bike with Jonas Colting

Two-time Ultraman World Champion

Jonas Colting has been a professional triathlete since 1996 and has during those years won several medals at both the European and World Championships over the longer distances as well as being the Swedish champion time and time again. He has also twice conquered and won the challenging Ultraman World Championships, which is a threeday event consisting of a 10 kilometre swim, 430 kilometres of cycling and a whopping 84 kilometres of running over the final day. As a long distance specialist in triathlon, Jonas favours time trialling and going hard against the clock. His best time over the 180 kilometres in an Ironman is 4.30, with a swim before and a marathon to finish with. In Sweden he is also recognized as the author of two books and is a frequent public and corporate speaker on fitness and health. Down below Jonas gives his advice to you as a cyclist.    

Mixing it up is the key

Whether you are aiming at a short and fast time trial, a century ride or even a double
century; your training on the bike should include a mix of both long rides and hard rides. Actually, any kind of aerobic activity that stresses your cardiovascular system is going to help your overall capacity. In essence, swimming, skiing, running or rowing will help you to prepare for your cycling event and are excellent alternatives if you have limited time to actually spend on the bike. Indoor cycling on a trainer or stationary bike is also a viable option for great quality workouts.

Weekends are a good time for distance workouts. Starting out with 2 hours and working up to 4 or 5 hours will allow your system to more effectively burn fat as well as getting the body used to sitting on a bike for hours on end. Just make sure you don’t go too hard during this workout, easy does it. An intense workout with a mixture of intervals will work your economy and oxygen uptake and is a very effective way to build the size of your engine. And just for the fun of it, you could also try a few one-legged drills for some very cycling-specific strength.

In addition to the bike training or any other aerobic activity, a few visits to the gym or basic core exercises will give you an edge on race day. Strong legs will be able to push bigger gears and a strong core and midsection will allow you to keep an optimal posture on the bike.
      
Sample workouts and training week for recreational cyclist wanting to finish a century ride

Starting-out-period, 4-8 weeks

If you’re already cycling regularly, move on to Phase 1

Mon: 40 minutes of any aerobic activity.
Tues: Rest.
Wed: 40 minutes of cycling with natural intervals of your choice.
Thur: Rest.
Fri: Rest.
Sat: 60-90 minutes of easy cycling.
Sun: Rest.

Phase 1, 6-8 weeks

Mon: 60 minutes of any aerobic activity.
Tues: Weights and core.
Wed: Rest.
Thur: Interval workout. 10 minutes easy cycling. Then do 4x8 minutes on 80% with a 2 minute rest after each. Spin another easy 10 minutes to finish.
Fri: Rest.
Sat: 2-3 hours of easy cycling. Practice eating and drinking on the bike.
Sun: Rest.

Phase 2, 6-8 weeks

Mon: 75 minutes of any aerobic activity.
Tues: Weights and core.
Wed: Rest.
Thur: Interval workout. 10 minutes easy cycling. Then do 5x8 minutes on 80% with a 2 minute rest after each. Switch in to a heavier gear and do 5x1 minutes single-legged on each side. Work on a smooth stroke. Finish off with another 10 min spin.
Fri: Rest.
Sat: 3-4 hours of easy cycling. Practice eating and drinking on the bike.
Sun: Rest.

Tapering for the race , 3 weeks

WEEK 1

Mon: Rest.
Tues: 60 minutes of cycling. Start out slow and easy and build speed and effort to finish hard and fast.
Wed: Weights and core.
Thur: Rest.
Fri: Interval workout. 10 min easy spinning followed by 8-6-4-2-1 minutes hard with a few minutes active recovery after each interval. Work harder the shorter the interval is. Spin easy afterwards.
Sat: Rest.
Sun: Short race or race-specific workout.

WEEK 2

Mon: Rest.
Tues: 2 hours easy cycling. Stay aerobic and keep your effort on the easy side.
Wed: Weights and core.
Thur: Rest.
Fri: Interval workout. 10 min easy spinning followed by 5-4-3-2-1 minutes hard with a few minutes active recovery after each interval. Work harder the shorter the interval is. Spin easy afterwards.
Sat: Rest.
Sun: Short race or race-specific workout.

WEEK 3

Mon: Rest.
Tues: Interval workout. Do 6-8 hard 1-minute intervals with ample and complete recovery between each. Do a long warm-up and warm-down.
Wed: 1 hour easy spin.
Thur: 45 minutes where you start out easy and finish hard.
Fri: Rest.
Sat: 30 minutes easy spinning.
Sun: Have a great race!

ADVICE FOR RACE DAY

• Be sure to race in clothes and shoes that you have tried on before in training. New equipment on race day tend to chafe.

• The same goes for nutrition. Eat and drink things you have tried before. For a century ride you should aim at taking in energy every 15 minutes.

• Adapt your speed and effort according to the terrain.

• Be safe out there! Always wear a helmet and be wary of traffic and other riders around you.