At the end of July i’ll be heading to Costa Adeje in Tenerife with the family. I’ll be able to get a morning on the bike, and get (probably) a once in a lifetime opportunity to go up the volcano and back. I have a few questions for everyone. Firstly, assuming that I can do Alpe Du Zwift on 60 minutes, what kind of time frame am i looking at for the entire ride, from the hotel, up and back? Next, is there any recommendations for workout types to help me get up and down fast as possible? I’ll probably be doing 2-3 workouts a week for about 60 minutes, as im quite time restricted with other things going on.
I’ll be staying at Playa Olid, i believe theres a bike hire place very close who rent nice looking Wilier’s for under 50 euro.
Any other recommendations or tips very welcome.
You’ll be taking TF-51 then, total riding time around 5 hours, if not doing max effort.
Stop at Villaflor for a coffee and check the weather before going out the door, it can change quickly and better to be prepared not to freeze going back down.
Theres a few ways up the volcano, one is much nicer up than the other and that way is the way that goes through arona.
Depends on your ftp and weight, how hard you plan on going, i have no idea RE alpe du zwift, what kind of W/KG can you ride your zone 2 at? remember theres altitude at the top which hurts.
also if you plan on stopping at vilafloor for coffee etc and Theres also a lovely bakery near the bottom in arona.
you could plan a route on strava, and it will estimate time.
Teide | Strava Ride Segment in Arona, Islas Canarias, Spain
the KOM is an hour and a half, i expect it to take you 3. but then theres getting to the bottom and getting back. its probably a 4-5hr ride just doing the loop, as you would normally ride over the top through the moon-like area and down the side with less corners into Chio.
It’s a bit difficult to extrapolate real climbing times from Zwift climbing.
I’d say at least 3 hours up (there is also some urban traffic at the bottom). Due to the sheer length of the climb, you will likely also need to factor in time to stop to re-fill water bottles etc. At the top you will start to feel the effect of altitude.
I am guessing a 4-5 hour trip.
Being so constrained on time,. probably a program focusing on SST/Tempo will be useful.
In any case, the ride up Teide is quite a spectacle 
It is also fairly even, so if you manage to pace and fuel yourself it is absolutely doable despite it’s length.
for context, ill probably be around the 3.5w/kg mark by the time i travel
i’ve just looked and last year i averaged around 3w/kg for the length of the climb and not stopping, that took 2:35:04.
from costa adeje, to the parador at the top of teide (past the segment end) and back the same way, total moving time was 4hrs 50.
i would think that adeje to the teide sign and back the same way with a short stop to fill bottles be doable in around 4 hours
I just did this absolute beauty of a climb one and a half months ago:
268W average, 2h2m, 70kg rider, 1.5kg gear, 6kg bike, with 2.5kg for water food spares.
Pretty exactly 80kg system on the dot.
Enjoy the climb, it is beautiful. The first few miles are boring out of LC and along the highway. From there, you have great looking switchbacks to tackle. For me, the climb becomes truly majestic after Villaflor, into the pine forest. It can get cold and cloudy up here, as the pines “catch” the clouds and drain them into the ground. This is the main source of fresh water on Tenerife.
Almost impossible to extrapolate from virtual to real world, especially a different one from what you intend doing. FWIW my time up the virtual RGT Ventoux is 45m 42s (8.34miles at 7.5%) at circa 3.9w/kg (unladened) on average (it was an interval session), whereas on the slightly shorter Villafor-Teide (7.58miles @ 6.6%) my best time in the real world was only 1h6m26s (Circa 2.8w/kg unladened weight). Ignoring gradient if the distance was equal that’s something like 1h25mins in the real word. It was almost immediately after Ganadilla to Villafor in the real world (8.15miles at 5.4%) (a 24min break in-between) according to Strava and it was my 6th day in a row cycling in Tenerife so I may be able to close the w/kg gap a bit but I doubt I would have been able to shave off circa 40mins. My first day up the full climb from San Miguel to Teide without stopping (14.04miles @ 6.8%) was only an unladened 2.9w/kg.
For 20miles (32.75km) thats impressive 
Not too shabby given your time constraints. That being said, your LT1 is probably more important than your LT2 on such a long climb. Yes, you can go over LT1 on parts of the climb but will also burn more carbs. Aim for a ‘negative split’ rather than blowing out the door.
It wouldn’t hurt to have a few longer rides under your belt where you can practice hydrating and fuelling
Rouvy have this exact route - slightly wobbly bike video but will give you a good idea. I did it on Sunday and was up in 2.5 hours @ 3.1 WKg. I think BigRingVR also have it in better quality. Both have free trial weeks.
I’ve done the actual ride many times (roughly 30) from San Isidro, which joins your route after Vilaflor. The good thing about this approach is you are usually protected from the prevailing NE winds by the hill on the way up. Also, even on cloudy days at sea level, once you get near the summit you go through the cloud layer and end up in sunshine - a fine reward. Just be careful of the damp/wet on the way down, and on occasions very thick mist, so lights can be useful!
I’m off there again at the end of March and have another 5 days on the hill planned. It’s my favourite climb - a steady 6-8% for 30k so you can really get into the zone.
I was actually surprised how closely my times and powers were on AdZ and AdH. I couldn’t do the last few hundred metres of AdH, as it was closed for the Dauphine, but for the same power (~200w), they both came out very close to the hour. The RPE was much higher on AdZ though!
To the OP: I’d say practice being quite relaxed in your shoulders and upper body. I’ve not done Teide, but have done several very long climbs, and if you don’t feel like you’re fighting the bike, the effort feels so much easier.
I’d also make sure you’re happy with your descending position for a long time. That’s where being relaxed going both up and down can make a massive difference.
In terms of workouts I would suggest lots of sweet spot with the time you have. It’s a long effort with not much respite in terms of any descents. If you are going in July factor in some temperature training. Maybe switch fans off if on turbo. Also there’s about a 20 degree temp change between sea and summit so you can plan what to expect at the top. Going up by chio is easier but less scenic. Enjoy
Not on topic. But while you are there do the Masca valley and Mercedes mountains as well. Teide is ok, but those two are incredible.
Ive not done the Mercedes mountains but I’d agree that the Masca valley is incredible 
For bike hire I’d thoroughly recommend Freemotion. You don’t say where you’re from so not sure if you ride with the brakes set up UK or continental style. I paid extra in the hire to have them switched over from Conti style and it was absolutely money well spent. They also do guided rides, where they ride at the pace you want to go at which was great. The ride was also semi-supported so no need to worry about breakdowns etc. We got to take some of the quite roads that the locals know.
I went up from Chio and descended via Vilaflor. It was an awesome day on the bike. Plus the entire climb had just been resurfaced so was billiard table smooth!
It’s impossible to extrapolate times from Zwift to Teide. There’s so many factors to take into account - temperature, altitude, wind etc etc. I’d give yourself at least 5hrs for the ride.
I did that ride 3 years ago (inJanuary). I did it through Bike Point Tenerife. They picked me at my hotel and drove me to the start point. They made everything very easy, including a SAG wagon so I didn’t have to carry tons of stuff on me.
Since i was traveling from the US I rented one of their bikes which really worked out well. If you’re contemplating a bike hire, I recommend these guys.
Regarding training, I did a month’s worth Sweet Spot Base and found it to be sufficient. The rental bike had no PM so I had to pace using HR and RPE, which actually turned out fine. Since I was on vacation, I didn’t worry about average pace, etc. Pushed hard enough to get a good workout, but otherwise made sure stopped and enjoyed the beautiful views.
Be sure to pull over and enjoy the scenery, it’s spectacular1
Here’s some pics from the ride.
I didn’t travel through them but their shop was close to my hotel and its a good one
I see Van Aert is in Tenerife just now. He must of had an easy day today; he took over 48mins to climb from Villafor to the Teide sign today, his record is just over 37mins (mine is 59 and a half minutes 
)
some great info thanks everyone. I didnt think of the brake setup - i’m in the uk. Photos look incredible