This session aims to replicate the demands of a mountain bike ride / event.
Mountain biking generally involves far more variations in effort compared with road riding - so plenty of surges and time spent being over geared! We also spend a lot of time 'on and off' the power, so short spells going hard to get over an obstacle, followed by a freewheel or very low power on a descent or little dip.
We touch upon all of these aspects in todays session, as we start off alternating every 30 seconds between riding hard at a low cadence, and riding easy - as if we are riding through an undulating single track. Then we make a ramp in effort, which finishes with a 30 second near max effort up a steep, rocky banking!
Uphill Battle starts off with 3 sets of 5 mins right below Threshold (95% FTP) featuring a 30 second ramp-up to finish (from 100% FTP to 150% FTP). After these, we will be moving onto 2 sets of 30/30s (30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest). The first set is done at 130% FTP for the work interval and 70% FTP for the "rest". The second set ups the ante a bit to 140% FTP for the work interval and 60% FTP for the "rest". Do you have what it takes to finish it? I know you can!
After a warm-up, we will move into 2x (15 mins alternating between 2 mins @85% FTP, and a 30 second surge effort (110+ RPM) @105% FTP). We will be mixing up the cadence and position on the bike throughout the course of the workout as well to further challenge your basic skills and on-bike flexibility.
The Spaded Sweetie starts off with a 15 minute warm up to prime the engines and ready the mind. Then, we move into a spade interval set starting off very hard, but short, and gradually reducing the intensity while upping the time... Only to go back up again! From there, we will move into a progressive over/under sweet spot interval featuring changes in cadence and intensity that culminates in a 1min FULL GAS effort! This is a tough workout, but feautures a lot of quality time at VO2 and threshold.
In today's session we are focusing on 3min VO2 max efforts. However, we are going to escalate the intensity of each interval. Starting with 'hard' and finishing with 'hardest'!
FAQ: What do the coloured areas overlapping the elevation profile mean?
Segments along the route are coloured along the height profile. Climbs are indicated with red, sprints with green and other segments (e.g. laps or timed segments) with blue.
FAQ: What do the climb categories , , , and mean?
Climbs are categorized based on how tough they are, which depends both on the climb's length and its average incline. The toughest climbs are rated (HC comes from Hors Catégorie, which is French for beyond categorization). Less tough climbs are rated as category , less tough climbs than those are rated as , and onwards with and . Any climb less tough than category four does not get a rating.
FAQ: How can I ride/run on an event only route?
By joining an event you can get into event only worlds and routes. Don't want to join an event or don't see an event with your desired world/route? Use the Zwift Companion app to create a meetup or (for even more choice of worlds and routes) create a club and then an event.