How to train for your goal?

How to progress and train for your cycling goal? Targeted training is essential for any cyclist wishing to improve their performance, whether in competition or to enhance fitness levels. In this article you’ll find some tips on how to train for your specific goal.

IDENTIFY YOUR OBJECTIVES: ROAD RACES, CYCLOSPORTIVES OR GENERAL RACES?

The importance of defining clear objectives:

Clearly identifying your cycling goals is crucial. These goals could range from participating in road races, cyclosportives, or simply aiming for general improvement without a specific race objective.
This directly influences the structure of your training plan and the way you prepare. It allows you to optimize your training time, ensuring that every minute spent on the bike contributes directly to achieving your goals. 
Adapting your sessions to your time availability is also important. For example, opt for short but intense training sessions if you’re short of time, or long outings to boost your endurance if you’re aiming for a cyclosportive.

WHICH SESSIONS FOR AN ONLINE RACING GOAL

Work on power and explosiveness

Focus on Sprint Sessions and High Intensity: Developing power and speed is crucial for road racing. Incorporate short sprints and high-intensity intervals (PMA sessions) to improve your ability to start fast, respond to attacks and restarts while recovering effectively between each.
Using Kinomap to train for your goal: Structure your workouts with Kinomap to target specific power and effort levels with structured workouts. Join events such as Wednesday Cycling to measure yourself against others in a competitive setting.

Example of a session to develop power (PMA type)

30/30: After a thorough warm-up, perform intervals of 30 seconds of intense effort (100% to 105% of PMA), followed by 30 seconds of recovery. Repeat this cycle 5 to 15 times, depending on your level. Perform 2 to 3 blocks of these repetitions, taking 3 to 5 minutes’ recovery between each block.

Example of a session to improve explosiveness (sprints)

10”/3′: Following a good warm-up, perform a 10-second sprint, followed by 3 minutes’ recovery. Repeat this process 8 to 12 times. This session is ideal for boosting maximum power and explosiveness, while improving your ability to recover quickly from intense exertion.

TRAINING FOR CYCLOSPORTIVE OBJECTIVES

Training to excel in Cyclosportives

Endurance and Prolonged Effort Management: Long rides at moderate intensity are essential. Incorporating threshold and Sweet Spot Training (SST) sessions helps maintain intense effort over extended periods, ideal for challenges like mountain passes.
Kinomap routes: Select routes that mimic real race profiles to simulate and prepare for these challenges.

Work on your endurance and FTP

Work on your endurance to prepare for the distance and the sequence of passes to be climbed. To do this, go out for long endurance outings and vary your routes.
Incorporate threshold and Sweet Spot Training (SST) sessions. These types of sessions are particularly effective in improving your ability to sustain intense effort over prolonged periods (FTP), which is essential for climbing passes and staving off fatigue.

Using Kinomap: Select tracks that mimic the profile of your race to simulate and prepare for it. Train to climb different types of pass at different speeds. And create your own SST and threshold sessions or use those already built by other users.

Example of a Threshold Session

After a warm-up, perform 3 intervals of 10 minutes at 75-80% of your PMA, with 5 minutes recovery between them. This session increases your high-intensity endurance.

Example of a Sweet Spot Training (SST) session

Following a warm-up, perform 4 intervals of 8 minutes at 73-76% of your MAP, separated by 3 minutes of recovery. SST is ideal for improving performance with less fatigue compared to more intense threshold efforts.

WHICH TRAINING TO USE TO PROGRESS IN GENERAL CYCLING

Diversify your training to suit your mood

For those simply aiming to improve their cycling fitness, taking a relaxed approach is ideal, the watchwords being simplicity, diversity and fun. The emphasis is on building endurance, power, and pedaling efficiency in a simple and enjoyable way. Here are some effective strategies:

Improve Endurance

Endurance is the foundation of your fitness. To develop it, gradually increase the duration of your outings, choosing varied and enjoyable routes, whether outdoors or on Kinomap, that allow you to travel and discover new landscapes.

Climb mountain passes the fun way

Rather than attacking climbs continuously, alternate between sustained efforts and recovery phases. This approach makes climbing more fun and less intimidating, while improving your climbing power. For example, alternate with 1km sustained and 1km cool.

Working on pedaling efficiency

Focus on smooth pedaling technique, maintaining an optimal cadence of 85 to 95 revolutions per minute. Use the coaching videos on Kinomap for real-time advice and improve your technique.

SUMMARY

By aligning your training with your specific cycling goals, you can maximize your performance and achieve your ambitions more effectively. Use tools like Kinomap to complement and enrich your training, but keep in mind that consistency in your training and the ability to adapt to different situations are fundamental to achieving lasting and significant progress in cycling.

By Fanny MARRE
Cycling-running and triathlon coach
fannymarre99@gmail.com

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