I know this is a pretty general question… Been at this sport for about a year and a half now and have made amazing gains in swimming and running to where I can finish in the top 10% at most running races under a half marathon (used to be pretty slow) and can swim pretty quick. But biking is still my nemesis… I have invested a bunch of time to riding focusing on the various training methods (have a coach) and have been told by several it can take 3-5 years to build a solid cycling base. Why does it take so much longer than running and swimming? Is it due to time on the bike by comparison? My FTP has greatly improved over the past year but the amount of time I can hold say 80-85% of it is only growing slowly… Any info on how long it took you all to build a solid base would be helpful as frustration is setting in…
Exactly it’s just more time consuming. Of course there are certain approaches to cycling but essentially you just need to ride a lot. Maybe, relatively speaking, you’re not investing as much time into cycling compared to swimming and running, although I wouldn’t count swimming in this conversation as it is more technique-based. As long as you keep improving don’t stress yourself out about it just keep biking. If you feel like you might be reaching a plateau try a bike-focused week.
What Staz said. I have seen cyclists go from Cat 5 to Cat 2 in 2 years. Yeah, it’s rare. If you’re riding less than 5 hrs/wk, you’ll need a good plan. A coach, if you don’t have one, would likely help.
…My FTP has greatly improved over the past year but the amount of time I can hold say 80-85% of it is only growing slowly…
How long are you attempting to hold 80-85% of FTP? I’m not understanding what you meant by the above statement. FTP is power you can hold for an hour. So, if you can’t hold 80-85% for an hour, you may need to retest your FTP. If you’re struggling to hold 80-85% for 3+ hours, hell, I do too!
I think hes saying that several months (or whatever) ago he could 80% FTP for X minutes, but now can only hold it for X+5 despite the volume of training.
I don’t think this is uncommon, and you often hear about people slowly increase their ironman power, for example, from 68% to 70% to 73% etc. with increasing experience and training volume.
For what its worth, I feel similarly. But I’m improving slowly and only 23 so I figure it might get somewhere eventually…
This is depressing 
I went from runner to pretty happy with my cycling speed in 4 months. Sounds like the road ahead is long 
It the same for other sports. I came from cycling recreationally for 5 or 6 years, and then racing for about 5 where you pretty much train every day. I and can take off the winter months and come back with a decent enough base.
Running and swimming, no way. New to tri, I’m slowly building the supporting muscles for both of them. (and learning swim technique) But it is slow going. A bunch of progress early on, then small increments.
I’ve heard it is the same for folks just starting seriously on the bike, so be patient.
One thing I will say is that from my experience, endurance is built by two things, 1) riding at endurance/tempo pace consistantly, and maybe most important - 2) trainer sessions at constant effort. Too many outdoor rides involve mini-rests (lights, coasting downhill, etc) or anerobic efforts that thwart the training effect on endurance. Imo 1 hour inside is often worth 1.5 to 2 outside.
It takes a least 5 years, learning to suffer on the bike can take time.
Three things can help (other then genes)
Race cycling events, Crits and RR
Moto-pace
find a fast group ride (Cat2 or better cyclist, you may get dropped but keep coming back until you can hang on)
If you do one of these a week you’ll get faster…faster. It all about learning how to ride, when to put the hammer down and really suffer!!! When you can bridge to a break, avg HR for an hour is in the 180’s and the snot is running off your face. Riding at your 80-85% tri pace will feel easy.
In my opinion, you should concentrate more on how you feel and how your volume is progressing than on your times/speed/pace etc. With every year of experience and volume I feel better post workout/race and can handle more stress…that is more telling to me than seeing a huge jump in pace. I think the coolest feeling is going from barely being able to walk the day after a race to doing a recovery workout the day after a race the next year. Those are huge fitness wins in my eyes.
I have to humbly disagree with Bboy. Yes, if you go out and do crits and fast group rides you will see your 5 and 10 minute power go up. What Bboy isn’t keeping in mind is that after bridging to the break, or covering a move, when they make it up to the group they sit on the back and catch their breath. Or they make a move and fail, and then retreat to the middle of the pack where they are at recovery power.
This may help you do 1 hour crits. But in terms of endurance and base, and 1 hour power it is counterproductive because you don’t train your sustainable power, and worse you can’t recover enough to keep up the volume of straight endurance/tempo that you need to get in your legs in order to raise your functional threshold. There is a time for speed work. It is not when you are trying to build endurance. It is fine, even good to salt in some threshold + intervals here and there. But tri cycling is VERY different than road racing and requires different adaptations.
I am in the exact same boat – very frustrating to see the run and swim continue to improve well and the bike is just so slow to improve on. Little tiny increments - and of course Rule # 10 and rule # 5 are always in effect.
Maybe you have some equipment and position choices holding you back? Ive not noticed cycling to develop any slower than running
But tri cycling is VERY different than road racing and requires different adaptations.
Go to your local state TT championship this year, let me know how many roadies you beat with your very different specialized adaptations.
Nobody ever got slower at time trialing because they did a bunch of bike racing.
I came from a cycling background so maybe I have slanted view on tri training…I try to keep it simple.
My swimming sucks, hang out with fast “swimmers” and do more of it…I get faster.
My running is slow, run with people that are faster “runner” and do more of it…I get faster.
My biking sucks, go out and do the “bus stop” ride with Tom Z. I get drop but still get faster.
Maybe I’m undisciplined, but I could never go out and train solo and stuffer like I can with a group…or a race.
It has been proven that being with others pushes you to do better. Here is a link describing this and citing a run-related example. I’ve also read about there being some sort of test done in France, I believe in the late 1880s, in which they found that cyclists pedaled harder when they were with another cyclist. As long as you don’t push yourself over the edge with too much of this type of training this is a very effective way to improve.
What Jackmott says!
Agree with Jackmott! Triathletes seem obsessed by super-specifciity. Funny how the best TT’ers in the world would be lucky to do 1-2 rides a week on their TT.
-Must always ride the TT bike (ignoring fact that sitting on base bars puts you in a completely different position than you would be if on road bike or on TT bars) FWIW Kienle has been quoted as saying he does 90% of his work on the roadie, that’s a little extreme, J.Rapp has some good comments on the matter too.
-Must never do group rides (Bull, finding a good one you’ll work your top end, Vo2, and if you’re up the front you can be riding at/near threshold for long periods. I used it a lot before my OD races)
In regards to building bike fitness, the key is time and days per week on the bike. Also be wary of doing your easy aerobic stuff too easy. That’s why I avoid doing long rides with bunches, no point being out there doing recovery zone watts unless it’s on your program.
I had the fastest bike split at AG nats (A solid 1.02hrs, tough course) with very little sustained FTP stuff. I found I got better adaptations by long tempo/long aerobic and weekly v02 (4x5 with 2.30 spin rec) or hard group rides. Oh yeah, I rode my TT bike 3 times in the two months leading up into that race (I just hate riding it)
I’ve won/top3 in quite a few HIM and barely touched my tt bike between races.
@ Jackmott. Training is a big subject and I don’t feel like debating the benefits of periodization and base training. You either buy it or you don’t. The OP’s question was about building a solid base, and my comment was about crit racing and hammer fest group rides. Not TTing. But since you asked, their have been plenty of pro cyclists who have jumped into tri in a relay team. Their bike times didn’t blow away the Tri pros, and in some cases didn’t even beat them.
Vo2 can be trained in 4 to 6 weeks. Doing that kind of training you will absolutely see improvements in high end power. Ive seen plenty of guys that are fast for 5 or 10 minutes. And then get shot out the back when the heat gets turned up in crits and especially longer distance road races . Not enough endurance base.
And yes, absolutely agree that training (emphasis on training) with others is a great motivator. There was a very good article in the NY Times about that.
To the OP this about covers it: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=2283
Nobody ever got slower at time trialing because they did a bunch of bike racing.
- infinity
Was told the above by a retired pro (who admittedly was a B-grade, never quite made the top tier due to constant running injuries) and it was far and away clear to me that the more often and harder I raced with my local cycling club, the faster my bike splits were, AND the better I ran off the bike
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Anecdotally I think cycling is much more about musculature and power then pure aerobic capacity, which takes lots of time to build. When I started racing bikes I was 125lbs and had a runners build, now after ten years of bicycle racing I’m 10 pounds heavier with the same body fat, all gained in the legs and glutes. You can become a solid tri cyclist probably in a year or two of consistent riding and solid long group rides help. Think of those as Fartleks for the bike.
“My FTP has greatly improved over the past year but the amount of time I can hold say 80-85% of it is only growing slowly”
How are you measuring FTP and what are we talking about in terms of time holding “80-85%”? You ought to be able to hold 80% of FTP for a long time. 5+ hours.
Personally, I’d say stop worrying about building a base and focus on getting faster.
What does your coach say about all this?