As we eagerly approach the final stretch before the championship season, I’m thrilled to share the details of my preparation with you. It’s an exciting time, and I can’t wait to bring you along on this journey.

Training Week Design

I plan my training weeks meticulously. I have three types of weeks for this period: a regular week, a high-volume week, and a race week. This pattern, carefully chosen, includes a high-volume week, a regular week, a high-volume week, a race week with the Nationals, a high-volume week, and two race weeks with the Worlds, then the Europeans. These are the last seven training weeks of the season. Unfortunately, I learned yesterday that the organizer canceled the first-ever French Gravel National Championships due to a lack of participants; therefore, the upcoming week will become a regular week with some focused, intensive work.

For my regular weeks, I typically target around 12 hours. This balanced approach allows for the perfect maintenance of fitness and recovery. During these weeks, I can push the intensity button when necessary; I typically schedule two hard workouts max but push myself during them. Depending on the workout style, I can push volume at a certain intensity or train to empty the tank quickly.

For the high-volume week, I’d include at least one long ride of 5 hours or more, with some intensity in the last hour, to work on fatigue resistance. I can also add a bit of intensity during other sessions, pushing hard on both levers to create a super-compensation before crucial events. However, in general, with that increased volume, I lower intensity.

I’ll reduce the volume for the race week; typically, it comprises only three shorter rides before the race. The objective of a successful taper is to maintain enough training to keep the fitness while at the same time being fresh enough. It’s typically best to reduce the volume but keep the same density (the number of days ridden in a week) while keeping the intensity high.

Key Sessions

I’ll give you an example for each kind of high-intensity session so that you have a greater understanding of my program. The first type of session is based on volume at moderate and high intensities. In this preparation, I once did three times 20 minutes, with 4 minutes just below threshold and 1 minute over threshold. The pace changes can help simulate attacks and teach the body to recover at a hard pace. When I do this kind of session, I like to do the different sets on the same hill as it allows me to compare where I end every time after starting at the same point. It makes the workout more fun, helping me find more enjoyment in pushing myself. Alternatively, I can sometimes go for an entire hill at a certain pace rather than going for a given time. This style of terrain-based training reflects much more of the reality of racing. Except for an hour record on the track, no race is time-based; they are all distance-based.

The second type of session is when I try to empty the tank rapidly, with much less volume. For this kind of session, I would do two sets of five times of 30 seconds max and 30 seconds of easy riding. When I say max, I hold back on the first one, but not very much. The goal is to empty the anaerobic reserves of the body within a set. Once I am done, I should be done; I have nothing left. Imagine a battery from which you could use the power very quickly. Some fast-twist-dominant cyclists can empty it more rapidly than others; others have a bigger battery size, but emptying takes longer. Slightly shorter or longer sets can allow some people to empty their battery within a set. For me, it is five repetitions.

The third type is the session, as mentioned earlier, which focuses on fatigue resistance. For example, I once did 4 hours and 15 minutes of easy endurance riding before starting my intervals. It simulates another aspect of the race demand. When training, we don’t want to do all of the specificity of a race on the same day as it would be very taxing physically and mentally; I save those 10/10 days for race days. Nonetheless, it’s important to simulate all aspects separately. So, for this specific session, I completed a set of 20 minutes with the same pattern as the first workout. The goal was again to reach the finish of the duration with some power but nothing left in reserve.

Organization & Mindset

While training is a significant part of my life, I also have other responsibilities that fit into my schedule. As you know, I have my business as a bike fitter. I can fit clients from Tuesday to Friday, so I ride before my fits on these days if I need to. I’m finding that the best way to organize my day is to ride first, then work on my side projects, such as writing these pieces, and finally work with my bike-fit client. On the same topic of constantly refining my life choices, I recently found that cycling without music allows me to reflect deeply during the ride, cultivating plenty of new ideas. How can we hear our subconscious without silence in our life?

Now, let’s talk about mindset. I recently reflected that sport-specific mental training was useless as we do everything the way we do one thing. My developing love for philosophy is one of the habits that allowed me to access the next level of mental resilience. I particularly find great wisdom in studying the likes of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca. Stoicism reminds us of the fragility of life and that we ought to recognize and execute our duty. We must control what we should control and let go of what we can’t. The memento mori works particularly well when things are challenging for me on the bike. This mindset is not just for me but for all of us to access the next level of mental strength.

I hope you enjoyed this read, and it will inspire you in your training and life. As you can see, a proper life organization requires thoughtful planning. I’d encourage you to pause, think, and try new things. Then, you pause again, analyze, and try new things. That is the way you refine over and over again to find what works best for you. If you never stop, how can you have time to think of your direction? Live thoughtfully.