Crashes in racing are rare. They do happen, though, and how we prevent them and react to them says a lot about us as riders and as a community. Watch: Your Club Ride Is a Psychology Experiment. More on our YouTube channel. What causes crashesNot holding your line. Sudden moves, especially in corners and sprints.Distraction. Looking down at a head unit, fiddling with food, switching off when tired.Overlapping wheels. Front wheel alongside the back wheel in front, with nowhere to go.Braking hard in the bunch. Smooth speed changes keep everyone upright.How to ride safelyLook ahead, two or three riders up the road.Hold your line and signal hazards.Keep your bike maintained.Practise bunch skills before race day. Our skills sessions cover close-quarter riding, cornering and sprinting.If a crash happensStop safely if you can help, and alert the marshals.Check on the riders involved first. Bikes can wait.If there is any blow to the head: no more riding until checked and symptom-free.Report what you saw honestly if asked.No finger-pointingCrashes are usually the result of lots of small things together. Blaming riders creates hostility and stops people learning. Talk about it calmly, learn from it, and help new riders build their skills. That is how racing gets safer for everyone.First race coming up? Read your first road race.Skills that prevent crashesHolding a straight line while looking over your shoulder.Riding close to wheels and touching shoulders without panic.Braking smoothly and only when needed.Reading the bunch: watching riders ahead for slowing or swerves.Cornering predictably in a group.All of these can be practised safely at low speed and built up. That is exactly what our group skills sessions do.For club and race organisersClear briefings, good marshalling, safe circuits and beginner-friendly races make the biggest difference. Supporting new riders with skills sessions before their first race is one of the best things a club can do.Need a hand?Want to race with more confidence in the bunch? A coach takes the guesswork out. Monthly coaching is 140, with a 15-minute call every week. Book a free 30-minute consultation.More from the blogYour first road raceRiding in the rainHow to sprint fasterSaddle up.

It boils down to a simple position of We dont want this; itll make some people mad' says Cllr.Officials have said that providing bus lanes as part of a project on the Monivea Road in Galway would require CPOs of parts of houses, sheds, gardens and driveways, and the removal of a large number of trees, but some city councillors insist they cannot approve the project without them.The Monivea Road (East) Active Travel Scheme was supposed to go to a vote at a council meeting earlier this week, but the vote was delayed until next Wednesday, November 18th. But while Galway City Council officials maintained that with pedestrians and cyclists accounting for 71% of recorded collision injuries on Monivea Road, improving their safety is a key justification for intervention, even some councillors who claim to support road safety are against the project, saying the residents who are objecting deserve to know that their concerns are being heard and representedAnd despite hearing that the provision of bus lanes would lead to major impacts at 12 homes and more minor impacts at another 30 homes, some councillors were sticking to their guns against the project. IMAGE: A slide shown to councillors with an example of the impacts of adding bus lanes to the project, with CPOs required and house extensions, sheds, driveways and gardens impacted. Cllr Alan Curran (Social Democrats), who supports the project, said he is incredibly frustrated after this weeks meeting, including with the portrayal of the project as only cycle lanes and claims that bus lanes could fit on the road. He said the scheme is not just about cycling and that the benefit for the entire community will be immense.The project includes sections of wider footpaths, continuous raised footpaths at minor junctions, additional pedestrian crossings, a more visually appealing urban environment, upgraded bus stops including new shelters, and benches. It even includes full road resurfacing too. He said the project would lead to increased mobility and accessibility, which will provide for those of all ages and abilities.Cllr Curran said: I am still incredibly frustrated and perplexed about the meeting. The two main bones of contention by those who couldnt support the scheme were the lack of a priority bus lane, and lack of information around the scheme and the rushed nature of the decision.The rationale for excluding the bus lane were discussed extensively during the consultation process, the workshops that followed, and the presentation to councillors yesterday during the meeting. Either councillors are more technically proficient at urban planning and design than the active travel team of engineers, or they are using this as an excuse to oppose, he said.Cllr Curran said: A number of councillors also felt they didnt have sufficient time to study the scheme in detail, despite it being available to view since February. The Active Travel team couldnt have been more facilitating with councillors through the public consultation, the workshops, and arranging one-on-one meetings to go through the details of the scheme.He said he was unable to attend the workshop on the project for councillors, but organised a meeting with the project team in mid-March, where all his questions were answered to his satisfaction.This, he said, Leads me to conclude that either councillors couldnt attend briefings, workshops, or organise a meeting, or they didnt bother. None of the evidence-based points I made yesterday at the meeting were challenged by the councillors opposed to the scheme.He added: As I pointed out, despite the overwhelmingly positive impacts this scheme will bring to the community, it seemed to boil down to a simple position. We dont want this; itll make some people mad.Despite the councillors being shown the details of the project since earlier in the year and being put on public display as part of the Part 8 planning process, Cllr Shane Forde (FG) claimed it was being rushed. We were then informed that councillors were expected to vote on the proposal tonight in order for the project to proceed and funding to be drawn down. I couldnt believe that a matter of such importance was being rushed through in this way, he said.We will now reconvene next Wednesday Week to discuss the matter further before taking a vote. I have said from day one that this project, in its current form, is simply not going to work for our community. We need to be prioritising bus priority lanes and ensuring that any proposals genuinely address the needs of local residents, said Cllr Forde Cllr Alan Cheevers (Fianna Fil) claimed he was fully supportive of improving road safety, but said he could not support the project, which includes a package of safety measures beyond the cycle path, including traffic calming at minor roads and new pedestrian crossings at different points along the road. I want to make it clear that I cannot support the Monivea Road Active Travel Scheme in its current form.I believe we have to learn from the experience of the Ballybane scheme. We cannot afford to see a repeat of that situation, he said. Cllr Cheevers said: As public representatives, our responsibility is to represent the views and interests of our constituents. I genuinely believe that proceeding with this scheme, in its current format, would not be a true representation of the views of the people we represent.I want to stress that I am fully supportive of improving road safety, protecting pedestrians and making our roads safer for everyone. However, I do not believe that supporting those objectives should mean we must automatically support this particular scheme, he said. He said that he wants clarity that funding for what he termed as essential safety improvements, including pedestrian crossings, can still be secured and delivered without having to support the wider Active Travel Scheme.A core point of such schemes is that a package of safety and accessibility measures is included and planning and construction is more effective than doing it on an ad hoc basis, but Cllr Cheevers said: We should not allow essential safety measures to become caught up in a debate about a larger scheme. Our constituents deserve to see practical improvements delivered, and they deserve to know that their concerns are being heard and represented.He added: I cannot support the scheme as it stands, but I absolutely support doing what is necessary to make Monivea Road safer for pedestrians, motorists and the wider community. Ultimately, our responsibility is to listen to the people we represent and ensure their voices are heard.

Training breaks you down. Recovery builds you back up stronger. Skip the second half and the first half is wasted. Watch: Returning To Training After Illness: A Coach's Guide. More on our YouTube channel. SleepThe best recovery tool there is, and it is free. Aim for 7 to 9 hours. Keep a regular bedtime, a cool dark room, and screens down before bed. If you are sleeping badly, train a bit less hard until it improves.Eat to recoverAfter hard sessions, have carbohydrate and around 20 to 30 g of protein within an hour or two.Eat enough overall. Under-fuelling slows recovery and adaptation. See how many carbs per hour when cycling?.Plant-based? Combine sources like beans, lentils, tofu, soy and grains to hit your protein needs across the day.Easy really means easyEasy rides should feel easy. Conversational, relaxed, zone 1 to 2. If every ride drifts into moderately hard, you never recover enough to make the hard days count. how to ride rollers or a gentle spin are perfect.Plan recovery inA lighter week every three or four weeks.At least one rest or very easy day each week.Extra recovery after races and big blocks. See how to structure your season.Signs you need more restResting heart rate higher than normal for several days.Heavy legs that do not lift on easy rides.Poor sleep, low mood, getting ill often.Power down while effort feels higher. See training by feel, heart rate or power.Coming back after illnessA general rule: if symptoms are only above the neck, such as a mild cold, easy riding may be fine. If they are below the neck, such as a fever, chest symptoms or aching muscles, rest completely until you are better. Then build back gradually over a few days. Watch the video above for our full guide, and if in doubt, check with a doctor.Active recovery20 to 45 minutes very easy spinning the day after a hard session.A walk, swim or mobility session.Gentle stretching or foam rolling, if you find it helps.Stress counts tooYour body does not separate training stress from work, family and sleep debt. In a hard week at work, train a little less. Your coach can only plan around it if you say.Want help with this?Want recovery planned as carefully as the hard sessions? We build this into riders' weeks all the time. Book a free 30-minute call or drop us a line.Read onHow many carbs per hour when cycling?How to structure your seasonTraining by feel, heart rate or powerSaddle up.

British Cycling is facing questions over the handling of an investigation into alleged discriminatory behavior by track cycling star Matthew Richardson, after details emerged about the complaint that triggered the case and the length of time it took for the rider to be withdrawn from the World Champ...

You cannot train well without knowing where you start. Testing gives you your zones, shows your strengths and weaknesses, and tells you if the training is working.What to test5 to 15 second power. Your sprint and explosive power.1 minute power. Anaerobic capacity, for attacks and short climbs.5 minute power. Your aerobic ceiling. A good estimate of VO2max and pVO2max.20 minute or threshold power. The basis for FTP and your training zones.How to testWarm up well, around 15 to 20 minutes. Test on a steady climb, a quiet flat road or the turbo, and always in the same place and conditions so the results compare.Sprints: two or three all-out efforts of 6 to 10 seconds with full recovery.1 and 5 minutes: one all-out effort each, well recovered in between.20 minutes: a hard, evenly paced effort. FTP is roughly 95% of your average.Critical Power: three or four maximal efforts between 3 and 20 minutes on separate days give a fuller picture than FTP alone.Put your numbers into our power calculator for FTP, Critical Power, VO2max, zones and a power profile.Using the resultsSet your training zones from the result.Compare your profile: a sprinter, a climber or a diesel. Train the weakness, race the strength.Retest every 6 to 8 weeks, usually at the start of a new block. See how to structure your season.Going furtherPower tests tell you what you can do. A lactate test tells you why, showing where your thresholds really sit. If you have your own analyser, our lactate protocols tool finds LT1 and LT2 from your data.Building your power profilePut your best 5-second, 1-minute, 5-minute and 20-minute numbers side by side, in watts per kilo. Compare them and you get a picture of what kind of rider you are.Sprinter: high 5-second and 1-minute numbers relative to the rest.Pursuiter: strong 1 to 5 minutes.Time triallist or climber: 20-minute power stands out.All-rounder: fairly even across the board.Our power calculator plots your profile so you can see it at a glance.Testing indoors vs outdoorsIndoor numbers are often a little lower than outdoor ones, mainly because of heat and the lack of momentum. Neither is wrong. Just compare like with like. A big fan indoors makes a real difference.Getting a good testTest fresh, after an easy day or two.Eat as you would before a hard session.Same warm-up, same place, same time of day.Pace long efforts evenly. Starting too hard is the most common mistake.Write down the conditions so you can compare next time.Make it yoursEvery rider is different. Testing is only useful if it changes your training. Grab a free 30-minute consultation and we will talk it through, or see the coaching options.Where nextHow to increase your FTPCycling intervals, types and zonesTime trialling: how to startSaddle up.

On the start line, notice the heroes of time trialling, the time keepers! Just you, the road and the clock. Time trialling is the purest test in cycling, and one of the easiest ways to start racing.What is a time trial?Riders set off one at a time, usually a minute apart, and race a set distance against the clock. In the UK most open events are run under Cycling Time Trials (CTT) rules, over distances from 10 to 100 miles, plus hill climbs and sporting courses. Many clubs also run club 10s on summer evenings, which are the perfect first step.What you needA road bike is fine. CTT results now include a road bike category, so you can compare yourself with riders on similar kit.Clip-on aero bars are the cheapest speed you will ever buy, if the event allows them.A rear light. CTT events require one, so check the event details before you ride.Club membership. To enter CTT open events you need to be a member of an affiliated club.Pacing: the big skillMost riders start too hard. Go out 5 to 10% too fast and you pay for it later. Aim for an even effort, slightly harder up hills and into headwinds, slightly easier down hills and with tailwinds. For a 10-mile TT most riders sit close to their FTP. Find yours with our FTP calculator.Get more aeroAt time trial speeds most of your power goes into pushing air. A lower, narrower position that you can still hold and breathe in is worth more than almost any upgrade. Test it with our CdA calculator.Training for time trialshow to increase your FTP. Threshold is the engine of every TT.Long sweet spot training efforts in your TT position, so it feels normal.Practice starts and turns.A solid warm-up of 15 to 20 minutes on race day.Want your thresholds measured properly? Our lactate testing sets your zones from your own physiology.Your first time trial, step by stepJoin a club and find its summer evening 10s.Arrive 45 minutes early to sign on and collect your number.Warm up for 15 to 20 minutes, ending with a couple of short efforts at race pace.Get to the start a few minutes early. A pusher-off may hold your bike.Go out steady. Build into it over the first couple of minutes.Push through the finish line, not to it.Common time trial distances10 miles: the classic starting point. 20 to 30 minutes for most riders.25 miles: the next step. See how to pace a 25.50 and 100 miles, 12 and 24 hours: for those who like it long.Hill climbs: autumn favourites, short and brutal.Equipment that matters mostIn rough order of value for money: a good position, clip-on bars, a skinsuit or tight kit, an aero helmet, fast tyres, then deeper wheels. A dedicated TT bike comes last. Test changes with our CdA calculator.Train with usReady to go faster against the clock? Our remote coaching starts at 140 a month, with a weekly call and a plan that changes as you do. Book a free 30-minute chat to see if it fits.Read nextHow to increase your FTPPower testing for cyclistsHow to structure your seasonSaddle up.

Intervals are the backbone of structured training. Hard efforts, planned recoveries, repeated. Done well, they target exactly the fitness you need. Watch: Why Your Legs Stop Working | Energy Systems Ep.4. More on our YouTube channel. Set your zones firstEvery interval below uses a percentage of your FTP. Get yours from a test, then let our zones calculator do the maths. Heart rate lags behind effort in short intervals, so for anything under a few minutes go by power or feel. For longer, steady efforts heart rate works well as a check.Why intervals workYou cannot hold race pace for hours. Breaking hard work into chunks with recovery lets you spend more total time at the intensity you want to improve. Two 20-minute threshold efforts with a rest between give you 40 minutes at threshold. Try it in one go and most riders crack after 25. Each type of interval targets a different system, which is why the mix matters. See energy systems for the science.The main typesEndurance (56 to 75% of FTP)Not really intervals, but the foundation. Long and easy, building your aerobic engine, fat use and durability. Most of your riding should live here.Tempo (76 to 90%)Steady and purposeful. Good for long efforts like 2 30 minutes, and for practising race pace in a sportive. Watch it does not take over every ride.Sweet spot (88 to 94%)Just under threshold. Time efficient and great for building FTP. Read more on sweet spot training.Threshold (95 to 105%)Right on your limit for long efforts. Classic sessions: 3 10 or 2 20 minutes, with 5 minutes easy between. The core of raising your FTP.VO2max (106 to 120%)Hard efforts of 3 to 8 minutes that push your aerobic ceiling. Try 5 4 minutes with 4 minutes easy, or short intervals such as 3 sets of 13 30 seconds hard and 15 seconds easy. They hurt. They also work.Anaerobic (121 to 150%)Short, brutal efforts of 30 seconds to 2 minutes, with long recovery. For attacks, short climbs and closing gaps. Try 6 1 minute with 4 minutes easy.Sprints (maximal)6 to 15 seconds flat out with full recovery, 3 to 5 minutes between. Pure power. Quality matters more than quantity. More in how to sprint faster.Recovery between effortsLong efforts (threshold, sweet spot): around a quarter to a half of the work time.VO2max: roughly equal to the work time.Anaerobic: three to four times the work time.Sprints: full recovery. If the next one is slower, stop.How many interval sessions a week?Two or three hard sessions is plenty for most riders. More than that and the quality drops. Keep the rest easy, so you arrive at each hard session ready to hit the numbers.A sample weekTuesday: VO2max, 5 4 minutes.Thursday: threshold, 2 20 minutes.Saturday: long endurance ride with a few short sprints.Everything else: easy riding, gym and rest.How to get the most from themWarm up properly, around 15 minutes building through the zones with a couple of short openers.Hit the targets. Better to finish strong than fade on the last rep.Pick the right place: a steady climb, a quiet road, or the turbo.Fuel the hard days. See carbs per hour.Build gradually: more reps or longer efforts every week or two, then a lighter week.Write down how each session felt. Patterns show up fast.Matching intervals to your goalSportives and long rides: endurance, tempo, sweet spot.Time trials: threshold, sweet spot, long steady efforts. See time trialling.Crits and road races: VO2max, anaerobic, sprints, plus repeatability.Hill climbs: threshold and VO2max.Planning when to do which is where structuring your season comes in.Need a hand?Which intervals you need, and when, depends on your event and where you are starting from. A coach takes the guesswork out. Monthly coaching is 140, with a 15-minute call every week. Book a free 30-minute consultation.More from the blogHow to increase your FTPSweet spot training: what it is and when to use itHow to sprint faster on the bikeHow many carbs per hour when cycling?Saddle up.

Davide Rebellins death will not receive a definitive judicial ruling on the criminal responsibility of the truck driver who fatally struck him. The Venice Court of Appeal has ruled that proceedings against Wolfgang Rieke should not continue. The German driver killed the former Italian cyclist on 3...

Sweet spot is the zone just under threshold. Hard enough to drive real fitness, easy enough to repeat. For riders short on time, it is one of the most useful tools there is. Used well, it builds FTP fast. Overused, it turns every week into the same grind. Here is how to get it right.What is sweet spot?Sweet spot sits at roughly 88 to 94% of your FTP, just under threshold. It feels like a solid, controlled effort. Breathing is deep but steady, conversation comes in short phrases, and you could hold it for a good while if you had to. On a 1 to 10 scale it is a 6 or 7.The name comes from the idea that it gives you the best return for the effort: a lot of training stimulus without the deep fatigue of riding at or above threshold. Not sure where your zones sit? Use our FTP and zones calculator.Why it worksTime efficientIf you have 6 to 8 hours a week, you cannot ride 15-hour weeks of easy miles. Sweet spot packs a lot of aerobic and threshold work into a short session, which is why it suits riders fitting training around work and family.Builds thresholdLong blocks just under FTP push it upwards. You spend more time close to threshold than you could in a true threshold session, and you recover faster afterwards. See how to increase your FTP.Builds durabilityHolding steady power for long periods is exactly what sportives, time trials and long breakaways ask of you. Sweet spot trains the muscles, the head and the fuelling for it.Classic sweet spot sessionsGetting started: 3 10 minutes at 88 to 94% of FTP, 5 minutes easy between.Building: 3 15 minutes, then 2 20 minutes.Long: 2 30 minutes, or 60 to 90 minutes of total sweet spot in a session as you get fitter.Over-unders: 10-minute blocks alternating 2 minutes at 95 to 105% with 2 minutes at 85 to 90%. Teaches you to recover while still working hard.Outdoors: a steady climb or long, quiet road. Ideal for time trial practice in your TT position.Progress by adding time before adding intensity. Going from 3 10 to 2 20 is real progress, even at the same power.The catchSweet spot is tiring. Not destroyed-tired, but tired enough that doing it four or five times a week adds up. Do too much of it and every week turns into the same moderately hard grind. Easy days stop being easy, hard days stop being hard, and progress stalls. This is one of the most common patterns we see in self-coached riders.Polarised and 80/20 trainingStudies of endurance athletes show that most of their training is genuinely easy, often around 80% of their time, with the rest split between moderate and hard work. That pattern keeps you fresh enough to make the hard work count.Sweet spot fits into that 20%, alongside threshold and harder intervals. It is a tool in the box, not the whole box. Riders with very few hours might do a bit more of it. Riders with more time should lean on easy volume and save sweet spot for one or two key sessions a week.When to use itBase phase: one or two sweet spot sessions a week alongside lots of easy riding. Builds the platform for harder work later.Time-crunched weeks: the most useful single session when you only have an hour.Before long events: sportives, gran fondos and 25-mile TTs reward the ability to hold sustained power. See how to pace a 25.Less useful close to short, punchy races: crits and road races need repeated hard efforts and sprints. Shift towards those as race day approaches.Fuel itA 90-minute sweet spot session burns a lot of carbohydrate. Eat beforehand, take a bottle with carbohydrate in it for anything over an hour, and refuel after. See carbs per hour.Track the progressWatch your heart rate and feel at the same power over a few weeks. If heart rate drops and the effort feels easier, you are getting fitter. Our guide to feel, heart rate and power explains how to read the signs, and power testing shows when to retest.Next stepThe right mix of sweet spot, easy riding and hard work depends on you and your goal. That is what we do with our riders every week. See how coaching works, or book a free call.More like thisHow to increase your FTPCycling intervals: types, zones and why we use themHow to sprint faster on the bikeHow many carbs per hour when cycling?Saddle up.