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PINNACLE PERFORMANCE CYCLING COACHING

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High performance coaching and sport science services, tailored for clients at every level.

ABOUT US

Established in 2019, Pinnacle Performance Cycling Coaching is the preferred choice of holistic coaching and sport science services for athletes wanting to improve.

Our company is operated by a team of experienced coaches with backgrounds in sport science, combining practical coaching insight with a deep understanding of sports performance.

We work with athletes across all levels of the sport - from World Tour level to masters, and junior development. Our services to these clients include coaching, testing, bike fitting, strength and conditioning, and nutrition support.

Every aspect of our work is informed by a strong understanding of physiology, paired with real-world experience as athletes and coaches.

Whether you’re training for your first club race or racing internationally, our goal is to provide the tools, structure, and support you need to improve.

We’re proud to work closely with our clients and be part of a positive community that values progress, professionalism, and high performance.

Meet The Coaching Team

Meet The Coaching Team

Coaching Packages

Emily McNeil joins the Pinnacle Performance team 👏

Exciting times behind the scenes lately, and we’re excited to now offer dietetic services as part of our holistic approach to performance, and athlete-centred coaching 🥦📈

An accredited dietitian and cyclist herself, Emily understands the demands of sport both in practice and in the science behind it.

Nutrition plays a key role in performance, recovery, and long-term athlete development, and this is an area we’ve been looking to expand with the right expertise.

Emily works with athletes across all levels to help them fuel effectively, improve their relationship with food, and build sustainable habits that support both health and performance. Her work is especially focused on supporting those navigating energy availability, disordered eating, and fuelling for high performance.

Find out more about Emily and her services on our website (link in bio), or get in touch with us! 💬

Bookings are available through the website, or at - emily@pinnacleperformancecc.com.

#Nutrition #SportsNutrition #PerformanceNutrition #CyclingCoaching #SportScience

An absolutely insane week for @slipstreamsarah and @aginsurancesoudal at the @giroditaliawomen 🤯

💥2 Stage Wins
🥉3rd GC
🔵 Maglia Azzura Classification

Sarah’s success this week was the result of months of resilience, hard work, and perseverance in times of uncertainty.

Even before this tricky build, she has been able to always reset and we return to being process oriented in the face of setbacks.

Despite the challenges, a well-structured few months, coupled with a highly motivated and determined athlete, have led to an incredible performance 📈

We were already super proud, but we are glad these efforts have finally been rewarded 👏

📸 - @matteoroose

#GiroWomen #CyclingCoach

It can feel like a random habit - but there’s real physiology behind “pre-race openers” 📈

These efforts are designed to wake up key systems so you’re ready to go on race day 🏁

Here’s some of what’s happening in the body👇

1. ⚡ Faster VO₂ kinetics

A short, intense session the day before racing helps your body reach steady-state oxygen delivery faster. This means less reliance on anaerobic energy early on, and lower lactate accumulation when the pace kicks up.

2. 🧪 Enzymes primed for carb use

Openers increase the activity of enzymes like pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), which helps convert carbohydrate into usable aerobic energy. This improves your ability to sustain high power without an early build-up of fatigue-inducing byproducts like lactate and hydrogen ions.

3. 🧠 Nervous system activation

Sprints, cadence work, or short threshold efforts stimulate motor units and fast-twitch fibres — especially after a rest or taper — so you feel responsive, not flat, when the race starts.

Ultimately after a period of rest, pre race activations re-engage important physiological and psychological systems for performance, to ensure it’s all systems firing when it matters 🎯

#CyclingCoach #CyclingCoaching #SportScience

Great to have @_lachiestewart_ in for a few days of work experience at Pinnacle Performance HQ 🙌

A strong up-and-coming junior cyclist with a keen interest in sport science - Lachie was able to learn from and assist with physiological testing, day to day coaching practices, and bike fitting services ✅

Alongside this, we also run our VCE PE program - either from our centre in Dromana, or from the classroom 👨🏼‍🏫

Our schools program aims to give students a hands-on look at how high-performance sport science works in the real world 🧠🔥

#CyclingCoach #CyclingCoaching #SportScience

Training effectively has many pillars, but there are three main components to increase performance 📈

1. Train with purpose, specific to the adaptations you want to induce 💥

Create an adaquete stimulus designed specifically in a way that targets the training adaptations you need.

Training structure matters, and even for the same amount of work you can maximise training adaptations with better interval design (Rønnestad et al., 2020)

2. Enough recovery, and time to see benefits💥

Depending on the adaptations you’re targeting, it can take several weeks to months for meaningful changes to appear.

Big physiological improvements don’t happen during the training phase - they occur in the supercompensation phase, once fatigue subsides and the body is able to physically adapt to the training stress.

3. Consistency 💥

Long-term performance improvements come from repeated exposure to effective training, spaced with enough recovery to allow adaptations to build.

It’s not one block, one taper, or one week that makes the difference - but the ability to repeat quality workload and recovery over time.

Consistency and therefore performance, is obviously also reliant on factors like sleep, mental stress, work, diet, and lifestyle. An effective strategy will only work if it incorporates these aspects.

Adaptations don’t just come from the load itself - they come from smart training, effective recovery, and a well managed ecosystem that supports consistency ✅

#CyclingCoach #CyclingCoaching #SportScience

Gross Efficiency💡⚡️

Gross Efficiency (GE) is the percentage of energy you actually convert into power at the pedals 🚴

The rest is lost primarily as heat, stabilising other muscles, and simply moving your limbs.

Two riders can both be holding 300W, but one may be using significantly more oxygen to do so. This rider is less efficient and will fatigue sooner 👀

Most trained cyclists maintain a GE between 19 and 24%. Even a 1% improvement in GE can lead to an additional 10-15W at threshold without increasing VO₂ (Santalla et al., 2012; Sunde et al., 2010).

Several factors influence GE, including:

• Pedal stroke, cadence, and torque distribution
• Muscle fibre recruitment
• Bike fit and biomechanics
• Long-term exposure to aerobic training

Improving GE can help you achieve several benefits, such as:

• Maintaining the same power output with reduced energy expenditure
• Sustaining high intensities for longer periods
• Enhancing recovery between efforts
• Maximising the output of your aerobic engine

#CyclingCoach #CyclingCoaching #SportScience #GrossEfficiency

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