Frank’s chart is referencing the amount of Sweet Spot (TiZ) you should do PER WORKOUT.
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Well, problem solved! It definitely makes more sense like that.
However the build and in season values from Cat 2 onwards seems pretty high, especially if there are multiple SS workouts in the same week.
I’ve always read those numbers as more of a “you should be able to hit these relatively comfortably to compete at this level”. Which also means that you will probably target it at some point in some of your workouts. But you’re right, some of those later values are just so high that I can’t imagine even high level riders consistently recovering from those sorts of efforts. I also think he intends those in-season numbers to come from racing.
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I still can’t see even a world tour pro to ride 5h of sweetspot in one go. That’s like a solo Paris-Roubaix.
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yeah…that’s what leads me to think its more like “you should be able to do this to compete”. Those higher level numbers are like what they might hit in alpine tour stages or if you ride a break away for a spring classic. There is very little chance that riders can even eat enough to support that kind of work regularly. Most pro’s SS is probably in the 340-370 W range. Without doing any math they would burning something stupid like 1600+ calories per hour.
However, the Cat 2 and below numbers seem much more reasonable to target for workout durations once or twice a week.
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Think if those as the max value ( you build to an interval like this) not do it every day etc. like the last step in progression.
You’re right. But still probably too high to sustain multiple times/week. On another thread here someone was saying that WvA and Pogacar will do most of their endurance rides at the lower end of Z2 partially to try to limit the amount of calories they burn because it’s just so hard to keep up.
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I like to use a combination of adding SS volume as well as extra intensity when progressing these types of session.
Sessions like Needham -1 are great for hitting 48 minutes of SS as well as including some 20 sec bursts over FTP before moving onto 60 minutes of constant SS… I also feel that this better replicates the requirements outdoors for accelerating out of corners, RABs etc etc when racing.
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Its pretty much the upper limit.
From the FasCat article link a few posts above, “The highest known upper limit of sweet spot comes from professional cyclist Matthew Hayman who did close to 6 hours of sweet spot to win the Paris-Roubaix.”
There is a power analysis of his ride too.
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It would be a big ask but remember, Overton uses a different definition of Sweetspot
Hello, my apologies if this is answered earlier in the thread. It looks like everyone is using these custom workouts, and I’d like to give this a shot. How do I access them? I can’t find anything when searching in the TR workouts page
Thanks
Sorry if my post was unclear - I’m aware of the workout creator, but is it not possible to access these custom sweet spot workouts that others folks have already made, rather than make them myself
You have to join a team, that’s the one with all the SS workouts:
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Ok, I understand.
Custom workouts are only visible to the person who created it unless they decide to share it.
Perfect, thank you!
Today I failed the first workout in my quest to complete 3x30 min at 280 watts.
I was attempting 2x35 minutes after being able to do last week 2x30 min and 3x20 min.
I gave up after 16 minutes into the first interval; I had high heart rate and my legs simply could not turn.
It was not a case of failing towards the end of the workout out of exhaustion, I simply could not put out power even after 16 minutes of the first interval which should be more than feasible when i could manage 60 minutes TiZ last week.
I did two group rides during the weekend, probably pushed too hard and therefore could not recover on time even if I took yesterday off.
I plan riding easy tomorrow and attempt the same workout the day after tomorrow.
If I can not push hard by then I will ride easy 4 to 5 days.
What do you guys think? Thanks in advance!
It sounds like you need a full day recovery in there to let the ROS clear. I’d be kind to yourself and perhaps have a recovery spin, and then as hard as it is, have a full day off the bike to let everything settle. Perhaps throw in a slow but long walk on that day and listen to some podcasts or something! I reckon you’ll bounce back strong after that.
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Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions. A quick search on what ROS is in endurance sport lead to “Reactive Oxygen Species”, any reading material or podcast you would suggest on the topic? Cheers!
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