THE SHORT ANSWER
John Wakefield, director of coaching & sports science, red bull–bora–hansgrohe, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast 2 times. Here's where Wakefield lands on coaching. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
WHO IS JOHN WAKEFIELD?
John Wakefield is the South African-born coach and bike fitter who runs Science to Sport in Girona — one of the leading lab-to-bike performance facilities in cycling — and now serves as Director of Coaching & Sports Science at Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe. He spent four seasons as Performance Coordinator and Coach at UAE Team Emirates working alongside the Pogačar-era programme, and has coached riders from amateur to Grand Tour level using a metabolic-testing-led methodology. His work matters because he is one of the few coaches who systematically translates lab data — VO2max, Fat Max, lactate response — into the actual training week amateurs and pros ride.
WAKEFIELD ON COACHING
Wakefield’s key positions on coaching.
- Lab-based metabolic testing reveals zone errors that FTP-derived calculations always miss.
- Most amateurs ride too hard on easy days because their power-derived Zone 2 is set too high.
- Aerobic-base deficits show up as second-half fade on rides over 2 hours — not on 20-minute tests.
- Bike fit is a performance variable, not a comfort one — the Girona lab combines fit and physiology testing on the same day.
- Pro and amateur training principles converge on the same physiology — the difference is the volume and the recovery.
IN WAKEFIELD’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from John Wakefield’s appearances on the podcast.
“it's a three minute test at a specific power range that you would prescribe to that athlete so hypothetically it's anything from threshold to 110% of threshold as a power value and they would perform that three minute at that specific power uh as I said every sort of 7 to 10 days”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where John Wakefield covers coaching and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does John Wakefield say about coaching?
John Wakefield, director of coaching & sports science, red bull–bora–hansgrohe, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast 2 times. Here's where Wakefield lands on coaching. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
What is Wakefield's main point on coaching?
Lab-based metabolic testing reveals zone errors that FTP-derived calculations always miss.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover John Wakefield on coaching?
Wakefield discusses coaching in these episodes: "John Wakefield on Endurance Training at Bora | Roadman Cycling Podcast", "How Team Bora Build Endurance: John Wakefield on Ultra Cycling Training".