Having explained last year how he lost 3kg quickly, Team Ineos principal Dave Brailsford has also offered more general advice to leisure cyclists.
He has set out his advice on how to tackle a major sportive such as Mallorca 312.
And he's outlined what top bike riders have in common when working towards a goal and generally improving over time.
Brailsford pointed out the biggest challenge involved in riding a major sportive or Grand Fondo event like the Mallorca 312 – that’s 312km with about 5,000 metres of climbing - is the sheer amount of time it takes on the day.
“Riding for 10 hours plus takes some doing and you should
build up to this progressively over the coming months using the tried and
tested overload principle,” he said.
“This will involve you building up your training load and
steadily increasing the duration and intensity step by step and allowing
yourself time to recover and adapt to the increasing demands this is putting on
your body.”
Advertisement
Because the event was hilly, any ride planning to tackle
such a sportive would be well advised to work on their power to weight ratio –
losing some weight while also looking to increase power.
However, cyclists riding long events should also examine their hydration and nutrition very closely with a view to being well fueled to maximise their endurance for a long day in the saddle.
“In my experience of riding sportives,” he said, “a lot of riders could improve their performances substantially by really nailing their fueling during longer rides, Grand Fondos, sportives.
Related News
“This is an easy win and just requires some knowledge
which is readily available and then putting it into practice; a bit of trial
and error and a bit of pre-planning both in training and during the ride itself.”
Brailsford said that in his experience of working with top
riders, many of them prepared in the same way or certainly with the same
outlook; doing so over and over.
“They take time to create a plan as to how they will
attempt to achieve their dreams,” he said.
“They set goals and targets which they can aim for and
control and then focus on achieving them one step at a time and monitor and
measure progress.
“Maybe the biggest success factor of all is that they are
consistent over time and keep it simple.
“They know that results will come with time and by
steadily building a big volume of work. And they don’t rush to achieve quick
goals; do too much and then explode.
“They all falter from time to time as we all do (we are a
human) but they manage to get back on the path quickly and get going again and
don’t beat themselves up.
“They focus on staying on the path to success ahead by
taking one step at a time, over time, time and time again. And they try to
enjoy it.”
Brailsford also outlined how he had lost 3kgs in three
weeks following a ketogenic diet for the month of October with a view to losing
weight.
You can find that piece by following this link. However, for many cyclists quick weight loss over a short period is not something they opt for.
Topics
