I have recently just completed the HR Pyrennes a seven day stage race covering 900km and 21,000M of vertical climbing. I think I’m right in saying the equlivant of clmbing Everest three times.
I completed the event with two Performancepro clients John Brewer & Gretchin Miller (6th women overall). I thought I would write a few training tips for any body thinking about competing in a similar event next year.
1. Don’t crash on day 2 like I did it makes the event much harder ( seriously get used to riding in groups as you will need to be good a positioning your self in the peloton to insure you get the benefit of drafting and thus not waisting precious energy.
2. Power to Weight and Body Fat % is a is key indicator in the mountains. If you are looking to compete at the top end of the GC then you must be looking at 5w/kg and body fat of 10/12%. If you goal is to complete the event without being in a world of pain then 3.5 to 4/wkg and 12/14% body fat is the magic number.
3. Make a plan NOW!! And start training ASAP. First port of call is to get tested to establish power to weight / body fat % and heart rate training zones ( Performancepro offer bike specific testing ).
4. Training should be weighted towards endurance but don’t forget to mix in some high intensity training a good sessions is vo2 Max Intervals.
10Min Warm up Steady Pace
6 x 3min Max Effort
3Min Recovery between efforts Easy pace
5M Warm Down
5. Train with power (watts) using a power meter will keep you training focused, measured and detail your improvements. Performancepro offer group and individual training on our watt bike pros these sessions are power and heart rate based. You can also look Look @ SRM / Power Tap & Rotor Cranks that can be attached to you bike for power based training out side.
6. Strength training for cycling is now a MUST total body Strength and Conditioning is key for improving power / strength and on the bike posture.
7. Enjoy it look up and take in the terrain whilst training and doing the event. Too much focus on the numbers and data can become boring and take away the reason you started cycling in the first place.
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