Workout Wednesday: Race pace bike intervals from coach Paul Duncan

Here is a short but effective cycling workout to try. I prefer this workout to be done on the trainer to ensure quality, but it can also be done outdoors.  If riding outdoors, be sure to find a stretch of road where you can perform these sets without interruption.

This is a good workout to do while in the anaerobic phase of your training. To get the maximum benefit of any speed work, an athlete should have already been building a good mileage base, so take that into consideration before performing this workout.

The Workout 

• 5 x :30 (30 sec rest)
• 4 x 1:00 (1:00 rest)
• 3 x 2:00 (1:00 rest)
• 2 x 4:00 (2:00 rest)
• 1 x 8:00 (4:00 rest)
• 2 x 4:00 (2:00 rest)
• 3 x 2:00 (1:00 rest)
• 4 x 1:00 (1:00 rest)
• 5 x :30 (30 sec rest)

These should burn from the very start, don’t sandbag the first few intervals. The goal is to perform the longer intervals after burning a few matches. This is a hard workout regardless of your level of fitness. If you don’t feel beat up after this, it sounds like you didn’t go hard enough!

Paul Duncan is a triathlete, coach and military veteran living in Nevada. USA. He races for Team Every Man Jack and coaches for Qt2 Systems.