Cycling Recovery

We’re training day in and day out, putting in the miles, hitting the gym and lifting and trying to do all of the little things that will make us stronger and faster cyclists. Doing the work is necessary, but so is cycling recovery.

While it’s easy to think of the workouts are what makes us stronger, it’s technically the recovery that makes us come back as stronger athletes.

The hard sessions and big miles break the body down, and then when we rest or recover, our body compensates for that work, and we come back with more strength and power.

What is Cycling Recovery?

If you’ve read our Complete Recovery Guide, you’re probably familiar with the cycling recovery tips, tricks, and recovery tools that we use. But what actually is cycling recovery?

Cycling Recovery is the process that we undergo after we go through a hard block of training. No matter whether you are building base fitness, working through a build phase that includes FTP and Threshold workouts, or fine-tuning for some races with VO2Max or FRC workouts, after that training block (of about 3 weeks), you need to recover.

What to do during a recovery week is covered in more detail in more detail in the linked article. It will show you what to do, when to do, and how to distinguish small nuances like the difference between a rest week and a taper week.

What is the Importance of Recovery in Cycling?

Recovery in cycling is just as important as the actual training; if not more important! There is a saying that most athletes aren’t overtrained, they are under-recovered.

But why is cycling recovery so important? When we work out or do intervals, or simply ride the bike, we are putting stress on our bodies. We see this metric in the Training Stress Score, or TSS, of our ride. That ride is not what makes us stronger though. That stress breaks the body down, and then when we recover, the stimulus is telling the body, “Hey, you need to recover and come back stronger in case we need to handle this workload again.”

This is how periodization came about. Train -> Recover -> Come back stronger so you can train harder than the initial session.

Cycling recovery can be seen on micro and macro scales. On the micro-level, you recover between interval sets so that you are fresh enough to complete the next bout of work. On a macro scale, the recovery week is used to freshen up and recover from the last block of training (usually about 3 weeks of training, and then one recovery week).

Zoomed out even further, this is what a midseason break or off-season break is used for.

Not only do we need physical recovery from the workouts, but we also need to give our brain and mental state a break from intervals or high-intensity workouts.

Let’s take a look in more detail at how long it takes for cycling recovery to take place.

How Long Does It Take for Legs to Recover After Cycling?

We actually need more than just the legs to recover! We want the entire body to recover, from muscle to hormonal balance. On one extreme of overtraining, it is much more than just the muscular system that gets overworked but includes others like your Immune System and Nervous System.

While you aren’t doing extreme damage to them on a session-to-session basis, extreme overuse can cause problems.

Your cycling recovery time is very individual and can be affected by age, training status, how hard you’re training, or even the time of year. In general, you should be able to recover after 1-3 days.

Unfortunately, there is no cycling recovery time calculator, so we can’t give you an exact answer on how long it may take to recover. The best way is to simply listen to your body. You should feel energetic and motivated to get out on the bike.

How Long Should I Rest After Cycling?

You can most likely get away with 2-3 solid rides back-to-back, after that, it might be time for a rest day. Usually athletes respond well to one intense session, one medium session, and an endurance session during the week. This obviously depends on the weekend’s upcoming events and rides, but a good framework to start from.

A rest day is a complete day off the bike, or extremely easy spinning, where you literally would get passed by someone cruising around town. A rest day is a time for cycling recovery; not a day to go fast.

Top Ways You Can Recover Like A Professional Cyclist

What are the do and don’t of cycling recovery? Well, pro cyclists racing 70+ days a year might know a thing or two about post-cycling recovery! Let’s take a look at the ways you can recover like a pro.

Cycling Recovery Food & Nutrition Tips

You’ll hear a lot of pro riders talking about chicken, rice, pasta, bread, and fruits and vegetables as their cycling recovery food.

Protein is the macronutrient that will help you with your cycling recovery, but you also need carbohydrates to ensure that your glycogen stores are refilled and ready to ride another big stage.

Some riders will consume post cycling recovery drinks immediately after the stage, to ensure they get enough protein and carbs as soon as possible, in an easy-to-consume liquid form. A cycling recovery drink should have 20-30g of protein and 30-50g of carbohydrates.

When you’re in a stage race, you never want to have a hunger feeling, while at the same time, avoiding overeating, which causes digestive issues.

You can more about cycling nutrition in this blog. If you clean up your cycling diet, not only will you become a leaner athlete, your body will thank you by putting out more watts!

Cycling Recovery Sleep Tips

Sleep is the number one recovery tool for cycling. There is nothing else that works better than a solid night’s sleep, ideally around 8-9 hours in duration.

Cycling Recovery Supplements

While cycling recovery supplements can be covered mostly by consuming whole foods in order to get your protein and carbohydrate intake nailed, there are some other supplements that we’ve recommended in this blog.

Other Cycling Recovery Tips

Cycling recovery stretches are a great way to promote recovery by increasing blood flow and helping your body flush metabolic waste.

There really aren’t any super specific ones that you need to focus on, but rather try to tailor these stretches to what feels tight in your body. You can assess this by doing a general yoga flow and see what doesn’t seem easy to you.

The main target points for me and some of the other guys on the team are: Achilles tendon, calf, IT band, hamstrings, glute, piriformis, and low back...so yeah, everything related to smashing the pedals.

I didn't include the psoas in this but highly recommend the PSO Rite as this thing really digs in and can access the psoas like nothing else that I've seen.

Evaluate the body post-ride when you get out of the shower and assess tight spots. This might change depending on your most recent gym routine, or maybe you did high torque cycling intervals today...your glutes or hip flexors might be tighter.

There are some cycling recovery creams out on the market, we recommend you check out Lactigo. This can help you perform on the bike and recovery.

Assess, and then care for the body!

Taking these small steps will let you come back stronger each day. This is a big part of the "cycling is a lifestyle" idea.

Micro changes that have macro results!

Lastly, don’t forget about the cycling recovery ride; this easy ride will really help you get rid of the waste products left over in your body from the hard sessions. Your cycling recovery heart rate should be around 50-60% of max heart rate or 50-60% of FTP if you train with power, in other words VERY easy. While you can do these, sometimes a full day off the bike is even better, so don’t feel guilty if you simply rest on the recovery day! Cycling recovery rides or rest are both effective.

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Things to Avoid During Cycling Muscle Recovery

Eating too much is something that one should avoid, as well as eating fatty or greasy foods. While this might seem like common sense to the seasoned athlete when someone is new to training and starts to feel that “rest day hunger monster”, they may be tempted to make poor food choices because they’ve been “so good” and riding.

Remember that healthy food does not mean poor tasting, and your body will thank you.

Stay away from alcohol on your rest day. There are so many issues with alcohol and endurance sports:

It inhibits the release of human growth hormone
Diminishes protein synthesis and slows muscle growth
Negatively affects your sleep quality and sleep pattern
Reduces glycogen stores in the liver
Consumes energy needed for recovery
Reduces the absorption of other nutrients
Increases dehydration

Does The Pro Peloton Do Recovery Rides?

Can cycling be active recovery? The pros seem to thing so! Almost every single professional rider does cycling recovery rides. During a three-week grand tour, like Le Tour de France or the Giro D’Italia, there are typically 2-3 rest days during the race. You’d think after racing for 5 hours every single day that the riders would just take the day totally off and not touch their bikes. However, it is common practice for pro riders during a grand tour to do 60-90 minute recovery rides (<50% of FTP) on their rest days.

Why? There seems to be a phenomenon whereby, if you are training or racing hard almost every day and then take the day totally off, your body can “shut down". This is something to keep in mind. If during a hard block of training you feel bad after a day totally off, it might be a good idea to program recovery spins into your training. Particularly if you have an interval workout you really want to crush the next day, an easy spin can help preserve the “feel” in your legs.

What The Pro’s Had To Say

We figured we’d check in with some of the real pros to hear their thoughts about cycling fatigue recovery. Here’s what they had to say!

Grant Koontz, Pro Gravel Racer, National Track Racer and Former Pro Continental Road Racer

1) Eat early and often after every stage.

Eat simply. Mostly chicken and rice after an initial recovery drink or recovery shake

2) Sleep: nap if possible (often on a bus during a transfer). It may not the best, but anything helps you recover.

3) Relax as much as possible...get in a horizontal position, watch tv, meditate, stretch and foam roll legs, get a massage.

Try to not think about cycling unless specifically studying routes, logistics, and strategy (usually reserved for evening team meetings)

4) Go to bed as early as possible so you can time your nutrient intake the following morning without skimping on sleep

What Grant is referring to in #4 is discussed in the nutrition blog. You want to be done consuming solid foods 2-3 hours before you start riding, especially if you’re eating a big meal. This is slightly athlete-dependent, but best to start with more time than less, and see how your body does.

You don’t want a full stomach of food when your body is trying to pump blood into your legs and other musculature so you can pedal the bike!

Cyrus Monk, UCI Continental Pro for EVO Pro Cycling

The main thing to prioritize when it comes to recovery is minimizing stress on the body as much as possible so everything can be put into recovery for the next race or training session. Three things I focus on most are:

1. Doing as little as humanly possible. A lot of people try to undertake every possible recovery intervention when in reality doing nothing is most often the best medicine. Avoid unnecessary walking around or time on your feet and get horizontal where possible. The latest research is suggesting things like massage and recovery boots are beneficial mostly because they require you to lie still for an hour.

2. Eating well. A lot of people go overboard on replenishing glycogen stores after a big kJ day such that they put stress on their digestive system with the huge carbohydrate load. Focus on eating real food where possible and stopping when you’re full. This will stop you from getting that bloated heavy feeling and prevent unnecessary inflammation (and the resulting water retention).

3. Sleep. It’s an obvious one but this is where all the intracellular recovery occurs and muscle satellite cell activation ramps up to repair damaged muscles. Higher stress on the body through training/racing means more sleep is required. Aim to add an extra 10-20% onto whatever sleep period usually works for you during a hard stage race or training period. Your body will thank you.

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Karl Patrick Lauk, UCI Continental Pro Cyclist from Estonia

Immediately after a race, he consumes simple sugar in the form of Coca Cola!

Recovery after the stage begins immediately with a good shower, as soon as he’s able.

A quick bite of something is then followed by a massage. To increase the recovery, he may also add some stretching and foam rolling exercises if the muscles are still a bit stiff.

When he enjoys dinner, he finds a beer or two can help him, and then it’s off to bed.

“Sleep, wherever and whenever you can. In the bus, before the stage, after the stage; on a bus, or on a plane. Anywhere! The best recovery is good sleep.”

Pablo Cruz, UCI Continental Pro from 4Mind Pro Cycling

At stage races it is not always the stronger rider that wins, it is the one with more consistent performance day after day. In order to optimize cycling recovery, you really want to focus on nutrition, sleep, and massage therapy.

During consecutive races or a stage race it is important to replenish your fuel for the next day's race. Even though you are fueling properly during the race, there will likely be some degree of muscle glycogen and electrolyte depletion. That being said the goal is to ingest enough carbohydrates (CHO) to replenish muscle glycogen stores, adequate protein for muscle damage repair, and add just enough fat to complete energy requirements.

Timing nutrition intake in a stage race is essential for optimal tolerance, performance, and recovery, but this can sometimes be a challenge, which can be avoided with proper meal preparation or smart ordering at a restaurant. So let’s go over a full day of eating at a stage race since the meals leading into the race and during take part of the recovery process.

Let’s start with the meal before the race: we recommend consuming this meal 3 hours before the start of the race. This can sometimes be hard especially if it’s an ultra-endurance event that starts at 5 or 6am. In this case, you can eat a smaller and easily digestible meal 1-1.5hr before and start fueling soon into the race. If the race starts at a standard US race schedule, around 8-11am, you should eat 3 hours before your event, and do your best to stick to easily digested foods as well. Some examples can be:

Carbohydrates: White pasta, quick oats, toast.
Protein: Eggs, yogurt, protein powder.
Fat: Nut butter, seeds.

If you have to rely on a hotel breakfast, check ahead of time and plan out some menu ideas. Ideally, you should always carry oats and/or granola with you, and avoid fat and fiber-rich foods.

During the race, it is very important that energy levels remain stable, and this can be accomplished by ingesting CHO-rich foods frequently during the race. The amount and type of foods an athlete can ingest can vary in each individual; it’s recommended that athletes ingest between 90 and up to 120g of CHO per hour in the form of easily digestible foods. For example: energy gels, chews, bars and drinks.

This amount has to be scattered throughout each hour to avoid gastrointestinal distress. If you are not used to eating this much during a race, now is the time to start training to do so. Keep in mind that you have to train your gut just how you train your legs to perform. Slowly build up your CHO intake during your training rides until you reach a level within the range mentioned above.

You might be thinking, what does during race nutrition have to do with my cycling recovery? Well, if you are moderate to severely depleted after a race, you won’t be able to fully replenish muscle glycogen stores in just half a day; muscle glycogen is resynthesized at a slow rate after being depleted. By sparing muscle glycogen during the race by adequate fueling, you won’t just have a better performance, you will also be able to make the recovery process quicker and easier for your body.

After the race, unless you are a professional cyclist and you have a team soigneur that takes care of almost everything for you, you should plan ahead to have your CHO-protein recovery drink available within 30 to 60 minutes of finishing your race. This is known as the “rapid phase” where muscle glycogen is low and can be resynthesized at a faster rate. Keep in mind that real food also works; this should be high glycemic index food, like dried fruit, peanut butter and jam sandwich, juice, or even gummy bears. 1-2 hours after the race you can get back to more balanced nutrition focusing on a higher CHO intake, and here are some options you can combine.

Carbohydrate: Pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, oats, quinoa.
Protein: Turkey, chicken breast, fish, tofu, eggs.
Fats: Avocado, seeds, nuts, nut butter.

Yes, you also want to hydrate, especially in hot conditions where you sweat a lot and lose a lot of minerals. Sip your electrolyte drink of choice through the afternoon, pairing it with a salty snack like pretzels and nuts can help you replenish them quicker.

Dinner should look similar to the post-race meal: a well-balanced nutrient-rich meal where you can include some colorful veggies and leafy greens. Many cyclists tend to overeat at dinnertime with the excuse that they have a race the next day to fuel up for. You should avoid overeating for two reasons; one, you want to be able to have a good night of sleep, and two, you still want to wake up a little hungry to be able to eat before the race. If you overeat you will have trouble falling asleep and most likely won’t be hungry to eat breakfast.

Rolly Weaver, UCI Continental Pro Cyclist

Tip 1: The mind tires before the legs.

This might sound funny, but don't make yourself tired. Many people count themselves out before the race even begins.

Before every big race I did, I would always try to pick the race apart, stage by stage. In a 10 day race, every rider has 3+ days that will be best for him.

I enjoy breakaways and courses with smaller climbs. So, let's say stage 3 is 175K with some 4-5 minute climbs in the middle...that’s perfect.

I'm going for a break that day. Say there are 150 riders in the race. There will already be a GC leader, and they will mark the major contenders in the race (-15 riders) and the climbers will wait for the queen stage (-20 riders), the sprinters will wait for the sprint, or a pure sprint stage (-20 riders),

So, the group of riders I'm up against is already reduced. Of the remaining riders, 8 of us get in the break.

I'll take those odds.

If I go all in and don't make the break, all good. I go back to the peloton and rest until the finish.

Tip 2: While the first tip was psychological, the second tip is nutritional.

After every stage, your blood sugar levels are at the floor, so I would take some type of sugar to bring them up; sometimes it was a recovery drink, others a Coke.

After you have sugar in your body, the clock is ticking, and it's time to eat carbs. Your glycogen stores are shot and you need carbs. "The golden hour" is the understanding that the carbs ingested in the first hour after a difficult race best go to restoring your glycogen stores.

Tip 3: Massage.

On the better teams I raced for, we would have a team masseuse, so, after in the race, we would receive massages. However, if you don't have a team masseuse, there are other ways, too.

There are COMPEX units, which electronically stimulate your muscles and give a massage-like sensation, simply raising your legs on the wall to produce blood flow, and stretching. Any time there is blood flow in the body, it aids your body to help recover.

Bonus tip: RIDE MORE.

This might sound counterproductive...I just raced 180K, why would I want to ride 20K more???

Slow riding helps push blood to your muscles and does wonders for recovery.

Or if there is an intensive 90-minute race early in the morning, an hour spin in the afternoon does the same. Your legs will feel much fresher for the next day's stage.

Top 10 Ways You Can Recover Like a Professional Cyclist

So, to summarize our top tips from professional cyclists:

Eat plenty of carbs and take on adequate Calories throughout the day
Fuel on the bike (90-120 grams of carbs per hour)
Consume carbs right after riding to replenish glycogen
Prioritize sleep
Do recovery rides or active recovery of some form
Put your feet up and limit extra activity
Take 2-3 rest days per week
Limit high intensity sessions to 2-3 days per week
Get a massage
Avoid alcohol

Focus on these basics every day and we can guarantee you will be recovering like a pro in no time!!

Conclusion

Overall, if you eat and drink clean throughout the day, you are already well on your way to becoming a pro at cycling recovery, without even touching one of the other recovery drinks or recovery products.

An overall healthy lifestyle will set you up to sleep well, which will truly bring on huge recovery gains. Then, if you add on top some of the other tips and tricks, you’ll be back to training at full capacity in no time!

Looking for help with a custom cycling training plan, we can help. Contact anyone on the EVOQ team to get started or sign up for a power file analysis for $39. One of our expert coaches will go through your data and provide recommendations for your future training. If you enjoy the content and want more, check out our YouTube and other blog posts.

Top 10 Cycling Muscle Recovery Tips from Professional Racers