PRIVATE CYCLING COACHINGWORLD TOUR
EXPERTISE.
YOUR LIFE.

Age changes the starting point

Yes—improving your cycling performance after 50 is possible. Your scope for progress depends on training history, consistency and current fitness. A rider returning after several interrupted seasons has a different opportunity from someone who has trained systematically for decades. Neither needs a plan built around age alone.

Understand the number

Functional threshold power, or FTP, is a practical estimate of sustained cycling power. The result depends on the test used: a short test and a longer steady effort do not measure exactly the same thing. Use a consistent protocol, similar conditions and the same power meter when comparing results. Check whether the resulting training targets match what you can actually sustain.

When your FTP is set too high

One of the most common mistakes I see is riders setting their FTP too high. They then build sessions around that number—for example, three ten-minute threshold intervals—but the target does not reflect their current fitness.

The first interval may be manageable. By the second or third, power falls, the effort becomes excessive, or the rider cannot complete the session as intended.

My preference is to lower the target to a realistic level and build the amount of controlled, repeatable work the rider can complete. I want to see consistent intervals before asking for more power.

This matters after 50, but the mistake is common at every age. Your training should reflect the fitness you have today. A higher FTP setting does not make you stronger; completing the right work consistently gives you a better foundation for progress.

Look beyond your best test

Track whether you can hold useful power for longer, finish long rides more strongly and recover well enough to train consistently. Those changes matter on the road even when the FTP estimate barely moves. The aim is a stronger cyclist over months, rather than a higher number on one good day.

Research & further reading
FTP testing: validity and physiological responses ↗
Masters endurance performance and ageing ↗

Start with the event

Eight hours can provide a useful training framework, but the demands of your Gran Fondo decide how those hours should be spent. A rolling event and a long mountain route require different preparation. Consider expected duration, climbing, pacing and your current ability to ride comfortably for several hours.

Give endurance work enough space

When cyclists have only eight hours a week, a common mistake is to fill too much of that time with high-intensity intervals. They want every session to count, so they keep making the training harder.

My preference is to make better use of the lower end of Zone 2: controlled endurance riding at an intensity the rider can sustain comfortably and repeat consistently. Here, Zone 2 means the endurance zone in a conventional five- or seven-zone cycling model; zone labels differ between systems.

Hard sessions still have a place, but they need a clear purpose. For a Gran Fondo, I want the rider to develop the endurance to keep riding effectively deep into the event. That means giving lower-intensity work enough space in the week.

With limited time, the goal is to build a week you can absorb and repeat. More intensity does not automatically make those eight hours more productive.

An illustrative eight-hour week

As an illustrative week for an already consistent cyclist: Tuesday, 75 minutes with controlled sustained efforts; Thursday, 60 minutes of easy endurance; Saturday, three hours of endurance with event-relevant terrain; Sunday, two hours and 45 minutes at a comfortable endurance pace. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are days off the bike. That totals eight hours; it is an example, not a starting prescription for every rider.

Practise the whole event

Use longer rides to rehearse pacing, eating, drinking and the equipment you intend to use. Avoid turning every climb into a competition. The objective is to arrive at the final hour with enough control to keep riding effectively.

Adapt the week

If the weekend leaves you persistently tired, shorten Sunday or redistribute the time. If your event is much longer than your usual rides, occasional longer rehearsals may be useful when your preparation allows. Eight hours is a planning constraint, not a guarantee of readiness. A sustainable week gives the next week a chance to work too.

Research & further reading
Cycling intensity distribution: a controlled training study ↗

What you are developing

VO₂ max describes the highest rate at which your body can use oxygen during intense exercise. It is one contributor to cycling performance, alongside sustained power, efficiency and the ability to resist fatigue. Improving it can be useful, but a higher laboratory value is not the only route to riding better.

Fewer sessions. A clear purpose.

One of the most common mistakes I see is too many VO₂-focused sessions within a microcycle. My preference is often one demanding session every seven to ten days, adjusted to the rider’s training load and recovery.

Within that session, I may combine classic longer intervals with shorter repetitions. For a suitably prepared rider, an example is four four-minute intervals, followed by two six-minute blocks alternating 40 seconds hard with 20 seconds easy.

The longer efforts establish sustained work, while the shorter repetitions add a different rhythm within the same session. Intensity, recovery between intervals and blocks, and total workload are planned for the individual.

This is a demanding session, so I want the rider to arrive ready to execute it well. The days around it should allow the work to be absorbed. Before scheduling another VO₂ session, I look at how the rider has recovered and responded.

For me, the priority is a well-executed stimulus followed by enough recovery to benefit from it.

Research & further reading
The combined session and seven-to-ten-day frequency above illustrate my coaching approach; the linked study examines other interval formats.
Interval intensity and duration: a cyclist training trial ↗

Plan for what is realistic

The most common mistake I see during business travel is planning more training than the trip realistically allows. Riders arrive with ambitious schedules, then feel disappointed when meetings, flights and fatigue prevent them from completing the work.

My approach is to agree on a manageable plan before departure. We consider the journey, work commitments, available equipment and opportunities to sleep. The training should fit the trip.

When travel crosses time zones, managing jet lag becomes a priority. I adjust expectations around the rider’s sleep, fatigue and readiness rather than assuming they can train normally as soon as they arrive.

A shorter session—or a rest day—can be the right decision. Direct communication helps us adapt as the trip unfolds, without treating every change as a failure.

The goal is to maintain continuity and return ready to train. Completing a realistic plan is more useful than repeatedly falling short of an ambitious one.

Research & further reading
Athlete travel fatigue and jet lag: consensus statement ↗
Athlete sleep: expert consensus ↗

A training plan is a living process

My experience in the WorldTour, combined with coaching executives and Masters cyclists, gives me a broad perspective on how different training approaches can work together.

Professional cycling teaches you to pay attention to detail. Working with riders who balance cycling with demanding careers teaches you how to apply that detail within limited time.

Planning a shorter training week requires careful decisions. Which session matters most? How much work can the rider absorb? What should change when travel, poor sleep or an unexpected commitment reduces the time available?

For me, the plan is like a living organism. It develops with the rider and responds to what happens during the week. We may combine different approaches, change the balance of intensity and endurance, or adjust recovery as circumstances evolve.

That is where experience matters: understanding what to keep, what to change and when to act. The aim is to make the available hours work together towards the rider’s goals.

Coaching perspective · An explanation of the private coaching approach.