Training hours for the classics

[Kwibus]

Vanendert:

even before the Basque Country I did training blocks of seven hours. That's why I wasn't good and had to abandon. It's paying off now."

I remember people like Museeuw also had training rides of 7-8 hours and him saying that most riders nowadays don't train enough for the classics. Atleast I think it was Museeuw.

I also read a lot of people saying that some riders train too hard and that it's pretty normal to have training days of 4-5 hours.

To me it makes sense to have very very long training rides if you want to perform in the 240+km races. If you want to have something left in the tank then those long training rides will help, but I've never raced a bike so what do I know.
It certainly helped Vanendert though. Ofcourse you need the talent, but these long training rides will make your body adept to those long days on the bike.

Why are so few riders making these long training days these days? (atleast as far as I know) While it was pretty normal in the old days?

 

[Parrulo]

nice thread, i would also like to know more about this

 

[Michielveedeebee]

I know Boonen and Leukemans do some very long training rides in the prep for the classics +- 250-260 kms... so that would be around 7-8 hours as well

 

[Michele]

When I heard a local pro doing 7hrs training ride it was with Sanremo in mind.

 

[c&cfan]

Vanendert:


I remember people like Museeuw also had training rides of 7-8 hours and him saying that most riders nowadays don't train enough for the classics. Atleast I think it was Museeuw.

I also read a lot of people saying that some riders train too hard and that it's pretty normal to have training days of 4-5 hours.

To me it makes sense to have very very long training rides if you want to perform in the 240+km races. If you want to have something left in the tank then those long training rides will help, but I've never raced a bike so what do I know.
It certainly helped Vanendert though. Ofcourse you need the talent, but these long training rides will make your body adept to those long days on the bike.

Why are so few riders making these long training days these days? (atleast as far as I know) While it was pretty normal in the old days?

wrong question, good topic.

basically you have no ideas if riders train more or less, but you ask why they train less than in the old days?

maybe they race less but at higher pace, maybe they complement it with something different. for example, there's tons of videos of armstrong lifting weights, etc.

 

[Kwibus]

wrong question, good topic.

basically you have no ideas if riders train more or less, but you ask why they train less than in the old days?

maybe they race less but at higher pace, maybe they complement it with something different. for example, there's tons of videos of armstrong lifting weights, etc.

Well I have an idea, but it's all hear say. I don't raw data about riders training hours.
It doesn't matter as well, because I hope to learn more from this topic.

 

[Sophistic]

longer rides are not automatically harder rides and i dont think there's much physical gain from this but i guess it helps mentally a lot, if you are used to step off the bike after 4-5h you might feel more uncomfortable after 6-7h, kind a like it feels easier when you have ridden a course before, it just makes you more relaxed.

 

[Kwibus]

longer rides are not automatically harder rides and i dont think there's much physical gain from this but i guess it helps mentally a lot, if you are used to step off the bike after 4-5h you might feel more uncomfortable after 6-7h, kind a like it feels easier when you have ridden a course before, it just makes you more relaxed.

I'm pretty sure it will help your endurance.

 

[nobilis]

At the beginning of the season, you hear from the training camps, that most of them, whether they're doing the classics or not, were doing 6-hour rides. But I'm sure, those preparing specifically for the calssics, they're doing even longer rides.
On the other hand, I believe to that training regimens are different nowadays than 30 years ago, there is more focus on qualitative training as opposed to quantitative.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Well most oridnary people have to work 8 hours a day, or longer.

So shouldn't pro athletes do the same?

Riders today are simply softer, period.

I mean just take all those complaining about transfers in GTs.
The riders of the old days would have liked to ride a 20km stage and a 100km transfer in a comfortable bus.
They had to ride 300km on their bikes regularly.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Well most oridnary people have to work 8 hours a day, or longer.

So shouldn't pro athletes do the same?

Because the time they spend on their bikes isn't the only work they do.

 

[Kwibus]

Well most oridnary people have to work 8 hours a day, or longer.

So shouldn't pro athletes do the same?

Riders today are simply softer, period.

I mean just take all those complaining about transfers in GTs.
The riders of the old days would have liked to ride a 20km stage and a 100km transfer in a comfortable bus.
They had to ride 300km on their bikes regularly.

Not just the riders are softer these days. The entire western society has become softer.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Not just the riders are softer these days. The entire western society has become softer.

That's true indeed. And it will be our downfall.

 

[nobilis]

Well most oridnary people have to work 8 hours a day, or longer.

So shouldn't pro athletes do the same?

Riders today are simply softer, period.

I mean just take all those complaining about transfers in GTs.
The riders of the old days would have liked to ride a 20km stage and a 100km transfer in a comfortable bus.
They had to ride 300km on their bikes regularly.

believe me they do their 8 hours. First, they do more than 1 training session a day. They also do some training off the bike. Sometimes, they have to drive a long way to get to the training route, so they do commute to work too.

And if you compare them to other sports, I heard that footballers train 2 hours a day. So, i think that cyclists are doing their job compared to other sports.

 

[Kwibus]

That's true indeed. And it will be our downfall.

Not just that. There are more factors that will be our downfall.
History will repeat itself like it always will, but this is a cycling forum.

 

[jens_attacks]

according to bernaudeau,voeckler was doing at a recent training camp in essarts, 8 HOUR training on the bike,pretty often! it will be no surprise for me if he will win le tour this year or the next one.

 

[Spider1964]

At the beginning of the season, you hear from the training camps, that most of them, whether they're doing the classics or not, were doing 6-hour rides. But I'm sure, those preparing specifically for the calssics, they're doing even longer rides.
On the other hand, I believe to that training regimens are different nowadays than 30 years ago, there is more focus on qualitative training as opposed to quantitative.

True. But. An example from a pro that trains in our group in the off season.. Our long ride for the week is over a climb that tests us all.. Then we swap off on the way home in our version of a 'hard' ride.. Then coffee.. Then to our day jobs. Takes 3 hours. The 'off season' pro then does it all again.. With the addition of the testing (for us) climb.. Twice!

6+ hours is normal and a minimum.

 

[theyoungest]

Well most oridnary people have to work 8 hours a day, or longer.

So shouldn't pro athletes do the same?

Riders today are simply softer, period.

I mean just take all those complaining about transfers in GTs.
The riders of the old days would have liked to ride a 20km stage and a 100km transfer in a comfortable bus.
They had to ride 300km on their bikes regularly.

You seem to underestimate the importance of rest and recovery. If you train 8 hours a day, every day, you're not going to be good in the big races.

 

[B_Ugli]

I remember reading about Museuuw doing very long rides but with the last hour or so sitting behind his dad on a motorbike. This would make sense in order to simulate a race situation.

Fondriest commented (about the time he won MSR) that the winter mileage of a lot of riders at that time had gone up significantly and that they were coming out of the winter a lot leaner and competitive.

 

[El Pistolero]

I remember reading about Museuuw doing very long rides but with the last hour or so sitting behind his dad on a motorbike. This would make sense in order to simulate a race situation.

Fondriest commented (about the time he won MSR) that the winter mileage of a lot of riders at that time had gone up significantly and that they were coming out of the winter a lot leaner and competitive.

Boonen said the same about his early career and his later career(riders trained more during the winter here).

 

[barmaher]

according to bernaudeau,voeckler was doing at a recent training camp in essarts, 8 HOUR training on the bike,pretty often! it will be no surprise for me if he will win le tour this year or the next one.

He seems very well "prepared" this season. I wonder what his programme is like this season. Will we have a chance before Daupine to see how much his time trial has improved?

 

[Kiara is a rational girl]

From an interview with Simon Gerrans:

"With regards to training, what do you see as the biggest mistakes in developing and amateur riders?

Gerro: I think a lot of them over-train. Many young riders do way to much volume. I think its an important phase in your career, to do a big block of volume to get those foundations at the beginning. But I think you’ll get so much more out of your training by doing specifics. I did a lot of volume early when I was racing for Australia in the U23 and I do less volume training now. This is because a lot of our volume comes from racing. I use big races as my volume but what I’m trying to achieve out in my training is to get stronger and improve specific areas rather than just ride my bike. Its very rare that I’ll train more than 5.5 hrs. From what I understand you get the same endurance benefits out of a 4 hr ride as you do out of a 7hr ride.

It’s interesting that you quote your training volume in hours. A lot of people around here state their training in kms. Why is that?

Gerro: Because its easy to punch out heaps of kms down Beach Road and back. My training at the moment is two long days a week (4-5hrs) and probably three 3hr rides with intervals and two easy days. So not a huge volume of training."

An excerpt of an interview with a rider who went through the AIS track program in 1993 (with Matt White, Robbie McEwen, Stuey O’Grady, Brett Aitken and Shane Kelly):

"A: Well, that’s the thing, Charlie apparently, I don’t know this for a fact, but
I’ve heard this talking to different people, apparently Charlie purchased for
a pretty deep sum of money, training logs and programmes from the East
Germans.

Q: Oh, really?

A: Yeah, or from a source over there, brought it back, thought he’d apply
it to his programme, but there was one important factor that he didn’t include and that was all the drugs. It’s all very well to have us do forty thousand kilometres a year like the Germans, but the difference is they were on, like, everything. They were on all the juice and we were on bread and water, and they were wondering why people were just falling apart. So, honestly, I never saw anything out of the ordinary going on there at all. There was nothing that, like I said, it was just downright brutal..."

 

[ultimobici]

Overheard on a ride with Rapha Condor Sharp, "Anyone can ride 100 miles, riding 100 miles fast is what counts"

 

[euanli]

6-7 hours isn't done at race pace

 

[lukinox]

I think the theory is stating that is not the quantity of training that counts but the quality. Actually the more hours you train the more tired you get and is not good to be tired on race day. Top trainers tell you to never ride more than 4/5 hours a day and most rides should be even shorter but with various intensities, for example doing a few sprint intervals, repeat climbs etc...