Intense day of work for the Polartec-Kometa in the Mapei Sport Center

The riders of the Polartec-Kometa Continental visited the facilities of the Mapei Sport Research Center in Olgiate Olona again to undergo a new session to monitor their physical condition. Since September 2017, the Mapei Sport Center has been an active collaborator of the team supported by the Fundación Contador, whose preparation it evaluates, organizes and supervises.

In an intense day, and with the support of the sports manager Ivan Basso, last Friday, the ríders of the team underwent different effort tests which, controlled by the professionals of this pioneering centre in science applied to sport, put their physical capacities to the limit in order to check their resistance and power thresholds.

“It was a very productive day”, says Madrid cyclist Diego Pablo Sevilla. “We underwent plicometries to measure our body fat level, oxygen consumption measurements, we also did an incremental test to calculate our training thresholds…. a lot of things. The data was then cross-referenced with the data they already had in their databases from the hearings we held in November 2017 and last February, and we could see how our evolution was going if everything was going well or if we had to adjust any preparations”.

Miguel Ángel Ballesteros, from Murcia, said about his experience: “I am happy because the effort tests were better than in November. I feel ready for the next targets. In addition, I underwent some tests for the respiratory problems I have due to the allergy and the results were positive, everything is fine”. Ballesteros, in parallel, also underwent a complete anthropometry.

“We’ve all improved. But on the other hand it’s normal, because the last test was at the beginning of the season. These results are important because they allow us to readjust the training levels and zones. If the data goes well, those areas rise and, therefore, the training leads to an improvement,” said Sevilla. An agonistic morning, due to the demands of the tests, but also productive.

The best part of a day that started very early, really in the previous afternoon with a trip by plane from Madrid to Milan for many riders, was the day of coexistence that was for all the members of the Polartec-Kometa, which had its clasp with a meal of all the sports staff in which Ivan Basso and the sports director Dario Andriotto were also present.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)