speed vs endurance question

[Nicko71]

Im working on a lot of intervals at the moment. I do about 300-400km a week of riding.

How many more K's of training can I handle before I start to lose valuable speed. I race only crits at the moment. Im 32, with a pretty solid base fitness. Im very strong but lack a bit of top end speed.

 

[J-MAT]

Nicko71:

When you lack speed, more kilometers are not likely to help.

300-400 km's is plenty, especially if all you are doing are crits which are the shortest type of road races.

Focus on speed. You could ride 700 kilometers a week and none of that training would help you hold 60-70 kmh for 20-30 seconds at the end of crit.

Work on your speed. Use a cadence meter. Sprints done right are at least 120 rpm, often a lot higher. Work on legspeed on a trainer, and sprint outdoors if possible.

If you have good legspeed, you should be able to hold 120+ rpm for 5+ minutes seated without bouncing, and max out over 200 rpm for a few moments. If you are maxing out at 140 or 150 rpm, you have a lot of work to do. The good news is legspeed improves rapidly with proper training.

Good luck!!!

 

[2LAP]

I agree with J-MAT, if you want to go quicker over 100 mtrs or 25 miles you may need to decrease the milage and increase the intensity.

Quantity v's quality.