Dirk is a USA Cycling certified coach, author of "Workouts in a Binder for Indoor Cycling," and coaches professional cyclists worldwide. Dirk was fortunate enough to gain immense coaching and training knowledge passed down from his father Joe Friel, author of "The Training Bible" series of books", "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" and more.

Dirk's entrepreneurial experience includes being an owner of Ultrafit Associates and a co-founder of TrainingPeaks.com. Dirk served as TrainingPeaks CMO until 2011 when he was then appointed the company's Chief Evangelist. Dirk supports TrainingPeaks' strategic initiatives and travels the world consulting with athletes, professional and collegiate teams, as well as national governing bodies in an effort to streamline their ability to monitor, analyze and plan effective training.

Four Quick Questions with Dirk Friel:

What led you to working for TrainingPeaks?

DF: I had the TrainingPeaks concept in 1999 and discussed building the software with my father, Joe Friel, who agreed that we needed a better way of managing our athlete training programs. In the 90's we were using email, fax machines and pen and paper to collect and prescribe training. I envisioned a system that was accessible through the web from any computer in the world. I also wanted the online software to be compatible with all the different training devices.

I then reached out to a good friend of mine, Gear Fisher, who I knew was a programmer to see if he would be interested in helping us build such a software system. Luckily Gear was excited to work on the project and the rest is history. Gear is now our CEO and 14 years later we are still doing the very same thing. We create software to help athletes achieve their dreams and we help coaches build their businesses.

What motivates you?

DF: I love the endurance lifestyle. It's truly a lifestyle that sustains life long health and wellness. Add to that the excitement of racing and I'm simply addicted. It's easy to stay motivated when your passion becomes your work which leads to helping athletes achieve their dreams.

What was your best experience as a coach?

DF: I've had athletes achieve big victories but the best experience I've had as a coach is helping older athletes feel young again. Seeing someone achieve a level of fitness they never thought possible is very rewarding.

Who is your hero?

DF: My hero is my dad. You would never guess his age and my goal is to be just like him when I grow up.