I just don't got no kick.

coolbeans

Hello all. I've noticed a trend on long rides where I just don't have any kick for sprints and quick climbs. I've never really done any structured athletic training and cycle and run to stay fit. Now however over the last few runs in Clonmel and Carrick I find myself suffering when it comes to upping the pace for a sprint. Sean Kelly was out two weeks ago and he really put the foot down leaving me behind on the last 8km of a >100km ride. What can I do to remedy this? I can manage long rides at a strong pace but when it gets "sprinty" I just get dropped.

PS: Yes, that was a shameless name drop.

Hermy

Firstly don't pit yourself against one of the sports greatest competitors.:p

neris

glad to see im not the only one who suffers from that problem.

coolbeans

Hermy wrote: »

Firstly don't pit yourself against one of the sports greatest competitors.:p

Haha, this is true however the rest of my post remains valid. I was out yesterday on the same spin sans the great man and while I wasn't dropped I was damn close to it.

petethedrummer

Was it a sequence of short 200m(ish) sprints? Or was it a fast 8km TT to the end?

Improbable

This could be down to muscle composition of fast twitch vs. slow twitch.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/MuscleFiberType.htm

Lumen

Almost all deficiencies in road cycling are down to not having enough sustainable power/aerobic capacity/whatever you call it.

Even sprinting requires it - if your aerobic capacity is insufficient you'll use up your anaerobic capacity in the build up and won't have anything left for the sprint itself.

coolbeans

It was a long 100KM training spin. There were no planned sprints but you know yourselves there will inevitably be some sprinting in a group of 15-20. Unfortunately I find myself struggling when some fcuker decides to show off and the rest of the posse follow him.

coolbeans

petethedrummer wrote: »

Was it a sequence of short 200m(ish) sprints? Or was it a fast 8km TT to the end?

plus what you said Pete...the fast 8KM TT to the end.

kennyb3

Is it only after a long spin? if you were doing a 50k ride and somebody went by you TT'ing at 40km/ph plus could you latch on the back?

have you ever done any interval work?

coolbeans

No, it's not limited to long spins. Intervals? What are they?

kennyb3

If its long spins only then its likely to be your endurance. For example you're very unlikely to be able to sprint near the end of your longest spin and more likely to be able to at 80% of your long spin.

Thus if you want to be able to sprint after 100k, you might want to get use to riding 150k and therefore you wont be as tired at the 100k mark and thus more able to sprint.

obviously throwing in sprint efforts at various points of the long training spins will help you get use to it and your legs will have a less jelly like feeling

cantalach

If you get dropped by a gradual build up of speed during the last 8km, then I'd say you should be working on your FTP (functional threshold power) aka your TT power. To train this, do FTP intervals.

If you get dropped by a sudden acceleration or find that you can stay in the group until the final 200m but always come last in the sprint to the line, then you should probably be working on your anaerobic max power. To train this, do sprint intervals.

In practice, even if the first case doesn't apply, you'll find that by working on your FTP you'll come into the final 200m much fresher and better able to sprint to the line. FTP is arguably the most important parameter for cycling.

Quigs Snr

This is common. That ability to jump around, get into breaks, chase breaks, sprint etc... needs to be trained. When I started racing I came over from the leisure world (very long distances at a good pace), one of the guys commented that I was little more than a "fast fred" and would be sorted if all the races were 300km, however for racing I would need to change my training.

That meant intervals, standing start sprints, power training, jumps, simulations of racing in training (much like you would be doing on some of the hills / near the finish of the ride with the carrick group). It takes time and there is no secret to it. Put yourself on a program for 6 weeks and see how you progress.

e.g. get involved in the sprints on Sunday, do a race or two in the local leagues etc... Do 5 x 1 minute max effort intervals with 2-5 mins between them on Tuesday, 5 x 10 second standing start sprints on Wednesday, 3 x 5 minutes high threshold intervals on Thursday etc..... I am not suggesting that this is the program you do, but something of this flavour for a few weeks will make a marked difference to you.

IM0

coolbeans wrote: »

Sean Kelly was out two weeks ago and he really put the foot down leaving me behind on the last 8km of a >100km ride.

coolbeans wrote: »

Unfortunately I find myself struggling when some fcuker decides to show off and the rest of the posse follow him.

some fooker? lots of us would love an opportunity to be smoked by one of the worlds legends of cycling ffs! - count yourself lucky

coolbeans

me@ucd wrote: »

some fooker? lots of us would love an opportunity to be smoked by one of the worlds legends of cycling ffs! - count yourself lucky

UCD you me misunderstand me. Every other fcuker who smokes me falls into this category; not SK. I thought this evident but apparently not.
Thanks quigs, I'll try a few intervals this week. Anyone up for a few session midweek?

cantalach

coolbeans wrote: »

UCD you me misunderstand me. Every other fcuker who smokes me falls into this category; not SK. I thought this evident but apparently not.
Thanks quigs, I'll try a few intervals this week. Anyone up for a few session midweek?

It's easier to do intervals on your own!

Bartoli

coolbeans wrote: »

UCD you me misunderstand me. Every other fcuker who smokes me falls into this category; not SK. I thought this evident but apparently not.
Thanks quigs, I'll try a few intervals this week. Anyone up for a few session midweek?

Did Cronin smoke you to??

Get down to the Waterford league tonight.You won't be long about sorting the kick out then:D