Some of the leaders are doing 80 mile rides by now, in some cases over hilly or even mountainous courses. Most will have tackled a 50 mile ride by now.

I’m going to cover a wider range of topics than usual this month, as we are beginning to move out of the base endurance phase to training for the mountains. Firstly, lets look at the type of training that is appropriate for April.

So far we have concentrated on building endurance. This has many benefits (improved fat utilization, improvement in circulation and lung capacity, improved cardiac function, to name but a few!) However there is another important aspect to tackle – those mountains!

To climb one of those giants of the Pyrennes, you will need to produce power at a high constant rate for over an hour. This is easy to practice on the flat – you simply need to go fast enough! Typically at 19mph on the flat you will be producing about 150 watts – that is the sort of level you need to climb those mountains.

A good plan is to start in early April with fast 5 mile rides. With luck you should be able to find some quiet roads with a good surface near you. It is worth measuring your average speed, then plotting points on a speed/distance graph, to see how you are improving. I’ll show you a speed distance graph a bit late, in case graphs put you off! As the evenings get lighter, you will be able to extend the ride length before dark, building up to impressive distances before July. Something like 20mph is a good target on a good fast bike, though most of us will need to build up to this. Initially your average may only be around 14 mph, and you may only ever achieve 18mph – but that’s OK. If you exceed 20mph, don’t wait for me on the Etape!

Above 20mph the power needed rises rapidly because of wind resistance. 22mph requires over 200 Watts and 25mph requires 300 Watts. A professional cyclist riding the Etape route last year produced 300 Watts average for most of the route. He did not have to ride at that level for as long as most of us though, finishing the course about twice as fast as most of us!

How often you train is up to you. One or two evening sessions plus a long weekend ride is probably sufficient, though you will probably be want to increase the frequency as July approaches. I’ll tell you why later when we look at how training works!

If most of your rides are quite short at weekends, it’s worth doing the occasional longer ride, although its quite OK to build up distance a bit later in the year, leaving this till May or even June.

When I was young, training always puzzled me. If I cycled 20 miles I was tired, and next day my muscles were stiff, and I was less fit than before. How did athletes get fitter when I didn’t?

I now know that training involves increasing your effort above the normal level. The extra exertion causes the body to react by increasing strength, but this does not happen while exercising but afterwards while resting. To get fitter, you therefore need to rest between exercise. The more you overload yourself, the more rest you will need to recover. Typically, the first day after heavy exercise you will suffer, but on the second or third day you will feel stronger. That is the time to exercise again. If you try to increase your fitness too rapidly, it may take a couple of weeks to recover while tissue damage is being repaired. This may not be helpful! If this happens, it is usually best to continue cycling though at a reduced level, and getting plenty of rest.

I re-learn the importance of drinking on a long ride every year! Dehydration leads to poor performance, exhaustion and possible health consequences. Even 2% loss in body fluid results in a large drop in performance.

It is good to drink something more than plain water, according to taste. My favorite is 50% grape juice and 50% water mix, while others prefer the various energy drinks on the market, such as Isostar, or de-fizzed Coca Cola. Having one bottle of water and one of something else is useful.

Ideally the drink should contain an energy sources such as sugars (eg glucose) and longer chain carbohydrates. Some salt is of benefit. Although a low sodium diet is generally recommended for health, if you are performing extreme exercise for long periods there is a small but finite danger of low salt levels due to excess sweating. In rare cases this is a dangerous condition.

1. To build continuous power output for climbing those mountains.
2. To build endurance for those long distances.