Original episode & show notes | Raw transcript
This document provides a detailed, structured explanation of the concepts discussed in the Empirical Cycling Podcast concerning race preparation and tapering. It is intended for an educated audience seeking a high level of detail.
The podcast frames race preparation not as a year-round activity but as a specific phase of training that follows a strong aerobic foundation.
The hosts advocate for a classical periodization model:
Off-Season/Base Building: Focus on developing aerobic fitness. This involves a significant volume of low-intensity rides to build endurance and establish a robust aerobic base.
Intensity Build: Introduction of structured intensity, primarily through FTP (Functional Threshold Power) and VO2 max-focused training. The goal is to elevate the rider’s sustainable power output and aerobic ceiling.
Race-Specific Preparation: This is the phase discussed in detail. Once an athlete has a “shiny new FTP” and is aerobically fit, the training shifts to prepare for the specific, high-intensity, and often chaotic demands of racing.
Key Concept: The podcast argues against performing race-specific, high-intensity workouts year-round. This type of training is highly fatiguing, and doing it constantly can lead to burnout and plateauing. The focus should be on building the biggest possible aerobic engine first.
When transitioning from aerobic-focused training to race prep, the initial workouts are crucial for re-acclimating the body to high-intensity, stochastic efforts without causing excessive fatigue. Two primary methods are suggested:
The Group Ride:
Why it’s effective: It naturally simulates the variable demands of a race (accelerations, pack dynamics, sustained hard efforts).
Diagnostic Tool: It serves as an excellent assessment tool to identify a rider’s strengths and weaknesses. An athlete might discover their repeatability is excellent, but their endurance fades after a certain duration, or they struggle with fueling and hydration under pressure.
Skill Development: It forces riders to re-engage with crucial “soft skills” like bike handling, cornering in a group, and navigating pack dynamics, especially after a winter spent on the trainer.
Structured Intervals (e.g., 30-30s):
Definition: “30-30s” are a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) involving 30 seconds of maximal or near-maximal effort followed by 30 seconds of easy recovery, repeated for a set duration (e.g., a 5-minute block).
Scalability: This workout is highly adaptable. An athlete can start with a single 5-minute set and gradually increase the number of sets over subsequent weeks. The intensity can also be modulated; they don’t have to be “full gas” initially.
Purpose: They directly train the body’s ability to handle repeated hard efforts with incomplete recovery, a hallmark of most mass-start racing disciplines.
Once the initial adaptation is complete, training becomes more focused and progresses from general to highly specific.
The podcast outlines a logical progression for developing high-end power and race readiness:
Capacity Building: Focus on short, repeated efforts with very incomplete rest (e.g., 30-30s). This improves the ability to recover quickly from hard efforts and go again.
Power Development: Transition to longer, high-power efforts with more rest, but still incomplete (e.g., 1-2 minute efforts with 2-5 minutes of rest). This builds raw power at anaerobic durations.
Maximal Power: Introduce workouts with very long rests to elicit maximum power output (e.g., 30-second all-out sprints with 15-20 minutes of full recovery). This is crucial for developing peak sprint power.
Race-Specific Simulation: The final step is to combine the developed capacities into workouts that mimic the exact demands of the target event.
Case Study 1: The Knoxville Nationals Time Trial
The Demand: A non-steady-state course with flat sections, short climbs, and technical descents, requiring variable power output and pacing.
The Prep:
Use of simulators to ride the virtual course.
Initial sessions focused on sub-maximal, controlled pacing to learn the effort.
Progression to full-gas laps to practice race-day pacing and effort distribution.
Key Takeaway: Preparation was about mastering the pacing strategy for the specific course, not just holding a target power for the duration.
Case Study 2: A Hilly UK Road Race
The Demand: A four-hour race featuring 13 laps, each with a steep, 90-second climb. The decisive moments would occur on this repeated effort.
The Prep (starting 6 weeks out):
Workout 1: 7-10 reps of 1-1.5 minute maximal efforts with long (20 min) rests to build raw power for the climb.
Workout 2: 10-12 reps with reduced rest (15 min) to better simulate the race’s recovery time.
Workout 3 (2.5 weeks out): A full race simulation, performing the efforts with race-like recovery periods.
Result: The athlete reported that the race felt easier than the preparation sessions, indicating the training successfully over-prepared them for the demand.
Case Study 3: Green Mountain Stage Race (GMSR)
The Demand: A four-day stage race requiring endurance, climbing ability, and strong criterium skills for a notoriously difficult final stage.
The Prep (starting 6-8 weeks out):
Foundation: Began clumping 2-3 days of workouts together (e.g., tempo, tempo, long ride) to build resistance to fatigue.
Simulation Block (3 weeks out): A four-day block designed to mimic the stress of the race:
Day 1: Threshold workout.
Day 2: Full-gas criterium race.
Day 3: Practice criterium bookended with endurance riding to create a long, hard day.
Day 4 (on fatigued legs): A “threshold with jumps” workout (riding at tempo/threshold with all-out sprints every couple of minutes) until failure.
Key Takeaway: The block simulated the cumulative fatigue of a stage race and specifically addressed the demands of the final, critical criterium stage.
Tapering is the process of reducing training load before a key event to shed fatigue and maximize performance. The podcast emphasizes that tapering is a “strong spice” and should be used judiciously for A-priority races only.
Rest Week: The primary goal is recovery to enable the next block of hard training. It involves a significant reduction in both volume and intensity. An athlete is typically very fatigued going in and looking for their “good legs” to return.
Taper Week: The goal is to arrive at an event in peak form, balancing freshness with retained fitness. It’s a highly controlled process. An athlete is already feeling good and is trying to save their good legs for race day.
Stage Races:
The taper is often less dramatic. The goal is to arrive fresh but not so fresh that the first day feels like a shock.
A common strategy is to maintain intensity (hard days stay hard) but increase the number of rest/easy days. The medium-difficulty days are often eliminated.
Volume may be slightly reduced, but not drastically, especially for high-volume athletes.
One-Day Races:
The approach varies based on the race’s nature.
Short, Maximal Events (Hill Climb, Kilo TT): These benefit from being extremely fresh. The taper will be more significant, with a strong emphasis on shedding all possible fatigue to maximize neuromuscular power.
Long Road Races: The strategy is similar to the stage race taper: maintain key high-intensity sessions but reduce overall volume and ensure ample recovery. Training often continues closer to the event compared to a short-effort taper.
The “Perfect Prep” Myth: Something almost always goes wrong during a taper (sickness, travel stress, family emergencies). The key is to be mentally flexible and not panic. The vast majority of the work is already done.
Don’t Stop Strength Training Too Late: Heavy lifting should cease well before a taper (typically 1-2 weeks out from the event). It induces significant fatigue that can interfere with recovery.
Tapering and Volume: For low-volume athletes (e.g., <10 hours/week), the taper is less about volume reduction and more about modulating the intensity and ensuring recovery. Masters athletes, who recover more slowly, often need a more pronounced taper with a greater focus on recovery.
The podcast repeatedly highlights that physiological fitness is only one part of the equation. “Soft skills” are often the differentiator in races.
Bike Handling & Cornering: The ability to corner at high speed, especially under fatigue, is a critical skill. It can be trained by finding a safe, quiet area and practicing taking a corner progressively faster, teaching the nervous system to relax and trust the bike.
Pack Skills: Riding comfortably and safely in a tight group, holding a wheel, and navigating a peloton are learned skills that require practice in group rides or practice races.
Pacing & RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion): Understanding how to pace an effort, especially in a time trial or on a long climb, is crucial. This is developed through specific practice and learning to trust one’s internal sense of effort.
Mental Toughness & Flexibility: Racing is unpredictable. The ability to stay calm when things go wrong, adapt to changing race situations, and roll with the punches of pre-race stress is a defining characteristic of successful racers.