Back in May, I took half in a 100km gravel race in Scotland known as the Gralloch, ending seventieth in my age group and 361st total.
I wasn’t significantly proud, however I knew it mirrored my stage of preparation on the time. I’d spent the prior winter operating greater than biking, so I did not dwell on it an excessive amount of and as a substitute, I focussed on having fun with the day. How typically do you get to trip for 4 hours off-road traffic-free?
It sparked one thing in me, and earlier than I’d even received dwelling, I needed extra. So a couple of days later, I set my sights on the Masters Gravel National Championships.
With a brand new occasion on the horizon, I puzzled if I might rework myself from an “also-ran” right into a contender. The subsequent three months can be a check of not simply my bodily preparation however my mindset, self-discipline, and talent to execute a plan.
To plan, I set about ‘reverse engineering’ my downside. I needed to grasp the calls for of the occasion to arrange myself to fulfill them.
I then regarded to the skilled peloton for steering on optimising tools and my coaching. I researched the literature regarding diet, undertook a particular energy coaching program, spent most of my summer season coaching indoors fairly than on gravel, launched warmth acclimation coaching to my plan, and even lower down on my caffeine.
In this text, I’ll stroll you thru the preparation that turned me from a mid-pack rider right into a podium contender. I’ll share the strategies and the mindset shifts that helped me make this leap. Hopefully, it’s going to encourage you to set your personal formidable objectives and supply insights on how one can put together for them.
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But earlier than we get into it, there is a lesson that I wish to get throughout immediately, and that’s that for the primary time in my life, the consequence wasn’t essential.
I discovered an intrinsic pleasure within the course of: making a plan, setting objectives and seeing it by means of. My motivation to trip hasn’t been larger in years, and after a couple of years of dabbling with the odd race right here and there, chasing long-lost health and praying that the celebs will align for lengthy sufficient that I can magically discover the 50 watts I left in 2019, I realise that the lacking piece of the puzzle was a giant scary objective to get me excited.
There are two key issues to remove from this story. The first is that you need to put a objective on the horizon that can mild the same hearth inside you. The second is that you do not actually need to coach on gravel to be quick on gravel. This is considerably course-dependent, however indoor coaching is extraordinarily environment friendly, and immediately’s indoor biking apps are wonderful instruments that can assist you obtain your objectives.
Gap evaluation
The first step to any plan is to grasp the place it’s essential to be, and the place you at present are. Just like planning a route from A to B, if you do not know the place you might be on a map, you may be unable to create a plan to get to your vacation spot.
This meant a full evaluation of my present state of affairs. I had a motorbike, I knew how one can race, so these weren’t going to be my gaps. My predominant shortcoming would doubtless are available in my health. Most of my winter was spent coaching for a half marathon – operating, I do know! – so I had some normal health, however it wasn’t very cycling-specific, as my consequence on the Gralloch had confirmed.
Most of the biking I’d executed was indoors testing good trainers for Cyclingnews, so my bike dealing with expertise would most likely want a tune-up too.
And on the time of beginning this plan, the National Championships have been set to be held in Norfolk on a course that I’d by no means ridden, so I would wish to study the course too.
Creating a coaching plan
Using the well-trodden acronym of SMART, I wanted to create a objective that was Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely.
It’s all properly and good realizing you are not as match because the competitors and that it’s essential to get fitter, however with out an understanding of the dimensions of the deficit and the way a lot health I’d want to realize, the objective wasn’t very particular nor measurable.
So I went to Strava and checked out a number of the main riders on the Gralloch to see how my energy output in comparison with theirs on the day. I then discovered racers from the 2023 Gravel National Championships to analyse their energy profile and perceive the facility calls for of that course.
I checked out my very own associates’ knowledge, who’re higher than me however not professionals, in addition to knowledge from execs on the entrance of the elite races.
It’s a protected assumption that the race calls for can be more durable than my associates’ knowledge, however not fairly as powerful because the Elite Men’s race, and though not everybody uploads their energy knowledge and makes it public, sufficient do this I quickly had a really feel for a way exhausting the Masters race can be. Comparing that with my very own energy curve for the yr up to now, I used to be a good distance off.
It was at this level I created a spreadsheet, a transparent signal that issues have been getting severe.
To start with, the plan was merely to construct my energy curve as a lot as potential. I wanted to be extra highly effective at 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, all the best way as much as the roughly 3 hours it will take to complete the race.
My deficit was important, and the ‘Achievable’ a part of the SMART acronym was being stretched – I wanted to search out round 48 watts over 20 minutes – however I made a decision to forge forward regardless. If I might lose 3kg within the course of, the goal would come down to simply 34 watts, and that’d be extra achievable given my comparatively untrained place to begin.
I enlisted the assistance of the University of Bath’s Lead Applied Sport Scientist, Jonathan Robinson, who put me by means of a skinfold and Vo2 Max check, permitting me to grasp my physique fats share, and at which energy output my physique begins to change from its cardio energy provide to its anaerobic system.
I discovered that my physique fats share was round 9%, so whereas I’m removed from chubby, there was a small quantity I might lose safely if I needed. More importantly although, I discovered what energy output I must be concentrating on in coaching with the intention to drive these all-important cardio diversifications.
I then turned to indoor biking apps for my coaching periods, together with the free app MyWhoosh – the internet hosting platform of the 2024 UCI eSports World Championships later this yr – which enlists the assistance of WorldTour coaches akin to Kevin Poulton and Javier Sola to design its periods and plans.
Both Poulton and Solar are among the many teaching employees at MyWhoosh-sponsored UAE Team Emirates, dwelling of Tadej Pogačar, and Sola is the private coach to the Slovenian celebrity. If their periods are adequate for the very best group within the WorldTour, they’re absolutely adequate for me.
The Tour de France and a venue change
Allow me to leap forward for a second. After round 5 weeks of coaching, I had a week-long journey to Florence within the diary to cowl the Grand Départ of the Tour de France. Sadly this meant no driving, and though I had grand intentions to maintain the legs shifting with a each day morning run, the lengthy days and busy schedule put paid to this plan. I managed simply two 5km runs all week.
While there, I obtained an e-mail from the organisers to say my race was being moved away from Norfolk, and that it will be held in Gatehouse of Fleet, the house of the Gralloch race which began this complete course of. It would even be two weeks sooner than initially deliberate.
Mixed emotions ensued. It lower my preparation time down by a fortnight, which was regarding given I hadn’t ridden a motorbike in per week on the time. It additionally meant it will be raced on a considerably hillier course, which does not swimsuit my skillset in any respect.
But it at the very least meant I had a greater concept of the terrain. I had first-hand expertise driving it, so I knew that I might disregard bike dealing with as a difficulty. I additionally had a greater concept of the perfect tyre alternative for the day.
Importantly although, it modified my coaching plan from being as match as potential throughout the complete energy curve to a single, highly-specific goal.
The course would observe a lot of the Gralloch’s route, which fits straight off the beginning line, round a nook and up an 18-minute climb, earlier than a 3-minute descent and one other 8-minute climb. I’m not essentially the most cardio of riders, I’m positively extra of a sprinter than a time triallist, and at 76kg, not essentially the most adept climber. It was going to be powerful, but when I could not recover from the primary climb with the entrance group, my race can be over, so my new objective was clear.
If I might do this, after which dig deep to recover from the second climb, the shorter subsequent climbs later within the day also needs to be achievable. In a three-hour race, my first end line would come after simply 20 minutes.
I revisited the hole evaluation to interrupt down the climb from the Gralloch earlier within the yr and labored out that I’d want to carry someplace between 345 and 360 watts for 18 minutes.
Very shortly, my focus was laserlike and my motivation was excessive.
However, any skilled will learn that and inform you that my objective, whereas extremely SMART per the acronym’s definition, wasn’t truly very good.
It’s what’s generally known as an final result objective, and it is not solely in my management. For instance, if I received sick previous to the race, I would not be capable to maintain the facility wanted. Or if somebody turned up on the day and rode at 430 watts for the primary climb, no quantity of coaching would get me to that stage.
Instead, I wanted course of objectives.
The coaching
Although I initially deliberate to hunt the assistance of a coach, I realised I might construction my week appropriately in a spreadsheet and construct my exercises within the MyWhoosh app.
My spouse and I are nice at enabling the opposite to search out time to train, and we shortly settled on a routine that will enable me to work this coaching in with out affecting our different commitments.
I deliberate one lengthy endurance trip per week on Sundays, three exhausting interval periods on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, two health club periods on Monday and Friday, a zone two trip on Wednesday, and as a lot additional quantity as I might squeeze in round, akin to commuting to the workplace or tacking on 20 minutes to the tip of exhausting interval periods. Adhering to the schedule was my course of objective and it was completely in my management.
My exhausting exercises have been chosen a day upfront. I discover it is higher to decide on a tough exercise when you do not have to do it immediately, or I have a tendency to decide on a barely simpler one. It additionally motivates me to eat appropriately upfront, realizing how enter can have an effect on output. I selected a lot of the exercises from MyWhoosh’s ‘Vo2 Max’ listing, however discovered myself leaning on the ‘Train Like Tadej’ exercises too.
The first 5 weeks of coaching – previous to my journey to the Tour de France – have been spent primarily focussing on constructing the routine, the amount, and driving within the right zone to tax my cardio system. Then upon coming back from the Tour, with the brand new venue, a brand new finish date, a refined plan in place and simply eight weeks to go, I ramped up the depth as a lot as potential, focussing on Vo2 Max intervals of 350-370 watts (across the higher restrict of my goal).
I did not have free rein to repeatedly check my Vo2 Max to measure enchancment, so used coronary heart charge and RPE to gauge how tough every week’s coaching was, then prolonged the length per interval, shortened the remaining durations between them, or elevated the facility goal after profitable periods.
Nutrition and restoration
Trying to drop some weight is a tough steadiness to strike while you’re additionally growing your coaching quantity, depth, and in addition attempting to get better earlier than every session. So as a substitute, I made a decision I’d enable my physique to adapt naturally, fairly than actively limit energy. If the elevated coaching meant I misplaced a little bit of fats, then nice, however I wasn’t going to chase it.
In truth, realizing I used to be working a lot more durable, I truly elevated the quantity of meals I ate, however maybe a very powerful factor I did was enhance the standard of the meals getting into.
I’m not a efficiency nutritionist, however I believed I might stack the percentages in my favour by specializing in wholesome complete meals as a lot as potential. While being much less calorie-dense than junk meals, I figured this might additionally give my physique the vitamins to assist it get better extra shortly and battle off any sicknesses that may in any other case come my means.
I additionally adopted a ‘gasoline the work’ strategy, the place fairly merely, if I had a giant coaching trip developing within the subsequent 24 hours, I’d eat carbohydrate-rich meals, and if I did not, I’d reduce and give attention to further protein to assist restoration.
Recovery turned an essential issue, and having listened to varied podcasts on efficiency enchancment, I realised that constant sleep and wake time may very well be one other space I might enhance. I banned caffeine after 3pm, switching my common night cup of tea to decaf, and gave myself a brand new course of objective of going to mattress at 10pm.
The optimisations
Here’s the place issues get nerdy, as a result of as a tech journalist for a biking web site, I’ve a deep curiosity within the issues that assist a rider go sooner. It’s the rationale we spend time in wind tunnels testing superbikes.
Around six weeks earlier than race day, I launched warmth coaching by driving on the indoor coach with my winter equipment on and the followers turned off.
I launched creatine and beta-alanine to try to eke out a bit little bit of efficiency from these exhausting Vo2 Max periods, and I added hydration tabs to my bottles following a couple of weeks of utilizing a Nix Biosensor to work out my sweat charge and sodium loss.
Perhaps most significantly, although, I elevated complete carbohydrate consumption and focussed on constructing my on-bike gasoline consumption in order that my intestine might deal with 120g per hour within the race.
On the tools facet, I procured a brand new aero gravel bike with 34cm large handlebars, the brand new SRAM Red AXS XPLR groupset and the accompanying Zipp 303 XPLR wheels with their 32mm inside rim width. I upgraded the underside bracket to a CeramicSpeed model, and added a pre-treated UFO chain from the identical model.
I wore a time trial skinsuit, full with quantity pockets for added aero good points. I paired this with our quickest aero helmet from our wind tunnel helmet check, the S-Works Evade III, and a pair of Spatz aero overshoes on prime of my S-Works Recon Lace gravel sneakers.
Knowing I’d want extra water than I might carry in two bottles, I wore a hydration pack inside my skinsuit to make sure I used to be as aero as potential.
My tyre alternative was the 40mm Schwalbe G-One R – I used to be unable to get a wider model in time for the race, and would have most popular to go together with 45mm, however I needed to make do with what was accessible. I skilled fairly common rim strikes on the 45mm Goodyear Inter tyres on the beneficial pressures, and have ridden and raced the G-One R a number of occasions earlier than with success, so made the choice to change.
The race
I’m glad to report my coaching was profitable. As anticipated, the race blew aside on that first climb, with the eventual winner and one different placing in a giant effort to string the race out.
I used to be barely distanced in the direction of the highest of the climb, however because the tempo eased excessive, one other rider and I have been capable of bridge again as much as the main duo to kind a four-man break. That shortly swelled to 5 as another person bridged the hole, however went again to 4 nearly as quick when that very same rider punctured.
The 4 of us rode properly collectively on the entrance of the race, and I quickly realised my first objective had been achieved. I used to be on the entrance of the race, rolling turns with the quick boys simply three months after my disappointing seventieth place. Sure, it wasn’t the elite race – perhaps that is subsequent yr’s objective – however in that second, I felt immensely pleased with how far I’d come.
Punctures stopped two of the others, and for a very long time, it regarded as if I’d secured a 2nd place. Unfortunately, a puncture of my very own with simply 3km to go put paid to that, and as I stood trailside plugging my tyre, I watched as three others rode previous. I ultimately completed fifth – 4th in my class (19-34m) – a single spot off the rostrum.
I got here away with an important sense of delight, fairly than disappointment at lacking the rostrum.
However, the job is not executed. I’ve one other race subsequent week, after which I’ll be setting my sights on 2025. If I can obtain that trajectory in simply three months, I ponder how far I can go in a yr.