Endurance shortcut Leave the five hour rides to the pros

For many of us, finding time for long endurance rides is a nonstarter, but you can replicate the effects on an indoor trainer in a fraction of the time, says Wattbike training consultant Dr David Nichols. He explains that even when the total training volume is limited, workouts can still be structured to maximise endurance and aerobic adaptations, even in as little as an hour.

Time management

‘The key is to up the intensity and get the most out of each session,’ says Nichols. ‘While increasing VO2 max or threshold power is often the goal of endurance sessions, improving pedalling technique and sub-maximal efficiency offer big performance gains over time. At a cadence of 90rpm you’ll make roughly 38,000 pedal revolutions in a seven-hour sportive, so maximising efficiency is a big benefit.

An indoor set-up allows you to develop sustained power, with no traffic, changes in gradient or wind to contend with, and importantly no freewheeling. Every pedal stroke counts indoors!

How to do the session

After a 20-minute warm-up that includes incremental loading plus a few sprints, complete a ‘reverse pyramid’ interval session as follows: 1min @ 100% FTP, then 1min easy spin, 2mins @ 90% FTP, 2mins easy spin, 3mins @ 85% FTP, 3mins easy spin, 4mins @ 80% FTP, 3mins easy spin, 3mins @ 85% FTP, 2mins easy spin, 2mins @ 90% FTP, 1min easy spin, 1min @ 100% FTP, cool down by spinning easily for several minutes until heart rate returns to normal. For more information go to cyclist.co.uk/endurance. To find out how to determine your FTP, go to cyclist.co.uk/ftptest