{"id":31189,"title":"Cyclocross training on four hours a week?","description":"Is it possible to cram your cyclocross training into only four hours a week and still be competitive enough to win? How do you integrate Zone 2 training? Ex-professional cyclocross rider Ian Field and master rider Tim Costello provide top cyclocross tips to make you faster at cyclocross.","content":"

Published in<\/strong>: CYCLOCROSS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

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Is it possible to cram your cyclocross training into only four hours a week and still be competitive enough to win? The answer is yes but with some serious caveats.<\/p>

\"ImageImage: Mick Searle<\/em><\/p>

Reading articles about how professional cyclocross riders train can sometimes be helpful. But the reality is that the vast majority of amateur cyclists only have a limited amount of time to train.<\/p>

Amateur masters cyclocross rider Tim Costello explains how he trained for his most successful season on just four hours a week, whilst former professional cyclocross rider turned coach Ian Field provides a more educated view.<\/p>

Professional cyclocross riders<\/h2>

For professional cyclocross riders, riding their bike is about all they have to do. OK, they have to travel to races, keep their sponsors happy and increasingly maintain a social media presence but they don\u2019t usually have the same time pressures as amateurs.<\/p>

Not only do they have the time to include long steady rides, but they can fit in very specific intervals, skills sessions as well as gym work. Additionally, they are much fitter and combined with more time to recover they can cope with a far greater training load.<\/p>

It\u2019s interesting to find out how Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel train but it\u2019s hard to put much of it into practice if you only have four hours a week yourself.<\/p>

\"ProfessionalProfessional cyclocross riders like Laurens Sweeck train for long hours. Image: Rijden<\/em><\/p>

Even if you suddenly won the lottery and gave up work it would be impossible to dramatically increase the amount of training. Your body would not be able to match their training hours even over a short period of time.<\/p>

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\"VisualFor most of us, we have to integrate our training into the daily grind of work, education, commuting, being a parent or carer and the myriad of mundane tasks that typically take priority over what is a hobby.<\/p>

My unscientific approach to training<\/h3>

Before I start, I want to emphasise that this is not meant to be a recommended approach to cyclocross training. My purpose is to demonstrate that it is possible to train for as little as four hours a week and still be competitive. At least at the masters level of cyclocross racing.<\/p>

Approaching the start of the 2016 Cyclocross season, I\u2019d had a memorable road racing season. Unusually, I\u2019d retained much of my form from 2015 without the usual winter illness or injury.<\/p>

During 2016, I was able to ride consistently each week and by August had won a number of masters\u2019 races. I\u2019d even won an event in Belgium after ten years of trying. My road racing training was quite unscientific but based upon two main principles.<\/p>

Firstly, most races in the UK finish on big chainring climbs and secondly, races are often won with solo breakaways in the last eight kilometres. I\u2019d train for up to four hours on rides and include several uphill sprints and all-out efforts of up to 10 minutes.<\/p>

I didn\u2019t use a power meter or heart rate monitor. Looking back, I could have trained much more intelligently but it seemed to work for me.<\/p>

\"Ex-professionalEx-professional cyclocross rider turned coach Ian Field. Image: Jordon Mann<\/em><\/p>

I should make it clear that whilst some rides were four hours long, they were the exception, and most were two hours or less, though I\u2019d sometimes train twice a day.<\/p>

By the time the cyclocross season came around, I was fit, had a really strong base and was at my racing weight. My problem was that as the days grew shorter, I had a change of work contracts and I was back working in London again.<\/p>

It\u2019s a minimum four-hour round trip to London from my home by car, train and walk. Whilst in the summer, I was happy to ride the forty-five minutes to the station and then enjoy a longer ride home, my enthusiasm for riding on dark, unlit roads had long passed.<\/p>

I decided that most of my training would be conducted on a turbo-trainer in the relative warmth and dryness of our garage. I concluded that the most effective use of my time was to ride five-minute sessions as fast and hard as I could.<\/p>

My only logic was that track pursuit riders have something in common with cyclocross riders. They have to ride at their absolute limit for sustained periods of time. As a track pursuit lasts for about five minutes, that was my target.<\/p>

If you\u2019ve never ridden a track pursuit, my advice is don\u2019t. I used to ride them in the 1980s. It was singularly the most painful cycling experience. It\u2019s like five minutes of someone sandpapering your lungs.<\/p>

Five minutes on, five minutes off<\/h3>

My unsophisticated training schedule consisted of Tuesdays and Thursdays riding an hour on the turbo-trainer. As soon as I was back from London, I\u2019d have a quick snack, change into my cycling gear and head for the garage.<\/p>

Without the assistance of a heart rate monitor or power meter, I\u2019d warm up for thirty minutes. I\u2019d pedal in a small gear very quickly so that after the half-hour I was quite sweaty and breathing briskly.<\/p>

Then I\u2019d start the first of three five-minute sessions. Essentially, I was trying to ride at my limit for the entire five minutes. After each five-minute interval, I\u2019d pedal easily for the next five minutes. It was painful and by the end of the third interval, I\u2019d be slumped over the bike in a state of exhaustion.<\/p>

It\u2019s no exaggeration that I would often find it difficult to stagger the few steps from the garage back to the house. The next morning, I\u2019d be up again at 05:30 to head back up to London.<\/p>

In the morning my legs felt like lead. But after a few hours of tippy-tapping on my computer and sustained by double espressos, I\u2019d run back from the office to Waterloo station for about 15 minutes.<\/p>

I\u2019d repeat Tuesday\u2019s session on Thursday and then rest on Friday. It was relentless and exhausting. Saturday was an enjoyable two-hour skills session with the local cycling youth club the Solent Pirates.<\/p>

Not only did my skill improve but it was pleasant being in the fresh air and soaking up the enthusiasm of the youths and trying not to let them show me up with their technical skills.<\/p>

Sunday would consist of a local cyclocross league race whilst Monday was reserved for recovery.<\/p>

I\u2019d also do my best to pack in core fitness and stretching whenever I could. I became adept at using my time waiting for the printer to undertake a few stretches. I must have looked most odd.<\/p>

Then it was Tuesday again and back to the soon-to-be dreaded intervals. Summary:<\/p>