TEAM ALPECIN
Meet the class of 2020, who like all of us have had to radically reassess their cycling goals this summer
In January 2020, which already feels an age or two ago, the riders for Team Alpecin, the Europewide competition that sees riders throw themselves into some of the continent’s biggest events, were chosen. They could look forward to team training camps and long days in the saddle at the best sportives and gran fondos, perks that come with being selected to join the team. You don’t need us to remind you what happened next…
Alpecin didn’t want to write off the year, however, and recalibrated the plan to focus on indoor riding, which has been a saving grace to cyclists throughout Europe’s varying levels of lockdown. Dolomites training camps were out, virtual ride outs with pro riders past and present were in, as team sponsors gave the riders everything they needed to bring their ‘pain cave’ indoor training set-up to life. The Alpecin Cycling Challenge, #nextlevelyou, was born. It challenged riders to train indoors over three months, starting with a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test (the average power sustainable for an hour), so the team’s coaches could tailor each rider’s training zones. With the help of sports scientist and professional coach Björn Geesmann, the riders have three months to improve as much as possible.
The plans are published on alpecincycling. com and are available for download on the TrainingPeaks platform, which can feed directly into your indoor training apps. If you want to download the plans yourself, head on over to the website.
ALPECIN DIDN’T WANT TO WRITE OFF THE YEAR, HOWEVER, AND RECALIBRATED THE PLAN TO FOCUS ON INDOOR RIDING