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8 October 2015 As the most observant of you may have noticed on occasion, I have something of a thing for data. To date, that obsession has been more about the beauty of the data itself than the use of that data to improve. No more. I've just completed a lengthy analysis of what separates me from the elite Dutch and Belgian CXers. Some might focus on my age--my older son is older than the current cyclocross equivalent of the New Kids on the Block. Others may suggest that my VO2max and ability to use lactate for energy are a smidgen shy of world class. A third group of naysayers would be forgiven for noting that my training "regimen," such as it is, pales in comparison to the intensity of better performers. I will not argue with these masses, but I will contend that they are missing the most obvious explanation for my absence from World Cup podia. That explanation, of course, is my name. More so than the attributes above, based on a deep dive into the data behind the rankings of the top CXers in the sport, I note that my (former) name lacks the characteristics necessary to excel in the sport of pinning one's heart rate and awkwardly getting off and on a bicycle. My new Strava name addresses this failing. I am now Jeff van der Dieffenbach. Or Jeff vdD or JvdD for short. |