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3 Wattbike Sessions For Sportive Riders

March 23, 2016 3 min read

With British summer time on the horizon many cyclists thoughts will turn to summer sportives. If you’ve signed up for a sportive this year, why not try one of the following Wattbike sessions, which have been designed specifically to help you tackle the challenges of a sportive.

Prepare for Sportives with a Smart Bike

Try these three indoor trainer sessions to prepare for sportives.

The First Timers Sportive Session

If you are tackling your first sportive this summer this is a great session to start with. You will be working primarily in zone 1 which helps to establish base fitness, plus you’ll add zone 3 intervals to improve your endurance and sustainable power.

Total time 45 minutes

Element

Duration

Training Zone/ RPM

Warm up

10 minutes

1 minute at 80 rpm

1 minute at 85 rpm

1 minute at 90 rpm

1 minute at 95 rpm

1 minute at 100 rpm

1 minute at 80 rpm

6 second sprint

54 second recovery

Repeat sprint and recovery

2 minutes at 80 rpm

Base fitness builder

7.5 minutes

Zone 1 - 90 rpm

Interval 1

5 minutes

Zone 3 - 90-95 rpm

Base fitness builder

10 minutes

Zone 1 - 90 rpm

Interval 2

5 minutes

Zone 3 - 90-95 rpm

Cool down

8 minutes

Recovery

The Race Pace Session

If you’re a season sportive rider or regular cyclist looking to improve your sustainable speed during an upcoming sportive, try this session during your taper or pre-competition period. The zone 4 intervals will improve your sustainable race pace.

Total time: 49 minutes

Element

Duration

Training Zone/ RPM

Warm up

10 minutes

1 minute at 80 rpm

1 minute at 85 rpm

1 minute at 90 rpm

1 minute at 95 rpm

1 minute at 100 rpm

1 minute at 80 rpm

6 second sprint

54 second recovery

Repeat sprint and recovery

2 minutes at 80 rpm

Base fitness builder

15 minutes

Zone 1 - 90 rpm

Interval 1

4 minutes

Zone 4 - 95-100 rpm

Base fitness builder

8 minutes

Zone 1 - 90 rpm

Interval 2

4 minutes

Zone 4 - 95-100 rpm

Cool down

8 minutes

Recovery

The Pushing Power Session

If you’re looking to beat the bunch and are an experienced cyclist, try this session. The zone 4-5 intervals will help you develop resistance to short term fatigue.

Total time: 30 minutes

Element

Duration

Training Zone/ RPM

Warm up

10 minutes

1 minute at 80 rpm

1 minute at 85 rpm

1 minute at 90 rpm

1 minute at 95 rpm

1 minute at 100 rpm

1 minute at 80 rpm

6 second sprint

54 second recovery

Repeat sprint and recovery

2 minutes at 80 rpm

Interval 1

2 minutes

Top of zone 4 - zone 5 at 95-100 rpm
Accelerate the last 30 seconds to 110+ rpm at zone 5.

Recovery

4 minutes

Recovery zone

Interval 2

2 minutes

Top of zone 4 - zone 5 at 95-100 rpm
Accelerate the last 30 seconds to 110+ rpm at zone 5.

Recovery

4 minutes

Recovery zone

Cool down

8 minutes

Recovery

Include Workouts into Your Training Plan

Whilst you can use any of these sessions as a standalone workout, they’re much more effective when used as part of a wider training plan. If you’re training for a sportive, take a look at our beginners sportive training plan or active cyclists sportive plan if you are looking to improve.


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