One question which always creates heated debate amongst cyclists is how much should we train? How many miles should we cycle per week.
When asked for cycling advice, Fausto Coppi gave this response: ‘ride a bike’
Eddy Merckx was another great believer in cycling long distances. During the winter months he would have at least 3 200km training rides per week.
Recently, I read that Nicole Cooke, one of the leading female cyclists, is currently cycling 500 miles per week (with a few shorter weeks for recovery)
The theory is that riding these long distances improves a cyclists endurance and aerobic capacity. This provides the springboard for interval training later in the year.
However, it is worth noting that these are professional cyclists who are often racing 140Km plus. Therefore, it is appropriate that they tailor their cycling programs to reflect their distances.
In recent years, more scientific approaches to cycling have questioned the necessity of cycling long distances. One of the early advocates of low mileage training was Chris Boardman. In his preparation for the world hour record, his focus was on high quality, low mileage. Many professional cyclists were shocked at how little mileage he actually completed. But, again the key here is that Chris Boardman was a time trialist specialist. To peak in a one hour time trial, it is not necessary to do the extra mileage. In fact, if you spend all your time doing long distances, you might reduce your top end time trial speed.
Therefore, a cyclist has to look closely at his targets and races. If you are racing 100km road races, you should try to do suitably long training rides of at least 100km. If you are only interested in doing 10 mile and 25 mile time trials, the distance becomes less important.
There is also a psychological factor – How much do you enjoy cycling, especially in winter. If the idea of 5-6 hour winter training rides fills you with dread. Don’t worry, you will still be able to be competitive in some races.
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