Durability
Most races are won and lost at the end, when fitness and mental strength are equal among competitors. It is late in the race when durability crowns champions. In this course from a handful of durability experts, we explore the so-called fourth pillar of endurance performance and show coaches how to understand, measure, and train durability.
This course explores Dr. Stephen Seiler’s definition of durability, why it matters more than FTP, VO₂max, and threshold, and how coaches can use both data and athlete feedback to better understand late-race performance.
This course reveals how to see when an athlete’s endurance is truly holding steady, when fatigue is starting to change the cost of the effort, and how to build training that helps riders stay strong deep into long events. Coaches will learn how to:
- Define durability and explain why the ability to sustain power after hours of racing can matter more than an athlete’s best fresh five-minute or threshold effort.
- Spot durability breakdown by seeing when heart rate, power, pace, breathing, or RPE begin to decouple during long rides, steady efforts, or race-specific sessions.
- Measure durability using practical tools like cardiovascular drift, internal versus external metrics, power-duration curves, and late-ride power after accumulated kilojoules.
- Shape durability-focused training with long sub-threshold rides, carefully timed intensity, strength training, and race-specific efforts that build fatigue resistance without creating excessive stress.
Featuring concepts from Dr. Stephen Seiler, Dr. Michael Joyner, Coach Trevor Connor, Chris Case, and durability analysis methods used by experts including Dean Golich, Kevin Williamson, and Tim Cusick, this course brings the newest thinking on endurance durability into practical coaching use. You’ll come away with a clearer way to evaluate whether an athlete is simply fit when fresh—or truly prepared to perform when fatigue builds.
Whether you coach road racers, gravel athletes, masters cyclists, or endurance riders preparing for long events, this course helps you see beyond peak numbers and into the performance that matters late in the ride. Instead of guessing why an athlete fades after three or four hours, you’ll be able to recognize the signals, adjust training, and help athletes build the kind of fitness that lasts.
How to Enroll
All USA Cycling courses are offered exclusively through USA Cycling’s online learning management system at learn.usacycling.org.
Questions? Contact Suzy Sanchez, Director of DEI and Membership Programs, at ssanchez@usacycling.org.