Odhrán Doogan took some stand-out results last year, including a stage victory at Kerry Group Rás Mumhan and 2nd on stage 4 of Rás Tailteann during a very strong ride in that five-stage race. The Donegal teenager (19) will head to France to race for CC Villeneuve this year, after riding for Caldwell Cycles last season. His winter training of late has involved long hours in the saddle - with some efforts - and other work off the bike, including to work on his explosiveness.
Because he finished the 2022 season in mid-September, Doogan is already two months deep into his winter training programme, which saw him build up very slowly the first month, followed by an increase in intensity. Here, he tells us how his training has been going - and what January and February will look like for him.
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What did you do at the end of the season?
I started the off-season around mid-September. I was off for roughly a month but I wasn't 100 per cent off the bike. I was doing a bit on the cyclocross bike just for fun more than anything; keeping my legs spinning. I've done a few 'cross races for a bit of fun.
When did you start training again and how do you start off?
I started back training in mid-October but for the first week or two it was quite easy, just spinning the legs for an hour or two for a couple of weeks. After that it was back to training properly again, three to four hour rides with some Zone 3 work.
When and how do you step it up?
As I get closer to the start of the race season, I tend to step it up gradually, but just to have general race fitness for the start of the season. I wouldn't really be stepping up a lot, just getting some general race fitness. My goals aren't until the mid to end of the season, so being in great shape at the start isn't my goal. Coming into mid season then is really when I pick it up. It's just working off that base that I already have and working towards the bigger races where my goals lie. I’ll be doing more specific efforts for the races I want to peak for, as well as doing the endurance rides in between.
How did you approach Christmas? Did you increase the distance and/or intensity?
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Approaching Christmas I went to Calpe with the Cycling Ireland U23 squad, 10 of us in total. That was definitely an increase in distance but not so much intensity. It was just more to get the base miles in and build off that. Come January and coming into the race season it's mainly endurance rides of 4, 5 or 6 hours. But, for Christmas, I took a step back to recover from the camp and enjoyed myself.
How much training do you do indoors versus outdoors in winter?
I hate riding the turbo, or indoors in general. I try to get out on the road as often as possible but the weather we've had the last few weeks hasn't been great so quite a lot of the training since Spain has had to be indoors, but if possible I try to get outdoors.
Can you talk about how you balance miles and quality efforts?
A typical training ride for me would be around 4 hours, as well as efforts towards the end of the ride. I quite enjoy this approach a lot more than doing 4 hours at the same watts all day. I feel it really breaks up the ride having those efforts. Also on top of that I try to get to the gym about twice a week to do a bit of a strength session. I find it really helps on the bike for the more explosive efforts and sprints.
What's your main goal during winter?
Get the fitness back after the off-season, building up slowly and after that it's building a good base of endurance miles to work off that at the start of the season. Coming into the start of the season I'd still have a few endurance rides a week, but midweek it's usually the shorter, harder sessions with repeatability work and I'll start to work on my sprint a lot more to get ready for the races.
Do you do many tests to track your progress?
I would test every couple of weeks, just to see where I'm at or if the last week or two might have been a bit too easy. Then we'd do a critical power test to see if we need to change the zones a bit. I haven't done an FTP test (20mins) in a while, but I would usually do a 3-minute, 6-minute and 12-minute test.
