Steady tempo efforts are great, but by incorporating 30sec high-intensity efforts into them, you will improve your body's ability to work aerobically for longer periods of time. This helps the body adapt to the natural surges in climbing around hairpin corners or even following the increased pace after an attack. Today's sessions consists of 2 x 16min tempo efforts with a 30sec surge every 3.5min.
Since he was a Junior, Mathieu van der Poel (MvdP) has been dominant in cyclocross and mountain biking, winning World titles in both. Now he also races at WorldTour level, winning stage races and Classics. He has an incredible ability to accelerate, seemingly at will, and keep extreme pressure on to break his competitors. This ability is called anaerobic capacity and is what today's workout will be focused on improving.
Anna van der Breggen is arguably one of the most versatile riders of her generation. She excels by staying cool when others crumble under pressure. So, what better way to challenge your ability to embrace your inner Anna van der Breggen by doing some over/unders! Over/unders are great for improving your ability to surge hard again and again but not recovering fully in between. A perfect workout for one-day classics and stage race specialists - like Anna!