The Road Cycling Performance Manual

WHEN YOU’VE PUT IN THE TRAINING, NOTHING BEATS PINNING A NUMBER ON AND SEEING HOW YOU FARE AGAINST OTHER RIDERS. THIS CHAPTER LOOKS AT SOME OF THE DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES OF CYCLE SPORT, THEIR DEMANDS AND WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER GIVING THEM A GO.

‘Cycling isn’t a game, it’s a sport. Tough, hard and unpitying, and it requires great sacrifices. One plays football, or tennis, or hockey. One doesn’t play at cycling.’
JEAN DE GRIBALDY (1922–1987), CYCLING PRO AND LEGENDARY DIRECTEUR SPORTIF

SPORTIVES AND GRAN FONDOS are a fairly recent phenomenon, with the first L’Étape du Tour only taking place in 1993. There is no doubt that these mass participation events have reinvigorated cycling in many countries, providing accessible, enjoyable and challenging events for all levels of cyclists. For many riders, especially with the line between sportives and racing becoming blurred by events such as the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, they provide more than enough motivation to train for and a competitive outlet. At multi-day events such as the Haute Route, the top-ranking riders aren’t far from professional level and, with prize money on offer at some Gran Fondos for the fastest finishers, some take them extremely seriously. Many sportives follow the professional racing calendar and allow non-professional riders to tackle the same roads as their heroes and heroines. Completing an event such as the L’Étape du Tour, the Ronde van Vlaanderen sportive or the Tour of the Battenkill Gran Fondo is a great achievement and a massively worthwhile training goal.

However, as a teak-hard gnarled old racer once said to me on the start line of one of the UK’s most challenging sportives, the Fred Whitton: ‘It’ll be a tough day out but if the number’s on your handlebars, it’s not a real race. For that real buzz, you’ve got to pin a number on your back.’

‘I have to enjoy racing as I don’t really enjoy training! Even with all the nerves and pressure, I know I’d miss it if I didn’t do it.’

With racing licences, categories and rankings to try to get your head round, getting into racing can appear slightly daunting and intimidating. However, by joining your local cycling club and getting in touch with your national governing body, you’ll find plenty of people to guide you through the process. Many riders worry that they may not be fit enough or possess the skills necessary for racing. However, if you can complete a typical sportive, you definitely have the endurance, and it’s by racing and tuning your training to it that you’ll develop the higher end fitness, skills and race craft.

Most forms of racing allow you to compete on a weekly basis and this is good for a number of reasons. As the cost of entry is usually fairly low compared to a big sportive or Gran Fondo, and you have another go next week, you can afford to experiment and make a few mistakes. You’ll have an excellent measure of your progress and it’s generally easier to motivate yourself to go and race than to do another gruelling session on the turbo and you’re guaranteed a decent workout. Finally, by competing more, rather than banking all of your training and effort towards one or two events each year, you’ll become more comfortable with competition and far less likely to suffer from nerves when a big event does come around.

‘You’ll get a lot of riders who might set themselves the goal of just one big event each year and this can create a lot of pressure. They’ll do their training but don’t practise event day. I was coaching a rider who was focused on the Marmotte and I got him to do a number of local sportives and races, tapering and peaking for a couple of them and treating them as dry runs for the big day. It really helped and meant he didn’t freeze or panic before the Marmotte as all of his processes were rehearsed and in place.’
DEAN DOWNING, EX-PRO, FORMER BRITISH CIRCUIT RACE CHAMPION AND NOW COACH

Road racing, typified for most people by the Tour de France, sees the professionals tackling distances of 250km (155 miles) or more in a single-day race or, in the case of stage races and the Grand Tours, racing for multiple days and up to three weeks. At lower levels of the sport, races tend to be far shorter, typically covering 50–100km (31–62 miles) depending on age, sex and level of the event. Also, for amateur events, the roads won’t necessarily be fully closed to traffic and it’s essential to be aware of whether this is the case. Although road racing is extremely exciting to take part in, if you’re just getting into racing, circuit races are a better place to start.

Circuit races take place on closed circuits, utilising dedicated tracks, motor circuits or even aerodromes, and provide a great way to get into racing. The size of the field is determined by the circuit but, with races normally categorised based on age, sex and current ranking, you can expect to be up against riders of a similar ability to yourself. Races are over a set number of laps, typically last for 45–60 minutes and, during the season, often follow a league structure with midweek evening and weekend racing. This style of racing provides the perfect environment to develop your racing skills and fitness as you can race every week. With the circuits usually being relatively short, it doesn’t matter if you get dropped by the bunch as you won’t have far to ride to the finish on your own. You can set yourself your own goals. At first you might aim simply not to be lapped but, a few weeks into the season, your objective would be to finish in the bunch. You might then set yourself the goal of getting in a break or trying to be near the front to contest the sprint. Eventually, as the season wears on and your skills and fitness develop, you could find yourself earning ranking points, contesting the win and moving up the racing categories.

If you come from a sportive or triathlon background and are a strong rider, you might find, when racing at the entry level categories, that you’re able simply to ride off the front, rapidly accumulate ranking points and quickly move up the rankings. However, as tempting as this may be, it can be wise for your long-term racing career to hold back and spend at least a few races sitting in the bunch. Successful and safe racing isn’t just about having the biggest engine – good bunch and handling skills are just as important. It’s far better to learn these skills and become comfortable in a bunch at a lower level of racing than to suddenly find yourself out of your depth in a faster-moving higher category field.

Whereas you’ll typically ride a sportive at a relatively consistent intensity, a circuit race demands repeated micro-sprints as the bunch eases and slows down into corners and then accelerates hard out of them. The further you are down the bunch, the more pronounced this effect and this is a good reason to quickly develop good bunch-riding skills and to position yourself near the front. Making a break also demands the ability to put in a hard, near maximal effort, then to dial it back slightly to hold your gap and then to either be able to time trial to the finish if you’re solo or work with your breakaway companions and contest the final sprint. However, most circuit races come down to a bunch sprint so having a decent finishing kick is essential. During the off season, you should focus on building a solid endurance base and your ability to hold prolonged efforts of threshold intensity. However, although this fitness will probably allow you to hang in the bunch, to be competitive you’ll need, as you go into pre-season, to work on VO2 (Zone 5), anaerobic capacity (Zone 6) and top-end 10–20-second sprint efforts.

Good bunch and general bike handling skills are essential, along with an awareness and understanding of communication and general group-riding etiquette. The best way to acquire the skills and knowledge is to join and ride with your local cycling club. Remember, everyone was a novice at some point so if you see something you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask.

Track cycling takes place on a purpose-built velodrome. Either indoors or outdoors, the length, geometry, surface and steepness of the banking of the track can vary significantly from venue to venue. The tracks that you’ll see used for the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup will be wooden, 250m (820ft) in length and have banking on the bends of around 40 degrees. However, some older outdoor tracks can be 450m (1,476ft) long and have banking as shallow as 10 degrees. Bikes used on the track are fixed gear and don’t have brakes. Although this may seem terrifying, it actually makes racing safer as it means that riders in front of you can’t slow up suddenly. Picking the right gear to use is a crucial part of track racing and can often be the difference between winning and losing. Too big and you’ll struggle to get moving or respond to attacks, too small and you’ll spin out before hitting top speed.

Track cycling is split into sprint and endurance events. The sprint events, including match sprinting, 500m/kilo time trial, team sprint and keirin, are extremely specialised. Track sprinters will spend as much time in the gym as they do cycling, if not more. If you’re reading this book and come from a road riding background, the endurance events will be what you’ll probably gravitate towards.

Even if you’re an experienced road rider, most velodromes insist on you going through an accreditation process before racing on the track. The exact process varies from track to track but during it you’ll learn the essential skills needed to ride safely on the track. Once you’ve completed your accreditation, the next stage is to attend a number of structured quality training (SQT) sessions. During these sessions, you’ll further develop your track cycling skills, build track-specific fitness and take part in some mock races.

Your first experience of racing on the track will probably be at a track league type event. With a number of different groups, based on age, sex and ability, during the course of an evening meet you’ll usually take part in 4–6 different races. These might include the following:

SCRATCH RACE This is probably the simplest bunch race on the track, where the first rider over the line at the end of the set number of laps, typically between 12 and 60 on a 250m (820ft) track, takes the win. It’s always a tactical battle between riders with a strong sprint, who’ll want it to stay together until the end, and the more endurance-leaning riders, who’ll try to break away and take a lap.

COURSE DES PRIMES This is always popular at track leagues and, over a relatively short race, usually around 12 laps, riders contest a sprint every lap for prizes, money or league points. Often the final sprint offers bonus points or a special prize.

ELIMINATION RACE OR DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST In this race, every lap or every two laps, the last rider to cross the line is eliminated. This continues until there are just two riders (or a predetermined small number of riders) left, who contest the final sprint.

POINTS RACE Most track leagues finish with a points race. Over a set number of laps, usually 40–60, riders accumulate points at sprints every 5–10 laps. The first rider to cross the line at the end of a sprint lap is awarded 5 points, with 4 points to the second rider, 3 to the third, 2 to the fourth and 1 point to the fifth. The big prize comes for gaining a lap on the field, which is worth 20 points – the equivalent of winning four sprints. Similarly, losing a lap will cost you 20 points. As well as testing you physically, keeping track of your position in a points race is a real mental challenge, especially if there isn’t an electronic scoreboard. A variation of the points race is the Madison, where pairs of riders compete. While one rider in the pair is ‘active’ in the race, the other circles high on the track before being relayed into the action by his or her partner, using a hand-sling. A thrilling form of racing to take part in and spectate, the Madison is probably the ultimate test of track skill and fitness.

There are a number of other events and variations that you may encounter during a track league season but the common themes for bunch racing on the track are hard riding and multiple sprints.

Along with the bunch events, as an endurance rider you might find yourself drawn to the individual pursuit. Because of only two riders competing at a time and the need for starting gates, it’s not an event that you get to ride very often and tends only to feature at championship meets. Competing over 2–4km (1¼–2½ miles) depending on age and sex, it’s simply a head to head with another rider starting opposite you on the track. You’ll usually ride a qualifying heat, which is effectively a time trial, and then the two fastest riders will race for gold and silver and the third and fourth fastest for the bronze. In the medal rounds you can win by catching your opponent, which ends the race. The individual pursuit, although appearing so simple, is frustratingly but addictively complex. Gear selection, start technique, pacing, racing line and aerodynamics all have to be spot on to achieve the perfect ride.

If you can find three like-minded friends, you could also try the team pursuit. Although classed as an endurance event, the speeds now ridden in the team pursuit at the highest level, averaging well over 60kph (37mph) from a standing start, are blurring the line between sprint and endurance. At any level, the team pursuit involves ½–2 lap maximal efforts on the front, perfectly executed changes, riding within inches of the wheel in front and then attempting to recover while still riding at or above your threshold.

Predominately racing track myself, I’m probably slightly biased, but if you want to take your cycling to the next level, make riding and racing on the track a priority. It’s no coincidence that one of the cornerstones of the Great Britain Cycling Team’s development programme is track cycling, and specifically developing the skills and fitness for the Madison. It really does provide young riders (and not-so-young riders) with a brilliant grounding that’s applicable to all branches of cycle sport. The high cadences involved develop a silky-smooth pedal stroke that’ll translate brilliantly to the road, as will the bunch riding and bike handling skills. If you have an indoor velodrome conveniently close, it’s a brilliant way to stay sharp during the winter.

Track cycling is all about the ability to sprint, sprint and sprint again. You don’t necessarily have to possess the fastest sprint or be able to produce the highest peak wattage but, having already battled four or five sprints and covered attacks deep into a points race, you need to be able to find another kick to contest the finish. Sessions such as the Tabata workout are ideal for developing this ability and performing them on rollers is great for working on the high cadences required.

Cyclo-cross races are usually held in parkland and open spaces, often in urban areas. The courses are usually about a mile in length, involving a mixture of surfaces and terrain. They’ll often be steep climbs, steps, hurdles or thick mud, forcing you off your bike and into a run. Being able to fluidly change from riding to running and back again without losing speed is one of the key skills of cyclo-cross. Races typically last for up to an hour plus one lap – a bell is rung at the end of the set time to signify the final lap. Junior, veteran and novice events are usually shorter. Although there are sometimes some technical sections, the degree of difficulty is nowhere near that experienced in a mountain bike race. A good cyclo-cross course will keep the racing fast, furious, and have you on and off your bike and at your limit for the whole race.

At first glance, a cross bike looks pretty much like a road bike, but there are a few subtle differences. The most obvious are the tyres, which, although much skinnier than on a mountain bike, are still knobbly for better off-road grip. Tubular tyres are favoured by many cyclo-cross racers as they allow riders to run super low pressures for better grip but with less chance of pinch flats. Top riders will have multiple wheelsets with different tubes glued on for a range of conditions and will agonise over the optimal tyre pressure for the day. Tubeless tyres now offer a great compromise if your budget doesn’t quite stretch to multiple wheelsets. You can still run low pressures but changing tyres to suit the course isn’t too much of a hassle. Cross bikes traditionally had cantilever brakes, but now disc brakes have become standard. Many cross riders will fit additional bar-top brake levers as much of the riding, especially more technical sections, is done with the hands on the tops. Gearing is following the trend in mountain biking with single chainring set-ups and a wide-ranging cassette. Pedals are dual-sided mountain biking pedals, allowing fast mud clearing, easy re-engagement and for the rider to use recessed cleats for running.

Most local races will allow you to take part in cyclo-cross on a mountain bike, so if you have one sitting gathering dust in the garage, stick some skinnier tyres on it and give it a go. However, on a cross course, a true cross bike will always be faster and, be warned, it’s a highly addictive sport and I can guarantee you’ll soon be adding a crosser to your stable. Most top cross riders will have a twin set of race bikes and, if the course is really muddy, will swap bikes at the end of laps. The poor pit crew then have to manically clean the mud-caked bike in time for the next changeover.

Generally taking place during the winter, although summer leagues are becoming more popular, cyclo-cross provides a great way to keep fit and competitive through the off season. Because of the multi-lap format, you’re almost guaranteed to find yourself in your own race within the race, battling with the riders around you and the course even if you’re not up at the sharp end. Cyclo-cross races are extremely friendly and welcoming and, with races for all ages and abilities, are brilliant for bike-mad families. It’s especially good for young riders as there’s no traffic to worry about and the bike handling skills you learn from cyclo-cross provide a great foundation for all other areas of cycling.

From a training perspective, with races only lasting an hour, if you normally ride sportives you’ll have more than enough endurance for cyclo-cross. However, with the constant changes of terrain, pace, dismounts and remounts, the key requirement is being able to maintain an effort at or around FTP/FTHR, but with multiple higher end spikes. A great cyclo-cross-specific workout is a threshold criss-cross Intervals session, but with a 5–10 second sprint at the end of each Zone 5 minute. Don’t focus exclusively on fitness, though, as there’s a massive skills element to cyclo-cross. If you just try to power your way round a cyclo-cross course, you’ll be in for a frustrating experience and will be spending a lot of time on your backside. Head down to some local parkland and spend some time practising dismounts, mounts, running with your bike and riding on loose and slippery surfaces.

THE 3 PEAKS CYCLO-CROSS

The 3 Peaks is a cyclo-cross in name and is ridden on cross bikes but is a distant and meaner cousin to a typical cross race. Held in Yorkshire in the UK every September, it attracts an international field that has included former world champions in both mountain biking and cyclo-cross. It is one of the most challenging and extreme days you can have on a bike and in three attempts I still haven’t got it right. Being able to compete in this race is a good enough reason on its own to get a cross bike. The winners take three hours to cover the course while the rest of the field wobble home in up to seven. At 61 km (38 miles) in total, encompassing 28km (17½ miles) of road, 33km (20½ miles) of off-road (of which 6–8km/3¾–5 miles is unrideable) and including three of Yorkshire’s tallest mountain peaks, this makes for one of the most feared endurance races of the year, taxing both rider and machine. You know a race is tough when it’s mandatory to carry a survival bag. The descents off the peaks, particularly the rocky drops off Inglesborough and the stepped slabs of Whernside, would make mountain bikers on full suspension bikes stop and think. The gruelling, almost vertical climbs, with your bike a dead weight on your shoulder, slow even the fleetest-footed mountain goats to a walk.

A cyclo-cross race like no other, the UK’s 3 Peaks is a brutal test for both bike and rider alike.

Known as the ‘race of truth’, time trialling tends to evoke a bit of a Marmite reaction from riders – you either love it or hate it. However, no matter what your current level or cycling goals, time trials are a great test of fitness, pacing and mental toughness. Don’t be put off by the serious racers in skinsuits, aero helmets and on disc-wheeled stealth bikes. At club events you’ll be welcome on any roadworthy bike and remember, it’s the clock you’re racing against and your performances in previous weeks.

Most cycling clubs will run a weeknight 10-mile (16km), or close to that distance, time trial throughout the summer and into autumn. You don’t need to be a club member, they’re cheap to enter, you can enter on the night and they’re always friendly and inviting. The 18–30-minute effort of a 10-mile TT is an ideal session for boosting your FTP, your sustainable high end level, and, no matter how hard you think you can push yourself in training, you’ll always squeeze a bit more out when you pin a number on your back. With weekly events on the same course, you get a regular snapshot of your fitness, which provides great motivation to train. Open events tend to be more competitive and you can often find yourself on the same start list as pros and Olympic champions. They’re still friendly and accessible events, though, and with race distance ranging from 10 miles to 24 hours, there’s something for everyone.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a dedicated low-profile TT bike. There will be plenty of riders on standard and modified road bikes, and you’re really racing against the course, yourself and the clock. However, there are a few ways to tweak your road bike to make yourself a bit more competitive. For a 10-mile TT, ditch your water bottle and cages. Definitely remove mudguards and there’s no need to carry any spares or a saddlebag. Clip-on aerobars can significantly improve your aerodynamics, but don’t just blindly stick some on – a road bike’s geometry can make it unsuited to clipping on aerobars. You can end up too stretched, with a closed hip angle and, although you may be more aero, your power output might be severely compromised. Fitting a shorter stem and moving your saddle forward on the rails, effectively increasing the steepness, can help to correct this issue, but don’t forget you’ll probably have to raise your saddle too. Look to minimise your frontal profile, paying particular attention to your shoulders and elbows. Most riders will gain from moving their elbows in but less so if you have particularly broad shoulders. Aim to have your elbows back under your shoulders and not too far forwards. Use a full-length mirror and a home trainer to check your position, make any necessary adjustments, and then see how it feels to ride for 10 minutes at TT effort. There’s often a compromise between aerodynamics and power output and you’ll need to assess whether you’ll be able to train yourself to get used to your new position. The key thing if you do make any changes to your position, especially using clip-ons, is that you practise using them in training. There’s no point creating a super aero position for yourself if you’re unable to hold it or handle your bike while in it.

Along with optimising your riding position, the best-bang-for-your-buck aero gains are to be had from a decent skinsuit, overshoes and potentially an aero helmet. The first two are no-brainers (make sure you pin your number on neatly, though), but an aero helmet needs a bit more thought. You’re looking to obtain a smooth transition from your helmet to your upper back. If you keep your head up when you ride and don’t move it around, a long-tailed helmet should work well for you. However, if you tend to move your head about and look down, that tail is just going to stick up in the air and a shorter-tailed helmet or even an aero road helmet would be more appropriate.

Time trials are all about pacing and, especially with 10-mile (16km) and 25-mile (40km) events, it’s almost a rite of passage that you’ll totally overcook the start of your first few. Power meters really come into their own for pacing time trials but it’s important not to be a total slave to your numbers. If you’re riding a 10-mile event and know in your last FTP test that you managed to hold 250 watts, this can definitely provide a massively useful pacing metric, but it can also limit you. You might be having a great ride, getting that ‘pinning on a number’ boost and, as you cross the line, having paced yourself to 250 watts, frustratingly find you haven’t totally emptied your tank. Occasionally, try taping over your computer and just riding on feel – you might blow up but, equally, you might get a pleasant surprise. Time trial, prologue and hour record legend Chris Boardman has said the following about pacing time trials, which sums it up brilliantly:

‘You will get it wrong but part of the appeal of time trialling is learning from your mistakes and being able to go back the next week, race your previous time and try again. Constantly ask yourself these two questions. How far have I got to go? Is my pace sustainable for that distance? If you answer yes for the second, you’re not going hard enough, if no, it’s too late and you’ve overcooked it. You’re looking to answer maybe and trying to hover there. I used this simple equation for my whole career and it’s served me well.’

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERFORMANCE

One of the major progressive steps of the Great Britain Cycling Team was the appointment of psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters and the realisation of the importance of the mental side of preparation and performance. Like many of the areas we’ve discussed in this book, we’re all individuals and whereas some of us thrive under the pressure, stress and excitement of competition, others crumble and underperform. The sprinter Victoria Pendleton, since retiring, has been especially honest about the work she did with Dr Peters and credits him with much of her success. If you want to further explore his model and way of working, both in sport and everyday life, his book, The Chimp Paradox, should definitely be on your reading list.

If you do tend to suffer from event-day nerves, there are a number of practical steps you can take to reduce them.

‘Control the controllables’ is one of the mantras of the Great Britain Cycling Team and Team Sky. You’ll never be able to change the weather or how well your opponents race, but you can make sure that you’ve trained to the best of your ability, maintained and prepared your bike and equipment well and taken care of pre-event logistics to ensure minimal stress and unnecessary last minute panics. If you’ve done everything within your control to optimise your performance and execute your plan, that’s all you can do.

‘I still get really nervous. At the recent World Cup in Manchester I was nervous for the whole week into it and it’s a massive stress on your body. It was affecting how I was riding in the days leading up to it and ruining my form. In the end, I had to have a bit of an angry word with myself and stop indulging it. That’s not necessarily how to deal with nerves but it worked on that occasion. Everyone gets nervous, even the best riders, it’s about finding your own way of coping with them that matters and, for me, when the gun goes off, they disappear.’

KATIE ARCHIBALD, GREAT BRITAIN CYCLING TEAM

Normalising the experience of competition by exposing yourself to it is another effective way to reduce pre-event anxiety. Pros appear so calm and laid-back before a race because they’ve done it so often. They know their routine, they know the drill so it’s no big deal. If you only have a couple of big events each year and have invested huge amounts of time training for them, it’s no wonder that you’re going to be nervous. Enter lower-key ‘B’ and ‘C’ events and, as laid out earlier in the chapter, weekly local races. You’ll get used to competition, find and perfect your routine, probably make some mistakes but, when it comes to big events, they won’t seem quite so daunting.

‘For big races that I knew I could do well at, I’d won before or I knew I was in good form for, then I’d get really nervous. Normally I’m really chatty but I’d becoming really quiet and focused. I’d just get on with making sure everything was right, getting my kit and bike ready. It’s part and parcel of competing and you just have to go through your processes.’

DEAN DOWNING, EX-PRO, FORMER BRITISH CIRCUIT RACE CHAMPION AND NOW COACH

Finally, accept that sometimes things just don’t go to plan. It could be a puncture, a crash or simply one of those days when your legs just don’t fire. Try to take any positives – it might still have been some decent miles in your legs or you might have gained some tactical acumen. Examine if there was anything you might have done differently or better in your preparation or on the day but then move on and don’t beat yourself up about it.

Another valuable pacing tip for time trials is to push hardest when you’re going slowest. This might sound counter-intuitive but on the slower sections of a TT course, on climbs and into headwinds, you’ll take the longest and therefore stand to make up the greatest amount of time. Also, as your speed is lower, drag will have less of an impact so, relative to the extra power you have to put in, you’ll go faster. The difference in effort should be quite subtle but significant. For example, if you were riding an out and back course and you knew that coming back it was slightly uphill and into a headwind, you’d hold back a bit on the way out and then push hard into the wind and up the hill. Your overall power target for the ride might be 250 watts so, going out, you’d aim to sit on 240 watts and then, punching back, up it to 260 watts.

Be warned, if you get into time trialling, it can be extremely addictive and you’ll soon find yourself chasing the fastest courses and conditions and invariably spending a lot of money on your bike and kit. It’s important to remember, however, that although a super aero frame and wheelset will make you faster, 70–80 per cent of drag is down to the rider. Spending some time and money getting your position analysed and optimised would definitely be beneficial. Although wind tunnel time is still prohibitively expensive for most riders, there are now a number of companies who offer affordable velodrome-based analysis.

Training for time trials is all about hard consistent efforts. Sessions such as 20-minute intervals and threshold criss-cross intervals should be your bread and butter, but don’t be afraid of throwing in some additional intensity, especially if you’re targeting 10-mile events, with 5-minute Zone 5 intervals-type workouts. It’s also important that, as much as possible, you train in your racing position. It’s not uncommon for riders to lose some power in their time trial position and, as long as this is offset by aero gains, this isn’t an issue. However, if this is the case, you should test for FTP in your TT position and set specific TT training zones.

Why race?

Sportives and Gran Fondos are great and can be highly competitive, but even if these are your main focus, taking part in regular league-style racing can really up your motivation, fitness and cycling skill set. Racing regularly at low-key local events is the best way to develop your race day routine and will really help minimise nerves for bigger events.

Fitting it in

As we discussed in Chapter 3, you can’t taper down every week for a race or you’ll never build any level of fitness. The best approach for most forms of racing is to try to schedule an easy day beforehand and then to substitute the race for one of your midweek sessions.

Road and Circuit

Closed circuit racing provides a safe environment to develop your road racing skills and fitness. As with all forms of racing, apart from maybe time trials, it’s not necessarily the strongest rider who wins. Focus on trying to develop your bunch riding skills and racing tactics and not just building your engine.

Track

Even if you’re a highly experienced and strong road rider, the track is a very different environment and working through your track’s accreditation process is essential for making you a safe rider. Make sure you always listen to the coach and don’t expect it to be a simple box-ticking exercise.

Cyclo-cross

Good fitness is essential for cyclo-cross but so too are bike handling skills and technique. If you try to rely on strength and power alone, you’ll be in for a highly frustrating time. In the lead-up to and during the cross season, try to dedicate a session a week to skills. Set up a loop in your local park or playing field and invite some mates, it’ll be a fun and effective workout.

Time trials

Club evening 10-mile (16km) time trials are probably the first experience of racing that many riders have. You don’t need a dedicated time trial bike, and you’re only really racing yourself and the clock. Make sure, whether you’re riding an adapted road bike or a dedicated TT bike, that you’ve trained in your racing position and, if necessary, have adjusted your training zones.

Racing can be tough and unforgiving but, after a hot shower, you’ll never regret doing it.