Right now, the season 2022 every time it comes to an end. If we talk about MTB or road competition tests for the dispute of federative tests in the different categories that exist.

It is not so, but the other great aspect that cycling has and which is a higher percentage of users, In this case we talk about the cycling races which can be road, gravel or mountain biking included, where there is an increasingly greater number of tests throughout the year with a greater number of users and cycling clubs that register for them and prepare them to be able to reach them in the best possible way..

Today we will talk about this preparation, of the differences that training for this type of tests can sustain and how to prepare for them.

Input, We can be guided by an old entry from our blog, where we talked about 10 training commandments in a general way in which we laid the foundations of preparation for any user. In this case, cycle tourist.

We must keep in mind that the amateur cyclist or cycle tourist has a series of limitations that a professional athlete does not have or are not as pronounced.. The preparation that the first person must follow must be adjusted to their work schedules., personal life, motivations… In this case, There is no cyclist who lives from this sport. Therefore, Being able to combine training load with work is a key element. Many times we talk about jobs where there is already a great physical load and can limit the subsequent training that the cyclist is going to do.. Listen and understand the needs of this They will be key to being able to organize the training week in the best possible way..

Intensity VS Volume It is a combination that will help us improve or at the same time, not evolve at some point in the season. High-volume jobs will have to be prioritized in weeks where the cyclist can do it taking advantage of vacation or holiday periods.. This work, as is already well known, It will be distributed in periods far from tests or important group outings.. We can also use it at times of the season where we are «mentally saturated: personal life, labor, training... a "long" outing with friends will always be easier for our mind than a work scheduled in fractions, that in this case, We should always use in the periodization weeks before (3-5) of the big calendar appointments.

We must also take into account that we will work specifically with the bike that we are going to carry out our challenges: if it is an MTB event, Because in the previous weeks we will give more importance to the mountain bike over the road bike (if we have both)., of course) to be able to have greater security, control and specificity of previous training.

The groups: Our opinion about them is that they can help us a lot to move our preparation forward., taking into account that there is a great social factor in this sport and going out in a group always passes the time better and faster, at the same time it will motivate us more to be able to train with friends. But be careful!, that their intensity at certain times of the season may not suit us, since many people of different levels come together and the pace that is imposed on some of them if we are coming back from an injury

Regarding the intensity, The other big one mentioned above is that we should focus on more extensive or longer work (108-90% FTP) to improve physical condition for the tests that we should face along with strength training on the bike and off it., with correct periodization, which we have already mentioned in some blog posts.

Our body is not a machine and we must listen to it to be able to understand and train better., seeking to improve physical performance.