What is a Taper?
A taper is an intentional reduction in training load — usually in the form of cutting down volume and maintaining some intensity — for about 1–3 weeks before key events. The goal is to reduce accumulated fatigue while preserving fitness and unlocking peak performance.

If you’ve trained properly, a taper is like ”taking the blanket of fatigue off” so you can have a peak day. It looks different for everyone depending on the style of event, the priority of the event, and personal preference, but in general it involves:

• Reducing volume (by ~40–60%) but keeping intensity.
• Matching the intensity to race demands.
• Purpose: shed fatigue, maintain form, prime the body.
• Without a taper → lingering fatigue that limits your potential.

It’s important to remember that tapers look different for everyone. A World Tour road racer may not reduce training leading into their 3-week Grand Tour the same we might for a one-day A- race.

Common Mistakes in Tapering

Cutting all intensity. 
That “I just feel flat” feeling can often come from too aggressive of a taper. When you cut all intensity the body can “switch off” into recovery and rest mode. With the right sprinkling of intensity you can keep things turned on while shedding fatigue.

Not reducing enough. 
Once you are in that 10-14 day window, there is not much “deep” adaptation that can happen that will create meaningful change for race day. Training more is not the answer – but what you can do is fine-tune and prepare your body. Carrying fatigue into your key race is a surefire way to not get a personal best.

Overthinking and overdoing. 
Stress causes more harm than training. Don’t panic train or try to fit in “one more workout” just to see how you feel. Trust the work and let your body freshen up for the big day. The hay is in the barn.

Under-fueling.
This is the time to "stock up" energy and give your body the nutrients it needs for peak performance. Don't count calories and cut back because your training load is dropping, continue fueling as you would a normal training week. Of course, be mindful, but this is when you can fuel to produce a peak day. Check this article out for how to strike that balance.

The 7-Day Framework
This is an example structure for the week leading into a big race. Now, if it’s a big goal, you would stretch this theme out another few days to have a solid 10 day taper in.

7 days out (Sunday): Last big efforts (either a stretch long ride or a really hard workout).

5–6 days out: Light endurance + intervals (shorter than usual, focus on quality).

3–4 days out: 1 x short, sharp opener session (VO2, a threshold workout, etc.).

2 days out: Light endurance or rest (spin 60–90 mins if riding).

1 day out: “Openers” — a short ride with a few hard efforts JUST to wake the system up.

*note: openers and spins may be interchangeable. Some people like to do them two days out or one day out.
 
Race Day (Sunday): Legs ready, glycogen topped off, mentally locked in.

Tailoring by Race Type

• One-day race: Stick to a standard 7-10 day taper.
• Stage race: Taper can be a bit shorter, leading closer into the event start, since accumulated fatigue is inevitable and having depth is still important.
• Back-to-back race weekends: Taper into the first one and maintain through the next week. Your fitness will carry you.
  
  

Mindset & Confidence

• The hay is in the barn. I say this a lot, but that means: you’ve done the work, so there’s nothing left but to enjoy the moment.
• Taper week is about sharpening, not gaining fitness. Overcooking it is worse than undercooking it.
• If you feel restless, that’s okay — it means you’re “fresher” than normal.
  
  

Want the White Papers?
Here’s a summary of the claims above and what the research states.

1. Volume Reduction Sweet Spot
Many studies find that reducing training volume by about 40–60% while keeping intensity steady gives the biggest performance gains. For example, Wang et al. showed that athletes cutting volume in this range improved time-trial performance significantly. [1]

2. Taper Length
The optimal taper duration often falls between 8–14 days, though effective ranges span from ≤7 days up to 21 depending on the event and athlete. [2]

3. Intensity Maintenance 
Dropping intensity during a taper can cause the body to feel flat. Studies show that maintaining or slightly increasing intensity while reducing volume preserves neuromuscular readiness and sharpness. [3]

4. Pre-Taper Overload Helps
Doing a short block of high-intensity overload before the taper may enhance adaptations. Rønnestad et al. found that cyclists who used compressed overload before tapering gained more in VO₂peak and peak power than those with a traditional taper. [4]

5. Inflammation & Recovery Markers
Tapering lowers fatigue but also has a measurable physiological benefit: reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood. In elite cyclists, both 1- and 3-week tapers improved performance, but the 3-week taper reduced inflammation more strongly. [5]

6. Sport / Distance & Individual Variability
Tapering needs are event- and athlete-specific. Elite British marathoners often use ~14-day tapers, while middle-distance runners use ~6-day tapers. Across groups, volume drops to ~50–70% of normal, while intensity is kept above race pace in some workouts. [6]

Remember: a taper isn’t losing fitness — it’s how you cash in all the work you’ve already put in.
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Resources

1. Wang, H. et al. (2023). Effects of tapering on performance in endurance athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sci Med Sport. PubMed 37163550
   
   
2. Mujika, I. & Padilla, S. (2003). Scientific bases for precompetition tapering strategies. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 35(7), 1182–1187. PMC10171681
   
   
3. Bosquet, L. et al. (2007). Effects of tapering on performance: a meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 39(8), 1358–1365. PubMed 20840559
   
   
4. Rønnestad, B.R. et al. (2019). A 11-day compressed overload and taper induces larger physiological improvements than a normal taper in elite cyclists. Scand J Med Sci Sports, 29(9), 1437–1448. PubMed 31410894
   
   
5. Coutts, A.J. et al. (2013). The Effect of a Tapering Period on Plasma Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Levels and Performance in Elite Male Cyclists. J Sports Sci Med, 12(3), 502–509. PMC3761545
   
   
6. Mujika, I. et al. (2014). Tapering strategies in elite British endurance runners. Eur J Sport Sci, 14(S1), S1–S10. PubMed 25189116

Lesson 1: Consistency Is King

Stage one was rough for me. The legs weren’t there on the biggest climb of the entire week and I felt like I was dragging us down. The last thing I wanted to do was start the week in a hole. In a one-day race, that could have been the story: a bad day and a bad result. But in a stage race, it’s only chapter one.

I knew I tended to struggle on the opening effort. So, I focused on being consistent, doing what I could each day, and trusting my experience to climb out of that early deficit. By the final stage, Tyler and I were riding the strongest we had all week. From P30 to P17. That’s the beauty of stage racing — you’re never locked into one performance. It’s about persistence and stacking good days, not perfection.

Lesson 2: Smart Efforts Can Pay Big Dividends

In stage racing, every effort is a calculated risk, but sometimes it’s worth spending the extra matches. We learned early on we were significantly more comfortable and fast on the downhills. We burned a little more energy than desired to slot in front of teams right before a long downhill and were able to gain “free space”.

It was always the right call — our technical skills gave us the edge, and once we got into the descent first, we could leap frog to a new group. That move didn’t just help us in the moment; it boosted our momentum for the rest of the day. Stage racing forces you to constantly balance conservation with calculated risks.

Lesson 3: Break Things Down 

Five days in the Alps can feel overwhelming if you let your mind sit on the whole picture. I learned to compartmentalize — to break each stage into chunks and focus on one climb, one section, or even just the next aid station at a time.

That mindset shift kept me from getting crushed when I was on the limit, wondering if I'd be able to keep up the pace we had set. I remember thinking, “That was one of the hardest days of racing ever.”

Then you wake up and do it again. Instead of thinking, “I have so many more hours/days/etc. of this. How can I keep up that effort?” I thought, “Get over this climb. Nail the descent. Eat. Repeat.” And piece by piece, the week came together.

Lesson 4: Food Isn’t Always Fun, But Necessary  

You’d never expect to get tired of eating. Stacking huge efforts day after day, you’d think I would wake up starving, be hungry after the stage, and want lots of snacks at bedtime. False.

At least for me and all the guys I travel with, fueling can be a task in these races. But it has to be done. Stage racing can wear out your gut, between the effort you put it through, the gels and sugar you are pounding and the lack of time to repair. And yet you have to eat. Stage racing teaches you little ways to sneak in an extra few hundred calories or certain foods you can stomach. For me, it was a couple glasses of orange juice and Nutella on random stuff that got the job done. 

When you hop on the bike at 7:00am, the last thing you want is to start the gel carousel again. But, this is the way.

Why You Should Try It

You may be wondering why it’s even worth it then…and trust me, so did I. 

But I keep coming back to them.

You don’t need to fly to Switzerland or do an Epic to get the benefits. Any multi-day race—whether it’s a gravel stage race, local MTB stage race, or even a weekend block of back-to-back training rides—teaches you the principles:

• Pacing, because going too deep (or not deep enough) one day can compromise the next.
  
  
• Fueling, because under-fueling shows up fast and sticks around.
  
  
• Teamwork, because it makes the dreamwork. And two athletes working together can elevate the experience.
  
  
• Recovery, because the real magic happens between stages.
  
  
• Resilience, because every day gives you a new chance to change the script.
  
  

Stage racing accelerates growth because the feedback is immediate and compounding. Every mistake you make gets exposed. Every smart choice pays off the next day.

Takeaway

The Swiss Epic reminded me of something I tell my athletes all the time: progress isn’t about one heroic effort — it’s about stringing together consistent days and making smart choices.

Stage racing just compresses that truth into one unforgettable week.

Check out my Instagram for more play-by-play and photos from each day. @carsonjbeckett

Chasing a Different Carrot

This idea is essentially the inverse of earning your rest. Most athletes grind themselves into the ground trying to earn a rest day or a rest week. But what if you flipped that mindset? What if recovery, nutrition, and consistency are what allow you to earn the hard days?

The best athletes don’t train hard to deserve rest… they recover well so they can earn the right to keep training hard.

​It’s not holding a rest day or a rest week out in front of athletes like a carrot saying, “Come on, if you push more and do more and show me more then I’ll grant you this”.

It’s actually saying, “Hey, we are doing great and if you show me you can be consistent, focus on your recovery, and fuel well, then we can crush this weekend.” It’s giving them a different carrot…making the reward the hard training days that athletes really want.

I am not saying "this is the way” or how I coach athletes all the time…but rather a tool to use at certain times. I’ve tried to implement this approach to how I work with high-performing, Type A athletes through some of the key moments in their season. It teaches them the value of taking care of yourself first, fueling well, staying consistent, and getting life in order.

I believe that action is the antidote to anxiety…but sometimes that action means choosing to not do anything at all.

What does this look like in practice?

• An athlete wants a 20hr training week but isn’t completing the 10hr week as planned, so we shouldn’t move on.
• An athlete has a busy, dual sports lifestyle but wants to train more (despite feeling fatigued), which means we should respect that dual sports demand and not stack on more stress.
• You work a long day after school and only have time for a 9 pm trainer session, is a brutal workout that night going to be a net positive?

This can also be applied when approaching a key training block before a big race, if illness strikes and you have to tip-toe around the symptoms for a bit, or just knowing when it’s time to go and when it’s not.

It’s knowing that we only have so much energy…and sometimes that energy is being spilled out elsewhere and not most effectively used in training. Coaches should reinforce: good habits and consistency  = green light for hard training.

You earn a tough training day by:

• Prioritizing sleep, 6hrs or less is really not enough for athletes.
• Fueling well before, during, and after rides. If you bonk, that is a damaging signal to the body.
• Staying consistent—not perfect. Follow the plan and show responsibility.
• Taking easy days seriously.

Trust that doing less sometimes allows you to do more when it counts.

1. Consistency Over Complexity – Plan the work, work the plan. Be consistent and don’t overcomplicate things.

​Green Days. No, not like the band. Consistent, accurate, and intentional training days. Doing the work on the plan.

Dialed and focused sessions yield more substantial results over time than sporadic, big training sessions. Speaking from the perspective of a coach, we just want you to follow the plan first. This principle applies not only to training but is proven across various aspects of your life, including business growth, personal development, and school. By consistently engaging in the routine, even if it is simplified or modified, we can build sustainable habits that lead to significant improvements over time.

By prioritizing consistency and minimizing the Activation Energy it takes to get your workouts done, we can avoid the pitfalls of overcomplicating a training plan and focus on steady, incremental progress. This strategy not only elevates performance over the arc of time but also creates a sustainable and enjoyable training experience.

2. Prioritizing Sleep – How improving sleep quality and duration directly enhance recovery, performance, and health.

Not much needs to be said about sleep. Sleep is one of the most critical factors for athletic performance, recovery, and overall well-being. It directly impacts muscular repair, hormonal balance, immune function, and cognitive performance. Here’s why it matters and how valuable it is across the board:

• Muscle Recovery & Growth 
• Improved Reaction Time & Focus 
• Hormonal Balance & Energy Levels 
• Immune System Support 
• Injury Prevention 

How Much Sleep is Ideal?

For normal, active people, you’ll find the recommended amount of sleep is in the 7-8 hours range. For high-level athletes or during heavy training phases, 8-10 hours may often be ideal. Now, this will certainly vary, and there are always natural differences in what is sufficient for everyone, but the point is that you need it – lots of it.

And time in bed ≠ sleep time. You can realistically get a better idea of your sleep time by taking about 45-1hr off of “what you saw on the clock”.

We won’t dive into the “how-tos” of getting better sleep here. But, you should just take stock of your current situation, cut the lights out a little earlier, put the phone down, and give sleep a little more intention.

3. Fueling the Work – Why proper fueling can make a huge impact on your progression.

Maintaining carbohydrate intake during workouts is essential, even during lower-intensity base training. Carbohydrates remain the body’s preferred energy source at most levels of intensity (plus the brain relies on them). Consuming enough to "get by" does not do your training justice. Increasing your carb/hour during exercise helps sustain goal effort levels, aids in recovery post-ride, supports immune function, and enhances mental clarity (think about how you feel when you bonk...).

​Neglecting proper fueling can lead to depleted glycogen stores, increased fatigue, and impaired performance in subsequent sessions. It’s crucial to approach workout nutrition with the same diligence year-round to maximize training benefits and overall progress.

Again, there are articles to give you specifics on this (like this one and this one) but the point here is to:

• Take stock – look at your current fuel habits and what you consume. Keep those wrappers and get a gauge of what your carbs/hour is.
• Practice with more – incorporate about 10g/hr more week to week on big workouts. The harder you go, the simpler the fuel.
• Train the gut & test – try different methods, test it out, and see how it feels.

While most of your training will occur in Zones 1-3 (aerobic), you can experiment with different fuel sources to keep things varied and incorporate more satiating options. I often “polarize” my fueling to align with the demands of each season a bit more, like more bars or complex items in the winter.

4. Respecting Rest and Recovery – How planned rest days and de-loading phases prevent plateaus and ensure long-term progress.

Lets use the analogy of “filling a cup”…with three items: bigger rocks, small pebbles, and sand. How would you go about doing it?

With big rocks first, followed by smaller pebbles and sand, you would get the biggest pieces in and let the small supporting parts wiggle their way in as needed. That is sort of the point of this whole piece, but it really hits home with recovery. Often, we seem to treat recovery as another part of the training plan. A verb. An action. When in reality, sometimes the best thing we can do is, well, nothing. Less.

Focus on the most impactful stuff for recovery before considering all the bells and whistles. The primary “big rocks” include:

• Quality Sleep
• Proper Nutrition
• Scheduled Rest Days (and weeks)
• Stress Management

    and I might add “schedule management” as a subcategory

Notice how sleep, a training plan balanced with rest, and nutrition all overlap in these categories? Improved performance isn’t siloed off into sections; it’s like one big Venn Diagram where most stuff sits right in the middle.

Once these foundational elements are in place, additional recovery practices like foam rolling, massages, stretching, and special tools can be added to enhance the recovery process and are certainly welcome! By focusing on these key areas first, athletes can maximize their recovery efforts and overall performance without “adding” to their lives.

Assess your own training and lifestyle habits to see which of these “low-hanging fruit” you can improve right away. Maybe it’s right in front of you and all you have to do is take a step back. Maybe you can stop reaching for the tiny fruit hanging waaaay up top and see the improvements you’ve been looking for.

As colors change, temps drop, and many of us transition into the “base season", it’s easy to feel a bit lost. Fellow athletes, friends, and foes on STRAVA are rolling out the miles and boasting huge days in the saddle while social media pours gas on the fire. 

Postseason anxiety can build when you feel like you're getting behind or losing fitness gains from the year, but let’s clear that up: you are NOT. I’m subject to this myself and find the worry creeping in…it’s natural as a Type A athlete. However a patient, balanced, and intentional approach to training can do wonders for you, and your mind. 

Long, monotonous days on the bike certainly have their time and place. But, there are a few key aspects of training and off-the-bike work that is crucial in preparing for the coming season. The first piece of that puzzle? REST. Then, as you make the shift this winter back into training, don't neglect how a basic strength training routine can impact your experience. Let’s explore that.

Strength Training
The benefits of strength training are growing more and more apparent. Whether it be 90-minute World Cup races or ultra-endurance gravel events, we are steering away from body-typing and the science is reaching the public. Athletes at the pointy end are helping lead that charge. We are seeing a push towards time in the gym, cross-training, and general strength. 

Aerobically, everyone can "get fit" relatively fast. However, strength training can dramatically improve overall raw power, repeatability, injury prevention, and (wait for it) even aerobic fitness!  Strength training is actually quite variable in and of itself and is also super time efficient. Going into the gym and lifting heavy is actually great, but it’s something that has to be built up patiently.

​A lot can be done in your home with simple, basic moves while challenging your body, building core strength, and touching up on your upper body. This full body experience is what enables your body to work properly.  Supplementing some dynamic work like this does loads for activating important muscles throughout your body AND improving imbalances. However, lifting heavy things is where the magic happens for us non-weight-bearing endurance athletes. Furthermore, this becomes especially important with aging. 

My Go-to Moves
Some key aspects of my strength routine are to target stabilization muscles, work in other “planes”, and then just raw strength lifts. Introducing single leg moves is a good way to really check a lot of these boxes (these are usually a variation of Split Squats, Step Ups, Single Leg Deadlift, or others). Then, I dial in those traditional workouts like front and/or regular squats and deadlifts for building raw strength and power. 

I usually make circuits that include an upper, lower, and core exercise to get solid rest between. Tossing in core exercises in between sets is super easy to do and helps add that little bit of attention to the full core. As far as upper body, it is often neglected by cyclists because they feel they “don’t need the weight" or it doesn’t matter. But mountain bike and gravel racing does place demands on your upper body, especially as the courses are becoming more and more technical. And if you can’t answer that demand, then your riding may become sloppy, inefficient, or just slower. This can ruin your recovery throughout the race as well, leave you trailside picking yourself up or wasting energy just to make up lost time.

Some key moves for upper body for me are always pull ups and rows (for pulling) and dumbbell presses or the classic push up.

Progression
You want to start LIGHT. I repeat…LIGHT. Like, lighter than you think. If you’ve never done strength training, then body weight may be all you need because the first two weeks is all about teaching your body how to move right. Even if you are experienced but haven’t done it, say, since last winter, then you still have to go back through that “relearning” phase. The brain and body literally has to learn how to refire properly and get used to moving right. The focus is on moving CORRECTLY first.

It’s something that’s taken years to get to and I don’t think there’s a way around the path to getting there other than lining up hundreds of times.

Embarking on a five-day stage race where nearly every inch of the route is blind, the days are shockingly full gas, and you wake up sore to the touch makes you wonder how you’ll do it again…sounds wild, right? But these events are starting to become really fulfilling. I love that I get so much more out of an event than just one 90min slot where you are half-hoping things go right. You get to cover remote parts of a country you’d never see, piece together trails you’d never ride, and develop a relationship with the race that normally doesn’t happen. We have breakfast with amateurs in the morning, race the same route as everyone else, and get to tell war stories over the same dinner. It almost feels like connecting with the roots of mountain bike racing again – the mountain biking I fell in love with.

Also, let’s not shortchange where it took place: Switzerland. This place is just unreal.

Each stage brought a unique challenge. One may be longer, one with a dauntingly huge climb, or one with punchy short sections of trail. Either way, every day was different and somehow all equally hard. After getting the cobwebs blown out on day one, we started to crawl our way forward through the overall placing day by day. We didn’t “rush” to make up ground, but patiently chipped away at each day and let our bodies adapt to this new normal. We used a 1-10 effort scale to check in on each other, trying to stay always hovering around a 7 or 8 except when we needed to press on the gas and make a difference. We never went to an 11/10… saving the few matches we could except on the last stage which got us a PB finish.

Racing is just part of the whole stage race circus, though. There are the hotel transfers, bottle and tech station planning each evening, sink laundry, fuel calculations for the next day, and eating. So much eating. And not just, “Wow, this is nice. I’m so hungry and get to just keep eating”, but the “I’m bloated and tired and just don’t want more carbs, but I have to keep eating.”

However, we got into a rhythm. Found our little routine. Discovered little ways to get in more calories. Had a dialed fueling strategy. Knew how to adapt to the weather and terrain. Streamlined the process…and then it became normal. I actually sort of missed having a race to line up for a couple of days later. (Sort of)

All in all, Jerry and I couldn’t have asked for a better week. We left the tank empty right when we needed to, pushed it every day, and experienced no crashes/flats/major mechanicals…just a smooth and solid week. We progressed up to 17th overall and, despite the constant pressure to want more, are pretty proud of that. We were behind guys with more stage races and marathon experience in their legs than you could calculate and we were the first Americans in the field. Also, it was rad to do it in the US National Champ kit too, if I may add.

I’m looking forward to more of these.

Instead of getting buried under all the steps you need to take, things you should do, or factors you have to consider, look at it from the flip side. Think about what you would do to not get what you want. Then, you can avoid those things specifically as you move forward.

So, in an effort to help you crush more workouts, nail projects, or get on track with your goals…here’s an example of how this would work if you wanted to have a bad training day.

1. Skip Meals
   This is a surefire way to enter a training session depleted. Or, at the very least, incapable of high-quality workload. Breakfast is your chance to start on the right foot. If you expect to have a busy day and aren’t sure what your meals will look like, meal prep so you have something ready that doesn’t require cooking. In the morning, mix up a hefty shake with protein, carbs, fruit, and nut butter. Just don’t go expecting to crush it on empty.
   
   
2. Bonk
   Ahhh the lovely bonk. If you aren’t familiar, this is when athletes “hit the wall” or “crack”. Essentially, it’s when your brain and body pull the plug on you because you are running low on glycogen (stored sugar). Just don’t do it. Or do, if you want to have a bad day.
   
   Training on the bike is not the time to “diet”. If you have more than an easy spin, just fuel the work. You will reap the benefits, recover better, and get more out of yourself day in and day out.
   
   
3. Always Go Hard
   This is something that can be a trap for athletes. I have found it has a “bell curve” benefit to it; you feel good and get faster…for a little while. Then you plateau and performance drops. You are stuck in this grey zone of fatigue.
   
   Incorporating LSD (long slow distance) and easy/recovery days can help you manage fatigue, balance your efforts, and get faster over time.
   
   
4. Don’t Take Recovery Days
   Another hallmark for the “why am I not getting better” syndrome is not taking recovery days. For fear of getting slow, missing out, or who knows what else, athletes opt out of rest days. This is where the magic happens. Training is actually making you acutely slower. Recovery is where you get the good stuff that enables you to progress over time.
   
   
5. Sleep Less to Train More
   More doesn’t always = more. If you lead a busy life, have other obligations or jobs, or are in a particularly stressful period of life, carving hours out of your sleep to train more is not a net positive. You can get MORE done in LESS time if you have a healthy, happy, and ready body. If you want to have a bad time training, keep shortening those nights. It does catch up, eventually.
   
   
6. Restrict The Fun
   Last but not least, having fun can be a key component to long-term success. Don’t get me wrong…there are times when you just have to put your nose down and get the work done. It may not be the route you want, the weather you want, or the way you want to feel, but you have to check the box.
   
   However, always checking the box and not allowing yourself to find ways to make training more enjoyable will be a slippery slope. Group rides, mountain bike rides, and non-perfect training sessions that make you smile can ensure your progression is a heck of a lot better.

Try this out for your own goals, whether it be work, fitness, or just general life. Inverse your goals to find what to avoid and implement more of the right stuff.