How many people do you know who have remained a 3rd cat on the road for ages or constantly rattle out 23 or 24 minute 10s on a weekend?  I would suspect that this would cover the majority of racers.  This is not down to lack of ability, but mainly a lack of direction and lack of structure to their training.  Granted, not everybody has the desire to push themselves and compete to the best of their given abilities, but then why race?

 

Whatever your discipline, the importance of having a structured training programme cannot be underestimated.  Too many cyclist waste their valuable time by just going out and riding without giving a moments thought to what they want to achieve from that particular session. If you ask the majority of riders how they train they usually reply " I just do loads of miles at 'Level 2' and then a few intervals before the season starts".  I would say this is the standard training for the majority of racers.  There is no thought as to how best to utilise their time and no thought as to if the training is working for them and they are progressing. Training at 'Level 2' means going moderately hard - yes it will give you an aerobic base but too much of it will mean that your body is trained to function at a moderately hard level all the time and you lose the ability to be able to raise the pace when racing.  On occasions you may still be able to pull off a good ride in favourable conditions but these tend to be a one off. 

 

The training I am going to detail for you over the coming months may seem too easy for some of you at times (because you are used to riding moderately hard!!) but in this case, more is not better, as what you are doing is preparing your body for the 'above race pace efforts' you will be doing in the new year in order to improve.  Too much Level 2 and your body will not be able to handle these sessions.  Well, they probably would, but, you would not be able to perform to the best of your abilities.  The hard work done in these sessions makes racing easy.

 

I'm not slating the average club rider, more-so, I am talking from experience as what I detailed above is exactly what I used to do myself.  I was racing every weekend and constantly doing 22 or 23 minute 10s with the occasional 21 minute ride thrown in on a good day. I was putting in plenty of hours in training and I would ride pretty hard all the time - I therefore thought I was pretty fit but didn't have the talent of the people who used to win every week. It wasn't until I started taking a real interest in training and physiology that I discovered that I was wasting most of my time doing 'junk' miles.  I'm now 42, I weigh 90kg (not good for a cyclist) and I use pretty much the same sort of equipment that I've always done but now I have done 20.00 for 10 miles, a 51 minute ride at 25 miles and gone under 4 hours for my one and only 100.  This year alone I have had 7 wins, 12 seconds and numerous other top 5 placings, all simply because I now follow a structured training programme.  Rather than peaking for certain events, which is very difficult (I have tried and failed!), my aim is to ride fast and consistently all season, which I have achieved.  This year I raced from mid March right through to mid Oct with just a planned 3 week racing break in July.  Apart from one ride (in a four up time trial when Mr Power dropped me like a sack of s**t after less than a mile - but it was my 3rd 25 in as many days) I have managed to maintain a very high level throughout this time.

 

You do not have to start doing 20 hours a week to get success - it can be achieved on as little as 8 hours a week with good training.  I have a young family so I have to manage my time carefully.  I usually do about 12 - 15 hours per week, firstly because I commute and this adds to my time but also for weight management purposes as I like my food! 

 

The subject of training is vast and would take many pages of writing to cover thoroughly. (I would recommend reading or purchasing the 2nd Edition of 'Serious Cycling' by Edmund R Burke for a comprehensive coverage of the subject). What I intend to do over the coming months is outline a programme that will make you faster, either as a roadie or a tester,  for the start of the race season.  Where necessary I will allocate specific sessions for the different disciplines.  If you want to use a Heart Rate Monitor do so, but don't let it be the be all and end all of your guidance as there are too many factors that can give you a false reading and they are also too slow to react to hard efforts.  Personally, I only use one for recovery rides to help ensure  I am not stressing my body in any way.  The rest of my rides I do on feel and in any case, when you are doing intervals at 35mph plus, the last thing you can think about is checking your HRM!!!  As I said earlier some of you make think the initial training is far too easy, but do not be tempted to overstep it yet.  Save it for when the real training starts in the new year as you will be doing a fair amount of work at 'above race pace'.

Having been ranting on about structure I am now going to contradict that and tell you that November is about the only month when a rigid routine is not required.  This time is known as the Transitional Phase and is still a very important part of your adaptation. I use this month to ride my bike for fun and enjoy it without the pressure of having to train hard.  It is important, both mentally and physically, to recharge batteries, sort out any injuries and preparing your body for the rigours ahead.  That said,  there are still a couple of specific sessions but these are done in small gears and at a fairly low level of effort.  These are done to enable you to get your leg speed up and used to spinning fast.  This is something that will stand you in good stead at the start of the race season.  A typical week in November would be as follows:

• MON - 1 hour recovery ride on road or turbo.  Heart rate below 65% of max. 

• No hills and it would be normal for you to be overtaken by an old giffer on a butchers bike at this pace!!

• TUE - 90 - 120 mins road ride using small gears (39 x 16 - 23). 

• Flat or undulating, not hilly.  Using gearing try to maintain in cadence range of 90 - 110 rpm.  This ride should still be pretty easy to do with no real effort - if you find yourself getting out of breath change down a gear or two (you should always feel under-geared for this session).

• WED - 1 - 2 hours on road or 1 hour on turbo at whatever pace you feel like,

• Although, again, I would suggest it is pretty steady.  Concentrate on pedalling technique using different gears.  Practice keeping your upper body perfectly still and driving in smooth circles from the hips downwards.  This is the time to work on your pedalling action, not in the race season.  We will introduce a very specific session for this next month.

• THU - 30 mins on turbo.  Light resistance,

• Gear in region of 39 x 16 and after 5 mins warm up ride for 20 mins at 1 min @ 80 - 85rpm followed by 1 min @ 105 - 110 rpm.  5 mins easy cool down.

• FRI - 1 - 2 hours on road or 1 hour on turbo as Wednesday.

• SAT - DAY OFF or 30 mins light spin on turbo.

• SUN - 2 - 3 hours road ride at whatever pace you like but avoiding loads of hills.