With data being shared by professional riders, it’s natural to be curious about what stats the best are doing. And while it’s inspiring to marvel at their speed and power, it can be disheartening that you’ll never be anywhere near their level. Don’t slip down that self-defeating slope – these tips from sports technology company 4iiii could well see you up your game. www.4iiii.com
Cadence
The cadence or rpm at which cyclists ride is fully within your reach. Looking at the Strava file of Project Echelon’s Laurent Gervais, from his day in the breakaway on Stage 4 of the Tour of Norway, he averaged 91rpm for the 123km route, with a max cadence of 130rpm. While 91rpm is challenging it’s attainable, using single leg pedalling exercises and cadence pyramids to increase pedalling efficiency and fluidity. Alternating unclipping one foot and pedalling with the other for 20-30s x 3-5 reps at the start will help a smooth pedal stroke, with power applied evenly for as much as possible. A cadence pyramid where you hold 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 100, 90, 80, 70rpm, for 30-60s each, is a great exercise to stretch the cadence range. As the drill gets easier, raise the base and peak of the pyramid, so you’re starting at 80 or 90rpm and working up to 120 or 130rpm and back down.
Distance
100km is 100km, whether covered at record-breaking speeds or a casual pace. The pros may be able to cover great distances at average speeds that most of us would be lucky to hold for 20 minutes, but that doesn’t undermine the fact most can still cover the same expanses, at your own pace. If you’re newer to riding or want to increase the length of rides you’re capable of successfully completing, it’s a simple formula: time spent in the saddle, gradually increasing the length of individual rides as well as the number of times you’re riding per week or month. Riding with others is another way to keep motivation high on your way to equalling the big miles of big names in the pro ranks.
Training zones
With power meters becoming more affordable, using one for training helps establish clear zones, which can help you perform specific and high-quality workouts. With a multitude of tests and AI available on many cycling apps, you can define what your power zones are for Recovery, Endurance, Tempo, Threshold, VO2 Max, Anaerobic, and Neuromuscular efforts. Paired with time invested in educating yourself on when/why to train these zones, you’ll make significant and steady gains in your riding. While the data is great for harder efforts and intervals, it’s also key to ensuring you’re going easy enough for your endurance and recovery rides.
Recovery rides
If you’re training with some regularity, you need to mix in some easy days on the bike to give you the necessary respite to absorb the workload of your more taxing rides. Also referred to as active recovery, the point of a recovery ride is to help clear fatigue with gentle and limited exercise. When you consider that walking is also an alternative recovery exercise, you can appreciate how relaxed the effort should be if you’re doing it by bike. Recovery rides should register a 1-2 on a scale of 10 for perceived difficulty, or Zone 1 if going by power, and typically not exceed 1.5hrs. This makes them a perfect option for a spin with your non-cycling friend/partner.
Consistency
While the pros have the luxury of orienting their schedules and lives around riding routines, the rest of us have to slot rides in where they make sense. Even with restricted timeframes to get out for a ride, it’s still a worthy and achievable goal to bring consistency to your training. It’s well-documented that shorter rides more frequently lead to greater gains than sporadic and inconsistent riding, even if they tend to be longer in duration. It’s easy to fall victim to the idea that if you can’t log a certain number of hours or kilometres in the saddle, then it’s not worth heading out, but 30 minutes still trumps zero minutes, and you’re almost guaranteed to be happy you made the effort.
