The wheels came off in May
If April was a bit of a struggle, the beginning of May was even worse. It was supposed to be my comeback month, a chance to finally log some serious volume. Instead, I got hit with another cold and an intestinal virus. On top of that, I had two weekends already committed to an annual family gathering and a get-together with my best friends. I was despairing at the start of the month, time was running out, and I felt way behind where I wanted to be.
As I recovered from my illnesses, I decided to bikepack to my weekend with friends and back home. This helped me salvage some training volume and even produced my longest ride of the year: 147 km. I also squeezed in one hard 3-hour ride at the end of May to test my nutrition plan. The caffeine gels were a success! Overall, I finished the month with close to 700 km. It wasn’t what I’d hoped for, but it was a pleasant surprise given the circumstances.
June tapering
Now, June is here, and I have two goals: build speed and power for climbing, and execute a proper taper so my legs feel fresh on race day.
I’ll still go all-in during the first week of June. My plan includes one long weekend ride to simulate race day, complete with my planned breakfast and an 11:00 start time (just like the actual race). And a few shorter rides with sprints to hit around 10 hours on the bike for the week.
That will wrap up three weeks of 10-hour training blocks, and then the taper begins. In the second week of June, I’ll reduce my volume by 40%, dropping from 10 hours to about 6. I’ll still ride 4 times, but the rides will be shorter, with intervals in at least two of them.
In the third week of June, I’ll cut back to about 3–4 hours of riding. On Monday or Tuesday, I’ll do my last interval session. After that, it’ll be 2–3 easy rides just to keep the legs spinning. On Friday, I’ll probably skip riding entirely unless I need to shake off some pre-race nerves. Saturday is race day.
Practising riding in a bunch
One aspect of racing I haven’t talked about much is riding with other people. I’m new to group riding, as I’ve only done two proper group rides before signing up for l’Étape. This year, I planned to join a weekly group ride organised by Pavé Cycles, a bike shop here in Prague. The pace is usually higher than what I’m used to, so I first had to get in shape and make sure I was fresh enough to keep up. That’s why it only worked out threetimes. But even those few rides were incredibly valuable. I got more comfortable with signalling, relaxing while keeping an eye on the rider in front of me, and, most importantly, staying close to the wheel to benefit from drafting at high speeds.
Of course, racing will be different. It won’t be an organised group led by experienced riders with the goal of a cohesive experience. It’ll be every rider for themselves, with unpredictable movements and groups that will likely break up on the bigger climbs. This remains one of the biggest question marks for race day, but it’s also what makes it so exciting.
Nervous and excited
The preparation for this race has already taught me a lot. I’ve seen how quickly things can go wrong when reality hits, and I’ve learned what I’d do differently next time. Race day will put everything to the test. Will my fuelling plan hold up? How much drafting will I actually manage? Can I stick to my pacing strategy? How will I handle the heat? I’m nervous, but I also can’t wait. I’ll check back in after the race.
