matters because he has the bike fitness most amateurs aspire to AND the running mechanics most cyclists lack, which makes his guidance on shoe choice, aerobic intensity, and the cyclist-specific traps of jumping into running unusually credible. For Roadman's audience trying to add running without losing their cycling base, he's the right starting point.
WHELAN ON PERIODISATION
Whelan’s key positions on periodisation.
- The cyclist's running trap: 40 minutes pinned at 155 BPM in zone 3, sore for days. 'Just run easy' is the unsexy advice nobody wants to hear.
- Modern foam shoes (40–45mm stack) are the right place to start — soft and responsive, takes the impact load out of bones and tendons. Not carbon-plated super shoes for jogging.
- The forefoot vs heel landing debate maps to cycling style — pure cyclists land midfoot/heel because that's how they pedal; runners-turned-cyclists climb out of the saddle more often.
- An easy 10k once a week as a 'rest day' during pro years keeps tendons and bones loaded — most pros don't run at all and pay for it after retirement.
- Bike fitness is not running fitness — five pros on a treadmill at 4:00/km will all look different in landing mechanics, glute use, and force vectors.
IN WHELAN’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from Jimmy Whelan’s appearances on the podcast.
“A pro cyclist can do two runs in their off season and can find themselves in a pretty tricky situation with their with their team if they're not careful. Like you hear horror stories of some some riders doing runs or even hikes in the offseason team camps and then all of a sudden they can't ride for months or a year.”
“The biggest thing I'd recommend to bike rider would be to do plyometrics in the gym. That's a really easy and your body and tendons react really well to that stuff. Just learning how to skip doing that at the end, like doing that for five minutes at the end of a gym session or whatever, you can do it at home.”
“When riders do their first jog, they might not notice the tight hip flexors or tight glutes, but when they try and go a little bit quicker, when they open up their gate, your glute med, your TFL, your hip flexor insertion will all get stressed in a way that you're not used to.”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where Jimmy Whelan covers periodisation and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does Jimmy Whelan say about periodisation?
Jimmy Whelan, australian former worldtour professional cyclist (ef education first, 2018–2021); won u23 tour of flanders 2018; now a competitive distance runner, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Whelan lands on periodisation. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
What is Whelan's main point on periodisation?
The cyclist's running trap: 40 minutes pinned at 155 BPM in zone 3, sore for days. 'Just run easy' is the unsexy advice nobody wants to hear.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover Jimmy Whelan on periodisation?
Whelan discusses periodisation in this episode: "How Cyclists Should Start Running | Roadman Cycling Podcast".