Training is a science. Training successes can be achieved particularly well by taking well-founded methods into account. The keywords here are increasing the load, continuity and individuality. There are also other potential mistakes that you can make during road bike training. We have listed the ten most common mistakes and explain why they should be avoided.
10 mistakes in road bike training
Road bike training interruptus
Continuity is king! Regular endurance training beats one-off heroic deeds. Sure, there are always reasons why today is not a good day for training. But that's the wrong attitude. Every day is good for training. Make training a routine and don't ask yourself every time whether you really want to do it. Just do it and make appointments with other athletes.
Always full throttle
Smart trainers infect people with the virus, power meters on the bike intensify the urge: those who ride with watt measurement are tempted to constantly test themselves. A KOM here, a flat baller section there, there's always a rating. But always riding at full throttle leads to ruin. A clear differentiation of effort - sometimes long, sometimes really fast - is better.
Road bike training: cycling aimlessly
Do you want to compete against 2000 other athletes in a city race? Then you should train specifically for the competition: for example, ride really fast in groups instead of doing your laps alone. Otherwise you could be in for a practice shock on race day when the speed is 10-20 km/h faster than usual and the road is full of competitors. The same applies to mountainous destinations. It's a good idea to ride uphill beforehand.
Only one bottle of water
Do you think you need to lose weight during road bike training and that one bottle of water is enough for 100 kilometres? That's how people used to train. But today we know how to do it better: the harder the training, the more important it is to eat. It is advisable to eat on the go after one and a half hours of training. This allows you to train for longer, provide better training stimuli and recover more quickly.
Too fast into the mountain - wrong pacing
The biggest mistake in marathons is wrong pacing. The pack always rides too fast into the mountain. Into every mountain. If you know your training zones, you should orientate yourself to them from the start and set a realistic pace. Power meters are very useful for this, as long as you manage to read the values correctly in the excitement of the competition. It's worth it, because good pacing is the best prerequisite for the fastest overall time.
Too few breaks during road bike training
Do you like it hard? Good. But you'll only benefit if you take a break from time to time. Because the body gets stronger during the break. If you keep your foot on the gas without a break, your form will go into reverse. If things get really bad, you will end up overtraining and find it difficult to get out of it. That's why it's important to take rest days and rest weeks after hard training phases.
Heroic deeds shortly before the end
Is the competition approaching and are you feeling behind in your training? Then you have a problem. Because in the last week before the competition, you can no longer make up for the training deficit. There's no point in trying to force yourself now, because you want to be fresh and full of energy at the starting line. Keep doing sport, but don't try to train as hard as possible at the last minute.
Last minute changes
New equipment just before the competition? Not a good idea! But even professionals are susceptible to this, the allure of the new is strong. New saddle, handlebars, different shoes, wheels, trousers? Better not. Avoid interfering with your movement and ergonomics shortly before the start and only use things that have been tried and tested. This also and especially applies to nutrition during the race!
Copying others during road bike training
Your training colleague always has a heart rate of 160 and is in top form? Fine. But the training zones are totally individual: what is easy and relaxed for one person may be over the limit for another. Therefore, determine your personal training zones and stick to them.
Always the same road bike training
The power of habit also strikes when cycling - and it has a name: Home lap. If you've got the home circuit under control, you've got it under control. But some others may not. Training means setting stimuli. Your body has mastered the familiar route, so offer it something different to provide new stimuli. Alternatively, you need to ride the home circuit with discipline in order to continue to grow: sometimes slowly, sometimes really fast.
