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Coaching

Peter Anderson is our British Cycling club coach and British Amateur Weight Lifting Association Instructor. He is also an accomplished time triallist. He offers to club members advice and support on all aspects of training. Here he gives us his early season top tips.

By now you should have achieved a good base of steady miles. For those of us who have been waiting for better weather there is still time before the road and time trial season starts. Every hour counts from now on so even if you cannot get out on the road the turbo trainer can help you to keep a level of fitness that will prepare you for the season ahead.

Many riders go into the racing season with just steady long miles before entering the early season road races and time trials. There is nothing wrong with that. Many riders get by on that formula year in year out. Riding yourself into the season does work but you have to be careful that you adjust your mileage as you begin racing.

Once you start racing you need a period of adjustment whereby you cut down on the steady miles. This period need only be a couple of weeks depending on the type of racing that you do. Clearly if you start the season with a ten mile time trial the demands on your body are not the same as if you start with the Tour of Majorca. If you carry on with the same sort of miles pre-season without a period of adaptation, as we coaches call it, then you are more likely to pick up viruses and suffer from fatigue.

As a roadie you may not fancy yourself as the next Cipollini but sprint training pays big dividends. It could be the difference between being dropped in the first big break or bridging a gap to the lead group.

You need to be well rested before attempting sprint training. Start with a flat out seated sprint using the small chainring after a good warm up. Then shift into the 53 x 17 gear and go flat out for 50-100 meters. Put it back into the small chainring and spin easy for 10 minutes then go again. Repeat the exercise three or four times. If you feel lousy after the second sprint its time to go home. Over the weeks you can increase the number of sprints, the gearing and the length of the sprint.

Those of you who spent time in the gym over the winter season will find the progression easier than those who didn't. Those of you who aim to race in March can stop the leg exercises and but carry on maintaining upper body strength.

Now is the time for the dreaded interval sessions. Don't attempt these until you have a good 100 hours of steady miles in your legs. For those of you who are new to this form of training you should start off on the turbo. There is no magic formula to intervals. Different forms suit different riders.

For those starting out I would recommend decreasing intervals. Warm up for ten minute on the turbo and then go flat out for 60 seconds and then ease right off until your heart rate is around 120 b.p.m then go again for 50 seconds and repeat until you are only doing 10 seconds of hard work. How hard? When you reach the end of the interval there is nothing left in the legs. If there is you are not working hard enough. Serious roadies should now be doing hill intervals.

This month I should:

Check the racing hardware thoroughly and replace any worn parts

Map out your season and set out to peak for one or two key events

Chuck out those old bidons, they are a health hazard"