Published September 11, 2025 09:15AM
Can You Train for Outdoor Racing on the Indoor Trainer?
Why indoor training will or will not translate to outdoor success.
(Photo: Torwai)
We all know that rider that is a beast on Zwift but has never won a race IRL. They could be using a fake weight, perhaps they have an over-reading trainer, or they’re just terrified of riding in a pack. But if they can do pro-level power numbers on the trainer, why can’t they keep up IRL?
Indoor training doesn’t always translate to outdoor success. Of course, this rider could be lying about their weight or manipulating their indoor numbers. But more often than not, those numbers are real – they just haven’t figured out how to translate indoor numbers to outdoor race wins.
In this article, we’ll highlight the most common causes of the “indoor hero, outdoor zero.”
Indoor = Power While Outdoor = Speed
Indoor training platforms such as Zwift, ROUVY, and MyWhoosh calculate your avatar’s speed primarily based on power output. There are minor speed adjustments based on your avatar’s height and weight, but the majority of its speed is based on your power or power-to-weight ratio. In general, the more power you can push, the faster your avatar goes.
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When riding outdoors, speed is determined by a number of factors, one of them being power output. Aerodynamic drag (CdA) and rolling resistance are crucial factors in determining your speed, and that is why riders spend thousands of dollars testing tires and aero positions in the wind tunnel. At higher speeds (>40 kph), aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance may be even more significant than power output.
That is why lightweight riders are better suited to steep climbs rather than flat tarmac. The lower your speed, the more your power (and w/kg) matters, and the less your aerodynamic drag counts at all.
Indoor training doesn’t factor your unique CdA or rolling resistance into your speed. It also doesn’t factor in the weight or quality of your gear. If you are pushing 400w indoors, the trainer doesn’t care if you are riding a beat-up MTB frame or a $20k road bike. It also doesn’t care if you ride in the saddle or out. In fact, you could pedal out of the saddle at 55 kph with zero aero penalty on the trainer.
There are plenty of numbers to think about when it comes to indoor versus outdoor training, but there are also a number of factors that are difficult to quantify. One of them is bike handling: how fast can you corner, and how many watts can you save on a steep descent?
Bike Handling and Pack-Riding
This may seem obvious, but in order to succeed in outdoor cycling, you need to know how to handle your bike.
You must be able to bump elbows in the sprint, corner up the inside and outside, and position yourself at the crucial point of the race. Without these skills, you will never succeed, no matter what your power meter says.
Strong riders can find success at the lower levels of racing, but as they move up the ladder, they will eventually catch up to the riders with a much higher skill level. That’s when deficiencies in bike handling will become painfully obvious. The rider with the highest power numbers in the peloton may be getting gapped in every corner, and they will waste so much energy catching back up that they will get dropped before the finale.
Indoor training offers a significant amount of leeway when it comes to bike handling skills. In fact, you don’t need to know anything about bike handling or pack-riding. Your indoor bike doesn’t even need brakes, bar tape, or a front wheel. You could literally mount your fork to a piece of plywood – I’ve seen it done many times before to increase stiffness for sprinting.
When it comes to outdoor racing, you need at least some level of bike handling skills to succeed. Different races require different levels of skill: a six-corner, 50 kph US crit requires a lot of skill, while a flat 100-mile Gran Fondo requires significantly less skill. Without the ability to handle your bike, you could find yourself dropped in the first few minutes of any race.
Mental and Physical Stress
Indoor training is done in a completely controlled environment. Most cyclists are able to set up their trainer with fans, a mat, sweatbands, nutrition, hydration, and entertainment nearby. Everything you need, just within an arms reach. No worries about crashing, traffic, or bumping elbows.
As soon as you step outside, you are competing against the elements and worldly chaos. For some, this is easy to handle on a daily basis. These are typically people who say they prefer to “go with the flow.”
For others (myself included), chaos is a stressful place. We like planning, organization, and predictability. A bike race rarely goes to plan; and even when it does, there were probably 12 things that went wrong along the way to it barely working out.
Some riders are better-suited to the controlled environment of indoor training. These are cyclists that can compete at the top level in time trials and hill climbs when it is just them against the clock.
Others thrive in the unpredictable world of bike racing. Unexpected rain, last-minute course modification, and no plan for team tactics…count them in!
Indoor training is a great way to get fit. For some, especially those who live in cold climates or rural environments, it is the best way to complete high-quality training. When every pedal stroke counts, some can accomplish in 10 hours on the trainer what they would outside with 20 hours. But indoor training doesn’t necessarily translate to outdoor success.
There are additional pieces to the puzzle, such as aerodynamics, equipment, bike-handling skills, and mental capacity for chaos. You can find some success with only a few of these traits, but you won’t reach your full potential until you master all of these skills. It is a daunting task, but that’s part of the beauty of cycling. The strongest rider in the race doesn’t always win. There are so many other ways that you can be the first rider across the finish line.
