# Carmichael Training Systems



## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

So I got passed by a guy (who didn't wave) on a long climb the other day here in Albuquerque. He was wearing a full CTS kit. Got me thinking about their training system. Now that we know how his most successful client really won races, does it take away from his master plan in CTS? Obviously people still get results using it because most were not under the supervision of any coach, but his whole advertising campaign was based off the results of someone who would have succeeded with any coach and the "program" he was really on.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

I believe Pharmstrong was never really coached by Carmichael. 


Just used his name for advertisement.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Hopefully he didn't steal Strava KOM.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

I read Tyler Hamilton's book. In it he is very dismissive of Carmichael. Says LA had little contact with him and never as a coach. We can only speculate the reasons LA didn't shut Carmichael up.


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## King Arthur (Nov 13, 2009)

I personally tried CTS, and found them to be useless, money hungry, strict business folks. The year I had with them my coach went on a 6 week vacation (without so much as an email to tell me). Had no plan during that 6 week period. All I was offered in return for my trouble was a 10% off discount on power tap wheels. Personally I would not encourage anyone to use the CTS service under
any circumstance.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

The CTS interval DVDs are reasonably good DVDs for the trainer. I've been using a mix of CTS and Real Rides for my build phase. No complaints.


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## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

King Arthur said:


> I personally tried CTS, and found them to be useless, money hungry, strict business folks. The year I had with them my coach went on a 6 week vacation (without so much as an email to tell me). Had no plan during that 6 week period. All I was offered in return for my trouble was a 10% off discount on power tap wheels. Personally I would not encourage anyone to use the CTS service under
> any circumstance.


Were you on a contract with the coach, and if so, did it have any clause about him taking time off without notice?


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

My coach used to be affiliated with CTS. I've never asked why they parted ways. I have a couple of his books, and many of the concepts she uses are phased in that way, with her own spin on things. The basis for the programs are sound, although not particularly revolutionary. Carmichael's greatest gift is in packaging and marketing them. Sure, he used Armstrong to further his business, and probably knew exactly what Lance was doing (or at least had very strong suspicions. He chose to hitch his wagon to what looked to be an unstoppable force, and for a lot of years it was.

I personally won't buy CTS products anymore, not because of Lance, but because of the Strock/Kaiter cases. Once I found out, I just didn't feel like it was an organization I wanted to support. YMMV.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

There would be a lot to learn from the training techniques of Lance, Floyd, and Tyler. They doped to gain an edge and recover, but they were still incredibly fit. Dope doesn't make you an exceptional cyclist without exceptional training. I read Tyler's book, he did endless miles and broke his body down to the point that all he could do was ride. The dope kept him going and allowed him to put out big efforts everyday.


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## King Arthur (Nov 13, 2009)

Yes. I had a one year contract, and surprisingly no mention of time off for the coach. It did mention I would have a contract each and every month "individualized" to my "unique physiology." It turns out that most of CTS-based plans are canned stuff and only "tweaked" to match your needs. Not really original and individualized.


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## AdamM (Jul 9, 2008)

IMO, it shows that simply having *any* sort of structured training plan gets you a long way.


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

Just go borrow a copy of "Training and Racing with Power".


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

The year I trained using the TCTP I won the Idaho State RR Championship and finished top 5 in every race I entered except one. And then I upgraded... :cryin:


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