Every percentage point counts: How professional cyclists fine-tune their performance at the limit using altitude, heat and cadence

​Twenty years ago, anyone who wanted to become a professional cyclist would cycle many kilometres and listen to their body. Today, there are power metres, laboratory data and teams that monitor every variable. Four methods in particular have emerged as integral parts of professional training in recent years.

The standard method used by professional cyclists

The oldest and best-known method is the high-altitude training camp. In thin air, the oxygen content drops; the body responds by producing more erythropoietin and generating more red blood cells. The blood is then able to carry more oxygen. This is probably the most popular method used by elite professional cyclists to deliver more oxygen to their muscles.

This is how Tadej Pogačar prepares for the Tour: in May at a high-altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada, followed by a shorter training block in Isola 2000, just as he did before his last Tour victories. UAE’s head of performance, Jeroen Swart, explains that the gains start to level off after about two weeks. That is why the training camps usually last around three weeks. The effect does not last forever; it wears off within a few weeks. The camps are therefore scheduled so that the professional cyclists are well-rested and have high haemoglobin levels when they start the race.

Not everyone benefits to the same extent. In studies involving female cyclists and track cyclists, there was no measurable increase during shorter or lower-altitude stays. One alternative is ‘live high, train low’: sleeping at altitude and training at lower altitudes, often in a hyperbaric tent. According to one study, this requires spending more than twelve hours a day in a hypoxic environment. Either way, hypoxic training has become an integral part of most professionals’ regimes.

Heat training for professional cyclists

Whether it’s a tour in July or the Vuelta in August: races often take place in intense heat. The body adapts when it is regularly exposed to such conditions. Blood plasma volume increases, the body is better able to cool itself, and the heart fills more easily.

Teams mainly use heat training following an altitude training camp. According to the sports director of the French Cycling Federation, five to six sessions are sufficient for a summer race. However, the effect lasts only a few days, which is why it is particularly suitable for the first week of a Grand Tour or a one-day race. The evidence from studies is less clear-cut than for altitude training: in an older study, only around a third of riders showed significant adaptations, whilst the gain in performance at normal temperatures remained modest.

Even so, you often see pictures of professional cyclists in full-body suits on a trainer. But there are other ways to train in the heat: heading to the sauna or a hot bath after a session is also a popular method.

A heavy kick

Power is calculated as cadence multiplied by force on the pedal. In the past, cyclists tended to ride in high gears at a low cadence. Jacques Anquetil climbed at around 65 revolutions per minute; later, Lance Armstrong popularised high cadences. Today, professionals maintain around 90 revolutions on the flat and 70 to 80 on climbs. At a high cadence, the force per pedal revolution is lower, the muscles tire more slowly and it is easier to accelerate.

What is new, therefore, is not so much cadence training itself as the trend towards targeted training at low cadences, known as torque training. In this approach, the professionals ride intervals at 40 to 70 revolutions per minute. The idea behind this is to generate more power per pedal stroke, alter muscle recruitment and improve endurance. An eight-week study found a more significant improvement in VO₂max at a low cadence (8.7 per cent) than when riders were free to choose their cadence (4.6 per cent) during training. Coaches such as John Wakefield of Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe swear by it. Older review studies, however, found no clear advantage. So the scientific community is not yet entirely in agreement. Nevertheless, many teams use this method regularly.

Fuel: Training the stomach

The stomach gets a workout too. Whereas it used to be recommended to consume 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour, 120 grams is now considered the standard in the peloton. Because the stomach cannot cope with this on its own, professional cyclists gradually accustom it to this during training. A nutritionist at Tudor says riders should be able to comfortably consume 120 grams per hour. Anyone who has ever tried training on carbohydrates knows just how much 120 grams per hour really is. Once ridiculed, it is now an integral part of training.

Why this isn’t for every amateur rider

Professionals cycle hundreds of thousands of kilometres during their careers and organise their lives entirely around the sport. Amateur cyclists have jobs, families and often little time. Altitude training camps and heat chambers cost time, money and, above all, energy. Whilst professionals can schedule their recovery periods in advance, this is usually not possible for amateurs and therefore places an additional strain on the body. Without experience and medical supervision, heat training in particular can be very dangerous.

When it comes to eating, the rule is: a recreational cyclist usually burns far less energy per hour than professional cyclists. However, practising your intake makes perfect sense and is even recommended if you want to avoid stomach problems under race conditions. Cadence training isn’t necessarily dangerous, but it’s often not particularly useful for recreational athletes. Those who train less than the professionals usually gain more from consistency, sleep and a balanced training programme than from tricks from the peloton. These methods are not a substitute for the basics, but rather the icing on the cake.