Hours training per week vs category

Matchstick Man

Right, contentious issue this (kinda)

How many hours do you think you'd need to be a certain level of rider?

Say:
8hrs a week and under = 3rd/4th cat
10-14hrs a week = 2nd cat
14hrs + = 1st cat and above

I mean, these hrs are what the average hrs over a year would be for each category. This would take into account the fact that a 1st/Elite cat rider would be a doing more stage races and longer races in general and with training camps,etc whereas a 3rd cat would be struggling to make up the hours with 2hr road races and the odd club 10 or 25.

Would this also hold true for Etape riders? The more you put in, the higher the standard attained (Gold,Silver,Bronze)

Or is it that some riders would do 14hrs a week all year round and still be sh te?

I personally find that I can be at 2nd cat level on 12-14hrs a week of structured training for a sustained period of time, but without it I soon slip back to 3rd cat cannon fodder fitness on less than 8hrs a week.

Toks

Matchstick Man wrote:

Right, contentious issue this (kinda)

How many hours do you think you'd need to be a certain level of rider?

Say:
8hrs a week and under = 3rd/4th cat
10-14hrs a week = 2nd cat
14hrs + = 1st cat and above

I mean, these hrs are what the average hrs over a year would be for each category. This would take into account the fact that a 1st/Elite cat rider would be a doing more stage races and longer races in general and with training camps,etc whereas a 3rd cat would be struggling to make up the hours with 2hr road races and the odd club 10 or 25.

Would this also hold true for Etape riders? The more you put in, the higher the standard attained (Gold,Silver,Bronze)

Or is it that some riders would do 14hrs a week all year round and still be sh te?

I personally find that I can be at 2nd cat level on 12-14hrs a week of structured training for a sustained period of time, but without it I soon slip back to 3rd cat cannon fodder fitness on less than 8hrs a week.

Thats very hard to quantify. An Elite rider who trains smart and picks short road races + crits could still be competitive on 10 hours per week. A 3rd cat who doesn't train smart may still get dropped on 14hrs per week. The same for Etapists

Mike Willcox

But it's not just a question of hours is it?

You have to be fit before you can train 14 hours a week. If you just go right out and do 14 hours from a base of say 8 hours then you'll be cream crackered after one week. And the number of hours is related to the level of intensity of riding.

It is sensible for an elite road race rider, provided they have the time available, to condition themselves with long rides @ zone 1 and 2 levels. But then they would have to reduce the number of hours riding as soon as they started to up the intensity.

IMO for most riders training sensibly for 10/12 hours a week at the right intensity is sufficient to be very competitive at an elite level.

superlightweight

I got to cat 2 last year in my first season of racing on a diet of 3-4 hours per week. Some weeks were more, some weeks were less (even 0!) I reckon i only did 3 weeks all year which were more than 10 hours.

I would love to be able to do 12-14 hours a week, then i'd be seriously fast

So for every rider like me doing well on little training, there's gotta be another ride doing rubbish on large volumes :?:

Toks

superlightweight wrote:

I got to cat 2 last year in my first season of racing on a diet of 3-4 hours per week. Some weeks were more, some weeks were less (even 0!) I reckon i only did 3 weeks all year which were more than 10 hours.

I would love to be able to do 12-14 hours a week, then i'd be seriously fast

So for every rider like me doing well on little training, there's gotta be another ride doing rubbish on large volumes :?:

Thats pretty impressive but if you've got a 'decent' level of fitness already and you're not poodling around at <70% I could see that working. I'm guessing you race pretty smart too

Toks

Mike Willcox wrote:

But it's not just a question of hours is it?

You have to be fit before you can train 14 hours a week.

mmm not particulary i don't think. 8 hours of LSD's at the weekend and 6 hours in the week and your there. Thats not my bag but I've met some 3rd cat pack fodder types who've followed that routine

blackhands

Toks wrote:

Mike Willcox wrote:

But it's not just a question of hours is it?

You have to be fit before you can train 14 hours a week.

mmm not particulary i don't think. 8 hours of LSD's at the weekend and 6 hours in the week and your there. Thats not my bag but I've met some 3rd cat pack fodder types who've followed that routine

Is 8 hours LSD a week really training?

Mike Willcox

blackhands wrote:

Toks wrote:

Mike Willcox wrote:

But it's not just a question of hours is it?

You have to be fit before you can train 14 hours a week.

mmm not particulary i don't think. 8 hours of LSD's at the weekend and 6 hours in the week and your there. Thats not my bag but I've met some 3rd cat pack fodder types who've followed that routine

Is 8 hours LSD a week really training?

I don't think so, which is probably why Toks describes them thus.

Brawlyrox

Yay that makes me a 2nd Cat, yet I never have ridden a race.

Maybe its what the season has to come?

*Dreams on.....*

chrisw12

Does the number of hours training really matter if you are road racing?

As superlightweight says, you don't really need to train at all. His name gives the game away, just be lightweight, draft off everyone else and sprint at the end. A race of truth it aint.

inseine

So, if that's the case, Chrisw12, that you need to be light and smart with a good sprint to win road races, is the opposite true of time trials?

Mike Willcox

inseine wrote:

So, if that's the case, Chrisw12, that you need to be light and smart with a good sprint to win road races, is the opposite true of time trials?

There used to be a greater degree of polarisation of riders into Road Racing and TT's. I think the term used to describe TT riders was "thick tester". If the truth be told there is a great deal of respect due to both types of the sport. Many top TT riders used to road race as part of their training and were very good at both.

I only ever entered a couple of Road races one of which was a practice (restricted gear)enter on the day event around Eastway when it first opened. I just happened to be there with my father in law who was doing some officiating. I just shoved it in top gear and TT'd away from the field after leaving them all on the first small climb.

I think you need to be able to TT if you want to be a good road man but not necessarily the other way round.

superlightweight

chrisw12 wrote:

Does the number of hours training really matter if you are road racing?

As superlightweight says, you don't really need to train at all. His name gives the game away, just be lightweight, draft off everyone else and sprint at the end. A race of truth it aint.

Unfortunately i'm no lightweight - apart from when it comes to consumption of alcohol!!

And i'm a better timetriallist than i am a road racer

chrisw12

inseine wrote:

So, if that's the case, Chrisw12, that you need to be light and smart with a good sprint to win road races, is the opposite true of time trials?

Without a doudt. (for me )

Toks

Mike Willcox wrote:

.

I only ever entered a couple of Road races one of which was a practice (restricted gear)enter on the day event around Eastway when it first opened. I just happened to be there with my father in law who was doing some officiating. I just shoved it in top gear and TT'd away from the field after leaving them all on the first small climb.

Cool Mike ya kept that little gem up your sleeve. 8) 8) I used to love Eastway, did quite a few races there in 2005/6 but never got near a win though