Pro Cyclist Power Output

↓ Winter Training For Cycling – Base Season
↓ Race Season and Interval Sessions
↓ Recovery
↓ Pro Cycling Training Schedule
↓ Top Professional Cyclists on Strava
↓ Custom Cycling Coaching & Training Programs

With the growing popularity of Strava over recent years, many professional cyclists have taken to uploading their training data to the platform. We can now peek behind the scenes at what it takes to be a professional cyclist, how they train, and just how insane pro cyclist power output can be!

While it may not seem like it, pro cyclists are human, just like you and me. Just like pro cyclists, we can train our bodies to adapt and get faster; we might not have pro cyclist Watts, but we can still apply the general principles of a pro cyclist’s training to our own.

Most professional cyclist’s training these days is overseen by well-renowned coaches and so there’s a lot we can learn from delving into their training data. So, just how does a pro cyclist get ready for the toughest races in the world and how can you use their training ideologies to get fast yourself and increase average Watts for cycling?

Winter Training For Cycling – Base Season

In this article, we’ll take a look at Brandon McNulty’s pro cycling training schedule and how he prepared for the 2022 season. In the 2022 season, McNulty won three races (including a stage of Paris-Nice) and had a breakout ride as a domestique for Tadej Pogačar at Le Tour de France.

McNulty is a top level WorldTour who specializes in time trialing, climbing, and GC riding. Bear in mind this is just one rider's data and everyone's training will look a little different. But there are some common threads between almost every pro that I will discuss later.

Most professional cyclists traditionally begin their winter training for cycling in November after a few weeks of time off the bike, cross training, or low key adventure rides. With racing gearing up in January or February for most professional cyclists, they must begin training early to ensure they are in good condition.

McNulty’s last race of the 2021 season was Il Lombardia in early October. Following that, he promptly took a month off the bike to allow his body and mind to regenerate. The offseason break is a commonality for all pro cyclists– the body simply can’t sustain the rigors of maintaining peak condition all the time.

Starting in November, McNulty wasted no time and jumped right into a 20-hour week. Throughout his November and December base training phases, his workouts typically consisted of a few key types of sessions:

Base Miles: No surprise here, this should be a staple of every cyclist's training no matter what level. We won’t delve into the benefits of zone 2 endurance bike training in this article, but we have plenty of other content that covers this topic!

One thing to note is the execution of McNulty’s base rides. They are STEADY. For some reason, many amateur riders will see “Zone 2 Ride” on their calendar and think that this means they should ride around and sprint up every hill and coast the downhills while spending practically no time at all in Zone 2.

Key Stats From McNulty’s endurance ride on 12/15/21:

79% of the ride was spent in Zone 2 and STEADY
Ride was ridden at around 65% of FTP (271 Watts for McNulty) – This is smack dab in the middle of the usual 60-70% range from endurance rides

Low Cadence Torque Training: While there seems to be some controversy as to the “scientific benefit” of low cadence training, what’s clear is that the best riders in the world use it routinely throughout the year. There are lots of theories as to the benefits of riding at low cadence, but they are extremely effective for training muscular endurance and muscle fiber type conversion. McNulty regularly did low cadence training 1-2 times per week during his base season:

Key Stats From McNulty’s Low Cadence Session on 12/11/21

8x4 Minute Intervals at ~370 Watts (likely around 90% of McNulty’s FTP) and 40 rpm

Ouch!!! 40 rpm and 90% of FTP. This might look easy on paper, but give this workout a try and see what you think. If you’re able to complete this workout at 40 rpm, imagine how easy 90% of FTP will feel when you train at your normal cadence.

Tempo Training: This is definitely an interesting finding! While the polarized training approach has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, tempo training is still an effective means of training when properly prescribed. During base season, McNulty frequently did monster 3x60 minute tempo workouts.

For someone like McNulty, tempo training for cycling is definitely beneficial, as it helps to build the muscular endurance and aerobic engine needed for riding long climbs during grand tours or time trials. Notice however, that McNulty did these sessions no more than once per week and almost all the rest of his training time was spent in Zone 1 or 2. The main problem I often see with tempo training is that athletes do too much tempo. However, in moderation, tempo can be an effective training tool, particularly during base season.

Key Stats From McNulty’s Tempo Training on 12/20/21

3x60 minute intervals at 360 Watts (~80-85% FTP for McNulty)
323 Normalized Power for 4.5 hours!
5,097 Kilojoules .. undoubtedly McNulty had to carb up for this one.

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Race Season and Interval Sessions

In the 2022 season, McNulty raced 76 days total. That amounts to a lot of TSS and intensity just through racing alone and so much of McNulty’s season was also focused on recovery. However, in between races, McNulty would often do a mix of different types of interval sessions to keep the engine tuned up for the next events:

Lactate Clearance: This type of training took many iterations throughout McNulty’s 2022 season but in general, they consisted of intervals with periods of time spent above and below FTP. With this style of training, McNulty was able to improve his lactate clearing capabilities, which would translate to a higher FTP and greater repeatability between efforts.

Key Stats From McNulty’s Lactate Clearance Session on 8/9/22

2x20 minute intervals at an average of ~420 Watts (approximately McNulty’s FTP).

Alternating between 4 minutes just below FTP and 1 minute surge at 110-115% of FTP

VO2max Intervals: Another staple session for McNulty was classic VO2max style intervals ranging from 4-6 minutes in length. There are lots of other types of sessions that can train VO2max aside from the classic style intervals, but the 4-6 minute intervals are also great for training raw Watts at short durations. Motoring away at 500 Watts for four minutes was a great way to prepare McNulty for sharp efforts in races.

Key Stats From McNulty’s 4 Minute Interval Session on 4/5/22

4x4 Minute intervals at 500 Watts
Long rest in between to achieve maximal power for each interval

Race Specific Intervals: Leading up to your event, it’s always good to add in some workouts that will simulate your race demands. This can help prepare you physically, but also mentally for the challenge ahead. McNulty’s training was no different. This interval session helped prepare McNulty for an early season racing block in January. It featured a mix of efforts similar to what he might see in a racing scenario. Four days after this workout, McNulty took his first win of the season at Trofeo Calvia.

Key Stats From McNulty’s Race Prep Session on 1/22/22

3x10 Minute Intervals

10 minutes at 500 Watts
2x10 Minute intervals– first 5 minutes at FTP straight into 40/20 efforts.

Maintenance Sessions: One other important thing to note is that McNulty still regularly incorporated his low cadence and tempo sessions from base season throughout the year. These sessions likely served to maintain the skills built during base season.

Recovery

Now for the hard part: recovery. Seems simple, but very easy to get wrong.

When racing 76 days in 2022 and two Grand Tours, recovery was absolutely paramount. Racing provided huge boosts in fitness, but it also required lots of recovery to actually be absorbed by the body. Managing fatigue also played a big part. McNulty raced from January to September and it was important to prevent burnout.

Recovery Rides: If it’s one thing pros are really good at, believe it or not, it’s riding easy. McNulty’s recovery rides were so easy that most of us would have no issue keeping up. The idea behind the recovery ride is not to increase your Watt output for cycling, but to get the blood flowing and prevent a “staleness” in the legs so that a rider is ready to go for their next training ride.

Key Stats From McNulty’s Recovery Ride on 5/13/22

90 minutes at 188 Watts… well below 50% of FTP for McNulty

Rest Weeks: After a large overload from racing or a training block, it takes time (multiple days) for the body to supercompensate and make adaptations. The recovery ride is intended to provide acute recovery from a hard day’s training, but the cycling rest week allows for longer term adaptations to take place. McNulty seems to have mastered the easy week. After the Criterium du Dauphiné for example, he took 3 days off the bike and followed that up with two easy endurance rides before returning to training.

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Pro Cycling Training Schedule

Of course, McNulty is just one example of a pro cyclist training schedule. Every pro has different goals, strengths, weaknesses, and jobs within the peloton. The training for a pure sprinter would look a lot different from a diesel powerhouse like McNulty. However, I’ve been studying pro cyclists and following their training for over a decade to see what I can learn from them and there are some common threads between almost every pro. These principles aren’t just for professional cyclists though, if you apply these to your own training, there’s no doubt you’re well on your way to cycling success.

Volume: How many hours a week do pro cyclists train? Pro cyclists ride A LOT, on average around 20-30 hours per week. There’s simply no replacement for miles on the bike. If you’re crunched for training time, this may not be what you want to hear, but you cannot replicate the adaptations that you can get from long steady miles by replacing it with more intensity.

Keep this in mind when programming your own training, if there’s any available time in the week to add an extra hour or two, that can really add up. Even if you add 2 hours per week to your weekly training, that’s a 100 hour increase over a year! I’m sure many of us can find that time with some good time management.

Zone 2 Endurance Miles: The other common theme in all pro cyclist’s training schedules is that they spend a lot of time training within zone 2 (approximately 60-70% of FTP). How many hours a day do pro cyclists train? Pros are riding between 3-6 hours most days and a minimum of 90% of their training is in zone 2 average power for cycling.

It sounds simple, but one of the easiest ways you can improve your performance is to increase ride time within zone 2. When I do power file analyses for athletes, probably the most common thing I see is that athletes are not spending enough time at endurance pace and often doing too much intensity.

I won’t go into the numerous benefits of base training for cyclists here because there’s so much to talk about, but you can read our Endurance Training Pack for an in depth look at the benefits of zone 2 training and how you can incorporate it into your training.

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Consistency: How do pro cyclists get so fast? Consistency. Most pros have been training practically every day for decades to get to their level. This is probably the most important aspect to any rider’s training. If you want to get fast, you need to ride your bike almost every day. It might not seem like a big deal to miss a few sessions here and there, but if this happens routinely, it can really add up! Not every training session is going to be a breakthrough moment, but showing up every day always leads to great things.
Recovery: This perhaps takes the most self-discipline, but recovery is just as important as your training. It can be really tricky and even professional cyclists can mess it up. I’ve read countless interviews with pro cyclists lamenting how their seasons were ruined from overtraining.

How many rest days do pro cyclists take? In general, even top pros will take 2-3 days per week of rest days. This can be either a day off, an easy zone 1 ride, or some light cross-training.

Additionally, after a hard training block or race, a recovery week is necessary to allow for long-term adaptations to take place. This might be 4-5 days with a couple days off and some shorter, easy rides mixed in. By the end of the rest week, you should be feeling fresh and hungry to get going again.

Training Polarization: Pretty much every pro cyclist I have seen on Strava trains with a polarized approach. That’s not to say they don’t do tempo workouts or sweet spot from time to time, but in general, their training is very polarized. Most current research supports the profound benefits of polarized training for cycling and you should read our polarized training guide if you’re interested in learning more.
Intensity: With the exception of stage races, pro cyclists usually only do 2-3 days per week of high intensity interval training at a maximum. Research shows that there is no additional benefit to doing more than this. When applied to your own training, be intentional with intensity. Two days of intensity will give you full benefits and allow you to push harder on your interval days while also giving you time to recover and stay mentally fresh.

Top Professional Cyclists on Strava

If you're interested in diving into the pro cyclist power data yourself, you’re in luck. There are lots of top level cyclists who upload their training with full Watt output for cycling. There’s a lot we can learn from their training and it’s quite inspiring to follow along and see the kind of work they put in to perform at the highest level of the sport. Here are a few of my favorite pros to follow:

Brandon McNulty (Time Trialist and GC Rider)
Robert Gesink (Climber)
Sepp Kuss (Climber)
Lilian Calmejane (All-Rounder)
Matteo Jorgenson (All-Rounder)
Michal Kwiatkowski (All-Rounder and Classics Specialist)

Custom Cycling Coaching & Training Programs

Ultimately, everyone, even pro cyclists, are learning how to further optimize their training. Yes, pros are very talented, but they only got to where they were through hard work and a solid training plan. In a sport like cycling, you get out what you put in. I can tell you firsthand, with the right work ethic and a solid training plan to back it up, anyone can do great things.

If you’re considering upgrading your cycling training plan or trying to increase your average Watts for cycling, view our training programs or advantage of our Power File Analysis for $39. One of our expert coaches will go through your data and provide you feedback on your training. If you enjoy our content, please consider sharing with a friend and be sure to check out our blog, YouTube and podcast for more great content.

Pro Cyclist Power Output: Train Like a Tour de France Rider & Get Faster