Looking for advices to improve my kilo
 

Hi guys, I have been searching and reading this forum about kilo training advices and the general answer seems to be, it depends. With that in mind I thought I would posts as much information as possible to see if I can get a more concrete answer.

A little about myself. I started road cycling 2 years ago and and started riding on the track since getting my track pass In December. I have recently started racing at the beginner level competitions, I entered some scratch, individual pursuit and 1km ITT races and find the kilo the most interesting.

I have so far done two kilos and my times were terrible. The first one I did it in 1:23.721 and the second one which was yesterday I did it in 1:22.743.

First Race:
250m - 26.172
500m - 44.151
750m - 1:03.233
1000m - 1:23.721

Second Race:
250m - 26.386
500m - 44.329
750m - 1:02.769
1000m - 1:22.743

Comparing to my competitors’ time, I am about 2 seconds slower in the first lap and then another 1 - 1.5 second slower in lap 2,3, and 4 combined. My standing start is terrible, it takes me 9 seconds just to get to turn one! Also once I get going, my top speed isn’t good either, only about 51km/h. I have the races recorded on my iPhone and post it here if it is helpful

As for gearing, the first race I used 50/15 and the second one I used 50/14. I believe the gearing is kind of big for beginners, but I chose them because I don’t have good leg speed (Been working on that for a few months) I can do 140rpm on the roller where the resistance is low, but find it extremely hard to do the same when trying to power down at the same time on the track or on the road

There is 6 weeks until my next race, so I was just wondering if you guys can suggest things for me to work on for the time being to give myself the best chance to be more competitive for the next race.

Some other information that might be useful (or not)

I am 187cm, 90kg, 15% body fat

I train with power on my road bike (no power meter on my track bike tho)
my FTP is about 300w (3.3w/kg)
1min best is 666w (7.4w/kg)
10 second best is 1318w (14.6w/kg)
5 second best is 1419w (15.7w/kg)
Pmax 1671w

I have about 8-10 hours to train a week, I can go to the velodrome once or twice a week (but can’t practise with the start gate sadly) I also have an indoor trainer and access to gym.

Thanks in advance!

This is a pretty normal beginner time. I remember after doing my first kilo (also around 1:23, haha!) I realized I didn't go nearly hard enough. At this point, more than any specific advice, I'd advise you to just really practice "getting it all out" on the track. Roadies have a kind of built-in limiter compared to track sprinters, and you really have to train your brain and body to overcome that and really go for it. This took me a while, and honestly, it's part of every training session even now (10+ years later).

Other than that:
Squats, deadlifts, pull-ups and bench are the minimum you want to hit in the gym
Starts on a track bike, at the track or on a safe section of concrete
Flying 100's, 200's and longer to get your speed.
Rolling laps, 500's, 750's to get you across the line.
All these should be maximal efforts.

from a quick look at your data i agree that you've got to improve your max speed and your first lap time - doing that will save you seconds on your opening lap and a second (or more) per subsequent lap.

since you have power on your road bike, practice standing starts (with full rest between) in a variety of gears. track your power, cadence, and speed, and see what works for you. experiment with larger gears.

most roadies are used to sprinting in a very limited cadence range, but you've got to get used to rolling up from 0 to 130. so practice that.

Which powermeter do you have at your road bike?
I'm 183cm, 90kg, 22% body fat
FTP was never above 250w
10 sec best around 1300w, usually 1200w.
5 sec best around 1400w, usually 1300w.
Max maybe 1500w, never above it.

And I have consistent 500m in the 38"+, with 22"+ first lap, 16"+ second lap, 51/14, ~125rpm max.
So, maybe you aren't applying your power to the pedals...

As a simple advice, divide your kilo in order to train for it - never do kilos training for kilos. Do Standing Starts 60m, 125m, 2 laps, and separated, starting from a high point on the track, train 3 "fast, launched laps", without the inertial standing start effort.

Thanks babypuke, guess I shouldn't be too disappointed with my time then :) Yeah you are right, I probably didn't go nearly hard enough, coming from road background, I mainly been doing sub maximal efforts. My kilo effort was really hard for my standard, my legs were really burning in the last lap and I was gasping for air afterwards but I didn't get blurred visions or anything like that.

Will go and practise going all out with the efforts you suggested, and will add a gym day or 2 as well

Yeah my sprinting on road is generally in the 95 to 120rpm range, I find it very hard to apply the power when resistance is high and cadence is low. Noted with experimenting starts with different gears on the road bike and practising rolling up from 0, thank you!

I use a Quarq power meter on my road bike, both 10 to 5 seconds max are done when I am already rolling at speed from a cadence around 100. You are definitely right with me not applying my power to the pedals, I just can't seem to find the right position and rhythm to push hard on them the first half of the lap, I don't feel explosive at all, feels like I am a big heavy truck rolling slowly into speed without any snaps.

Yeah will break the kilo up and train different parts of it like you and babypuke suggested, thank you!

Some people treat the Kilo as a fitness test of sorts. They do it maybe once or twice a year at a local event or whatnot. You'll never see your best possible time that way.

In general, the Kilo is a race that takes lots of preparation to perform your very best. Even moderate preparation will yield nice gains.

If you break the Kilo down into 4 areas:
- Standing Start
- Acceleration to top speed
- Speed endurance
- Mental toughness

Then train the first 3 individually (the 4th gets trained along the way with the others). The top 3 can be measured and tracked using advanced bike computers that save data for download. No need for a power meter. In your training and testing, you'll find what gears work best.

Once you find a good program that trains those areas sufficiently, then they should all come together for only a handful of test kilos and big event kilos each year. IMHO, the worst way to train for kilos is to do kilos. Why? If you are doing kilos properly, it's brutal and may lead to actual clinical overtraining. If you are not, then you are just doing 1K pursuit efforts.

First kilo I did, I barely made it to the finish line I was so spent. I collapsed on an open patch of grass and was only able to get one foot unclipped. I was like a fish out of water, gasping for air and flopping on the ground trying to remove my helmet and unclip.

I vaguely remember someone coming over, leaning over me, blocking the sun, and taking a look at me as I thought I was dying and said, "Yeah, you did it right."

hahahaha, true. I've seen roadies come to the track and do their first Kilo then stroll into the infield like it was nothing not realizing that they simply didn't ride it hard enough. Not many cyclists train to tap into max efforts. So, what they think is 10 (max) is really about a 7 or 8. Getting to 9 or 10 takes a lot. Much of that is mental.

Based on everyone's comments, I need to break the kilo in different parts and train them separately and go hard at them, a lot harder than what I am used to doing.

Hahaha, sounds like I didnt went anywhere hard enough! I was gasping for air, legs were burning, but I managed to walk fine :D

Hahaha, sounds like I didnt went anywhere hard enough! I was gasping for air, legs were burning, but I managed to walk fine :D

check the final part ;-)
https://fbwat.ch/1rs4Hj1IGtp6SjeI