ghammer

Hello There Humans,

been doing this for the past few years - meaning showing up for rides with very few training hrs a week. I want to resume racing. Very much so. But as of yet i do not have the leash to go 8-10hrs a week. I have been able to get away with sticking on rides through skill, age, and accumulated kms over decades.

I ride indoors most of the time as I live in New England/Boston area. So the discipline factor is not an issue.

Question: what is the least amount of hours I can get away with and still hang at races? Granted, the events are local training races, but that doesn't mean they're taken at a leisurely pace; on the contrary, average speeds hover around 42-45km/hr.

I do weights too. If anyone out there has a solid system, pls let me know.

Happy 2016,

G

"Fred"

It will depend on genetics and how you use those hours. Many people can be competitive with those kind of hours. I race and don't ride much more than that. I do 60-90 rides and do almost all intervals mostly short ones 30-90 seconds. I try to get 1 longer training ride in a week 2-4 hours. If you can spare more time it will always help but just use what you have to the fullest.

Number400

I did the same. Could barely get 3 hours a week due to life and would show up and could hang in there for the races but that was about it. When I started training more, I could hang and then contest the sprints. You will be on your back foot unfortunately as some of the other folks will be in that 8-10 hour range. Do lots of intervals and make the time you do get count. No long TT style rides, punch it out of every corner and attack all short hills. Make yourself ride like this on the trainer too.

TheKillerPenguin

Since you've got very limited time to work with, you'll want to focus on interval training. 30sec repeats, sprints, and vo2 max. 30 sec work helps a lot with dealing with accelerations, vo2 helps a lot with extended chasing, initial race surge, and the last few laps, a good sprint combined with the right wheel wins a race. If you're doing crits your events will be sub 1hr most of the time, so that should be enough to hang.

Those are just recommendations btw, if you've got a routine that works better for you or someone else has something better for you to do, by all means do it instead.

popeye

Goog "Training for the time crunched cyclist".

DinoShepherd

5-6 hours? No problem.

For and only if, they are good hours.

jsigone

ride with faster people where you don't dictate the speed unless on the front. do fast mid week group rides, intervals when solo, and have fun

datlas 

Agree. Many think the author is a doosh, but the ideas and programs in this book are good.

caloso

Just a suggestion: a couple days of 2x20's, a VO2max day, and a group ride (attack and recover, work your way back to the front, attack again, repeat until dropped). You may also want to post this question in the 33 or the Masters Racing forums. You'll get a higher rate of responses from folks who actually race.

StanSeven

My races now are triathlon only but I've had lots of cycling race experience. The advice so far is good. However you are spending time with weights that could be used to race train. When you have limited time, nothing replaces actual time of the bike for getting better.

chaadster

I agree with just about everything said above, especially the part about riding with a fast group, because it gels with my experience as a +40y.o. training for crits on 3-6hrs week. I would add, though, that training with a power meter has been a great tool for me in maximizing the efficacy of training time, especially the stationary and solo work, but less so for the group rides. In fact, I never take the Powertap wheel set out anymore for group rides, because I know I'm going to work as hard as I can.

colnago62

Do you have a velodrome near you?

znomit

That guy wheelsucking you for the last 4 hrs and refusing to do any work? He read it.