CRITERIUM  INTERVAL TRAINING

OR how to be tougher/meaner/stronger on your next challenge.

I have been analysing some Power Tap and ERGOMO data from some races. If you have a power meter on your bike, what should you do with it to help you be better prepared for your next criterium or group ride?

The short answer is develop a training session to mimic the race data, or something that will help you improve in the areas you need to improve.

THE FIRST PART is to look at the local criterium that might last 60 minutes plus 5 laps, or a Sunday morning group (race) ride that is two hours plus, where you contest (sprint) city limits signs for bragging rights. How many of you guys are getting beat by the girls???

Which type of race do you want to excel at the most? This will influence your choices later.

Hits are the short intense power/speed changes that occur in your ride when you need to close a gap, change your position in the group, get across a gap, attack or win a sprint. Each varies in its intensity and duration.

If you thought you did OK overall, then we look at four questions:

1/ Did you have enough endurance for the whole event?

2/ Did you loose ground during the “hits”, or stay even? Or gain ground? On your competition?

3/ Did you recover from each hit, at least as much as your competition?

4/ Did you recover less than your competition if the hits were closer together?

Each of these questions will help define the opportunity you have to use the power data to your advantage.

The following intervals can be done more accurately on a trainer, but can also be done outside. The first four intervals are to help you with the many accelerations of a criterium. They are also going to help you develop the necessary power/acceleration/pedal speed. The randomness I have seen in the data suggests a range from four seconds to 26 seconds, will cover over 90% of the surges or attacks in a criterium. Any other attack lasting longer will be Aerobic in nature. This will be addressed with Intervals to raise your aerobic power .   

Now, how do you do something about these decisions?

I have designed a couple of intervals to work on these opportunities.

The first one is a short interval. It will help you with the closing a gap, positional change, and increase your ability to handle all the speed changes in your criterium or group ride. It is meant to be very intense for a very short time, and require you to recover very quickly as well. This happens a lot in a criterium style ride.

SHORT INTENSE INTERVAL

5 second interval 200% of Threshold power

55 second recovery. Start at 30% finish at 40%.of Threshold power.

Start with sets of five reps, then 5 minute recovery at 30%-40% of threshold. Each rep of five reps sets, should be done in a progressively 1 gear harder gear. Aim for a 30-50 rpm range in the same power/speed combination. The range should be 80-130 rpm. This is necessary because you can’t always be in the right gear. The intervals need to be preparation for uphill attacks to tailwind attacks. Prepare in training for this to happen.

When you can do 60 minutes (6 sets= 4% of the volume), then go to 10 rep sets. When you can do 60 minutes, 15 rep sets (6.25% of the volume). Progress to a full hour with out any rests(8.3% of volume). You will need 15 - 30 minutes of warmup and 15 – 30 minutes to recover at the end of this interval session.

The long interval will help you with getting across a gap, launching an attack, or winning a sprint. These hits are much longer in duration. Sometimes they are much longer than the 20 seconds you’ll practice in this interval. You will need to be able to do these before you’ll be successful getting across a gap, launching a successful attack, or winning a bunch sprint. 

LONG SRINT INTERVAL

20 second interval at 175% of Threshold power.

220 second recovery. Start at 30% finish at 40% of Threshold power.

This is four minutes per interval. Start with sets of 5 reps, with 5 minutes recovery, starting at 30% and finishing at 40% of Threshold power between each set. This will help you keep track. As with the short intervals, you should consider using a range of gearing to achieve 80-130 rpm. Use the same progression as the short intervals.

MIX AND MATCH INTERVALS

Anyone experiencing a criterium knows, there is a rhythm and a randomness to the surges. To prepare for this you should review your most important criterium course and remember past experiences (or nightmares). Was this course tight, short, explosively fast out of every corner, or was it a long narrow course that requires two closely spaced hits followed by a soft back straight and a fast home straight?

The answers to these questions will help you design how to use these intervals for your Peak Performance in your goal criterium.

Most importantly, have fun experimenting. Practice the ones you find hardest the most.