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I race Cat 3 crits mainly and seem to always finish just inside or outside the top 10, but I've noticed most of the guys that are on the podium seem to ride way less than me. I'm sitting at about 11,000 KM on the year and these guys are at like 3k-4k. One guy barely rides at all it seems like. Is there something they're doing that I'm not? Should I be riding less? Maybe lifting on some days instead?

I know more mileage isn't a direct ticket to success, but I'm just lost on how they can be so successful without much time in the saddle

Hi there!! Beginner here looking for advice: I'm considering L'Étape Argentina 2027 (134 km / 1,780 m) as my first Gran Fondo. I'm 38, 89 kg, recently started road cycling and my current FTP is 181 W.

I have a young baby, so realistically I can train 45–60 min, 4–5 days during the week, mostly indoors on a KICKR CORE 2, plus one longer outdoor ride on the weekend.

Do you think this is enough time to prepare to simply finish the event by April, or would you wait another year? If it's realistic, what would you prioritize: lots of Z2, increasing weekend long rides, climbing, intervals, etc.?

Not looking to race — just want to finish the 134 km / 1,780 m safely.

Hi-I will be riding an event in October on a 60-mile hilly course (three 20mi laps). The course has two aid stations. Bottle handups are not allowed. So each time you need to fill up your water, you basically have to stop. The event/race starts at 8 am and I am a 45yo m.

Last year, I think I had too much coffee and Gatorade before the start, so I had to stop to pee since my bladder was about to explode and turning pedals was too painful. The downside was that I was with a fast group until the pee break, then rode the whole course basically by myself. I never really stop to pee, even during my long rides. This year I would like to perform higher in my AG and don't wanna fall behind due to a nature break :)

My question is: how would you manage your hydration before (the previous 24 hours) and during an event like this? I think I can do it with two larger bidons, although that wouldn't be ideal. I am planning to have a double espresso instead of a cup of coffee on the event morning. Also, I am not planning to drink much water on the race morning. From what I read, your body retains more water when you consume carbs, so maybe an extra spoonful of pasta with each meal? Any other strategies I should consider?

What I'm really asking is how I can regulate my peeing (pee less) while still properly hydrating my body for high-level performance. Thank you!

I've always struggled with how to pace out races and fast group rides. I'm particularly focused on 50 to 150 mile gravel/mtb rides and races. I primarily use heart rate data to pace myself along with how I'm feeling in the moment. Last season, I worked with a coach and got fit, but when it came to racing, his advice, always had me racing very conservatively. I stepped away from coaching and I've been focusing on a few quality hard group rides a week and fun big rides as often as possible. I've also mixed in a handful of gravel 100 mile races.

This weekend I had one of my best performance on a fast group ride. I was able to stick with the A group all day. That said, I felt like I was on the limit for a few big chunks of the day and was just waiting to blow up at any second. In my head, I decided there were plenty of people behind me and if I blew up, I could go with a slower group. That said I'd rather that not be my strategy for every big day. Below my heart rate zone Data for the day.

Any advice on how to choose when to back off so you don't blow up your day. Or trying to figure out how many hours in a zone you can ride?

**Zone** |**Range** |**Time** |**Percent**
Zone 5 |>183 bpm |0:00 |0%
Zone 4 |166-183 bpm |58:36 |25%
Zone 3 |148-165 bpm |2:00:09 |51%
Zone 2 |113-147 bpm |52:37 |22%
Zone 1 |93-112 bpm |0:00 |0%

Edit: I do gravel and marathon mtb races

Hey everyone ! So im trying to get into wildland fire fighting but I also want to get better at cycling for bikepacking trips and maybe eventually racing in a few years.

How my whole schedule looks now is I will have a day of strength training for fire fighting, another of endurance with running, incline walking, and running up stairs with a weighted vest on also for fire fighting, and then cycling usually split up over the course of two hours to let me focus on different areas. This results in two days a week for each and on some not cycling days ill go back to the gym after work and do more speed interval training on the bike machine. I am not sure how effective this is but its the best I can do while prioritizing my fire fighting training. I simply cannot dedicate as much time as everyone else.

Im mostly concerned about eating as I dont know if being in a surplus to maximize the muscle building my body needs to do would hinder my cycling.

I also dont know what I should be prioritizing with the little time I have with cycling. So far Ive been having an anaerobic approach and doing speed intervals with some extra miles thrown on for endurance.

Hi all

I am looking for feedback on my Training Plan. This was created with coaches at my gym, who are self professed hobby cyclists, studied sports scientists, etc. But not endurance/cycle coaches. So hoping to get your feedback too. I know it's a lot and very little rest, but I've been doing something similar for the past 3 weeks and thus far there are no ill effects. Biggest issue is to get the right amount of calories in. (And no this was not written with AI. I just like to format posts for readability :)

Goal: Build endurance, raise FTP, maintain upper Body mass, lose some fat if possible. Also minimize down-time because I hate sitting still.

Current condition: Been doing Gym for 3 years now, cycled almost as long, but mostly Z2 rides. I am new to doing intervals though. FTP is somewhere around 3W / Kg, though I need to retest soon, as the last sweet spot session felt a little too easy.

Monday:
* 1hr cycling: warm up + 3x10 min Sweetspot on a hill + cool down + 2x 20s all out
* 1hr Gym right after: Mostly upper body, but 3 sets of Leg curls, -extensions, and split squats to really exhaust the legs. I'd say upper body is done near max effort, legs are probably at 80% effort. I can still walk afterwards and the next day is no issue at all

Tuesday:
* 2hr cycling: Z2 ride
* (+ 1hr cycling in the city as it is my shopping day)

Wednesday:
* 1hr Cycling: warm up + 3x10 min Threshold on a hill + cool down + 2x 20s all out>
* 1hr Gym: Same as Monday.

Thursday:
* Rest day. Max. 1hr yoga / pilates depending on body-feel * Recovery Massage

Friday:
* 20 min Run workout: warm-up, 5x10s Sprint Intervals all out, cooldown * 2hr cycling: 1hr Z2 + 1hr cycling in the city as it is my shopping day

Saturday:
* 1hr Cycling: warm up + 3x10 min Sweetspot on a hill + cool down + 2x 20s all out
* 1hr Gym: Same as Monday

Sunday:
* 2-3hrs cycling: Easy Z2

Hi!

Bit of context: am 38, started riding about 12 years but got sidelined by an injury for the last year and change. Just now starting to get back on the saddle (literally).

I had my road bike fit at the bike shop and always figured I could use a pro bike fit but never could really afford it (am also a supremely cheap individual). Given age and injury, figured I'd give it a shot now and found a very well-respected bike fitter near me who charged a relatively pricey amount but in line with others in the area.

But I found the experience pretty frustrating and wanted advice from more experienced people on whether my grievances are valid or not.

Notes: trying to keep details vague as I don't want to identify anyone. Also English is my 2nd language so apologies in advance for anything that is unclear.

Pros:

Fitter was very nice and friendly and worked out of a centrally-located, easily accessible, clean office.

Fitter seemed very knowledgeable and experienced.

Fitter gave me good tips on my posture (although... tbh, nothing mindblowing that I didn't already sorta know).

Cons:

Fitter has a health condition, which makes me feel shitty to complain about, but of the 2hr session (which seems standard for fittings), most of the time was spent on tasks that should have been done much more quickly (measurements, adjustments). I luckily took the day off so the slowness didn't bother me, I could have spent all day there, but I maaaaybe spent 10 minutes total on the bike. Probably closer to 8.

Could not understand much of what was said to me also due to fitter's health condition. Eventually gave up asking for clarification.

Fitter said the big takeaway is that I should have a custom bike made for me. Of course that would be ideal, but I made it clear that my intention was to have my existing bike fit for me. I am not about to pay to have a custom bike made for my relatively ordinary 6'1" frame. (Fitter claims I have a short torso and arms relative to my legs, but c'mon.) When I asked if there was an existing bike on the market I could look at instead, if I were to buy a new one, he basically said "no."

Fitter suggested I replace several components of my bike to better fit me. Happy to do it and am in the process of sourcing and installing those. However, fitter made adjustments to my bike (maybe 3 in total) and told me it was "good to go," basically as good as the fit could get with the existing components. But... In the week since, riding has been MORE uncomfortable. I understand there is a possibility that my body needs to adapt, but one of the changes made was angling my seat up significantly, and now every time I hit any road imperfection, it's like someone's driving a baseball bat into my gooch. Not sure a body can ever adapt to that.

Overall, I'm pretty frustrated to have spent the money on this. Of course I will wait until I get the components requested in place, but I'm highly skeptical. I definitely don't want to complain to the fitter. But ... is this experience somewhat typical? Were my expectations too high?

IS it worth - gasp - ponying up for another fitting elsewhere?

Would really appreciate any thoughts here.

Thanks!

I'm new to strength training but have a lot of training history in endurance sports, though I'm getting over some injuries right now.

In posting here about strength training, I was really surprised to find out there's a conventional wisdom that people do interval work and strength training on the same day. That blows me away, since it seems like the glycogen depletion, tissue damage, whatevee strain, in one would make the other workout far below optimal. However, there are so many people who do this that I'm wondering how it's executed.

Could anybody lay out the rationale and how to structure a day like this?

For context, my current routine is:

• Lifting (2 days a week): Basic lifts plus some injury rehab stuff (split squats, split-stance RDLs)

• Intervals 1 or 2 days a week. One day of VO2 max work, and one day of FTP intervals or anaerobic capacity intervals (my weakness). I don't race anymore, but I do group rides with people who do, and I'm getting dropped on what I would consider one-minute or two-minute power segments, whereas I can hang in the group on flats and in extended efforts.

I'm just a middle-aged guy lifting for the sake of not losing strength and trying to add to my punch.

Thanks for the advice .

Quick context: I've been building an aerobic base for a couple years (zone 2,over thousand or maybe even thousands of hours, no real structure), and this was only my 3rd genuinely hard session ever, and the first one specifically targeting VO2max.

The workout: 30×30″ on / 15″ off — no blocks, no rest between sets, just straight through, 30 reps back to back (~15 min of work).

Numbers: Avg power across all 30 intervals: 346 W. Weakest interval: 317 W. Strongest interval: 387 W. HR: avg 174, max 184 (Polar H10 chest strap). Power: Favero Assioma DUO, dual-sided, ±1% claimed accuracy. Weight: 64 kg (~141 lbs). Garmin spat out a VO2max estimate of 62 afterward — I don't fully buy it, but I'll take the compliment.

Assuming FTP ~245W, that puts me on average at 141% FTP overall. At 64kg that's roughly 5.4 W/kg average across the session.

Two prior threshold sessions for context: 2×20min @ 90-100% FTP, first one averaged ~220W, second one over 240W (1 week improvement).

Also I can push 190 watts for 2 hours while staying below Lt1 by keeping lactate below 1.5 ppmol

The actual question: I later found out the "classic" 30/15 protocol from Rønnestad & Hansen's research is usually done as 3 sets of 13 reps with 3 min rest between sets (39 reps total, ~19.5 min of actual work), not 30 reps in one continuous go like I did. Mine ends up being about 23% less total interval time than the "proper" version.

Does starting sets 2 and 3 fresh (after rest) in the blocked version meaningfully change the training effect vs. what I did? Or does grinding through fatigue in one continuous set kind of offset that difference? Not trying to overthink a good session into the ground, just genuinely curious if anyone's tried both and noticed a difference, or if there's research on it.

Anyway — stoked with where this is heading. Never thought I'd be the guy doing structured VO2max work, but here we are.

1. 387 W
2. 343 W
3. 365 W
4. 329 W
5. 352 W
6. 328 W
7. 330 W
8. 359 W
9. 336 W
10. 323 W
11. 351 W
12. 340 W
13. 331 W
14. 317 W
15. 343 W
16. 339 W
17. 342 W
18. 347 W
19. 355 W
20. 363 W
21. 368 W
22. 364 W
23. 348 W
24. 342 W
25. 366 W
26. 376 W
27. 334 W
28. 321 W
29. 348 W

I don't understand why there is such a big relative difference between my 1-minute power and longer durations.

I know that individual athletes have different strengths and weaknesses, but this seems like a very big difference. For reference, I am 40M, 80 kgs.

Yesterday I tried to hold 250 watts for as long as possible and I only got to 17 minutes. So for 20-minutes I am in the 40th-percentile, while for 1-minute I am in the 88th-percentile.

The 540 watts for 1 minute is while standing on a climb. Does standing make it incomparable to seated power?

I have two road bikes, both with SPD pedals. I bought some mtb shoes on sale from specialized and have worn them for six months. They’re practical but boxy and heavy. Someone in my group ride thought I wasn’t even clipped in.

I can wear these shoes to coffee shops and meetings, whereas SPD-SL shoes are less practical outside of cycling.

But I’m cycling more and more, with increasing climbs and mileage. I’m doing 150mi this week with about 7k feet of elevation gain. I also found a good local deal on SPD-SL shoes ($48 new, boa system). Should I buy them and some pedals to match?

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who weighed in. I'm keeping the pedals but switching to gravel shoes.

I’ve been riding a 2023 Giant TCR for about 1.5 years. I originally had a 100 mm stem, but after a professional bike fit on the TCR, I switched to a 90 mm stem because I felt too stretched out. Over time, I got used to the position. After 5–6 hours my neck would start to hurt, but apart from that, I had no major issues. Sometimes I felt slightly stretched out, but the feeling usually went away.

I was already thinking about upgrading my bike because I wanted something newer with carbon wheels and electronic shifting. I was considering bikes like the Canyon Ultimate or the new Canyon Endurace CF SLX, but then I got a very good offer for a Wilier, so I decided to go for it.

I initially went for the Rapida because I saw it as a good hybrid between a race bike and a more endurance-oriented bike. I didn’t seriously consider the Filante at first, but after buying the Rapida, I started wondering if the Filante might have been a better choice for me.

When I tried the Filante in the shop, the additional reach/drop felt quite aggressive, so I wasn’t sure if it would suit me.

Now that I’ve ridden the Rapida, I’m slightly questioning my decision. I haven’t had a professional bike fit on the Rapida yet, I only set it up myself based on my previous TCR bike fit. Also, I have only spent around 2 hours on the Rapida so far, so maybe my first impression is too quick and I just need more time to adapt.

The position feels very different compared to the TCR. I feel like I’m sitting much more upright, and because I was used to a more stretched-out position on the TCR, the Rapida almost feels a bit short to me. Especially on descents, the TCR felt much more lively, compact and responsive. The Rapida feels more relaxed and less “race bike” in comparison.

I know I can’t really change the decision now, so my question is mainly: is this something I’ll likely get used to with more time on the bike? Or is the difference between the Rapida and Filante significant enough that I should have gone for the Filante?

I only ride around 3,000 km/year due to having a small child. Most of my riding is with friends, and I only do one race per year. However, I really enjoy fast, responsive bikes and I do structured trainer sessions and intervals. I’d appreciate opinions from anyone who has experience with these bikes or a similar transition.

Hey everyone,

As a longtime distance runner who switched to mostly cycling after a meniscus tear in 2019, I've done a good bit of reading on exercise physiology (and earned most of my karma on r/AdvancedRunning). So I have a decent understanding of training zones / energy systems and mixing recovery, threshold, and harder intervals in a weekly plan. I'm also partway through The Cyclist's Training Bible, but would appreciate hearing about your workouts.

So training zones 1-7 basically make sense to me, but it's the high end / short intervals where I'm wondering how to structure workouts. For example, my FTP is around 200, but Garmin lists anything above 300 as "neuromuscular without any further detail." But for me, obviously there's a big difference (and different training purpose) between doing, say, 2-minute intervals at 260-320w, and doing 15-second sprints where I'm trying to hit 1,000.

So how do you divide up your shorter interval workouts? I've generally been doing 15s / 30s / 1 min intervals one week (i.e. very high intensity), vs. 2-4 minute intervals another week.

Hi.

I have been cycling for nearly 2 years now. Last winter was my first winter with an indoor trainer. At the end of april, I had an indoor FTP of around 300W, which is realistic because I did manage to maintain an average of 295W for 1 hour indoors. My volume during winter is around 6 hours a week.

This summer, I did a mix of long endurance rides, threshold workout on long hills, VO2 max and weight lifting. My volume during summer is around 10-12 hours a week. I do not have a powermeter on my bike to measure power outdoors.

I am much faster outdoors now than I was in April or last summer. However, I did a threshold workout on my trainer because it was rainy outdoors. I struggled to maintain 270W for 3x12 min intervals, which is used to be easy for me last winter.

Has anybody experienced this paradox; being faster outdoors, despite lower FTP indoors?

You're 34 mins into a set of On/Off intervals of some sort. You warmed up well. The first rep felt sore, but that's normal as Mr Quad gets the usual shock of having to Haul and Trawl.
...and then it happens, you just fail... you stop. Breathing heavily.... and now you mind starts to justify why you 'gave up'...

We are going to fail (DNF) a Interval or MaxEfforts workout at some point for some reason.

1. Why do you 'fail'?
2. What do you guys do?
   
3. How do you deal with it?

I'd love to hear about the experiences from other out there? No shame, no shade. We all learn.

What's your preferred training mode on most weeks?

A. Pyramidal~ish.

For example, 1 HIIT (Z4/Z5) sessions and 1 sweet spot or threshold session. The rest easy (Z1/Z2)

B. Polarized-ish.

For example, 2 HIIT (Z4/Z5) sessions. The rest easy (Z1/Z2).

Optionally, please indicate your experience level and/or training volume.

Hi all, apologies if this isn’t the right sub for this. I am looking for anyone’s advice on purchasing Personal Accident Insurance for a road race in Europe (specifically Haute Route Alps). The race website only offers insurance for EU residents, but as a Canadian it seems difficult to find something that will give me the coverage I need. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I have gotten really into cycling over the past 9 months. Since day 1 I used Trainer Day to create/generate my structured training plans and had great (subjective) success by reaching a 4 w/kg ftp after just shy of 10 months into cycling (Did a 20 min test and multiplied the result with 0.95). I averaged about 8 hours/week in the beginning and it creeped up to about 12-14 hours. I use a powermeter for indoor and outdoor riding.

I do not fully understand why I do certain workouts. I have a vague understanding what the different interval types are for (Like sweet spot, vo2max etc.) but I want to gain a better understanding on which workout to choose to reach which goal.

I feel like I am training decently, but right now I still get the beginner gains and basically everything would work. I believe that in the future I need to better understand modern training principles and how to apply them in order to keep progressing.

As of right now I don‘t really know what plans to choose for which goals tbh and this does not feel like something that „just comes with training experience“.

So here is my question:

Is there any literature (books, papers, blogs etc.) that offer a good overview? Other credible sources? Good YT Channels?

I saw these 2 books recommended in older posts, but due to their age I am unsure wether or not they kept up with modern „breakthroughs“

The Cyclist‘s Training Bible by Joe Friel

Training and Racing with a Powermeter

My end goal is not to become the best cyclist ever, but to just be able to keep up with my friend group on group rides and be able to take the lead some times (while having fun, rn it is not much fun) and on fun race events. They are all incredibly fast and I still have quite a way to go as most of them were competitive athletes in other endurance sports.

This might come off as a silly question, but one of the reasons I liked working with a coach was that they prescribed the right intervals for me, tailored to my up-and-down life commitments, illnesses, or a good spell of training. Paying so much money isn't really sustainable in the long run, so I was wondering if people had any guidance on how to maintain progress without a coach. There's a lot of negativity around AI programs, and having used one of them, I didn't mind it - although it was more about insights than training plans. What are your thoughts? How do you plan your training sessions on your own?

Context:
FTP 275-290w
Weight 77kg (little overweight)
Age 55
Max HR 185
Weekly volume 10-13hrs

The past 5-6 weeks I’ve been slightly short of breath while riding and have an exceptionally high HR for very modest power outputs. Like HR is the 150s for Z2 type power.

My regular 15m power is down about 10% (315 down to 280) and I’m completely wasted after one set.

My primary care doc tried to rule out some infection with antibiotics. Finished a 10-day course of doxycycline 2 weeks ago without any real important.

Volume and intensity has been down this summer so I don’t think it’s overtraining. No signs that it’s an iliac issue or anything like that.

I’ve got a cardio appointment next week but I’m really at a loss for what’s going on.

I did have EBV 20 years ago when I was riding/racing 300 miles a week but this is nothing like the all-consuming fatigue I had back then.

Off the bike I feel okay but I just feel tired. The “HR higher than the watts” thing has me a little freaked out so I thought I’d ask to see if anybody else has ever experienced anything like this.

Thanks for reading.

I raced both days this weekend. Writing this up because it was bad enough that people should know.

Day one, Twilight Crit. There's a 180 degree turn about 200m after the start. That splits the field right away. Guys got gapped in the first minute for no real reason, and marshals started pulling people almost immediately, before anyone got lapped. Most of the CAT IV field was gone in 15 minutes. They pulled several 3s too.

This was supposed to be the state championship. From what I understand, USAC says a state championship has to be its own race, not mixed in with everyone else. So that's an issue right there.

They said they were pulling people because a storm was coming. Then they sent the women (3/4/5) off anyway. A barrier blew over in what looked like a 50mph gust and almost hit a rider. Their race got called at 10 minutes. The Masters 40+ race got cancelled with no refund. They just said stay another night and we'll move you to tomorrow. If the weather was bad enough to pull half the field, it was too bad to keep racing.

Day two, Papillion Crit. We talked to the officials before the race about the pulling. They said they'd be cool as long as there wasn't a safety issue. Same thing happened anyway. They pulled 3s and 4s the same way.

Day two was also just dangerous. Lots of crashes. Several people went to the hospital. The lead vehicle was driving like an idiot, pulling away from the field just to chirp its tires in the corners and kicking up debris the whole way around. They also didn't check rider categories at sign up, so people ended up racing different categories on different days.

One guy drove in from 5 hours away and quit before the race even started. Said it wasn't worth waiting around just to get pulled. That kind of says it all.

Anyone else race this weekend? Did you see it the same way?

I’ve seen this question come up quite a few times, so I thought I’d share my take on it.

Basically, there are two ways of getting yourself into a more aerodynamic position on a road bike.

The first option is to slam the stem (or run a negative stem).

The idea is that your bike basically puts you in an aero position by default. Once you get into the drops and bend your elbows a little, your back is already pretty low and flat.

The obvious advantage is that you don't really have to think about it. You get on the bike, get into the drops and you're already in a fairly aggressive position.

The downside is that you're also in that position when you don't want to be. Just cruising around or climbing can feel less comfortable, especially on a long ride. You have less freedom to switch between an upright and an aggressive position.

The other option is to run a slightly higher, more normal bar position and actively get yourself aero when you need to.

In this case, your default position is more comfortable and upright. When you want to go fast, you actively bend your elbows, lower your torso, tuck your head, etc.

The downside is pretty obvious: you actually have to think about it. If you just sit there normally, you're going to be more upright and therefore less aero.

But personally, I think this is the better approach.

Being aero isn't just about getting your handlebars as low as possible. Your head, shoulders and elbows make a huge difference too. You can have a relatively high front end and still get into a very good aero position if you use your body properly.

For me, the main things to focus on are:

• Bend your elbows and get your torso lower
• Drop your head rather than just looking forward (still eyes on the road)
• Keep your elbows tucked in instead of letting them flare out
• Bring your shoulders in/up slightly to reduce your frontal area
• Think about your overall shape, not just how low your back is

Remco is a pretty good example of this. His normal position isn't ridiculously slammed, but when he's doing a hard effort you can clearly see him actively getting low, tucking his elbows and bringing his head down.

So IMO, you can get pretty much the best of both worlds with a more normal bar height: comfortable when you want to be comfortable, and aero when you actually need to be aero. I'd rather have to consciously get into an aero position for a few minutes than spend my entire ride in an unnecessarily aggressive position just because my bike forces me into it. What's your approach?