In this article, I’m going to talk you through three training systems that I’ve used during my time as a professional rider.
The first of those components is the sprint. It’s not just used in the last 200 meters of races as you might expect. It’s also used as an effort coming out of corners when the bunch is going really fast, attacking from the bunch, or even getting across to a breakaway which has already formed. The best sprinters on the road are, of course, people like Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel. So the best riders in the world at this kind of effort are short sprint effort specialists. You’ve got to think of the likes of Chris Hoy and some of the other world-class track riders. In fact, some of the best riders in the peak powers have ever been registered in the sprint, thinking of BMX riders. “I’m going to pedal as hard as I possibly can for about 15 seconds, and that’s really going to work my sprint.”
The second component that is vital for endurance road riders is anaerobic capacity. This refers to efforts of around about 30 seconds up to three minutes that you use in the flesh below the Judith. We’re talking about short, sharp climbs. Again, thinking about the best road riders for this, in fact, some of the sprinters are good at these short 30-second to one-minute efforts. People like Julian Alaphilippe are also, of course, really good at short, steep climbs. But again, look at the best riders in the world and the power output for that sort of duration. Look at the track.
The third component is VO2 max, which is efforts around about three to eight minutes long. Again, looking at examples on the road, we have riders that are really good at this sort of effort. It’s a bit of a crossover where you’ve got hilly terrain and climbs of that distance. Joaquim Rodriguez is also fantastic at efforts of those durations. Also on the track, the pursuiters, both individual and team, they’ve got amazing power at around about that four-minute mark. So we can think about the likes of Bradley Wiggins when he used to do the pursuit as world and Olympic champion. And also Darren Thomas and a few other British riders.