Josh Lebo Details his Bid for Podium at USPRO Nationals Time Trial
The USPRO national championships are right around the corner, and Source Endurance has several athletes looking to make their mark on the national stage. I have been working with Josh Lebo for the past year to help him prepare for the time trial, with a top five in mind and getting onto the podium as a stretch goal. Last year, Josh placed 8th in the time trial, 2 minutes and 3 seconds behind winner Brandon McNulty and 1 minute and 1 second down on the bottom step of the podium. Our aim this year will be to shave 1 minute off Josh’s time, condition dependent, and be in contention for the podium!
Although quite nuanced in its own right, coaching an athlete to improve performance in the individual time trial is, in theory, quite simple. All we need to do is make Josh go faster. We can achieve this in many ways, but we are focusing on two big ones: decreasing Josh's CdA, or by increasing Josh's power output. This year, we are hedging our bets and trying to do both. Let's break down what Josh has been working on to leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of success at the national championships.
Decreasing Josh’s CdA in the Time Trial Position
Having worked with Josh for the past year gives us some great insight. We have historic data from multiple time trials, and we have data from his performance at last year's championship race where he placed 8th. I was able to get a rough estimate of Josh’s CdA by averaging his predicted CdA at the Valley of the Sun Time Trial along with his predicted CdA at the Pro Nats Time Trial. After inputting data for speed, power, temperature, weight of the system (bike + rider) with educated guesses on mechanical efficiency and rolling resistance, we were able to calculate CdA. The average of the two performances came out to be 0.219m2, which is slippery but leaves a lot of room for improvement.
CdA can often be impacted the most by body position and equipment (which in turn can impact body position), so those are the two areas we put the greatest emphasis towards.
Josh Lebo at the Lake Perris Time Trial at the Redlands Stage Race 2024
Josh has a pretty good aerodynamic position—flat back, and his helmet fills the gap nicely—but there is also lots of room for improvement. Josh had this to say about his equipment choices for the nationals TT this year: “I think the big improvements over last year will be a combination of some changes to the position at the front end to get the hands up and the head tucked in behind, and a different helmet which fits the position a little better and is a bit wider. Then there are a few little things like the new extensions probably being a little more aero (bigger change is that they allow me to have a better position while still staying in the UCI rules), different shoe covers, different skin suit and also all more comfortable to be able to hold the position better throughout the entire race and be able to focus on putting out the power instead of holding position.”
Josh Lebo, in his garage, Time Trial position changes in action
The changes in Josh’s equipment and Time Trial position serve to decrease his CdA and increase his speed over the course of the 21-mile time trial. There is always a margin of error with CdA calculations, but trial runs and training sessions leading up to the target event have been very promising. When a rider like Josh is already putting out monster power, CdA plays such a large role in time trialing, and a lower CdA can usually equate to more speed than increasing the power will.
More Power
The strategy is simple; it's the execution that is hard. Josh has had much more control over his race schedule this year, and that is allowing us to make a much more concentrated push towards the nationals time trial. He is also simply spending more time riding his time trial bike, which makes a huge difference in adapting to the position. Josh has had a busy spring already with lots of training and a bit of racing.
We have already done extensive V˙O2max work, so the final prep for nationals is less about pushing maximal aerobic power and more about holding big steady watts in the Time Trial position. Josh’s effort in the race last year was just under 40 minutes, so a lot of the training sessions have had that in mind. His TTE (time to exhaustion) on the time trial bike needs to be at least 40 minutes, and then we can focus on bringing the power up. We achieved this with a combination of tempo sessions with accelerations and over-under FTP sessions on the TT bike.
This is what Josh had to say about his recent training block: “Then the power is also better than last year, especially down in time trial position as I have been riding the TT bike more for longer ahead of the race vs. last year where training was a little more disjointed with travel and the spring stage races. I also have been doing a little bit of passive heat training in the bathtub just in case it is a super warm day, which could definitely be possible in West Virginia in May.
…It looks like the threshold work I was doing on the time trial bike going into nationals last year was at like ∼410W, then I did around 420W on the course, whereas this year I am doing more like 430 to 435W for the threshold work, so if I get a similar bump with the race motivation + carbing up + caffeine + bicarb that would be like 440W or a little more, so +20W from last year which is a solid gain.”
Josh is striving for the podium, which is a massive achievement, so it takes ironing out all the details. Having historic data from last year's event has been really helpful. It has allowed us to dissect the race, figure out where we can make gains, implement a plan, and work towards the goal with precision and control. Anything can happen on race day, but it’s important that we control the variables that Josh has control over to give him the best possible outcome.
2025 USA Elite Time Trial Championship Results:
Josh Lebo finished third with a fantastic ride on the day. Read the results HERE.
Taylor Warren has raced at the elite level since 2014 and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Physiology from Colorado State University in 2015. Taylor continues to race at the elite level with CS Velo Racing, gaining experience and wisdom to help impart to the athletes he works with. Taylor is also a student of the game; with a passion for human performance and physiology, he is able to combine his race experience with an understanding of how the human body responds to training to deliver the best possible coaching experience. Taylor believes in a practical, holistic approach to coaching and training that values the athlete’s lifestyle and understands how to make the process approachable and enjoyable.
Learn how Coach Taylor can help you be at your best when it matters to you HERE.