If you come to one of our training camps in 2019, you will have the opportunity to ride free of charge with a power meter for three months and enjoy extensive training in how to get the most out of it. The power meter we have chosen is the one […]
Perhaps the most challenging part of adopting a Polarised training plan is getting used to the long slow rides. Riding for three, four and eventually up to seven or eight hours at a slow and steady pace just isn’t enough fun for many people. And yet… the research strongly suggests […]
I first wrote about polarised training exactly one year ago, (Threshold or Polarised: why should you care?) with a follow-up post on March 11th (Polarised Training: my personal experience). One year on seems an appropriate moment to draw a line and evaluate the results. There are two ways to look […]
The Haute Route events are long distance stage races over mountainous terrain. They exist in two formats: either seven day’s cycling including one mountain time-trial, usually stage 4 or stage 5, or three days cycling with a mountain time-trial on the last day. Pacing strategy at a one-day sportive such […]
The Tour des Stations is a new event in the cyclist’s calendar, and judging by the first year’s results it is destined to become a classic! Based in the Valais (Switzerland), a two hour drive from Geneva, the event offers three possible distances: 50km | 2,200m+ Mediofondo 130km | 4,500m+ […]
This post about the Etape du Tour starts with an introduction for non-cyclists and finishes with a detailed analysis for the more passionate amongst you. This includes our strategic advice for the race, and a report on my own attempt to apply the strategy! INTRODUCTION The Etape du Tour […]
The practical art of periodisation Periodisation in training is about changing the training load to get better results. If we do the same training over and over again and expect continued improvement we will be sadly disappointed. It is the variation within a session, within a week, within a month […]
When posting the strategy a few days before (read here), I promised to write the actual event up afterwards. So here it is: my personal experience at the 2018 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Challenge. How hard is it? Early start Act 1, South to Bastogne (100km) Act 2, Bastogne to Francheville (75km) Act […]
Riding Liège-Bastogne-Liège We at Alpine Cols are best known for riding in the mountains, and especially the Alpine sportives such as the Haute Route, the Marmotte and the Etape du Tour. This year it was time to try something new, so we have ventured north to Belgium to the climbers […]
Until quite recently winter training was all about LSD or Long Slow Distance: putting on the miles at home, often in wet and grisly weather conditions. Nobody did any serious climbing, and the long cold miles were stoically endured until spring came at last. Things changed with the wide availability […]
