«Today it is impossible to think of training without the potentiometer». Samuele Zoccarato he doesn’t mince words too much when we talk about modern training. The professional of VF Group-Bardiani as well as a former national gravel champion, he gets straight to the point, as is his habit.
Zoccarato is meticulous and always looks for detail in his preparation. He is attentive both to the aspects of the actual program to be followed and to the technical aspects of the instruments. The latter aspect is valid both for on-road and off-road training. In both areas the Venetian runner uses the Assioma power meter: Duo model on the road, Pro MX off-road. But then it couldn’t be like this for those who, in addition to loving asphalt, don’t give up gravel roads.
Essential power
«I – he explains – have already grown up with the potentiometer, therefore with power as a reference, and I wouldn’t even be able to make a real comparison with the past. Even when changing coaches (as happened this year, ed.) the potentiometer remains indispensable. I haven’t seen any big differences, what changes are the programs but the use of the watt parameter remains the same.”
The VF Group-Bardiani rider insists on the fact that having control, or rather basing training on certain and pure data such as watts, is essential. The heart rate monitor, for example, doesn’t give you certain absolute answers. You may be tired, but you’re still fine. The watts on the other hand don’t lie. And this is also important for the athlete himself who learns to know himself and manage himself. And in the end he assumes security.
The important thing, however, is not to go further and become enslaved by the instrument. But in this sense, experience counts.
«A very important aspect for me – explains Zoccarato – is that with the potentiometer you can really establish your level of preparation, your state of fitness and consequently evaluate how much it improves.”
More aerobic base
Already this winter Zoccarato had illustrated his training to us in broad terms. There wasn’t a typical week, but a continuous alternation of hat-tricks interspersed with a day or two of rest.
«From this year above all – continues Samuele – I implemented a lot of the work in what is the Z2 (i.e. the aerobic base is a little more advanced, ed.). It is in this intensity range that I spend most of my training hours. This means that I never go too slowly and in fact I always come home with nice average hours and also nice average wattages.”
Not only that, but Zoccarato, now followed by Dr. Andrea Giorgi, trainer within the team, also works a lot across two areas: the so-called “swift spot”.
«Insisting between Z3 and Z4 is a way to work close to the threshold, but without spending too much. As the season progressed, the recalls in Z5 and Z6 also increased, but then many of these volumes occur during the race.”
In particular in the first races, both of the season and those after a retreat at altitude, they are used to complete the work. Finding the necessary brilliance. Which means reaching the maximum or sub-maximal areas such as Z5 and Z6 without having to destroy yourself.
«Apart from some recalls in Z5 – he says – this year I had never reached the maximum limits in training on the eve of the start-of-season races. But these aspects are so precise today precisely because there is the potentiometer, which allows us to identify precise work intensities.”
The tool matters
In short, Such structured and precise preparations have become possible thanks to power control. But to do this the tools must also be precise and well calibrated, so that the variations are consistent and from these we can take nutrition into account, another cornerstone that has developed so much with the use of power in training.
Last winter, Zoccarato himself told us that: «Doing specific work after many hours helps you get to know your body, especially in the final hours when you are tired, when your sugar levels drop. You also understand how to manage supplements and nutrition. You figure out how to improve in the final hour.”
«Well, in general I focus a lot on the calories burned and these go hand in hand with the watts expressed or in any case with the intensities produced».
«In this sense – explains Zoccarato – I feel very comfortable with the team’s new pedals. They don’t need calibration and the battery lasts a really long time. Plus they have a very wide support base and this allows both the best transmission of power and its most precise reading. I noticed this aspect immediately. I have a great sense of stability, even though I was already using fixed attachments and not those that leave a bit of play.”
Some technical data
The offroad line Assioma Pro Mx (both 1 and 2) is cutting edge and revolutionary. First of all you can have the meter on either one pedal (MX-1) or both (Mx-2)for almost absolute precision.
Installing the pedal is extremely simple: just screw it to the crank and you’re done. Thanks to the integration of both Bluetooth and ANT+, the Mx are compatible with most cycle computers present on the market.
The fulcrum of these pedals is in its pivot. A very high-tech pin: here there are the sensors and all the electronic components including the integrated rechargeable battery (over 60 hours of activity). Everything closed, everything wired to the advantage of resistance over time and against the entry of dirt or humidity. In fact, charging takes place via a magnetic system.
«Thanks to the special IAV (Instantaneous Angular Velocity-based) Power System – say the company’s instructions – Assioma’s measurements take irregular pedal strokes into account (such as sprints, climbs, use of oval chainrings) thus guaranteeing an accuracy of power detection equal to ±1% in any situation”.
