If you have a cold or other infection, sport is prohibited. Anyone who gets on a racing bike even though they are ill risks, firstly, that the infection will worsen. Secondly, the pathogen can attach itself to the heart valves and cause life-threatening myocarditis. In any case, training is not effective in a weakened state. So it's better to rest and get back on the pedals a few days later!
By the beginning of November at the latest, the cyclists split into four groups. A few - mostly those who earn money with it - fly into the sun and spend the winter there. Others get on their bikes and only get off again when the crocuses are in bloom. Many put the bike in the cellar while the clocks are on winter time. The rest dress warmly. And continue to train outside. "I prefer to ride in the summer, but there's something to be said for winter rides," says Sebastian Grospitz, regional coach of the Bavarian U19 riders.
Training on a road bike in winter: Don't underestimate the cold
Then he pulls out a saying that generations of coaches before him have said, but which is true: "Winners are made in winter. If you want to go to Mallorca in April, for example, you should ride outside in the months beforehand and collect enough kilometres." However, there are a few things to bear in mind if you want to get out on the saddle in the cold. Firstly, there is the wind chill effect, which can turn plus temperatures into frost (see graphic, below). On the other hand, your hands, arms, feet and face are particularly exposed to the cold when riding a road bike.
Road bike training in winter - check the weather forecast carefully
And then there's the fact that on winter rides, damn cold air flows into your lungs. French and Belgian scientists confirm the following after conducting studies on professional cyclists: "In cold environmental conditions, it is advisable to develop warm-up, hydration and clothing strategies." And what might these look like? Smart winter training actually starts with route planning.
Grospitz recommends, for example, checking the weather forecast more carefully than usual before setting off and choosing your route: "Especially in winter, you shouldn't just set off into the unknown, but choose routes that you can judge well. You should also find out the wind direction and speed beforehand and adapt your route and clothing accordingly." The wind chill effect should not be underestimated: At speeds of 30 kilometres per hour, zero degrees feels like minus six.
If there is a headwind, it gets even icier. However, the perception of temperature is subjective, says Grospitz: "While some people feel cold at ten degrees, others don't find five degrees so bad. And two degrees naturally feels very different in drizzle than in sunshine." Anyone travelling in the mountains must not forget that temperatures are lower at the top: It gets between six and ten degrees colder per 1000 metres of altitude, depending on the air pressure.
How long to ride a road bike in the cold in winter?
Although you often start off shivering on a road bike in winter, according to Grospitz, amateur cyclists don't necessarily need to warm up beforehand, even in the cold. "Most people only ride in the GA1 range in winter anyway and don't do any intervals." The coach cannot give a generalised answer to the question of how long a winter ride should last: "It depends on your fitness, your goal and your ability to suffer. My juniors from the Bavarian squad also ride for four or five hours in winter, weather permitting. But they have to and they're used to it." All those who don't have to should ask themselves: is it really necessary to ride four hours outside in the rain in January, or is less enough? "It depends on the destination, but for most people it doesn't have to be more than two hours in winter," says Grospitz.
Additional load
This is also due to the fact that the cool temperatures are an additional strain on the body. "When it's cold, the body needs a lot of energy to maintain the optimum temperature inside," explains Dr Milan Dinic, a sports physician and cardiologist from Munich. "Freezing accelerates the breakdown of glycogen, which is stored in the liver and muscles to provide energy." Calorie consumption is correspondingly high during winter training. "Studies have shown that prolonged freezing doubles fat burning and even increases the oxidation of carbohydrates sevenfold," says Dinic.
Eat more!
For winter cyclists, this means it's better to pack one more energy bar in your jersey pocket. The winter weather also affects your water balance. "In cold temperatures, you have to hydrate more often," explains Dinic. "Because you also lose more fluid through breathing than in summer due to the rather dry winter air, it is also important to drink regularly on the road in cold weather," explains Dinic. It is true that the muscle work of the legs when cycling acts like an internal heating plant.
Nevertheless, the body reacts the same way it always reacts to cold when travelling on a road bike: In order to keep the heat in the centre of the body and protect vital organs such as the heart and lungs, it reduces the blood supply to the surface of the skin and in the extremities (see chart below). "The result is ice-cold, numb hands and feet and therefore the risk of poor bike control," warns Dinic. "Braking and shifting gears in particular becomes more difficult and the risk of accidents increases." The aim is therefore to keep hands and feet warm for as long as possible on winter rides.
According to studies, this also ensures blood flow to the nasal mucous membranes, which improves the body's defence against infection. Incidentally, the heart rate is often lower when exercising in the cold than when doing the same exercise in summer, adds sports physician Dinic: "This is because the energy generated by the exercise heats up the body and it therefore needs to put less effort into thermoregulation. This means the heart has to pump less."
The doctor does not advise everyone to ride a road bike outside in winter. "People with sensitive bronchial tubes should avoid intensive outdoor exercise in cold weather," says Dinic. The cold air that everyone automatically breathes in through their mouth after a certain intensity of training irritates the bronchial tubes. "Athletes with a particularly sensitive bronchial system then react with acute bronchitis or even asthma." Riders who already know that they have cold-induced asthma should "better not take any risks" and train on a roller or an indoor bike.
Road bike training in winter: Why women freeze more
Incidentally, the sensation of cold is not only different for each individual, but also differs between men and women. This is mainly due to the fact that muscles are the body's heating power stations. They produce heat, even at rest. This gives men an advantage, as they have on average a quarter more muscle mass than women. In addition, women's skin is around 15 per cent thinner than men's - female riders are simply less well insulated than their male counterparts.
Scientists have proven in many studies that the feel-good temperatures of men and women are therefore very different. Women should therefore pay particular attention to adequate protection against the cold during winter training. Wrapped up warm, cycling in winter has many advantages: according to a Canadian study, it promotes fat burning. They boost the production of vitamin D, which the body can only produce itself with the help of sunlight.
A high vitamin D level, even in winter, reduces the risk of osteoporosis and also has a mood-lifting effect. Outdoor sports have been proven to reduce the risk of depression and lift the mood in depressive moods, which often occur in the darker months of the year. Exercising in the fresh air gets the circulation going and improves blood flow. This in turn supports the work of the immune system and reduces the risk of infection.
So there are plenty of reasons to get out and about despite the frosty temperatures. And when it comes to the biggest challenge - the cold - you can learn a few tricks from other sports: "In extreme temperatures, mountaineers wear a thin synthetic sock under their socks and a thin glove under the thicker one," says Dr Matthias Baumann, expedition doctor and association doctor at the German Cyclists' Association. The risk of frostbite is unlikely for cyclists compared to mountaineers. "However, in extreme temperatures and long periods in the cold, the risk is definitely there on the bike too."
Training in the cold - frost peaks
Not being able to feel your fingertips for a short time on a winter ride is not so tragic. "But if the condition lasts longer, there is a risk of frostbite and permanent damage," warns Baumann. "Anyone who has had numb fingers for an hour should stop, preferably somewhere indoors, in a petrol station or a café, take their hands out of their gloves and knead them carefully." The tip of the nose is also sensitive to frost, which is why Baumann recommends wearing a face mask from skiing or mountaineering in sub-zero temperatures.
You can learn a lot from other athletes. Open water swimmers use fat cream to protect themselves from the cold. Cyclists can apply cream to their nose and cheekbones.
"If it's extremely cold, you can alternatively learn a trick from the open water swimmers and protect exposed areas of the face, i.e. the nose and cheekbones, with moisturiser." Back at home, the doctor advises not to thaw out the body too quickly. "I recommend warming up slowly in a room at a good temperature. Water baths are suitable for thawing hands and feet, but the water should only be lukewarm. "30 degrees is ideal," says the doctor. If you prefer to warm up from the inside after the outing, you can sit on the roller for ten minutes on your return and roll out with moderate exertion.
Then take a quick shower, put on dry clothes and replenish your energy reserves! Some people don't want to do without cycling in winter, but can hardly bring themselves to get on a racing bike in sub-zero temperatures. Coach Sebastian Grospitz has a solution for this. He recommends that his athletes leave their road bikes at home during the cold season and ride their crossers, mountain bikes or gravel bikes in the forest instead. "The uneven ground brings variety to training and improves riding technique. It's also more sheltered in the forest and therefore less cold. And because the speed is slower than on a road bike, the wind chill effect is not as extreme." Winners are made in winter - but not necessarily only on the road bike.
Cold damage
You frostbite!
Chilblains are painful cold damage to the skin that often occurs in high humidity and cold temperatures in combination with clothing that is too thin. The cushion-like, bluish swellings, which often first appear on the fingers or toes, are technically known as "perniones". If the affected hands and feet are warmed up again, the bumps burn and itch and take on a bright red colour. Compared to frostbite, perniones are rather harmless and usually heal on their own within a few weeks. However, they should still be taken seriously, especially if the symptoms recur frequently. Unlike frostbite, frostbite causes tiny ice crystals to form in the tissue and can lead to the death of limbs.
Cadaver fingers: Raynaud's syndrome
Up to 20 per cent of adults, women four times more often than men, suffer from Raynaud's syndrome. This is a circulatory disorder, particularly in the fingers, which suddenly turn pale and numb in the cold and only regain their usual colour after a while. The disease, which was first described by the French doctor Maurice Raynaud, is colloquially known as "white finger disease" or simply "corpse fingers".
The underlying cause is probably a dysregulation of nerve function, which causes the blood vessels to contract spasmodically in response to a cold stimulus. Attacks can occur at temperatures just below ten degrees or with rapid temperature changes. There is not much that can be done - sufferers should not smoke, avoid damp cold and improve their blood circulation with regular finger training. When cycling, you should pay particular attention to keeping your hands warm.
Source: German Society for Angiology
The great tremor
Anyone who is cold will start to shiver sooner or later. The uncontrollable muscle twitches are an emergency measure by the body to turn up the internal heating. Because when muscles work, heat is generated. Anyone who starts sport a little shivery and starts sweating after a few minutes will notice this. Before hypothermia threatens, the body takes matters into its own hands: it triggers muscle tremors in order to produce heat internally and thus maintain the body's core temperature between 36.5 and 37.5 degrees. If you are so cold that you are shivering while cycling, you should stop training if possible and warm up somewhere indoors.
Checklist: Ready for departure?
>> Good route planning is worth its weight in gold in winter - because nobody wants to get lost at dusk and be on the road longer than planned in the cold.
>> A look at the weather app is particularly important in winter: How cold is it? Which direction is the wind blowing from? Will there be precipitation today? And when will it get dark? Don't forget UV protection if the sun is shining!
>> Clothing should be as eye-catching as possible. Overshoes keep the feet warm, a cap under the helmet the head. A thin pair of gloves under the thicker ones works wonders. The onion principle applies: the colder, the more layers!
>> Put something hot, such as sweetened tea, in the bike bottle - preferably an insulated one. Some people swear by pieces of fresh ginger because the spiciness feels warming from the inside.
>> To avoid a cold, wet backside and to protect passengers from fountains of dirt, mudguards should be fitted to the bike in winter. Simple clip-on models are the most practical. A rear light improves visibility.
