Ask a coach: ‘Why am I feeling sluggish on bike rides I usually find easy?’

From lack of sleep to suboptimal nutrition, life stress and overtraining, there many reasons why you might have lost your spark - here’s what to look out for and the changes to make

Male cyclist riding his bike outside
(Image credit: Future)

Feeling sluggish on the bike is never an enjoyable situation. It can feel like everything is steeper than before - the same road feels slower and longer, or you just don’t have that snappy feeling in your legs. 

In our day-to-day lives, there are many things which can impact how we feel on the bike - from sleep to stress, underfueling or where you might be at in the menstrual cycle

Alex Welburn
Alex Welburn

Performance cycling coach Alex Welburn is one of the experts who will be answering your questions in Cycling Weekly's Ask a Cycling Coach series, online every Wednesday. He's currently completing a PhD on Critical power and W' at Loughborough University whilst also managing the Performance Project, in which he coaches athletes and provides consultation.

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