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Cycling Training Tips

Helping a climber to develop an aerobic engine

Here are the test results from Thomas Davis who started on the Power Meter Project last week. Due to vacation he starts a couple of weeks later than the rest of the participants.

Critical Power Tests 5sec 1min 5min 20min Body Weight
Week 1 (Watt) 875W 362W 232W 174W 55.3kg/122lbs
Week 1 (Watt/kg) 15.8W/kg 6.6W/kg 4.20W/kg 3,15W/kg

Comments from Jesper Therkildsen: Thomas is a very light rider and that explains why his performance seems low compared to some of the other riders in the project. But when you look at the watts per kilogram, you will realize that he is a strong and powerful rider. His training program for the next month will be 13 to 17 hours weekly training with focus on building a large aerobic engine. Thomas has an impressive sprint power compared to his low body weight, but I guess that the absolute power is too low to win bunch sprints but strong enough to have a chance in smaller groups or steep climb sprints. Thus, he will have to improve his VO2 max and threshold power to make him able to make winning moves (or to reduce the size of the group) before he gets to the final sprint.

Helping a climber to develop an aerobic engine Read More »

Top 5 doping excuses in Cycling

1. Tyler Hamilton: “I have a twin that was never born. That’s why my blood contains a different blood type than my own”

2. Floyd Landis: “I had some beers and whiskeys last night. I have a very high natural level of testosterone. I am innocent.”

3. Raimondas Rumsas: “My wife was bringing a car full of medical substances for her sick mother. I am innocent.”

4. Frank Vandenbroucke: “The drugs were for my little dog. I am innocent.”

5. Dario Frigo: “It’s just a bad habit I have to wear illegal drugs. I don’t use them. I am innocent.”

Top 5 doping excuses in Cycling Read More »

12 Week Pre-Season Training Program

This program is an example of how you can plan the final 12 weeks before the race season begins. If you have been lazy during the winter, starting on this program might be a good chance to catch up. If you are able to do12 hours per week training now without problems, there should be a good chance that this program will suit you.

The pre-season program has a very common design with building of aerobic endurance for the first part, then an increasing workload with more training sessions and longer rides and finally the intensive part with more anaerobic intervals and sprints and also a couple of races that should be performed as a part of the pre-season preparation.

Have a look at the complete training program

12 Week Pre-Season Training Program Read More »

Getting better at the final moments

Paul Skiba performed some really impressing results in Week 1 of the Power Meter Project 2007. He has used his SRM crank system for a couple of years before entering this project. Here are the results of the critical power tests:

Critical Power Tests ”“ Week 1 (Paul Skiba)

Critical Power Tests 5sec 1min 5min 20min Body Weight
Week 1 (Watt) 791W 467W 333.1W 290.5W 71.2kg/157lbs
Week 1 (Watt/kg) 11.1W/kg 6.6W/kg 4.7W/kg 4.1W/kg (tests are done indoor)

So what is the plan?
Paul is an ex-professional and very strong for his age. I want to increase Paul’s fitness across the whole power range. When he gets closer to the end of the project, he will start to work more intensive on anaerobic intervals. A good interval type for training to improve his ability to separate him from the pack is the 40/20sec intervals. These intervals are supposed to be done at his 5min critical power, but it is very likely that he will be able to push a little harder here. These intervals are primarily made for VO2max but they will also add some power to his anaerobic endurance (1min critical power). Sprint training is also a part of the training program, but that is not because of his weak sprint test. The test was performed indoor and I will not get surprised if he performs significantly better outdoor.

Getting better at the final moments Read More »