Kickstart your Spring Training
by: Paul Leitch
Yes Spring Time. In Europe the Spring Classic Races give the “one day riders” the opportunity to showcase their training. Have they done “indoor on the trainers”, “strength and conditioning” of the body and road endurance training? The results will tell.
For us in NZ, time to shred the bike of the heavy duty training tyres and wheels and roll out the performance wheels and or tyres. Also time to check the bike in for a service, freshen it up with new tape, cables and a new chain, (has been tested; a new chain gives an extra 5 watts of power).
Get the bottom bracket and head set serviced as these often suffer from some form of water damage over the winter rides.
BOOK IN FOR A SERVICE
With your bike all prepared it’s time to build some “event” fitness on top of your winter endurance base - which we certainly hope you've been ticking over!
Bring on your 40 – 100km event with the following regime:
Weeks 1 and 2
TUESDAY - 70-90mins, with 3 x 6min hills steady at threshold. Hard but not max. Allow 6min steady between hills
THURSDAY - 60-90 min general ride undulating. Then home to do 2 x 6 – 7mins on the wind trainer. Use big gears at 60-70 RPM @ approx 80-85% of max heart rate. Do 4-5min recovery between these.
SUNDAY - 2-3 hours general endurance with 3 x 6 -8mins hills steady hard.
Use gears to suit terrain. Maintain a flowing cadence of 85-100 on the flat.
Week 3
TUESDAY - 60-80min steady ride. Practice 2-3 sprints of approx 120-150 metres
THURSDAY - 70-80mins, general ride with 3-4 x 40-60 second downhill big gear efforts aiming for 15-25 rpm higher than general endurance cadence.
SUNDAY - Steady ride of 2-3 hrs include some hills.
Week 4
TUESDAY - 70-90mins aim for 2 x 6min hills steady hard 6min rest on each then do 2 x 3min hills at race effort. Have 5 min recovery between.
THURSDAY - 60-90min general ride then do 2 x 8mins on wind trainer. 60-70 RPM @ 80-85% intensity with 4-5 min recovery. Spin a low gear to warm down.
SUNDAY - 2-3 ½ hours on a circuit that is similar to your event circuit, ride the hills hard and keep the flats steady. Stay safe and upright.
