Charlie - faster at 50

At the start of the year, Charlie came back from a family sabbatical in New Zealand. Training had been minimal, and he was concerned about whether he could get into top shape for two big goals: a flat-out effort up Alpe d’Huez and riding his best Marmotte yet.

Fast forward to this summer, and he’s just ridden one of his fastest ever Alpe d’Huez times at 58:34, followed by a PB at the Marmotte with a moving time of 7:59:50. That’s a huge improvement on previous years.

Behind those numbers is a focused process. Charlie has followed a structured program that’s evolved week to week based on what he’s done, how he’s feeling, and what life throws his way. We’ve worked closely on strength training, longer power efforts, then Vo2 closer to the events and over the past three months, sustainable weight loss — not chasing leanness for the sake of it, but building a lighter, more powerful rider who could feel strong on every climb.

We kept performance front and centre. Fueling was always built around the demands of training, with carbs where they were needed and calorie intake matched to energy output as close as possible. We built in planned diet breaks and de-load weeks to help him feel energised, stay mentally fresh relax around food, no guilt, just smart periodisation training and nutrition that kept things moving forward.

This is where 121 coaching matters. Not just a generic plan and check-in a month later. It’s real coaching. Reactive, responsive, and fully engaged. I dip into Training Peaks almost daily, and if something needs adjusting, we talk. Training Peaks Notes, Watts App messages or calls when life gets tight, quick decisions when plans need changing, tweaks to nutrition when recovery dips. The plan flexes with the athlete, and that’s the difference.

Charlie’s had to train indoors a lot over the winter because of deep snow dumps, travel between France and the UK, and balance business and family. He’s stayed focused, trusted the process, and smashed two major goals this year.

Now he’s taking a short de-load before we turn our focus to the Inferno Dolomites in September. And I’m absolutely buzzing to see what he can do there.

Charlie