Training drills to improve ability to match accelerations

JesseD

Anyone have any good drills I can incorporate into my training that will help me work on my ability to cope with changes of pace in races?

Specifically covering breaks, sprinting out of corners etc?

Thanks

imposter2.0

High intensity intervals focusing on 20sec and/or 1min power - or if you are racing often enough, just race yourself fit..

napoleond

Have a look at the files where you struggled. Look at was was happening the 20 minutes before you got dropped. Then do that twice with a 10 minute recovery between.

I just made that up but it'd be good.

You can't beat racing though.

DeVlaeminck

WHat about Bill Black's Hour of Power - google that one

AK_jnr

Pick a colour of car and match it to a type of interval.
As an example:

When you see a red car - 15 second sprint

Blue - 5 min TT pace

Yellow - 30 second sprint

Black - 3 min vo2 pace

It will then match the unpredictability of races where you can have to sprint for 30 seconds and then TT for 5 mins to get in a break.

Do 10 - 15 mins either end of a ride.

webboo

15 secs on 15 secs off X 3x 5 X 7 X 9 X 11 and so on. One minute easy between each set.

JesseD

Thanks for the suggestions guys, will give all of them a go over the coming weeks at some point.

Was given a session by one of the members of my club who used to race in France to a decent level, he suggested a pyramid session of:

15-20 mins warm up followed by

1 min effort
1 min rest
2 min effort
2 min rest
3 min effort
3 min rest
2 min effort
2 min rest
1 min effort.

The efforts are done as hard as you can go, like your sprinting to jump the bunch then hold the pace for the rest of the effort.

Did the 1 min and felt fine, blowing a little but not too much. The 2 min effort was hard but still managed it fine although was feeling the burning in the legs and lungs a bit, the 3 min effort was very hard, I started to fail around 2.30 mins and held on till 2.51 mins where I had to knock off the effort, the next 2 min effort was just hell as I hadn't recovered from the 3 min effort and the final 1 min effort started fine but my power failed me after about 25 secs and I was pushing hard but going nowhere.

I definitely have to work on my ability to recover after hard efforts, I felt like I was about to cough up a lung after the set and had to soft pedal for 5 mins just to get my breathing back and to feel slightly normal again. I then did the club ride which is about 45 miles with heavy legs

The interval session based on car colour seems good fun, will give it a whirl this week on my Tuesday ride.

2 races this week so training will be minimal, crit Thursday night and another longer one on Sunday which is going to be hard as I am racing against my division and the division above me, I expect to get a spanking!

All of this serves as training for the summer circuit series which starts in July which is divisional, I am hoping for a good showing in the 6 races that make up the series.

imposter2.0

Do you race in the UK? Not sure what you mean by 'divisional'. The only divisional races I am aware of are the 'divs' or regional champs.

JesseD

No, I live in the Channel Islands so instead of the UK cat system we have a division system which runs Div 1 which is the top division down to Div 4 which is the beginners division.

I race Div 2 (moved up this year) and find I am ok in divisional races and can hold my own and contest the win on flatter/undulating courses or in circuit races (best finish was 3rd in Div 2 race) and have placed as high as 9th in a handicapped race where we didn't get caught by the Div 1 riders until lap 6 of 9, so I was able to ride at a slightly lower pace for the majority of the race and get in the mix for the sprint (bottled it on last corner as it was wet and didn't fancy getting wiped out sprinting for 4th as there was a break off the front).

The last race I did was a Div 1/2 race over a longer distance and at a higher intensity than I have raced before and I want to move to Div 1 next year hence the need for drills to help my speed and recovery.

imposter2.0

ok, sorry, that's clearer to me now..

Alex_Simmons/RST

Can you clarify the actual need?

Immediately covering breaks and sprinting out of corners are much shorter duration efforts than 1-min. These are short duration high power events and are more neuromuscular power related, as well as influenced by skill, e.g. cornering and positioning, and anticipation/awareness. In fact with corners it might be that good technique substantially reduces the need for hard effort.

Dealing with changes in pace, i.e. rapid acceleration from one pace to another is not the same as dealing with sustaining a different pace. Accelerations are generally short lived high power events in cycling and racing. What helps that are short duration (3-20 second) maximal power efforts, as well as finding ways to remain relatively fresh or to reduce the level of fatigue before needing to apply the high power. That's where racing skills and experience come into play. The sort of 1 to 2 minute efforts described in posts above are more about helping to sustain a higher pace.

JesseD

Thanks all,

Ok to try and clarify, I am quite fit and have a good endurance base off the back of a pretty consistent winter and whilst racing in my own division (Div 2) I am comfortable covering breaks and the pace of general racing I rode a race 2 weeks ago which was a a Div 1 and 2 road race covering 9 laps of a undulating course where I got severe cramp in both hamstrings sprinting out of a sharp left corner immediately into a small uphill section, and that was that my first DNF.

The pace of the race was faster than I am used to racing at in Div 2 but by no means unmanageable, think we averaged 25mph, but what I did find difficult especially towards the end of my race was the changes in pace and the accelerations from the Div 1 riders, we would go from 23-24mph to 35mph very quickly and hold it for a minute or two then back down, typical racing I suppose, very punchy (at one point we were doing 42mph on the flat!!!). My fitness was enough to cover the changes in pace for the first 6-7 laps out of the 9 that the race covered, but on lap 7 towards the end of the lap I started to get twinges in my hamstrings, then at the start of lap 8 they both just cramped up.

My cornering and bike handling are good as I was brought up on a diet of crits growing up when I raced in my teens and early 20’s, and that has never gone away, neither has my ability to read a race so my positioning is usually pretty good. What is the issue as far as I can see (and I may be wrong) is my ability to cope with pace changes in a 2 hour race when riding with the Div 1 guys, plus I would love to be able to mix it more with them when racing against them and not just hide in the wheels and wait for the sprint.

My strengths are that I am an out and out sprinter, I raced track growing up and find I have a good acceleration and my top end speed is pretty good as well, I think track gave me leg speed and power which has never gone away, the bloke who got second by a bike length from the winner in the race I DNF’d in is a Div 1 rider from my club, when we have sprinted in the past for signs etc on club runs I beat him by 10-20 meters over a 200m sprint, so I gues if I had made it to the finish I would have won by some margin, but that’s the issue I didn’t get to the finish!

Hope that give some clarification, albeit a little long winded probably

Alex99

JesseD wrote:

Thanks all,

Ok to try and clarify, I am quite fit and have a good endurance base off the back of a pretty consistent winter and whilst racing in my own division (Div 2) I am comfortable covering breaks and the pace of general racing I rode a race 2 weeks ago which was a a Div 1 and 2 road race covering 9 laps of a undulating course where I got severe cramp in both hamstrings sprinting out of a sharp left corner immediately into a small uphill section, and that was that my first DNF.

The pace of the race was faster than I am used to racing at in Div 2 but by no means unmanageable, think we averaged 25mph, but what I did find difficult especially towards the end of my race was the changes in pace and the accelerations from the Div 1 riders, we would go from 23-24mph to 35mph very quickly and hold it for a minute or two then back down, typical racing I suppose, very punchy (at one point we were doing 42mph on the flat!!!). My fitness was enough to cover the changes in pace for the first 6-7 laps out of the 9 that the race covered, but on lap 7 towards the end of the lap I started to get twinges in my hamstrings, then at the start of lap 8 they both just cramped up.

My cornering and bike handling are good as I was brought up on a diet of crits growing up when I raced in my teens and early 20’s, and that has never gone away, neither has my ability to read a race so my positioning is usually pretty good. What is the issue as far as I can see (and I may be wrong) is my ability to cope with pace changes in a 2 hour race when riding with the Div 1 guys, plus I would love to be able to mix it more with them when racing against them and not just hide in the wheels and wait for the sprint.

My strengths are that I am an out and out sprinter, I raced track growing up and find I have a good acceleration and my top end speed is pretty good as well, I think track gave me leg speed and power which has never gone away, the bloke who got second by a bike length from the winner in the race I DNF’d in is a Div 1 rider from my club, when we have sprinted in the past for signs etc on club runs I beat him by 10-20 meters over a 200m sprint, so I gues if I had made it to the finish I would have won by some margin, but that’s the issue I didn’t get to the finish!

Hope that give some clarification, albeit a little long winded probably

Sounds like more of an endurance issue than a power issue. You say it was cramps in your hamstrings that caused you to pull out. Were you feeling at your limit, excluding that fact that the hamstrings had cramped?

JesseD

Alex99 wrote:

Sounds like more of an endurance issue than a power issue. You say it was cramps in your hamstrings that caused you to pull out. Were you feeling at your limit, excluding that fact that the hamstrings had cramped?

That's the funny thing I didn't feel anywhere near my limit or in trouble throughout the race, don't get me wrong I was feeling the effort but also felt I had more left to give (if that makes sense?). Then at the latter half of lap 7 I started to get some small twinges in my hamstrings, shook them out and carried on feeling fine, then at the very start of Lap 8 I cramped to the point I had to stop (couldn't even unclip and fell over into a hedge, Q marshals laughing at me as it was comical).

It came on really quickly and after 2 mins of recovery went again and I felt fine.

I think my endurance is fine as I regularly ride 3-4 hours on the week and a decent pace, but what I think it may be is down to 2 things, firstly I think I didn't drink enough before and (definitely) during the race (under half a bottle in 90 mins), and secondly that I am not used to the changes in pace at that level.

I am fine riding my own divisional races and am comfortable in being at the pointy end of the race come the finish, its just when we race against the big boys I suffer.

FWIW I am also no spring chicken anymore and although fit am close to 43 years of age in a month.

Alex99

JesseD wrote:

Alex99 wrote:

Sounds like more of an endurance issue than a power issue. You say it was cramps in your hamstrings that caused you to pull out. Were you feeling at your limit, excluding that fact that the hamstrings had cramped?

That's the funny thing I didn't feel anywhere near my limit or in trouble throughout the race, don't get me wrong I was feeling the effort but also felt I had more left to give (if that makes sense?). Then at the latter half of lap 7 I started to get some small twinges in my hamstrings, shook them out and carried on feeling fine, then at the very start of Lap 8 I cramped to the point I had to stop (couldn't even unclip and fell over into a hedge, Q marshals laughing at me as it was comical).

It came on really quickly and after 2 mins of recovery went again and I felt fine.

I think my endurance is fine as I regularly ride 3-4 hours on the week and a decent pace, but what I think it may be is down to 2 things, firstly I think I didn't drink enough before and (definitely) during the race (under half a bottle in 90 mins), and secondly that I am not used to the changes in pace at that level.

I am fine riding my own divisional races and am comfortable in being at the pointy end of the race come the finish, its just when we race against the big boys I suffer.

FWIW I am also no spring chicken anymore and although fit am close to 43 years of age in a month.

Hmm, changed anything on your bike lately?

Are you riding in the drops more than your previous races?

JesseD

Nope everything is the same, had a bike fit 9 months ago and have not changed a thing (apart from width of bars). Saddle height and fore/aft is still the same and everything feels as it should and comfortable.

Was moving between hoods and drops but no more than usual?

I originally thought it was due to not drinking enough before and during the race, but all other advice seemed to point towards no being able used to pace changes and the accumulative effects after 90 mins of racing, however until the latter part of lap 7 and the beginning of lap 8 when I went pop, I felt fine and never in trouble, my HR on my Garmin file backed this up too as I very rarely went into the red throughout the race?

Alex99

JesseD wrote:

Nope everything is the same, had a bike fit 9 months ago and have not changed a thing (apart from width of bars). Saddle height and fore/aft is still the same and everything feels as it should and comfortable.

Was moving between hoods and drops but no more than usual?

I originally thought it was due to not drinking enough before and during the race, but all other advice seemed to point towards no being able used to pace changes and the accumulative effects after 90 mins of racing, however until the latter part of lap 7 and the beginning of lap 8 when I went pop, I felt fine and never in trouble, my HR on my Garmin file backed this up too as I very rarely went into the red throughout the race?

Fair enough. I think I'd want to exclude it being a one off bad day if you weren't generally in trouble.

JesseD

Cheers Alex

Well I'm racing on Thursday in a crit, its handicapped so we will be caught by the Div 1 guys at some point so be interesting to see if I can cover the breaks etc.

Also racing a Div 1/2 crit on Sunday which is 60 mins plus 2 laps which will be more of a test as its longer and I will be racing the Div 1 guys from the gun.

Soon find out if it's a one off!

webboo

Usually one gets cramp when you are asking your muscles to do more than they are used to. I.e harder for longer. So you might need to push your self a it harder in training.

JesseD

Webboo wrote:

Usually one gets cramp when you are asking your muscles to do more than they are used to. I.e harder for longer. So you might need to push your self a it harder in training.

Thanks Webboo, I guessed as much hence asking for more specific drills to help with accelerations and recovery. In training I am able to push myself quite hard in training, however training at one pace is fine but then leaves you unable to match the accelerations of other over a prolonged period of time (as in this race).

By asking for specific drills, the idea was to do sessions that would help get me used to the greater accelerations and changes in pace throughout a race, my base fitness/endurance is good I just need to be able to jump when the big boys do at the end of a race and not fail as I did a couple of weeks ago.

webboo

The 15 secs on 15 off is a workout from the original Pete Read turbo training to win book and recommended to,get used to constant accelerations in a road race.
Do it with a mate taking turns to lead out.

JesseD

Webboo wrote:

The 15 secs on 15 off is a workout from the original Pete Read turbo training to win book and recommended to,get used to constant accelerations in a road race.
Do it with a mate taking turns to lead out.

How many reps would you do, or for how long?

Thanks

webboo

Webboo wrote:

15 secs on 15 secs off X 3x 5 X 7 X 9 X 11 and so on. One minute easy between each set.

I usually do up to 13 on the turbo I might only get to 11 outside depends whether it's early in the season or late.

JesseD

Webboo wrote:

Webboo wrote:

15 secs on 15 secs off X 3x 5 X 7 X 9 X 11 and so on. One minute easy between each set.

I usually do up to 13 on the turbo I might only get to 11 outside depends whether it's early in the season or late.

Cheers!!! 8)

Alex_Simmons/RST

Being unable to sustain the harder efforts in latter stages of the race is a sign that your muscular metabolic fitness is inadequate to meet the power demands. You've already said managing the accelerations and high power demand of those attacks isn't an issue, except until you run out of juice and can non longer repeat the effort.

The primary determinant/limiter of this repeatability characteristic is your aerobic fitness (threshold power), and working on that element of fitness will best address your issues. You can do intervals until the cows come home, but ultimately threshold power is improved through the integral of all the training that you do, and is not a function of any one specific session. There are of course days that you can devote the threshold level work, such as sweet spot rides, hard tempo rides, long threshold tolerance efforts (e.g. 2-3 x 15-20 minutes at long time trial effort level). But without supplementing these with an appropriate overall training load (and appropriate change in load), these will only get you so far.

When your threshold power is higher, each foray at high power doesn't drain your high power battery quite as much and you replenish energy stores more rapidly when the pace drops below your threshold. The higher your threshold, the higher the pace you can sustain while still recharging your battery, and the more such high power forays you can do and/or do them more frequently. Repeatability is improved.

If threshold isn't sufficient, eventually you run out of that high energy battery store as each foray at high power drain the battery some more and you are unable to replenish it sufficiently. You can work to increase the energy capacity of the high power demand battery, but it's a very limited store of energy (it's possible to drain it completely with a single effort of just over a minute or so of riding) - it's far better to increase aerobic fitness and use less battery, save it for when it really matters.

As you say, no point having a great sprint if you are not there to contest the win.

Likewise, one doesn't need to be the best sprinter, just the best sprinter out of whomever is remaining at the end of the race.

JesseD

Thanks for the response Alex, so basically I need to improve my aerobic fitness/threshold power to last longer in races.

My winter was pretty good, I managed to stay away from colds and flu etc and was probably riding around 150-200 miles a week average including evening rides with the club with at least one longish ride on a weekend, coming into spring I upped the intensity and started going on the weekly chaingang rides on Tuesday and Thursdays which have some fast bits and hills, then I also ride 2 times on my own each week, I am probably averaging around 180 – 220 miles a week at the moment.

I am unsure as to how to improve my overall aerobic fitness, is this different to my endurance?

JesseD

Raced last night in a HC crit race, spent most of the first 11 laps hammering it off the front and chasing everything down that tried to get away, got caught by the Div 1 guys on lap 11 and then managed to stay with them for the rest of the race, finished in 9th but moved up 3 places in the sprint (bad positioning on last corner meant I was too far back to contest the win).

What I can take from this is my speed is good as is my fitness over shorter races like crits, I still don't have the top end speed of the really fast guys in Div1 but I am not far off, longer races are where I suffer.

Alex_Simmons/RST

JesseD wrote:

Thanks for the response Alex, so basically I need to improve my aerobic fitness/threshold power to last longer in races.

My winter was pretty good, I managed to stay away from colds and flu etc and was probably riding around 150-200 miles a week average including evening rides with the club with at least one longish ride on a weekend, coming into spring I upped the intensity and started going on the weekly chaingang rides on Tuesday and Thursdays which have some fast bits and hills, then I also ride 2 times on my own each week, I am probably averaging around 180 – 220 miles a week at the moment.

I am unsure as to how to improve my overall aerobic fitness, is this different to my endurance?

They are related but there are various elements to aerobic fitness. Improve threshold power and endurance naturally improves. That's a natural consequence of the power-duration curve being pretty flat at durations from about 30-40 minutes out to several hours.

What specifically you should do is beyond the scope of providing general advice on a forum as it is, IMO, not wise to provide specific advice without a more detailed assessment of the individual. But there are several hints in my previous post.

JesseD

Well won my first road race of the season on Sunday, was racing against Div 1/2/3 guys over 7 laps of an undulating 5.2 mile course. Started a break on lap 2 and 4 of us stayed away till the end, the break was made up of Div 1 and 2 riders, with me and the Div 1 rider jumping the other 2 on the final lap and getting a gap. I was on my limit but managed to beat him in the sprint.

Thank you to all who have given advice on here as I have tried a lot of the sessions and have turned myself inside out doing intervals, its hard to keep going to the end of the sessions when it is 6am on a Saturday morning and your are on your own in the middle of nowhere and your legs are burning from the efforts you put in, the gains maybe negligible at the moment but what it has given me has obviously worked.

What have I learnt, well I am definitely going to employ a coach from the end of the season so I can have a proper bash at next year in the top division over here.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Nice work!

AK_jnr

Great to see. Well done. What sessions have you been doing out of interest?