Endurance Requirement for a Kilo racer?

WarrenG

Quite possible. Perhaps you can do a kilo or two this season just to get a better feel for the event and how you might plan for it later.



It really depends on how you do your approach to the 200m line. I tend to do the peak effort at less than 100% about 50-70m before the line and then increase the effort from there. Some guys will ride at 50% and then 30m before the line they jump at 100%. Others don't really have much of a peak, just a ramping up of power and speed beginning about 100-140m before the line.



The cadence will be limited by the force required at that cadence when you're at a given speed-basically it's a power and speed ceiling. You have to figure out what combination of cadence and gearing gets you the most speed over the duration of the event. I think goals of power peaks can definitely be a distraction because the combination that can get you the highest peak power may not be something you can sustain well for the duration of the event.

Since you don't have a track around it would be good if someone could time you over a fixed distance of around 200m. It doesn't need to be exact because match sprints are usually decided with sprints longer than 200m. Experiment with gearing (you can use your road bike) to find which gears get you the fastest time. Look also at your max speed, average speed, speed at the finish, and same for cadence.

Also experiment with different approaches to the start line. Try jumping all out 50m before the line, not quite all out 70m from the line, from different starting speeds, etc.

This should help you narrow down your gearing and approach options that you can then take to the track to try out. One of the things you'll get from this is the gearing that works best for you and also your max and average cadence that works best. You will find only small differences in the cadence numbers from month to month and probably year to year so you can use these numbers for your training. In training I sprint at these cadences (pretty much happens naturally now) and increase the gear as I get more fit. For example, I'd do most of my flat, 15" sprints in a 53x17 early in the season and gradually move up to 53x15 near peaking. Some efforts will get help in the approach and/or sprint from a downgrade or tailwind to fill in the intermediate steps between gears.

These maximum and average cadence numbers along with your 200m time will allow you to select the gear most appropriate for the track and conditions (based on your predicted 200m time for that day) you will face on the day. Some of us have spreadsheets to help with this gear selection.

It depends largely on the track and how you like to ride it, but for _you_ in general, to start with, shoot for a peak cadence of around 150-165rpm's and an average over the 200m of around 135-150 rpm's. I've found that when I'm around 36.5 mph at the _end_ of a 15-20" sprint on my non-aero training wheels and road bike on a dead flat road I'll be at, or under 12.0 in a 200mTT at San Jose. (Subtract .6-.7 for CO Springs.) Since you're already near these speeds maybe this target will be appropriate for you too.



P.S. If we're in the same age group at Nat's, then be like George Castanza and do the exact opposite of whatever I say.

WarrenG

How good do you want to be at the kilo? How many months or years do you have to prepare? What are you starting with?

With consideration for those questions, Vo2max training would certainly help if you've got 6 more months to train. If you've got 10 months then lots of aerobic training will help too. Now if you only have 2-3 months then you probably just try to maximize the major abilities you already have, like peak power for a quick start, anaerobic capacity to finish well, some training at the higher cadences you'll have to use, and time on the track with the aero bars. Also some experiments to see which pacing strategy will allow for the fastest time.

Billsworld

Thanks Warrenm LOL....I wasnt expecting such a detailed answer from a one armed bandit. I am not concerned with the power numbers so much right now. That file posted is unusually high, my normal files are a little less, but my 5 sec power has gone way up. I couldnt have done that without the power tap. It allowed me to experiment with all the angles on the bike ,such as seat hieght, crank length, jump speed, cleat position etc.. I still have some things to sort out, then Ill know everything. BTW your invited to next years Festivus celebration

WarrenG

Vicodin-free now. Festivus for the rest of us-always the highlight of my social calendar.

Billsworld

In that case a donation of $20 has been made in your name to the Human Fund.........Ok now I have gone too far