947 Ride Joburg: Indoor Cycling Training Tips

Spring is starting to spring and cyclists are beginning to look forward to the new season of racing. The first big, ‘National Classic Race’ is the 947 Ride Joburg in November. Always a highlight, over a nicely balanced route. Fast and flowing on the freeways in the first half and returning to the finish via challenging climbs.

Even though the sun will start to rise earlier and earlier, it is still pretty cold and dark in the mornings and evening and the nature of the roads and traffic in most areas mean that training indoors is safer. It is actually more effective as well as we are able to put our heads down and focus on what we are trying to achieve with the session rather than having to worry about the next intersection, downhill or other road users. So, the program to follow is concentrated on training indoors from Monday to Friday and then hoping to get out on the quieter roads on the weekends. With training apps like Zwift and Rouvy, even the weekend sessions can be achieved indoors if needs be but it is definitely a good idea to get in some ‘bunch time’ in the lead up to the race, just to refresh the bike handling and bunch skills.

We have divided the schedule into three, four week blocks where we will focus on different aspects of our conditioning. The first block is aimed at building muscular strength and pedalling torque. We will manipulate cadence and resistance on the indoor bike while operating in the lower power ranges. So, this should be more muscularly challenging than cardio-vascular. We will build strength and pedalling mechanics while building aerobic fitness to take us into the next block.

Block Two is aimed at building our aerobic engine. We will be doing a lot of interval training but the intensity is controlled so that it should always feel manageable and at a level that we feel we can always go harder. This is the mythical Zone Two. We are increasing the bodies capacity to ride at a steady, hard effort for long periods of time while utilising a higher percentage of fats as fuel.

Block Three is getting race ready. We are increasing the intensity of the intervals and preparing for the changes of pace in the bunch and the efforts over the climbs at the end of the race. Hopefully also preparing to make one or two of our own attacks as we approach the critical point of the race.

We have not placed overall durations for most of the indoor sessions during the week. Only the main sets of the session are written. There should always be periods of warming up and cooling down in each of the interval-based sessions. The length of these will be determined by your level of experience and endurance and the time that you have available to train each day. Generally we would like to aim at, at least an hour a day during the week and there is no need to go much over an hour and a half on these days. For the ‘Easy Spin’ sessions, these can be anywhere between 45-60 minutes. Again, no need to do more than that, as these are active recovery workouts and should be short and easy.

BLOCK ONE

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
1	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	3 X 9:00 steady intervals @ 75-80% of FTP but with a 1:00 acceleration in the middle (4:00-5:00) where we lift the effort to 95-100% of FTP). Have 5:00 easy in between @ 55-60%.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	4 X 5:00 low cadence / high torque intervals. Staying in the saddle, use a cadence that is about 10-15rpm slower than your normal, comfortable cadence @ 75-85% of FTP. Have 5:00 easy spinning in light gears @ 50-55% of FTP in between.	Rest and stretch	2:00 outdoors. Nice and easy in light gears and a comfortable cadence @ 50-60% of FTP or 60-65% of MAX HR	Rest and stretch
2	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	3 X 9:00 steady intervals @ 75-80% of FTP but with 2 X 1:00 accelerations @ 3:00 and 6:00, where we lift the effort to 95-100% of FTP). Have 5:00 easy in between @ 55-60%.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	4 X 5:00 low cadence / high torque intervals. Alternating 1:00 in the saddle / :30 out of the saddle. Cadence about 10-15rpm slower than normal @ 75-85% of FTP. Have 5:00 easy spinning in light gears @ 50-55% of FTP in between.	Rest and stretch	2:30 outdoors. Nice and easy in light gears and a comfortable cadence @ 50-60% of FTP or 60-65% of MAX HR	Rest and stretch
3	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	3 X 9:00 steady intervals @ 75-80% of FTP but with 3 X 1:00 accelerations @ 3:00; 5:00 and 7:00, where we lift the effort to 95-100% of FTP). Have 5:00 easy in between @ 55-60%.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	4 X 5:00 low cadence / high torque intervals. Alternating 1:00 in the saddle / 1:00 out of the saddle. Cadence about 10-15rpm slower than normal @ 75-85% of FTP. Have 5:00 easy spinning in light gears @ 50-55% of FTP in between.	Rest and stretch	2:45 outdoors. Nice and easy in light gears and a comfortable cadence @ 50-60% of FTP or 60-65% of MAX HR	Rest and stretch
4	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	3 X 9:00 alternating 1:00 @ 75-80% of FTP / 1:00 @ 95-100% of FTP. First and last minute will be the easier effort. Have 5:00 easy in between @ 55-60%.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	4 X 5:00 low cadence / high torque intervals. Alternating 1:00 in the saddle / :30 out of the saddle acceleration, picking up the cadence in a lighter gear. In the saddle periods use a cadence that is about 10-15rpm slower than your normal, comfortable cadence @ 75-85% of FTP. Have 5:00 easy spinning in light gears @ 50-55% of FTP in between.	Rest and stretch	2:00 outdoors. Nice and easy in light gears and a comfortable cadence @ 50-60% of FTP or 60-65% of MAX HR	Rest and stretch

BLOCK TWO

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
5	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	4 X 6:00 @ 70-75% of FTP with 2:00 @ 55-60% in between.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	10 X 2:00 @ 70-75% of FTP with 1:00 @ 55-60% in between.	Rest and stretch	2:30 hilly but staying aerobic on the climbs	2:00 @ 55-65% with 2 X 5:00 effort @ 90-100% of FTP
6	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	5 X 5:00 @ 70-75% of FTP / 1:00 @ 75-85% with 2:00 @ 55-60% in between.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	30:00 over/under with 1:00 @ 65-70% / 1:00 @ 75-80% of FTP.	Rest and stretch	2:45 hilly but staying aerobic on the climbs	2:00 @ 55-65% with 1 X 10:00 effort @ 90-100% of FTP
7	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	6 X 4:00 @ 70-75% / 2:00 @ 75-85% with 2:00 @ 55-60% in between.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	30:00 over/under with 2:00 @ 65-70% / 2:00 @ 75-80% of FTP.	Rest and stretch	3:00 hilly, focusing on muscular effort on the climbs	2:30 @ 55-65% with 2 X 10:00 effort @ 90-100% of FTP
8	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	8 X 3:00 @ 70-85% of FTP with 1:00 @ 55-60% in between.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	30:00 over/under with 1:00 @ 60-65% / 1:00 @ 80-85% of FTP.	Rest and stretch	3:30 hilly but staying aerobic on the climbs	2:30 @ 55-65% with 1 X 20:00 effort @ 90-100% of FTP

BLOCK THREE

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
9	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	30:00 @ 75-80% of FTP. 10:00 alternating :30 @ 75-80% / :30 @ 100-105%.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	45:00 @ 70-80% of FTP with :30 acceleration @ 100-105% every 5 minutes.	Rest and stretch	3:00 group ride or small race	2:30 @ 55-65% with 2 X 15:00 effort @ 90-100% of FTP
10	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	10:00 alternating :30 @ 75-80% / :30 @ 100-105%. 30:00 @ 80-90% of FTP.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	8 X 4:00 @ 90-100% of FTP with reducing recoveries.	Rest and stretch	3:00 group ride or small race	3:00 @ 55-65% with 1 X 30:00 effort @ 90-100% of FTP
11	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	15:00 @ 80-90% of FTP. 10:00 alternating :30 @ 75-80% / :30 @ 100-105%.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	8 X 4:00 @ 90-100% of FTP with recoveries all: 3:00.	Rest and stretch	3:00 group ride or small race	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP
12	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	5 X 2:00 @ 95-100% / 2:00 easy. 20:00 @ 80-90% of FTP. 10 X 1:00 @ 95-100% / 1:00 easy.	Easy spin @ 50-55% of FTP	8 X 4:00 @ 90-100% of FTP with 2:00 recoveries.	Rest and stretch	Easy spin with 5 X :30 moderate intervals	RACE – 947