So I'm off to do the Quebranteheusos in Spain in June and the 205km route looks like this
While sitting on the rollers over recent weeks I started thinking about the specificity element of training for a long sportive, and if I could create a 'power profile' for the course that I could then use for more specific training?
For example, the first climb is about 25km and gains about 900m after a fast 25km from the start thats likely to be ridden in a large group, so I know its going to take me about 2 hours at tempo to get up there, then I have about 35km downhill 'rest' which will be about 1 hour or a little less of recovery depending on the route, then there is a steep 12km climb which will be almost an hour at solid tempo and even L4 for the steeper sections and after the next descent the third big climb is a 35km section gaining about 1500m which s likely to be 3-3.5hrs at this stage if I'm going well, etc etc.
I am thinking I might be able to estimate a few things -
1. how long I'll need to be riding in each zone?
2. maybe an estimate of the total work involved?
3. a pacing strategy based on power
I'm also wondering if there is any value in planning training rides that simulate these elements? Its clear that I have 3 big climbs that will need me to be able to ride 2hrs mid-L3, 1 hour L3-4 and then a final 3 hours L2-3, so I'm thinking
1. I need to get a lot of 2-3 hr solid L3 tempo sessions done
2. it might be worth simulating long'ish tempo sessions with easier endurance sections between them, that simulate climbing and descending back to back etc.
3. maybe sessions of 1-2 hours tempo with an easy 30 mins rest followed by a hard 1hr L3/4 interval
Is there any sense in this approach or is it just as sensible to maximise FTP and endurance through a more general training approach?
While sitting on the rollers over recent weeks I started thinking about the specificity element of training for a long sportive, and if I could create a 'power profile' for the course that I could then use for more specific training?
For example, the first climb is about 25km and gains about 900m after a fast 25km from the start thats likely to be ridden in a large group, so I know its going to take me about 2 hours at tempo to get up there, then I have about 35km downhill 'rest' which will be about 1 hour or a little less of recovery depending on the route, then there is a steep 12km climb which will be almost an hour at solid tempo and even L4 for the steeper sections and after the next descent the third big climb is a 35km section gaining about 1500m which s likely to be 3-3.5hrs at this stage if I'm going well, etc etc.
I am thinking I might be able to estimate a few things -
1. how long I'll need to be riding in each zone?
2. maybe an estimate of the total work involved?
3. a pacing strategy based on power
I'm also wondering if there is any value in planning training rides that simulate these elements? Its clear that I have 3 big climbs that will need me to be able to ride 2hrs mid-L3, 1 hour L3-4 and then a final 3 hours L2-3, so I'm thinking
1. I need to get a lot of 2-3 hr solid L3 tempo sessions done
2. it might be worth simulating long'ish tempo sessions with easier endurance sections between them, that simulate climbing and descending back to back etc.
3. maybe sessions of 1-2 hours tempo with an easy 30 mins rest followed by a hard 1hr L3/4 interval
Is there any sense in this approach or is it just as sensible to maximise FTP and endurance through a more general training approach?