What Are Your Training Needs?

Your a fitness rider or a racer on a local ride. At a point in the ride you get dropped off the main group. You're left to ride home on your own. What happened? Maybe you lacked the aerobic or anaerobic capacity to handle the tempo?

Your training should include aerobic and anaerobic work. Riding a bike requires both. Developing an effective training plan, by knowing how your aerobic and anaerobic systems work, is the key. There are three systems you need to train. They are the ATP-PC, anaerobic (lactic acid), and aerobic systems. Sprinters rely on the ATP-PC system, a pursuiter uses the anaerobic system and a fitness or road racer will predominately use their aerobic system.

You can develop the three training systems by manipulating the intensity and duration. For hard efforts lasting up to 2 minutes you will be using your anaerobic system. At about 2 minutes there is a 50:50 split between aerobic and anaerobic. As the duration increases aerobic power takes on greater importance.

Some of the type of workouts and how there benefit:

Sprints: Develops the ATP-PC system. Short sprints of 50-75 meters ridden at maximum intensity.

Acceleration sprints: Start off slow and gradually build to an all out effort in about 150 meters. Builds speed-endurance.

Intervals; Series of short efforts of equal length alternated with easier bouts.

Speed play (fartlek): Incorporates all the training principles above.

Repitition riding: 1-2K at race pace with rest periods that allow almost complete recovery. Works the anaerobic system.

Continuous fast riding: Training at the same distance as your event with a pace at or slightly below race pace.

Continuous slow riding: Speed is slower than race pace at about race distance. Builds aerobic endurance.

As you can see, your training needs will very according to the event. As the event approaches find out what type of racing occurs. Then pick one or two types of the above training methods that match the race.