Multi day Stage racing - Training advice

evo3ben

I am looking to race in the Lanzarote 4 day stage race in January 2015. Just over a year away so good amount of time to prepare. Has anyone raced multi day stage racing or better still raced this one? Any advice and training tips would be most welcome

If anyone is interested in going also, would be great to pair up in accommodation etc to save costs 8)

pilch

Depends how seriously you want to take it.

Buy a training plan/book, or if you are really serious get some coaching - people will give you generic advice which is fine, but if you want to get the most out of it you need a structured plan that is set to get you peaking at the right time and has rest & recovery built in.

njee20

^^ this

evo3ben

I have been racing XC competitively now for 3 years (Thetford, MSG etc etc). 1 year of that was coached but gets expensive if you want to do it properly to get benefit. Got all the books but none of them touch multi day stage racing. I have always trained to a structured training plan which is super hard with full time job and family as we all know.
I was hoping to grab the attention (no offence to anyone) of someone that has raced multi days races and pick there brains for training, recovery tips etc. I can imagine that training to race 6hrs a days for 4 days in a row is a little different than training to race a 2hr XC race once a month.

ollie51

I've not got any personal experience of mutli-day stage races, but you just need to apply the same principles you would when you ascertain what kind of training you're going to do for XC racing. Basically look at the demands of the event i.e. riding at sub-threshold, probably with periods of climbing at or slightly above threshold for up to 6 hours, for 4 days. So given that:

Remember you're training needs to be periodised so that your training gets increasingly like the event you're going to do - if you get a 3 day weekend you need to do a BIG ride everyday, obviously if these are to be highly effective you need to do it a few times (or as many as possible) not too long before the event. You'll need to get used to sitting of an mtb for 6 hours for starters.

Then the specifics of the training, lots of bike riding is good and should be done. However lots of sweetspot and threshold intervals of around 20 minutes are better, they'll be best to maximise the output you can sustain over the course of the 4 days. You'll probably also want to look at your riding style, the guys I know who are good at endurance mtb are very good a descending without pedalling/breaking - basically not the fastest but no/little energy wasted.

Focusing on core strength and flexibility will also be important, so get the swiss ball and foam roller out! Creating a stable platform to pedal from over 6 hours will pay dividends, most people see a power drop not because their aerobic system is inadequate, but their bio-mechanics are no longer efficient or effective.

pilch

Applogies if my advice sounds a little flippant, but training plans/advice and info are readily available, just search for Cape epic, or Joberg2c (i'm doing this one in April) you will get masses of info eg. http://www.cape-epic.com/data/files/downloads/2014_absa_cape_epic_training_plans_20131001111333.pdf

If you have raced & been coached before and have the books then a combination of the above should help, you got some generic advice as discussed, a coach will get the best out of you.