Sprint training - when to do it?

mr.b-campag

I'm starting to think about my goals for next year. Ultimately I'd like to try and win a road race (at third cat level) and, as part of that, I'm wondering how to improve my sprint. My question is two-fold really: when in the year should I be doing sprint training - should it be all year round or can I just kick off, say, after Christmas with the aim of performing well in races in May - June?

The second dimension relates to when I should be doing this in a ride. Back in the day the advice seemed to be to train to sprint when fresh i.e. as a standalone session or at the beginning of an endurance ride, otherwise you are training your body to sprint slowly. Looking at some of BC's training plans now I see they have sprints mixed in towards the end of longer rides (which themselves incorporate some hard-ish efforts prior to the sprints). Is it now the received wisdom that you should more closely simulate the demands of the target event i.e. sprinting whilst fatigued to some degree?

Thanks for reading!

Alex_Simmons/RST

Developing road race sprinting ability is multifactoral. From a physical development POV, then a little neuromuscular work through the entire year is good, but dedicated / concentrated work, especially sprint endurance work, needs more thought and that would be based on your individual needs and phenotype.

As to when during an endurance workout you should do sprint efforts I think is probably worrying about the wrong thing, at least until you have addressed more important things like actually doing the right sort of efforts for you, in the right quantity and how to actually execute since there are tactical and skill matters which require high quality skill based group training and racing.

Endurance track racing is excellent for practising how to finish off races. Do regular track racing and you might get to practice a hundred or more race finishes in a year. That sort of opportunity to try different things and learn what does/does not work, learn how to read races, plan positioning, running at wheels etc is invaluable.

cycleclinic

It depends on what you mean by sprint. A 30second sprint uses different energy systems than a 8 sec sprint.

Also where your weakness. For me it is the sub 10 second power so I do short spinney sprints from 90 rpm to 170 rpm and lower cadence short sprints too. I will do this less in the cold wet weather though.
I tend to sprints on hour long rides longer rides I want to save my legs.

winning a race is more to with being in the right place then having the power. Being in the right place first is the key not doing what I did earlier this year break of with a 1km to go and try to hold a monumental effort to line. I got caught and finished 12th.

mr.b-campag

Thanks both,

Maybe I should have given some more background, I'm just getting back into cycling after a few years lay off but have done a reasonable amount of racing at a low-ish level. I had a reasonable sprint and managed one or two podiums but never won an event largely, I think, because I was never quite in the right position as you infer (and I've done almost exactly the same thing at the end of a race as you've described! :-).

Now I'm in the masters category and was wondering whether there were any specific things I might need to do as I've probably lost whatever muscles I had for sprinting after my lay off. The point about track racing is an interesting one, as I work pretty close to one but I think my point about needing to rebuild still stands.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Peak power comes back pretty quickly with a little training, and is the least affected element of physiological capability by a layoff. Just toss in some sprint and start acceleration efforts into your weekly training diet but make sure you do them somewhere safe and your equipment is in good order. For tactical/execution training, you'll need a small group for that.

ozzzyosborn206

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19729802#p19729802]Alex_Simmons/RST[/url] wrote:

Peak power comes back pretty quickly with a little training, and is the least affected element of physiological capability by a layoff. Just toss in some sprint and start acceleration efforts into your weekly training diet but make sure you do them somewhere safe and your equipment is in good order. For tactical/execution training, you'll need a small group for that.

tactical/execution training is hard because it depends so much on who you are racing at the time. One day you could start you sprint real late and still win, another time you could hit out with a k to go and win but depending how the others ride depends if your tactic will work, you need to be capable of doing various different things so adapt to differing scenarios. It also depends how much you want the win, would you be happy to try winning at the risk of coming 20th or would you rather make sure you top 5, depending on this also depends how you play yours cards

mamil314

Sorry for hijack, but somewhat related - are direct mount trainers like Kickr and Neo suitable for sprint training? I'd think there's quite a bit of forceful movement to the sides when standing and opening fully, can this damage trainer/bike frame ?

Alex_Simmons/RST

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19730343#p19730343]mamil314[/url] wrote:

Sorry for hijack, but somewhat related - are direct mount trainers like Kickr and Neo suitable for sprint training? I'd think there's quite a bit of forceful movement to the sides when standing and opening fully, can this damage trainer/bike frame ?

In general such trainers are not suitable for neuromuscular power development. They simply cannot provide sufficient resistance or simulate the inertial load during an acceleration phase. It requires an erg with very big/heavy flywheel and double reduction gearing to manage that, and even then it's tricky.

They are however sufficiently useful for development of anaerobic work capacity though (a useful physiological attribute for top end speed endurance) which for example can involve extremely hard efforts in the 30-60 second range.

cycleclinic

What Alex is saying is get out on the road.

mamil314

Thanks for replies.
I tend to clean and lube parts after a wet ride and it's becoming quite time consuming ( i guess, i should learn to do it quicker). Since there is fewer and fewer hours of daylight, i thought i'd get a trainer. It's not likely that i will do standing sprints on them, i was just curious to their use scenarios and don't really want to damage equipment.