| 1. Have a clear goal of your aims. In particular you | | | | means having recovery periods in your most intense |
| should be aware of what distance you will be racing | | | | training sessions. It is worth noting that good recovery |
| at. If your maximum race duration is say 1 hour. It | | | | can be aided by gentle training rides of 1 - 2 hours. |
| means you do not need to focus on too much base | | | | Don't just build in rest days. Make room for recovery |
| mileage. If you are wanting to take part elite road | | | | rides where you do nothing intense. Monday is a good |
| racing you have to be able to find time for weekly 5-6 | | | | day for these. |
| hour rides. | | | | 5. Be Flexible. Just because you have scheduled a |
| 2. Split the year up into different sections. The style of | | | | really hard interval session of 20 minutes at 95% |
| your training should not be the same throughout the | | | | doesn't mean you have to do it even if you feel under |
| year. It is often helpful to split the year up into different | | | | the weather. This is far more likely to do more harm |
| sections. E.g. 3 months of winter base training. 2 | | | | than good. It is better to only do interval sessions when |
| months of interval training to peak for 2 months of | | | | your body is really prepared and ready. |
| racing in the middle of winter | | | | 6. Listen to your body. Related to being flexible is the |
| 3. Work out when you want to Peak. The top pros | | | | idea that your training schedule should be tailored to |
| are very focused in the races that they want to win. | | | | how you feel. It is important to be able to listen to signs |
| Gone are the days when the likes of Eddy Merckx | | | | from your body and state of mind whether you should |
| would race throughout the year and win everything. | | | | train less or more. |
| Lance Armstrong was a good example of a cyclist | | | | 7. Allow Periods of Tapering. Tapering is very |
| who focused solely on one event in July - the Tour de | | | | important for being able to peak for a certain event. |
| France. Look for the dates of your main national | | | | Tapering means that for 1-2 weeks before a targeted |
| championships and try to focus for that. | | | | event you reduce the duration of your training. This |
| 4. Allow room for rest and recovery. Just as important | | | | leaves you fresh and rested for the actual race. Note |
| as training is the ability to rest at the appropriate time. | | | | tapering doesn't mean you should reduce intensity, the |
| This includes having an annual break in winter. It also | | | | main thing is reducing the time spent training. |