Junior rider's mission

Awesome, well though out post. I'll do my best to answer. Also, what is the course like for tt nationals, and what kind of time is your goal?

Chaz Emery said:

Hi everyone,

I am a junior rider based in London, England and have been riding for about 1 and a half years. I've had a few successes in novice races, but am yet to conquer anything big on the junior scene. This is my final year as a junior, so it's now make or break!

Although my main goals are road racing, I'm also interested in time trialing since I enjoy it and feel like it's one of my strengths. The main event's of the spring are the National 10-mile TT, followed by the National Road Race Champs a week later. I'd like to develop a training program up to these that gives me the best chance of success! I figured that combining all the expert knowledge in this forum with information from different books would be the best way to create it.

I have a Powertap and so this is my key training tool.

Here's an overview of my training this year so far:

[font=Verdana]Mid Jan to Mid March:[/font]

[font=Verdana]Base Phase[/font]

10+ hours a week

Workouts: Steady endurance rides (gradually increasing time), tempo rides (20-30 minute intervals at CP90 with full recovery), sprint sessions (sets of 5 sprints with 1 min rec. in between), focus on one-legged pedalling, core strength (high reps for abs and arms)

Power tests early in Jan/Feb (Weight 68-69kg):

20min: 299W
5min: 351W
1min: 611W
5 sec: 1139W

I like to freestyle my training quite a bit, because I prefer riding based on how I feel from one day to the next- this usually ends up being Tuesday to Thursday with structured workouts, weekends endurance, Monday and Friday recovery. Having said that, I can think of many times when I should have trained, but rested because of being mentally tired. I think it's time for me to become more disciplined with my training, whilst still listening to my body- perhaps this discussion is exactly what I need to set me on the right track!🙂

Your power numbers are pretty good. Your focus definitelyl needs to be on raising functional threshold (1-hr max power) and 20 mp along with it, since that appears to be your weakest point, and that is what your tt will require.

Also, I would suggest getting cycling peaks training software to go with your powertap. Use all of its tools, especially tss, to better monitor training load.

BTW, I also train Tue-Wed-Thur and Sat/Sun with Monday and Friday off

Chaz Emery said:

Below is the phase I started last week and my future plan leading up to the nationals.

Mid March to Mid April:

Transition Phase
10+ hours a week
10 days in the Algarve, Portugal where there will be several long climbs
Workouts: Longer uninterrupted endurance rides (3-5 hours), long intervals (4-12 x 6-12min intervals at CP30, 2-3min rec.), sprint sessions (sets of 5 sprints with 1 min rec. in between), maybe some core strength

Sounds pretty good, although I would suggest longer threshold intervals. The effects seem to be greater at 15+ minutes unless you keep really short recovery (like 1 minute). 2-3x20 or 3-4x15 are awesome.

Chaz Emery said:

From here, I am unsure what to do next. These are the events to peak for:

28th-30th April: Stage race (about 110 miles)
21st May: National 10-mile TT
27th May: National Road Race Champs

At the moment I have scheduled a 'tapering' phase between mid-April and the stage race (less mileage, VO2Max workouts). That's barely two weeks, and I feel like that is too close to the event. Any thoughts?? After the stage race, I have planned a couple of weeks easy followed by another short taper before the national events. Again, it doesn't feel like this is the wisest program. I NEED TO BE ON TOP FORM FOR THESE RACES!!

I would suggest eventually adding in some v02max work-once a week is plenty, that seems to be a strength for you. Do a short (5-7 day) taper for the stage race. Immediatley after the stage race, do a block of several days of HARd training. Rest for a few days before continuing with taper workouts.

Chaz Emery said:

In terms of my TT bike, I am adapting my position on my road bike with aero-bars and hope to have a disc wheel for the event itself. Clearly for the longer intervals I should ride in this position, but what about other workouts e.g. endurance rides?

As long as you are on the bike 1-2 times per week, that should be plenty. I wouldn't try to kill myself by riding it on endurance rides.

Chaz Emery said:

One last thing: I have read on more than one occassion that 30 second all out intervals with full recovery are incredibly effective workouts for aerobic endurance. Should I do these leading up to the event? If so, when and for how many weeks? How many days between workouts?

Thank you for reading and any info is much appreciated!

CHAZ

There have been studies showing that 30 second intervals with, e.g., 4.5 minute recoveries can improve v02max. However, they did not work as well as longer intervals did. Several ineresting threads on this in the past few weeks if you want to read more.

Hi whoawhoa,

Thanks for your response. All I know about the course is it's an out and back, and very unlikely to have any significant corners except the roundabout. Last year's winner on a different course was around 21:30 - I also believe he did a sub-20 on a fast course somewhere. Therefore, my goal is simply in terms of beating the opposition. I've only ridden 2 TT courses to date: one was rolling terrain, the other with very significant drags and short hills. My PB over the distance is 23:14, but I'd be surprised if that didn't translate to well under 22 on a flat course with good conditions.

So let's say I start doing a once a week VO2Max workout from next week, should I stick with the same structure each week (e.g. 30s intervals) or just vary it how I like? Also, the workouts with 40s all out, 15s recovery...are they VO2Max targeted, or something that should only be done during a taper?

Regarding the taper, assuming mileage will be lower, how much intensity should I really do? I'm guessing 2-3 days easy spinning before the event itself, but what about the days before then? The last thing I want to do is arrive to the event tired!! One thing I know is my recovery system is very fragile: sleep, food intake, 1.5 days at least between hard rides - if one is messed up, the whole thing goes into turmoil! I'm constantly amazed how riders can feel fresh for days on end.

I was surprised about the idea of training hard immediately after the stage race - shouldn't I recover a bit first?

Those long interval variations sound cool and appear more suitable for longer time trials. I will start substituting those in place of the shorter ones.

What are your thoughts on doing some back exercises in the gym? I've heard it's essential to have a very strong core for time trialing.

Thanks again for the advice,
Chaz

Chaz Emery said:

Hi whoawhoa,

Thanks for your response. All I know about the course is it's an out and back, and very unlikely to have any significant corners except the roundabout. Last year's winner on a different course was around 21:30 - I also believe he did a sub-20 on a fast course somewhere. Therefore, my goal is simply in terms of beating the opposition. I've only ridden 2 TT courses to date: one was rolling terrain, the other with very significant drags and short hills. My PB over the distance is 23:14, but I'd be surprised if that didn't translate to well under 22 on a flat course with good conditions.

Sounds like you are already pretty quick. My idea was to try to help develop a goal as far as power output:cda ratio. Do you have a link to results from last years nationals?

Chaz Emery said:

So let's say I start doing a once a week VO2Max workout from next week, should I stick with the same structure each week (e.g. 30s intervals) or just vary it how I like? Also, the workouts with 40s all out, 15s recovery...are they VO2Max targeted, or something that should only be done during a taper?

Personall I prefer longer v02max intervals over the "micro" interval format (e.g. 40 seconds on, 20 off). My preference is 5-6X5 minute intervals with ~3 minute rest, done at about 110% of 1-hr tt power. This type of session tends to be pretty hard/mentally draining. If you use the local terrain, you can always modify this to something like 7x4 minutes, 5x6 minutes, etc.

[/QUOTE]Regarding the taper, assuming mileage will be lower, how much intensity should I really do? I'm guessing 2-3 days easy spinning before the event itself, but what about the days before then? The last thing I want to do is arrive to the event tired!! One thing I know is my recovery system is very fragile: sleep, food intake, 1.5 days at least between hard rides - if one is messed up, the whole thing goes into turmoil! I'm constantly amazed how riders can feel fresh for days on end.[/QUOTE]
I would suggest going hard once every few days. Early in the taper, do normal interval workouts but drop volume, with maybe a slighly longer workout 7-10 days out. THe last few days, just spin, with some brief race efforts.

Chaz Emery said:

I was surprised about the idea of training hard immediately after the stage race - shouldn't I recover a bit first?

If it's only 110 miles in 3 days, I would just use the stage race as part of the training block. Maybe take a day off if you're really worked.

Chaz Emery said:

What are your thoughts on doing some back exercises in the gym? I've heard it's essential to have a very strong core for time trialing.

Thanks again for the advice,
Chaz

I doubt they're really essential, but assuming you are careful not to injure yourself, it can't really have a negative impact (as, e.g., leg weights would).

Whoawhoa,

Thanks again for the info.

whoawhoa said:

Sounds like you are already pretty quick. My idea was to try to help develop a goal as far as power output:cda ratio. Do you have a link to results from last years nationals?

What does cda mean? Something to do with air resistance?
Last years national results can be found here: cyclingtimetrials.org.uknatcomps NatChamps.aspOpen ↗

Looking at that has reminded me of the quality of riders I'll be up against, all of whom will be on full TT bikes with disc wheel.....maybe I should really look into buying one if I'm serious about this. I've read that the equipment alone can save about 5 minutes at 300watts over 40km, so around 2mins for 10 miles (time separating the top 10 last year)!

I've just got back from training, having done a timed lap of my local park circuit at around FT pace. I averaged 306W for about 18mins and was well under my max. race intensity. Would you think over 350W is a realistic goal to aim for?

Out of interest, where are you from and what category do you compete in?

Regards,
Chaz

Chaz Emery said:

Whoawhoa,

Thanks again for the info.

What does cda mean? Something to do with air resistance?

Yep, the product of coefficient of drag times frontal area. Low cda+mucho power=speed.

Chaz Emery said:

Last years national results can be found here: cyclingtimetrials.org.uknatcomps NatChamps.aspOpen ↗

Doesn't look like awe-inspiring times, but hard to tell without knowing the course. I would try to ride it, if I were you.

Chaz Emery said:

Looking at that has reminded me of the quality of riders I'll be up against, all of whom will be on full TT bikes with disc wheel.....maybe I should really look into buying one if I'm serious about this. I've read that the equipment alone can save about 5 minutes at 300watts over 40km, so around 2mins for 10 miles (time separating the top 10 last year)!

Hmm. I would believe 5 minutes, if that includes aerobars. Those and a good position will make the biggest difference. A disk would help, but an aero front wheel might help more and are easy to find for cheap.

Chaz Emery said:

I've just got back from training, having done a timed lap of my local park circuit at around FT pace. I averaged 306W for about 18mins and was well under my max. race intensity. Would you think over 350W is a realistic goal to aim for?

That really depends on how close to your potential you are, how you train, etc. I'd say 320-330 is well within your reach, which should be plenty.

Chaz Emery said:

Out of interest, where are you from and what category do you compete in?

Regards,
Chaz

I'm another junior, from the U.S. I'm still a cat 4 because I haven't raced much, but at last weekends big tt, (where I won the juniors) I would have been ~top five in cat 3 and mid-pack in Pro/1/2.

Quoted post said:

I'm another junior, from the U.S. I'm still a cat 4 because I haven't raced much, but at last weekends big tt, (where I won the juniors) I would have been ~top five in cat 3 and mid-pack in Pro/1/2.

Cool, sounds like you are doing well. Good luck with your future racing and I'd be interested to hear of your successes.

Hi there,

Are there any time trial champions out there who would like to share their training schedule in the weeks prior to their event? Specifically for 10-mile distance.

Thanks,
Charlie