Your FTP Won't Save You at Mile 150 — With Dave Schell

If you've ever wondered whether your endurance base could carry you into gravel or mountain bike racing — or whether your FTP is really the thing holding you back — this episode is a timely reality check.

Dave Schell is the founder of Kaizen Endurance, based in Boulder, Colorado, and has spent 15 years coaching cyclists and endurance athletes through some of the most demanding events on the calendar — Unbound 200, Leadville, ultra-distance gravel and mountain bike. Before that, he spent seven years at Training Peaks as coach education manager, so he understands both the science and the real-world application better than most.

We talk about why FTP is overrated as a race predictor, why skill and technique will give you more free speed than another training block, how to actually prepare your body for eight to ten hours in the saddle, the mental game of ultra-distance events, and why consistency remains the most unsexy and most powerful tool any athlete has. There's a lot in here that applies well beyond gravel.

 

5 KEY POINTS

1. FTP is overrated for long events — after eight hours everyone regresses to the same sustainable pace. Durability and fat oxidation decide the result.
2. Skill delivers free speed — technique improvements will outperform another fitness block for most athletes, most of the time.
3. Race your race bike — training on the road and racing gravel leaves your body unprepared for the physical demands, regardless of fitness level.
4. Recovery is where adaptation happens — most athletes need permission to rest, not encouragement to go harder.
5. Consistency is the only secret — the work never changes, you just keep doing it week after week.

3 TAKEAWAYS

1. Sign up for something that scares you — if there's no real possibility of failure, you'll wing it. The fear is what gets you out the door.
2. Context beats data — RPE and athlete feedback tell you more than power numbers alone. Data without context is just noise.
3. Extreme moderation wins — train at the right load, not the highest load. The athletes who stay consistent are the ones who progress.

KILLER QUOTE 👉 "My job is facilitating consistency — because over 15 years of coaching, consistency is the biggest secret. Whatever helps you be consistent, that's what leads to progress."

 

CONNECT with Dave Dave Schell is the founder of Kaizen Endurance, coaching cyclists and endurance athletes for ultra-distance gravel and mountain bike events.

Website: kaizenendurance.coach

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Dave's favourite book: Endurance by Alex Hutchinson - Alex was a guest on the show talking about this book. You can listen to that episode HERE

 

LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode:

Tim Gabbett research papers -

Should athletes be training harder & smarter

Acute vs Chronic Workload ratio

 

Dave also mentioned Goodhart’s Law - “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure” - worth considering for any athlete