5 Cycling Training Blocks To Race Season

One thing that I’ve noticed athletes fail to do is plan their cycling season before it even starts!

Most of the time when January hits, the mindset is more: “well, I guess I should really focus on the training now, instead of just riding around.”

While it’s really important to have some downtime away from cycling interval training and LOTS of structure, some structure will not only keep you building aerobically in the right manner, but it will keep you accountable and on the bike.

This is so important as many of us go through the winter months with holiday parties and other distractions that can be detrimental to the next season’s goals. While the season seems far away at that point, it’s really only a few training blocks away! So having a cycling training plan in place will help you crush your goals!

While templates are very inferior to learning on your own or having a coach, this framework, coupled with some of your own learning and intuition, should really help you get your cycling workouts lined up so that you’re ready to come out crushing the next spring.

Let’s go through these blocks and dig a bit deeper.

With cycling being an aerobic sport, and most of the efforts (even really short ones!) having a higher aerobic component, this is going to be the biggest focus.

We’ll break each block down into 3 sections: gym work, midweek rides, and weekend rides.

Block 1: October Training

Strength Training

2x a week - light weights or bodyweight, focusing on form.

See the home workout post for some guidance. 

Your goal here is to get your body used to lifting type movements, stability, and increasing range of motion.

If you haven’t lifted before, or even recently, you will be sore from this, and that is okay. Sore is fine, pain is never fine. If something is painful, don’t do it, and speak to a lifting coach in your area to understand what you are doing incorrectly, or what could be the cause.

Additional Resource: Why Lift? Strength Training For Cycling

Midweek Rides

These rides should be mainly aerobic. You could ride a lot of endurance, but some athletes want a bit of structured intervals, so Tempo and progression to Tempo Bursts would be fine. Just don’t overdo it.

Also, make sure you balance the riding and lifting. Don’t do too much in October. You’re putting in the work, but it shouldn’t be crazy stressful on your mind or body.

Tempo riding is 75-90% FTP, and you can start with short intervals or 3 x 10m, with 5-10m rest, and increase all the way out to 2 x 20m, with similar rest.

Tempo Bursts are the same idea, but with short 5-10s bursts every couple minutes. You don’t have to be overly robotic with these; you can even do them when you hit a hill.

Weekend Rides

2 base mile group ride. What are base miles?  Ride endurance, 50-75% FTP...do not ride at tempo yet. Why ride endurance?

You really do NOT need to do intervals on the weekend yet. Look to get big volume in on the weekend.

If you’re stuck indoors, I’d keep it relatively chill, with maybe a little bit of tempo riding.

Block 2: Cycling Training in November 

Strength Training

2x a week. Heavy Lifts if you’ve been in gym, or another adaptation block like mentioned above. 

For heavy lifts, I like to cycle a Deadlift Day, Squat Day, and Overhead Press day.

Midweek Rides

Longer tempo and progressing to Low Threshold Work. Don’t start hammering yet!

Work your tempo rides out to longer efforts, like 1 x 45m.

Low Threshold training is around 90-95% FTP. Start with 3 x 10m, with 5m rest between, and work out towards 2 x 20m, with 5-10m rest between.

Consider some other options as well:

• Cadence work with Overspeed and Underspeed (example below)

• Pure High Torque (without the Overspeed), especially if you are a Mountain Biker, Gravel Racer, or big diesel engine

• 25 minute FTP Test to make sure you know where your FTP is at.

• Lactate Clearance work. There are a variety of these, but basically riding above Threshold for a period of time to create lactate, and then riding just under threshold at around 80-90% FTP to clear it.

Weekend Rides

2 Long Base Miles Ride (3-6 hours based on ability). Video: WTH are base miles?

Block 3: December Cycling Training

Strength Training

Same idea as the previous block.

2x a week: Heavy Lifts: Squat, Deadlift, OHP Focus. Secondary and tertiary lifts recommended

Midweek Rides

Low threshold progression to VO2Max (not pure VO2, but stair steps and criss-cross/ Over Unders / Lactate Clearance)

Weekend Rides

One-hour test, rip it!

Long Base Miles, VOLUME CONTINUED!!! I can’t stress this enough.

Block 4 - Cycling Training in January 

Things start to get a bit more individualized, so use your judgment as you move through these next sets of recommendations.

Strength Training

Can either shift to Plyometric work (more fast twitch, sprinters) or continue Strength (diesels, one day races, all-rounders)

Plyo work might include box jumps, medicine ball slams, jump squats, etc. Anything that is fast and explosive.

Midweek Rides

If racing starts in Block 5 for you, hit some VO2Max efforts.  Check out this video where I looked at a few different types of VO2Max rides.

This all presumes that you do not have a major, A Priority race in February. Most people don’t. If you do, you might want to start all of these blocks earlier!

Initial spring races should be used as training, where you can go and absorb that stimulus, get your racer instincts firing again, but you won’t be in full blown race mode. If you are in February, you probably won’t be in June, which is when bigger races may start.

Use your judgement!

If racing starts in Block 6, I’d work on Lactate Clearance work to boost your FTP and something else like low VO2Max intervals, or longer ones in the 6-8 minute range.

Weekend Rides

Throw in some Townline sprints every other weekend (This means 10 sprints, not an all out smash fest for 2 hours). Get those anaerobic fibers woken up and ready to crush when racing starts.

More animated riding on climbs.

Overall focus still on aerobic fitness building. It’s a LONG season ahead.

Overall: max 2 hard days

Block 5- February, Racing!

Strength Training

1-2x per week depending on where your big priority races fall. The closer a big race is, the less you want to be lifting. It is extremely fatiguing, and you also don’t want to risk an injury in the gym from heavy lifts.

Midweek Rides

Race specific intervals. Either doubling down on strengths or addressing race specific weaknesses.

Lactate Clearance Work

Focus on VO2Max

Weekend Rides

Racing, or every other week hard group ride if racing is the following week

If you are not racing yet, you can follow the midweek rides above, but I would just ride Endurance on the weekends.
Ideally, still only two hard sessions a week. It’s a long season ahead! (I know, I keep saying that!)

Bonus: Where To Go From Here

Strength Training

Get in the gym 1x a week to maintain your strength gains. You can also lift every other week to avoid lifting too close to races. This is very athlete dependent and you will have to find out what works for you.

Midweek Rides

Just be careful that you aren’t doing TOO much too soon. If you don’t race until May, this calendar above will be too aggressive based on the months listed; shift them as you need in order to create your calendar. That being said, you might have some training races in March, and you could still follow this type of schedule so that you come out and get some solid performances to boost your confidence a bit, but don’t overdo it. Be sure to include cycling recovery periods.

When we are feeling good, we decide to add more and more. This is when you can lead yourself down the road to a plateau.

Weekend Rides

Only start going hard on the weekends when racing gets close. The race feels and fitness, and harder anaerobic efforts, don’t take much to turn on. A few sprint workouts or FRC workouts and you’ll feel pretty sharp.

The bigger load of aerobic work that you set as a foundation will allow you to handle more intense sessions down the road. Use this to your advantage!

Early Season Mental Edge

Another aspect to consider is the mental edge. Some athletes can come out early, get a win or two under their belt, and this confidence is carried throughout the year. The initial great performances help to boost future ones.

On the other hand, if an athlete has some mid-pack finishes in March, simply because their races that are of higher priority don’t start until May (and maybe the biggest races in June), those early season finishes shake their confidence in the capabilities as well as in their plan. They then start riding harder in hopes of “catching up” or getting into race fitness. This is a huge mistake, but it’s hard to manage these initial poor feelings even though you know that you’re not trying to be absolutely ripping this early in the season.

If you shift your training blocks out a bit, to really start hitting races with gusto in May, ignore any poor placings early on; stay the course of your plan! This is important!

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