Season 1, Episode 6: Paolo Saldahna, Part Two: Paulo’s Epic Journey with Canadian cycling legend Mike Woods
In part 2, Paulo shares his journey with Canadian legend Mike Woods – the only human on earth to run a sub 4-minute mile and win a Tour de France stage. Those remarkable results don’t reflect the gut-wrenching journey in between and Paulo coaching and
mentoring role in the most unlikely combination of sporting accomplishments you will ever hear!
Guests
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Paolo Saldanha
Paulo Saldanha is a Canadian performance coach, exercise physiologist, and high-performance leader in professional cycling. He currently serves as Performance Director for the UCI WorldTour team NSN based in Girona Spain, where he helps shape performance strategy, athlete development, and a culture of excellence at the sport’s highest level.
Born and raised in Montreal, Saldanha is the founder of PowerWatts, a pioneering indoor cycling training system he launched in 1994. Built on a science-driven, power-based approach, PowerWatts integrates physiological testing, structured training, and real-time data to maximize training efficiency. The system has grown into an international performance platform, supporting everyone from recreational riders , to high performance Masters athletes, to WorldTour professionals and Olympic medallists.
A former elite Ironman triathlete, Saldanha brings decades of experience in endurance sport and human performance. His coaching résumé includes long-term work with top professional cyclists such as Michael Woods, Hugo Houle and Dan Martin, as well as a key role in guiding Chris Froome’s return to competition following a career-altering injury. He is also deeply involved in identifying and developing emerging talent, particularly among Canadian riders, helping create pathways to European racing and the WorldTour.
Paulo (right) is pictured with cycling great Eddy Merckx!