Episode 28: The Landscape of Endurance Sports Training with Guest Jeff Pierce, CEO of CTS
04/04/25 • 48 min
Jeff Pierce is a former professional cyclist and the current CEO of Carmichael Training Systems (CTS). In Jeff’s distinguished cycling career, he rode for team 7-11, the first American to ride the Tour De France and in 1987, Jeff became just the third American to win a stage of the Tour De France on the final stage on the Champs-Elysees.
In his current role as CEO of CTS, Jeff is responsible for the overall operations and direction of CTS. In this episode, host Rick Prince chats with Jeff about the coaching landscape and how it has evolved over the years – as well as where it is heading.
Questions covered in this episode include:
1. Please tell our listeners about your sport background as well as your career post being a pro cyclist
2. What was the coaching landscape like while you were racing professionally?
3. How has training technology changed the coaching profession over the years?
4. What are some of the main reasons that athletes hire coaches at CTS?
5. What do you think the increase in demand of qualified coaches is due to?
6. Are there any significant trends that you see in the coaching landscape at CTS?
7. To be a successful coach, what are some of key qualities that athletes are looking for, as well as you as the head of CTS?
8. What are some current challenges that the coaching profession faces?
9. Where to you see the coaching profession in 5-10 years with respect to its evolution?
Lastly, as CTS is largely one of the first to legitimize the profession of endurance sports coaching, what do you attribute its longevity to?
Jeff Pierce is a former professional cyclist and the current CEO of Carmichael Training Systems (CTS). In Jeff’s distinguished cycling career, he rode for team 7-11, the first American to ride the Tour De France and in 1987, Jeff became just the third American to win a stage of the Tour De France on the final stage on the Champs-Elysees.
In his current role as CEO of CTS, Jeff is responsible for the overall operations and direction of CTS. In this episode, host Rick Prince chats with Jeff about the coaching landscape and how it has evolved over the years – as well as where it is heading.
Questions covered in this episode include:
1. Please tell our listeners about your sport background as well as your career post being a pro cyclist
2. What was the coaching landscape like while you were racing professionally?
3. How has training technology changed the coaching profession over the years?
4. What are some of the main reasons that athletes hire coaches at CTS?
5. What do you think the increase in demand of qualified coaches is due to?
6. Are there any significant trends that you see in the coaching landscape at CTS?
7. To be a successful coach, what are some of key qualities that athletes are looking for, as well as you as the head of CTS?
8. What are some current challenges that the coaching profession faces?
9. Where to you see the coaching profession in 5-10 years with respect to its evolution?
Lastly, as CTS is largely one of the first to legitimize the profession of endurance sports coaching, what do you attribute its longevity to?
Previous Episode
Episode 27: The Evolution of Triathlon Training with Guest Matt Hanson
In this episode, host Rick Prince chat with professional triathlete and coach, Matt Hanson. Matt is a six-time Ironman champion, and also a six-time Half Ironman champion. In 2024, Matt finished 5th overall in the Ironman Pro Series.
As both an accomplished triathlete and triathlon coach... as well as a former professor of exercise physiology, there is perhaps no one better to discuss the evolution of triathlon training than Matt.
In this podcast, Rick and Matt discuss many topics including how training has evolved over the years, how technology has played a role in this evolution and some common mistakes that triathletes make in their training.
Questions covered in this podcast include:
1. Could you tell us about your background, both academically and as a professional triathlete?
2. Could you give an overview of how triathlon training has evolved over the years?
3. Of the three sport disciplines, is there one that has evolved the most with respect to being triathlon-focused vs. training as a stand-alone sport discipline?
4. You are also a coach, have you found that any athletes push back against a modern triathlon-focused program versus a more old-school triathlon program?
5. What are some of the biggest changes in the sport with respect to training and racing from the days of Dave Scott to today?
6. How has technology played a role in the modernization of triathlon training?
7. There is a saying in bike racing “Train your weakness, race your strength.” Does this also hold true for triathlon? Meaning, do you overly focus on your weakest sport discipline, or do you focus on your strength?
8. What are some of the biggest training mistakes that you see triathletes make with respect to their training?
9. If you could give one piece of advice to our listeners with respect to triathlon training, what would it be?
Next Episode
Episode 29: Insights into the Growth and Future of Ultrarunning with Guest David Callahan, CEO of Ultrasignup
In this episode of the ‘All Things Endurance’ Podcast, host Rick Prince chats with David Callahan, Co-CEO of Ultrasignup. As the leading event registration platform for ultrarunning events, David has a unique perspective on the state and growth of ultrarunning. Some of the topics that Rick and David discuss are:
1. Could you tell our listeners a little more about your background, both professionally and athletically?
2. The popularity of ultrarunning is through the roof, what are some of the key factors that you believe are driving this popularity?
3. Within the sport of ultrarunning and based on Ultrasignup’s data, are there specific distances that are seeing above average growth?
4. Where do you see the sport of ultrarunning over the next 5-10 years?
5. Athletes within sports like gravel racing and climbing often resent the result of their sports becoming more popular and mainstream – do you think this is, or will be the case with ultrarunning?
6. In the same vein as the prior question, popularity often comes with large organizations looking to purchase events. Is there a concern amongst the ultra community that the acquired events will lose their identity?
7. For someone that is looking to get into ultrarunning, do you have any advice in regard to what type of ultra to choose as their first ultra event?
8. We often hear from our ultra coaches that running ultra’s are addictive. While it’s also true of road running, it seems to be more the case with ultra’s – why do you think this is?
Where do you see ultrasignup in the coming years?
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/all-things-endurance-257727/episode-28-the-landscape-of-endurance-sports-training-with-guest-jeff-88726944"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to episode 28: the landscape of endurance sports training with guest jeff pierce, ceo of cts on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy