Recovery Training

So as we count down the days until Christmas, it's also time to count the number of days left in the current year - and therefore look forward to the new year and planning what events to take part in and how to tackle them.

In this short five-part piece we'll look at the five key training areas to concentrate on to get through any event!

Recovery Training

Why?

Recovery is as important, if not more so in some circumstances, for getting fit as exercise itself - only when you've completed your training session or race can the body repair damaged muscle tissue, refuel muscle glycogen and prepare for the next level of physical exertion.

Recovery rides are a key component of this. They need to be flat and ridden at a comfortable pace - you should be able to have a conversation with your cycling companions without struggling for breath. Just don't forget to keep hydrated though, just because you're not training hard doesn't mean you don't need to take on liquids.

What?

Beginners

60 minutes once a week.

Advanced

120 minutes once a week.



Missed out on the other parts of this New Year training? Check them out from the links below:

Hill Training

Endurance Training

Threshold Training
Interval Training

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Endurance Training

So as we count down the days until Christmas, it's also time to count the number of days left in the current year - and therefore look forward to the new year and planning what events to take part in and how to tackle them.

In this short five-part piece we'll look at the five key training areas to concentrate on to get through any event!

Endurance Training

Why?

Road cycling, for the most part, is an endurance sport so it goes without saying that you need to spend more of your training time at endurance intensity than anything else. Ideally an endurance ride should be between 60 and 120 minutes and undertaken at 35-45% below your maximum heart rate.

This will increase your aerobic capacity and help you burn fat more effectively. We all know that hot summer days are more attractive for long rides, but if you want to improve sportive time during the year the best time to build up your endurance is in the winter months - before the season starts.

What?

Beginners

Two 60 minute rides a week at 55-65% maximum heart rate. Include one intense interval session too.

Advanced

Three rides of 120-plus minutes a week at 55-65% maximum heart rate. Incorporate one intense interval session per week as well.



Missed out on the other parts of this New Year training? Check them out from the links below:

Hill Training
Recovery Training
Threshold Training
Interval Training

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Hill Training

So as we count down the days until Christmas, it's also time to count the number of days left in the current year - and therefore look forward to the new year and planning what events to take part in and how to tackle them.

In this short five-part piece we'll look at the five key training areas to concentrate on to get through any event!

Hill Training

Why?

It's all about power - you need more of it in your legs to fly up those inclines comfortably without leaving all your energy behind. Gym sessions that strengthen your leg and back muscles do help, but you don't want to put on too much bulk as this will end up slowing you down on the bike.

The best way to get stronger on your climbs is to target your training. One key is to avoid the temptation of standing up in the saddle as it uses more than 10% extra energy according to research. To much of that and you'll have nothing left for the remainder of the ride.

Creative Commons: Flickr

What?

Beginners

Choose a hill that takes 2 minutes to climb in a comfortable gear while seated. Climb twice with a 2 minute recovery between.

Advanced

Choose a hill that takes 4 minutes to climb in a comfortable gear while seated. Climb three to five times with a 4 minute recovery between each effort.



Missed out on the other parts of this New Year training? Check them out from the links below:

Endurance Training
Recovery Training
Threshold Training
Interval Training

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Key UCI Mens WorldTour dates

So another year has nearly ended, and the next is quickly approaching - which means that it's time to have a look at the UCI WorldTour calendar for the men for 2016, and the key dates. If you read the other blog posts then you'll have already seen the posts for Tour de France and the Giro, and there will be a post for the Vuelta as soon as the route is announced.

There are 27 races in the men's WorldTour (UWT) next season, stretching from the 19th January to the 1st October and only three months of the whole year (February, November and December) where there isn't a UWT event (though fear not, if you feel that's just too many months without any cycling going on - there are other events on in February so you'll only have the withdrawal symptoms for a couple of months at the end of the year!!!

January

As always the Santos Tour Down Under kicks off the year between the 19th and 24th January, just in time for the post Christmas and New Year blues to be kicking in, and the resolutions wearing off - so additional motivation to get out of the bike or cross training for the winter months, because if the pros can manage to look like that less than a month after stuffing themselves on the 25th December then there should be hope for the rest of us to manage to fit in the new pair of trousers we picked up in the January sales!

March

It's classics season! Paris - Nice, Tirreno - Adriatico, Milan - San Remo to name a few. This is the time of year when the tough men who love the one day races come out and play, usually those who don't have an eye on any of the Grand Tours later in the year but each time there is usually a couple who want to broaden the CVs. Expect the unexpected, assume it will be cold and wet, and hope for some superb racing!

April

The second month of classics, and the month of The Hell of the North (aka Paris - Roubaix). On a good day the cobbles create a dust cloud and crashes, on a bad day the cobbles create a mudbath and crashes. Other choice races in the month are the Amstel Gold, and Liege - Bastogne - Liege.

May

Giro!! 6 - 29th May. Check out more details on the first Grand Tour of the year here.

June

Only a couple of races on the UWT this month, the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse. Both of these are the final preparation for the main contenders of the Tour de France, although if previous years are anything to go by expect to see the winner come from the Dauphiné. Speaking from personal experience the Swiss put on a show, and it's really easy to get to all the start/finishes by public transport so if you've never seen an event on the continent then this is a good one to start with.

July

Tour de France.

Need I say more? The Tour of Poland also takes part in July, but unfortunately always plays second fiddle to the French version. The San Sebastian Classic rounds of the month, and is a good place for those who have had a poor Tour, or were never targeting the overall win to get a mid-season win under their belt.

August

Currently the dates for the Vuelta are the 20th August - 11th September, so this could be put into either or both month, but for ease of this we'll stick it in the month it starts... The final Grand Tour of the season, more details to follow when they are announced.

September

Canada month on the UWT, or at least the beginning of the month is - one day eventing in Quebec and Montreal. The month closes off with a return to Europe for the Eneco Tour between the 19th and 25th.

October

The final event to close off the season, Il Lombardia on the 1st of the month, so that technically pretty much makes it over three months until the start of the 2017 UCI WorldTour. Fear not though, we will be here throughout the pre-season, the whole of the season, and will do our best of bridge the gap into the following year and make sure you get your cycling fix!

All the details of the dates for the UWT season can be found here, on the UCI official website. Along with the details of the other categories that'll be on during the year.

Keep your eyes peeled on here for more details on the Women's WorldTour, and further info on many of the races this year - especially the Grand Tours.

Remember, Keep 'em Spinning!

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Tour de France 2016

Pop it in your diary now folks.. 2nd - 24th July 2016 - Its the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, and as always it's likely to be a banger!!

As usual 21 stages make up the route, this time covering 3,519km. A total of 9 flat stages for the sprinters (including the final 'procession' on the Champs-Elysees), 9 mountain top finishes and a welcome return of 2 serious individual time trials (of 37 and 17km in length).

The Grand Departe is from Mont Saint-Michel in north west France, and then the route will visit Switzerland, Andorra and Spain (as well as a bit of France!) before returning the capital for its classic finale.

Time bonuses are back this time as well, with the top three on each stage gaining bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds respectively. This is the first time that this has featured in the Tour for 7 years, and as in other races only counts for 'normal' stages (not mountain-top finishes!).

Check out the official route in 3D below, and over the coming months we will explore the route and where it's visiting in more detail!

Enjoy!