Between the ski resorts and vacations on the beach, professional cyclists do actually ride their bikes in December. While most pros take an off-season in October or November, they are back on the bike before Christmas, putting in the work along the Spanish coast.
It seems like every pro in the world went to some part of Spain this December, whether it was INEOS in Mallorca or UAE Team Emirates in Calpe.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at December training camps: the number of hours spent in the saddle, the type of intervals done in the winter, and the testing protocols of the world’s best professional cycling teams.
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Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates
Most of UAE Team Emirates met in Calpe, Spain, for a 10-day training camp in early December. The team had been at their respective homes for a few months, whether that was Pogačar in Monaco, Michael Vink in New Zealand, or Brandon McNulty in the USA. Based on social media, it looks like Pogačar was training with the team in Calpe, but we can’t say with certainty that he did the same training as everyone else.
Rui Oliveira, UAE Team Emirates all-rounder and lead-out man, posted every ride from the UAE Team, including his power data. The first few days consisted of long endurance rides around 220-250w. Unlike other riders, Oliveira hardly did any interval training during the December camp. Most of his rides looked a lot like this:
Oliveira – December Camp Day 3
Time: 4.5 hours
Average Power: 211w (3.1w/kg)
Normalized Power: 260w
Professional cyclists’ training plans can be completely different based on their goals. Oliveira, for example, may be planning a later peak in June or July 2024, which means he has plenty of time to get into peak shape. A classics rider, on the other hand, might be targeting races in February and March, which means they’re already training hard in December.
INEOS Grenadiers Training Camp
On the island of Mallorca, INEOS Grenadiers began their training camp in early December, and it seems like the entire team was in attendance. Former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski was one of those riders, and he posted back-to-back 30-hour weeks on Strava.
The Pole cross-trained almost every morning, whether it was weight training, swimming, or even a 10km run. INEOS is known for its low-intensity, high-volume training, and this year was no exception. Kwiatkowski finished most of his 4, 5, and 6-hour rides with an average power of less than 200w and an average heart rate of around 110 bpm.
On the fourth day of training camp, Kwiatkowski ran 10km at 7 a.m. with an average pace of 4:58/km (7:59/mile) and then left for a 6-hour ride at 10 a.m.
Lactate testing is a growing trend in cycling and endurance sports, and we could actually see it being performed at the INEOS Grenadiers training camp. The day after a recovery ride, Kwiatkowski and his teammates repeatedly rode up and down a short climb to measure their blood lactate levels at specific power outputs.
These tests are designed to find the rider’s aerobic threshold, anaerobic threshold, and maximum power output over a certain duration. Not only could we spot Kwiatkowski’s lactate testing efforts, but we could also see his maximum 5-minute power output – keep in mind, it’s only December.
Kwiatkowski – Lactate testing
Final maximum effort: 5:40 at 478w (7.2w/kg)
Low cadence intervals – the latest trend in modern training?
Low cadence drills are coming. Just like the trends of Sweet Spot intervals, 40/20s, and Zone 2, low cadence (or SFR) intervals are going to become a classic bike training interval session. Scientific evidence has yet to catch up, but more cyclists are doing SFR intervals than ever before.
In short, slow frequency revolution (SFR) training consists of low cadence, high torque intervals designed to improve muscular strength and power output. You can find them all over Strava, from the INEOS and Alpecin-Deceuninck camps to the workouts of Brandon McNulty and Jason Osborne.
While the rest of UAE Team Emirates was in Spain, McNulty was at home in Arizona, riding at 35 rpm. After an hour-long warm-up, McNulty did 8×4-minute SFR intervals at 360w (5.2w/kg) and a cadence of 35-40 rpm. I’ve seen SFR intervals before, but never at less than 40 rpm. This is one that you might not want to try at home.
McNulty – SFR Training Interval #5
4:00 at 360w (5.2w/kg)
Average cadence: 39 rpm
The last session that I need to mention is an SFR over-threshold ride from Jason Osborne. The Olympic rower-turned-Zwift World Champion is one of the strongest cyclists in the world when you look at his power numbers.
At Alpecin-Deceuninck’s December training camp, the German did a series of SFR intervals that I’d never seen before, 2×4 minutes at 475w (6.7w/kg) at a cadence of 55rpm with two and half minutes recovery. Pedaling at 55 rpm is hard enough. So is 2×4 minutes at VO2 Max. But combining the two…that’s something I’d never seen before.
Osborne – SFR Intervals Set #2
SFR #1: 4:00 at 473w (6.8w/kg) and 55 rpm
Recovery: 2:30 at 202w and 82 rpm
SFR #2: 4:00 at 477w (6.8w/kg) and 58 rpm
What can we learn from pro cyclists’ December training camps? They ride 5-6 hours a day, nearly every day, for 8-15 days. Most of their time is spent in Zones 1 and 2, and some riders stick to that. Others perform very hard intervals, lactate testing, and SFR intervals.
If you want to learn from the pros, look at their consistency and the way they stick to their training zones. Some of McNulty’s Zone 2 sessions look like he’s riding on ERG mode. That commitment to their structured training plan allows them to recover adequately day-to-day and perform at their best when it truly counts.
Power Analysis data courtesy of Strava
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