5 Early Season Race Prep Indoor Workouts
Early-season racing is approaching across much of the U.S. These indoor, race-specific workouts will sharpen fitness and pacing before the first start line.
I ride these on a SportCrafters Omnium Trainer with a large floor fan for cooling. If you pace by RPE or heart rate, reference TrainingPeaks Power Training Levels.
More at http://socalcycling.com/2014/12/27/training-early-season-criterium-race-prep-workouts-gary-tingley/ and https://www.sportcrafters.com/blog/5-early-season-race-prep-indoor-workouts
#1 High Cadence / High Intensity Surges (1.5 hours)
Warm up 20–30 minutes gradually.
Main set:
Visualize rotating breakaway pulls.
• 15 sec HARD at 130–150% FTP
• 15 sec easy draft
Repeat continuously for 10 minutes.
Recover easy for 5 minutes.
Finish the ride at endurance pace (70–80% FTP).
#2 Threshold Intervals (1.5 hours)
Warm up 20+ minutes.
Main set:
• 4 × 12 minutes @ 98–103% FTP
• 3 minutes easy between efforts
Cool down 10 minutes.
#3 Climb the Pyramid (1.5–2 hours)
Warm up 20 minutes.
Main set at 93–95% FTP, reverse pyramid:
20:00 → 10:00 → 5:00 → 2:30 → 1:15 → :45
Recover 3 minutes between each effort.
Spin easy after the final interval to reach total ride time.
#4 Bursts and Sprints (1.5 hours)
Warm up 20 minutes.
Microburst set:
• 5 × (:30 ON at 150% FTP / :30 EASY at 50% FTP)
Recover easy for 10 minutes.
Sprint set:
• 3 full-gas standing sprints from slow roll or stop
• 10–12 seconds each
• 4 minutes full recovery between sprints
Sprint technique: explode out of the saddle, get on top of the gear, then sit and hold max cadence for the full effort.
Finish at endurance pace to reach 1.5 hours total.
#5 Race-Day Warm-Up (40 minutes)
Complete on trainer or rollers.
• 20 minutes easy spin, gradually raise cadence to 100 rpm. Add a few 5-second high-cadence bursts.
• 3 × 3 minutes at 90%, 95%, 100% FTP with 2 minutes easy between.
• 4 minutes easy spin.
Roll to the start line with about 10 minutes remaining.