Episode 32: Rach McBride, Professional Triathlete and Cyclist, Recaps UCI Gravel World Championships

I am joined by professional triathlete and cyclist Rach McBride to review their 2025 season, which saw them shift focus from professional triathlon to Elite UCI Gravel World Championships qualifier. We chat about the realities of racing at the world championship level—the different (but sensible!) call-up system, competing independently against fully-supported national teams, and what it felt like to represent Canada on the world stage.

We also talk a bunch about the training that Rach and I collaborated on throughout the season. instead of chasing higher FTP numbers (Rach’s is already excellent), we prioritized building aerobic conditioning and developing superior fatigue resistance. Through detailed power data analysis, Rach reveals their remarkable ability to maintain threshold power for extended periods, even after hours of racing. Their fatigue resistance numbers at 20 and 60 minutes are among the best I’ve seen in my coaching career, and we talk about how we assessed those abilities and built upon them. This episode demonstrates why sustainable performance gains for well-trained endurance athletes come from systematic aerobic base building rather than constantly pursuing peak power numbers.

My favorite part of the episode, though, is when Rach discusses the anxiety they face before events, revealing that everyone—even those at this level—struggles with wondering if they belong on their particular start line. Rest assured, Rach also discusses HOW they deal with that anxiety.

Rach McBride on Instagram: @rachelmcb
Rach McBride's website: rachelmcbride.com
Campfire Endurance Coaching: campfireendurance.com
Book a free consultation: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14902097&appointmentType=63067352

Rach McBride’s Metrics History Chart for 2025

Rach McBride’s post-2,500 kJs 2025 fatigue resistance numbers