- Coming up on this week's Ask GCN Anything:
are aching legs a good thing, how to prepare
for an individual time trial, why is there a discrepancy
between the power you can produce on the flat versus climbs,
and we've also got some fashion tips from yours truly,
which you can, of course, take with a a pinch of salt.
As ever, get your questions in for next week's show
in the comments section below to put yourself in
with a chance of winning three months' free subscription
to Zwift.
Use the hashtag #ASKGCNTRAINING
or you can use the hashtag #TORQUEBACK
on social media for your general cycling related questions.
So without further ado, let's get on with the first one
this week which comes in from Ian Povey,
"I never use a fan when I'm on the turbo.
"Is this a good idea or am I messing it up?"
Ian, you're kind of messing up.
I hate to tell you.
When you're on an indoor trainer, even in a cool room
with a fan, your cold body temperature tends to rise quicker
than it does out on the open road unless it's particularly
sweltering outside.
So without a fan your cold body temperature's
going to be rising rapidly, and you're not going to be able
to get the most out of yourself
on your training sessions indoors.
So I would always recommend at least one fan
in a room that's as cool as possible
for indoor sessions.
That said, there is a flip side that I heard recently.
Bradley Wiggins was talking about his preparation
for the 2011 Welter, which is due to be particularly hot,
and what he was doing for heat acclimation
before he got there was he started sessions here in the UK
three, four, five hours out on the road.
But as soon as he got back home,
he was jumping on the indoor training for an hour
in a heated room without a fan.
Now by his own admission, he wasn't able to stay more
than about 150 watts, but that really wasn't the point.
He was just getting his body used to riding in heat.
And apparently it worked.
That said, not many of us are getting ready
for a big race in extremely hot conditions.
So to get the most out of your sessions,
try and keep yourself as cool as possible.
Now a couple of years ago, we made a video
on various types of indoor training setup.
Couple of things might have changed since then,
but there's still a few noteworthy tips in there
so I can recommend that you watch that one now.
Coming up here.
So what are you going to actually need
in order to train indoors?
Well, coming up is an overview of what's available to you
on the market at the moment right through from the basic
to the very advanced so you can get the most out of it.
Our next question comes in from Alexey Alexander.
And you, Alexey, are the winner
of three months' subscription to Zwift this week.
So well done to you.
Alexey's question is, "I am about to take part in my first
"10K flat time trial in 8 weeks' time.
"I'm aiming to finish it in around 15 to 17 minutes.
"What key training sessions should I include
"in my training plan?
"And do you have any tips about pacing?
"P.S. I have a power meter, and I can train and race
"very precisely."
Welcome to world of time trial league, Alexey.
I'm sure you're gonna enjoy it.
And 10K's is a great place to start.
Really good that you've got a power meter already,
because that is going to help increase accuracy
of both the training and the planning that you make
for that training.
You've also get the perfect time to prepare.
It takes around six weeks of training to implement
a change in fitness.
So when you factor in the taper towards the event itself,
eight weeks is absolutely perfect.
We're going to the pacing part later on,
but to start with, we've got two sessions
that will help to increase your FTP, which is a key
to time trialing performance.
Very different sessions, but both
very effective nonetheless.
The first one is focused on time at and around your FTP,
because there's basically no getting around the fact
that this sort of session and that sort of effort
is the key to improving your FTP.
So with this one, you want to get in a good warmup
of at least 15 minutes, and you're then going to be doing
five minute intervals around your FTP with one minute
of very easy recovery between each one.
The key with these intervals though
is that at the beginning of your five minutes
you're at around 90% of your FTP.
And then your gradually increase the power
and so that at the end of the five minutes
you're around 105% of your FTP.
Take that one minute of easy recovery between each,
and your session overall will look like the graph
that you see on the screen right now.
In the beginning of your six weeks' training period,
I would recommend trying to do three of those
five minute intervals in a single session,
but you want to aim, try to increase that
to around six intervals by the end of that six weeks.
The advantage of starting below your FTP
and finishing above it is that's gonna get you
used to judging your pacing and how the effort feels,
which is going to help you on the event itself, too.
And the other proven way to increase
your time trialing ability is to use short
but very intense effort, which will raise you VO2 max
and also help your aerobic efficiency for your time trial.
So session number two is focused on that.
And you're going to be doing 30 second efforts,
120% to 140% of FTP very quickly
immediately followed by 15-second rest periods.
It's a really hard session, I know.
And it's gonna be made even harder
in just a few moments' time when I tell you
an extra little bit.
So on the start of each set, which incorporates ten lots
of 30 seconds on and ten lots of 15 seconds recovery,
before you start each set you are going to do three minutes
at your functional threshold power
just to add a little bit more lactate
before you even get going.
It's a very potent session, but also a very effective one.
So you should see some increase in fitness using that one.
Between each of those sets just take five minutes
of very easy recovery between each.
Now due to how specific the numbers you're aiming at
and the durations are on these sessions,
it's one that's perfect to do on an indoor trainer.
And you, Alexey, you can obviously do on Zwift.
'Cause you got your three months' free subscription now.
On top of that, if you got a smart trainer
with ergo mode, you can plug the session into the trainer,
and then it will make sure that you're at the right power
for the right duration, which takes all the guesswork
out of it and means that you don't need to go
and find the perfect piece of road to do your intervals.
All you need to do is just concentrate on the pain
in your legs.
Now in terms of the pacing, well if it's a flat time trial
as you say, even pacing in terms of power output
should be the quickest.
What you want to do though is look
at your historical power data and your power curve.
There you should be able to find your previous personal best
for the 16 minutes or so that you think it's going
to take you on the day.
And that's going to be a really good place
to start in terms of what power you should be able
to average on the day itself.
What I would suggest you do in the last couple of weeks
where you're tapering down slightly is go out
and do a couple of sessions where you start
at that PB for 16 minutes and hold it
for 10, 12 or 14 minutes just to see how it feels.
If it's feeling quite easy, you can aim for a few percent
higher on the day.
If you're starting to struggle towards the end
of that effort, that is probably a very good place
to start, and in the latter half
of the time trial event itself see how much you've got left
and give it some welly if you have got any left.
Now we have got a whole video dedicated
to pacing a time trial.
So I thoroughly recommend that you watch that now.
In fact, it should be coming up on the screen right now.
- [Biker] Pacing is absolutely key.
Now too hard at the start, you go into the red
and pay for it through the rest of the race.
And have an overall slower time.
- Quick fire round now.
Sometimes known as the slow fire round on GCN.
First question from J. Coe, "I'm going to be deploying
"to Kuwait for around 10 months soon.
"Not sure if I can bring or obtain a bike,
"but there will probably be a stationary cycle,
"few machines in the gym.
"Assuming that's all I get for 10 months,
"what do you recommend for an effort to keep me as fit
"as I can manage?
"I may or may not have Internet access."
Well, if you do things right, J. Coe, you might well find
that you come back fitter than you went out.
I know plenty of people that work full-time
that have been confined to an indoor trainer
in evenings et cetera and have got really very fit indeed.
You do kinda the same sessions that you would do
when you're generally doing your road program,
but what you want to make sure is that you cut the volume,
because it's much more intense, of course,
than an indoor trainer.
There's no free wheeling, and so you get more work done
in a shorter period of time, which can be advantageous.
So carry on with your normal style of training
and just cut the volume right down,
and I think you'll at least maintain the fitness
that you've got.
Stian Jakobsen, "How much faster is a TT bike
"compared to an aero bike?"
Well, a lot faster if you take into account
the different position it allows you to get in.
If you're just comparing the two frames,
the difference will be quite minimal.
So for example, if you've got an aero road bike,
and you managed to put some bar extensions on,
use the same wheels, the same tires, the same equipment,
and you're in exactly the same position,
the difference between that an a full blown TT bike
and the difference in the frame will be very minimal indeed.
They will be there, but it won't be particularly much.
James Cycle/Can, "I can hold 270 watts
"for a 45-minute climb.
"It's a seven out of ten effort, but when I'm out
"on the flat or one to two percent decline,
"I find it takes ten out of ten to hold 250 watts.
Is it just a lack of training on the flats?"
Well, you're not at all alone here, James.
There are loads of people that find they can't put out
the same power on the flat as they can on the climbs.
There's quite a good reason for this.
When you're going up a climb, your bike's constantly trying
to decelerate with you on top of it, of course,
more so than when you're on the flat.
And what it means is that you're pushing against the pedals
or you're putting the power through the pedals
at a greater proportion of the overall pedal stroke,
which many people find a lot easier to get that power out.
It's something that I've found as well
when I first got a power meter.
However, when I found that I had the discrepancy
I wanted to try and increase my power on the flats
to match it on the climbs.
And eventually I did manage to do that.
So it's also something that you can train and improve upon
in terms of your power on the flats.
Carl Taylor, "I've recently done a grand Fondo,
"which required a lot more effort than I'm accustomed to.
"Regardless of the fact that I thought
"I had been training hard for the past few months,
"this is the first time I've had a significant amount
"of soreness a day or so after a ride.
"Should I, in the future, look for the soreness,
"as it's been called in the past as a benchmark
"of a good training session or overdoing it?"
Wow, Carl, I can't believe you've been riding a bike
for any period of time, and this is the first time
you've had sore legs the day after.
It's absolutely nothing to be worried about.
You've just pushed yourself hard,
and you've damaged your muscles.
And they're aching the next day.
The good news is that if you take a day or two
of recovery, possibly slightly more than that,
your body should adapt to what you've put it through
and super compensate.
And you'll get stronger and therefore fitter.
So it's no bad thing.
And it's also something you might find that you get
after a hard training session.
Again, no bad thing as long as you factor in enough recovery
to allow your body to repair itself and therefore improve.
Ed Markey, "Dan, please fill in the blank.
"The one thing all amateur cyclists can do
"to train like the pros is?"
Well, it's along a similar subject to the previous question,
Ed, in some ways.
In that blank I would put rest.
Sounds a strange thing, because I know resting
is not, in fact, training.
But the biggest advantage that pro cyclists
that have over amateurs that have jobs and families
and everything else is the amount of rest that they
can get after their training, because that is where
the improvements come from.
Alejandro Mallea, "Now that the rainy days are starting
"in the Seattle area, I have a beginner question
"of the utmost importance.
"Socks over leg warmers or vice versa?"
No, socks very much under leg warmers 100%.
Well, I do bear in mind that I'm a middle aged man
and so I may not be at my very height of fashion sense.
So take from that what you will.
Let us know what you do with your leg warmers
and your socks.
Over or under?
Finally, in the quick fire round, Birds On A Stick,
"My tires are 28 millimeters, and I've got
"an inner tube for a 25 millimeter-tire.
"Is that okay?"
Yes, absolutely fine.
They will be slightly thinner, because they'll be pumped up
to a greater volume inside.
But it should work absolutely fine.
Our penultimate question comes in from Jack Ford,
"As an 18-year old rider with an interest in starting racing
"next season, I was wondering what race tactics are
"and how they work.
"I hear about it all the time when watching racing,
"but I can't seem to clearly see tactics being used
"in the peloton.
"Also, what tactics would be best for different types
"of riders?"
Wow, Jack, this is a huge, huge subject,
because there are some very obvious tactics
and some very subtle ones.
And they are hard to see on your TV screen
when you're just coming in to the sport.
For you personally starting out racing,
you want to firstly think about what type of rider you are.
So if you're a sprinter, the common tactic there
is to try and hang in the bunch as long as possible,
be a sit-on sprinter, save energy,
and unleash your devastating amount of power
at the end of the race.
If you're more of a climber, then you want to utilize that.
No point in going on downhill in trying to attack.
Wait for the climb.
Use your good power-to-weight ratio and try to go clear solo
or with a group of very good climbers
to try and keep the sprinters at bay.
And in terms of the pro racing, as I said there's some
very obvious tactics such as placing a rider
into a breakaway so that you don't have
to take responsibility for the chasing behind.
But there are some much more subtle ones too.
So for example as I record this,
Simon Yates of Mitchelton-Scott
is leading the Vuelta a España.
Now one of their tactics in defending
might be to allow a rider up the road
who's at about eight to ten minutes down
in the overall classification, because that rider
is going to pose a danger and threat to riders
in second, third, fourth, and fifth position
on the GC before they pose a threat to Simon Yates.
And in turn when he does pose that threat,
it might encourage rival teams to come and help on the front
to protect their position on the podium
or in the top five or whatever that might be.
Another tactic, which can look very strange
on television if you ever see it,
is if you've got a rider up the road,
who's looking good for a stage win
in a small group perhaps, there's a team behind chasing
that have been chasing all day.
What you might do is when you get to a climb,
there's roundabout a two minute advantage mark.
You go on the attack.
Now what that does is it makes the team leader
from the team that's been chasing follow you
and all the riders that have been doing the chasing
for him suddenly think, "Oh, my job's done for the day.
"My leader's now taking it into his own hands."
And then they go to the back.
And they go into the group Étape.
And so basically if you then sit up
that rider has no key personnel left
to do the chasing behind.
So the initial impact of you attacking will be
at the gap comes down so slightly, but once he can't chase
anymore that gap should then go back up again.
There's a whole myriad of different tactics,
and we should make separate video on that.
One that you can watch now though is this one
on how and where to attack.
Couple of them tongue in cheek, but a couple of them
are very vital for your first race.
Check it out now.
- [Biker] Attacks can take on many different forms.
But in order to execute the perfect attack,
whatever form it may take, you need strength.
You need timing.
You need patience.
And you also need cunning.
- Final question now, and it comes in from Lawrence Farries,
"I saw a crash at the Alberta Ride
"to Conquer Cancer yesterday.
"Don't know what happened, but it inspired me
"to several related questions."
We're going to answer the first one of those.
"One one bicyclist's front tire rubs
"someone else's back tire, what actually happens?
"And who likely crashes?
"And can you prepare for it?"
Well, it's the person whose front tire knocks into something
that generally hits the deck.
And that's because that's where your steering
is located.
Someone can knock quite heavily into your rear wheel,
and in general, you'll be able to stay upright.
Because there's no steering located there.
It's the same reason, in fact,
why you're using deep dish wheels in crosswind.
It's fine on the back, but less so on the front.
'Cause that's where it affects your steering more.
There are different ways to avoid it.
The main one being that you hover
a little bit further behind the person in front
so that your front wheel isn't overlapping their rear wheel.
And that way if they suddenly decide to veer across the road
for whatever reason, they're not going to wipe the front end
of your bike out, and you're not going to hit the deck.
It's one of the many tips actually,
that we've given out over the years
on group riding etiquette here on GCN.
This is an old video, but it's a good one
thoroughly worth watching.
Plenty of tips for your here so I'd recommend
watching it now.
- [Biker] Now the rule of thumb is
treat others the way you want to be treated.
And that way you'll remain a respected member
of any riding group.
- That's the end of this week's Ask GCN Anything.
Thank you very much for your company.
I look forward to reading your questions
in preparation for next week's show.
So make sure you get them into the comments section.
Now don't forget if you want to get your hands
on any GCN merchandise, we've got loads of it,
including this sweater over on
shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com.
If you've enjoyed this video, I would very much appreciate
you giving me a thumbs up down below
if doesn't sound too rude.
Coming up next though, a video on how to show off
in effect.
It comes from Chris O'B, and it's five car park tricks
which he teaches you how to do.
You can find it just down here.