Sprinting and Power Training

ByRobin Horwitz

  When there are just a few meters to go and you're feeling really great and thinking about securing a win or some points for an upgrade, you get ready to burst into a full sprint. But, you find yourself out of gas. Chances are if you had devoted a block of your training to sprinting, you would've managed that explosion late into the race.

  Sprinting is often given low priority by cyclists who train by doing intervals. Now here's your chance: You can and will improve your sprinting abilities by using your powermeter and incorporating a variety of intervals and gym workouts.

  Sprinting, just like every other areas of cycling, can be broken into several following areas: 1. Technique 2. Gym workouts 3. Intervals The element that holds everything together is the use of a powermeter. Using one allows you to find out which intervals and gym workouts will get you the best sprinting results.

  Powermeter

  Use your powermeter to:

• Find your optimal cadence range while expending the highest amount of watts.
• Learn which gym workouts and technique will give you a steady growth in watts.
• Maintain or lose body fat % to increase your watts per kg sprint.

  Start by creating several charts like this:

1. Show your maximum output, five-second output and 15-second output for each 42-day period.
   
   
2. Combine your PMC with the Chart #1 to create a new chart.
   
   
3. Create a chart showing watts per kg.

  Technique – Technique cannot be underemphasized in boosting your ability to sprint and should be a critical focus before you move onto other areas.

  Your hands should be in the drop bars and your body should be centered on the bike. If you are moving forward on the bike, the rear wheel may slip a bit when you attempt to sprint. If there's too much weight forward on the bike, you may lose control of the bike when you hit bumps. Early into a sprint cyclists usually get out of their saddle then sit down when they hit high RPM. With practice, you will be able to sprint the whole way while out of saddle.

  Gym Workouts – In "The Importance of Isometric Maximum Strength and Peak Rate-Of-Force Development in Sprint Cycling" by Michael H. Stone, et al, findings indicated that a sequenced, periodized approach in which maximum strength and power are optimized produces superior results.

  In other words, lift weights to improve your sprinting ability. Weightlifting is key to your training program and you should work your core muscles and do basic exercises such as squats, deadlifts, single leg presses, lat rows and cable rows.

  Although you may think a cyclist doesn’t belong in Gold Gym, doing these exercises will make you a better sprinter. A stronger upper body plays a valuable role in sprinting. The most important areas of focus, however, are the legs, which necessitate squats and single leg presses. The deadlift strengthens the legs and the back as well.

  Intervals – An excellent sprint can be broken into several areas: initial jump, buildup, and sustained, high RPM for a brief period. Before doing sprints, warm up by doing small ring jumps to avoid any risk of injury. 39x17 is usually a recommended gear for small ring jumps done from 10 mph. Several big ring sprints intervals work will improve your initial jump and speed buildup. Do them by doing 53x17 or 53x15 over 200 meters repeatedly. Cyclists who are able to do them repeatedly find themselves able to do several sprints before the final sprint in a race. That's a sign of a good sprinter. High RPM workouts can be done by sprinting on a slight downhill and maintaining your speed for a short period of time.

  After few months of working on these following areas, you will notice an improvement in your ability to sprint… and win!

Robin is USAC certified coach, owner of Threshold Power, Inc. and a memeber of the Peaks Coaching Group. Check out his bio page to learn more about Robin and his ideas on coaching.