Thoughts About Cycling Goals

Over time, I've learned that there are good and bad ways to think about cycling goals.

Winning is for Losers

By far, the worst thing to do is set goals for placing in or winning races. My first bout of bicycle racing back in the 90s ended with burnout from unrealistic expectations. Unless you are the strongest person in the peloton by far, your plans for victory have a sliver of a chance of coming to fruition in a particular race. Even if you ride perfectly, you're subject to the actions of other riders in the field, punctures and other mechanical problems. On the flip side, though winning or placing in a race is a fantastic thrill, that event is just as subject to random chance and the relative strength of the competition, and might not signify much.

A focus on winning just doesn't reflect reality. Winning is a binary event, while cycling is about probability. A healthier way to think about racing goals is to focus on giving yourself the best chance to win or place. That will shift the focus of your attention to the fitness and technical skills that promote your chances of success instead of feeling the pain of missing imaginary podium placings. If you're getting dropped in every race during a season, it's unrealistic to even contemplate winning. In that case, racing is another form of training. If a race is going to end in a field sprint, did you ride to keep your legs fresh, or did you waste energy yo-yoing off the back of the field because you can't take corners at speed? Did you miss a break because you don't have TT power?

The analysis of your performance at races in those terms can lead to constructive changes in your preparation.

Train by Numbers

If you ride with a power meter, it's easy to get obsessed with numerically defined goals. In power based training books, stats are often quoted down to the Watt: e.g. your lactate threshold is 321 Watts. These numbers are also often attributed to genetics. Combine those two tendencies, and it's easy to get the idea that your lactate threshold can be determined as easily as your height, and is as permanent as your hair or eye color. Similarly, charts of example intervals show power versus time graphs that look like perfect square tooth waves on an oscilloscope.

However, cycling rarely resembles the mathematical perfection of a statue of a greek god. It's more like a fat sloppy drunk stumbling down an alley with potholes and greasy patches of pavement.

The numbers that describe your cycling fitness change over the course of years and during a season and are influenced by several external factors, like weather, the amount of sleep you get, and fluctuations in your endocrine system. Chances are, if you are an amateur cyclist, you'll never come close to reaching your genetically determined limits. Instead, limited training time and other factors will impose limits on the fitness you can achieve in a season and in your career.

You should regard your current level of fitness as temporary, and test numbers as temporary. At times during your career and season, you'll be able to make quantum leaps in fitness. Be open to those quantum leaps, and be aware they rarely happen when you plan them. One week you'll struggle to hit 350 Watts on a climb, then suddenly you'll sustain 400 Watts and think it's easy.

Unless you live at sea level where there are miles long beach roads, or have access to a velodrome, you won't be able to maintain your power down to the Watt or even 10 or 20 Watts. It will fluctuate like crazy when you roll over minor changes in terrain, or if a gust of wind gives you a shove. If you attempt to sustain a number like 320 Watts, you'll end up undershooting the target most of the time. To achieve steady state power on a flat road, which usually represents the power required to overcome wind resistance, sometimes you need to accelerate and overcome your inertia, and jump far above the steady state power.

A better approach is to have a large bracket for your power goals while training, like 300-350 Watts, and then a bias for the high side or the low side depending on what you are attempting to achieve. If you are riding tempo, you might bias toward the low side. If you are doing a TT, the high side. In racing, you'll need to be able to absorb sudden high power demands to stick with a group, so do that in training instead of sitting comfortably in the range.