FEATURED RACE Violator – Instructor Notes 02

VIOLATOR

LENGTH FEATURED RACE 68 minutes Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) TYPE FEATURED RIDERS Speed World class sprinters; Mark Cavendish WHAT IT’S ABOUT Peter Sagan 64 sprints of :05, :10 and :15 John Degenkolb seconds – this is the essential sprint improvement video for racing Matt Goss cyclists, but will make anyone Elia Viviani stronger, fitter and more powerful!

STRUCTURE 12:00 Warm-up 18:35 SET 2: Stages 4-6 26:50 SET 1: Stages 1-3 • 10 x :05 sprints / :15 recoveries • 12 x :05 sprints / :30 recoveries • 8 x :10 sprints / :30 recoveries • 8 x :10 sprints / 1:00 recoveries • 4 x :15 sprints / 1:30 recoveries • 6 x :15 sprints / 1:30 recoveries • 2:45 Recovery • 3:00 Recovery 4:20 SET 3: Stages 7-9 • 8 x :05 sprints / :05 recoveries • 6 x :10 sprints / :10 recoveries • 2 x :15 sprints / :15 recoveries 4:00 Cool-down

10 — Flat out sprint. Something you could only hold for EFFORT SCALE 5-15 seconds.

All Sufferfest videos work 09 — Nearly a sprint, but could be held for 15 seconds off ‘perceived effort’. to 1 minute. 08 — Very uncomfortable, with very high heart rate We use a scale from 1 to and breathing. Speaking isn’t possible, but effort 10, where 1 is lying on can be maintained for 3 to 8 minutes. 07 — A ‘base’ effort, this is just slightly below what’s the couch and 10 is a flat called a rider’s ‘threshold.’ Threshold is a strong, out sprint. This table has uncomfortable effort where speaking isn’t pleasant but where the effort could be held more detail on each effort for up to an hour – certainly no more. level so you can describe 06 — A steady effort that requires some concentration, effectively to your class: but where speaking is easy(ish). 05 — Moderate effort that requires little concentration.

04 — Extremely easy range with little to no effort on TO 02 the pedals.

01 — Couch, beer, pizza.

MAIN STORY POINTS TO NOTE Who is the fastest of them all? In Violator, you’ll With 64 sprints between 5 and 15 seconds, there are a LOT find out! You are the newly crowned Speed Demon of pace changes in this workout. Fast gear changes are vital – of Sufferlandria. Your nation wants to develop your watch and listen for the sound cues to ensure you don’t miss rising talent so you can represent Sufferlandria at the a beat. Olympics in Rio 2016. In preparation, they’re sending Really focus on maintaining the same maximum power you to the Giro d’Italia, where you’ll take on the world’s throughout each interval. Digging very deep for explosive best sprinters – names like Cavendish, Sagan and power is what this video is about, and many riders may not Degenkolb. Unfortunately for you, the Sufferlandrian have gone there before. National Team doesn’t have the budget for a lead out train – so you’ll be doing all the work on your own, During the recovery intervals, it’s important to keep the which means a LOT of sprinting. A LOT. In fact, you’ll legs turning over in a light gear; try to maintain a cadence have 64 sprints over 9 stages. Feel the need for speed?? of around 90, to assist with rapid recovery before the next It’s time to get Violator’d! sprint.

As Elite Coach Neal Henderson, the sports scientist who designed this workout says, “The first set almost feels easy. But halfway through the second set, you dig yourself into a hole that you won’t come out of until the workout is over.”

Start 0 4m 40s 3 Violator is all about speed, strength Let your riders get comfortable on their bikes and POWER. As the Speed Demon of and start to roll their legs over during the on- Sufferlandria, you’re here at the Giro screen introduction. d’Italia to prove that you can mix it with the world’s best sprinters – let’s show Whilst the number of speed intervals is them who really IS the fastest of them all! daunting, there is plenty of recovery time built into this workout; make sure you use it wisely so you can put absolute maximum effort and power into every one of the 64 sprints.

Warm-up 0:04:40 3m 5s 4 This is the ceremonial start of the Giro We’re going to do a nice long warm-up to d’Italia – following the official team prepare your body and mind for the huge task presentation, the riders follow the Race ahead. Start off in a nice and easy gear, with a Director's car to the official race start. cadence of around 90. We’ll gradually introduce some high cadence work in progressively higher gears, to really get those legs primed for the hard work ahead.

This is the perfect time to check out the riding positions of your group and make sure they start the workout with good technique and a proper position – strong core, relaxed arms and shoulders, and smooth, circular pedal strokes. We don’t want to see any bouncing in this workout!

Start 0:07:45 1m 51s 5 And we're off! It’s a flat roll along the Slightly harder gear (increase the resistance); waterfront for the first few minutes, but just enough to feel some heat in the legs as you you're not here to enjoy the scenery! You'll continue pedalling at around 90 RPM. need to keep your eyes on the road, and stay alert to any early breakaway moves.

Chase 0:09:36 1m 3s 6 What did we say? EYES ON THE ROAD!! Take it up another gear and increase leg speed Back On to 100. You should be starting to warm up by You’ll need to chase back on after that now - it’s a good time to do a form check - do little crash… you have a strong, solid core? Relaxed shoulders and arms? Soft elbows?

Recover 0:10:39 55s 3 Back it off just for a minute - you'll work up a big sweat over the next hour, so use these short recovery segments to take a drink.

Climb 0:11:34 1m 4s 7 First climb of the day! Let’s face it, as a The road is getting steeper, so dial up the Speed Demon you're not going to be near resistance. The key here is to work on a high the front on these steep sections - you'll cadence - over 110 RPM. If you can't turn your be back in the bunch suffering away with legs over that quickly, then take it back a gear Mark Cavendish and the other sprinters. or two.

Recover 0:12:38 1m 1s 3 A nice twisting descent. Riders will be Relief! Enjoy an easy spin down the hill before hitting speeds of around 100km/h here. we hit the next climb…

Climb 0:13:39 1m 8 Well, we didn’t expect it to be so hilly this Second short climb - this one's a little harder early in the stage! (your legs should be warm by now); at 8/10, you're at the upper end of the exertion scale.

Descent 0:14:39 1m 58s 5 This is the final descent before the run into As your group enjoys this final 2 minute the first of the sprint finishes. recovery before the main set, explain to them that it’s CRUCIAL they pay attention to the on-screen and sound cues throughout the next section; with 64 sprints (!), they’re going to have a LOT of gear changes and it might take a few sprints for them to get that dialed in correctly.

Just before each sprint, they’ll hear a bell (‘ding’) which is their cue to get into the right gear. A few seconds later, they’ll see the green light and hear the gunshot which means GO GO GO! Reassure them that they’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly; by the end of the session they’ll be able to do it in their sleep.

SET 1, 0:16:37 7m 1s 10 In a sprint stage like this, the teams with SET 1: STAGE 1 (12 x :05 sprints / :30 recoveries) Stage 1 strong sprinters will all go to the front of And so we begin…points to note: 3 the peloton in the final 5k to help slingshot their sprinter towards the finish line. In this segment your group will be fighting • The 5 second sprints are done at absolute MAXIMUM effort - RPE 10/10, with a cadence of 110+. for position behind the Orica GreenEDGE With such a short duration, the effort will be mostly leadout train, who are working for their about acceleration rather than hitting and then sprinter Matt Goss. But look out for Mark maintaining speed. Cavendish on the left! He’s wearing the rainbow stripes of World Champion • It’s up to your riders whether they choose to stand, and has the speed to challenge the sit or do a mixture of both - as long as they’re going Sufferlandrian Speed Demon... all out, we’re happy.

• For those who choose to stand, make sure they’re not putting all their weight on their arms and handlebars; they should have a more central position on the bike and use their core to hold them in position.

• In this first lot of sprints, pay particular attention to form and technique; strong core, stay low, flat back and really drive those legs to produce maximum acceleration and power.

• The recovery intervals should be super easy (RPE 3/10) - light gear, and cadence of 90.

SET 1, 0:23:38 9m 20s 10 This stage finishes in the rain, so you don't SET 1: STAGE 2 (8 x :10 sprints / 1:00 recoveries) Stage 2 want to be further back than the front 10 seconds doesn’t SOUND long, but really 3 few riders - otherwise you could miss the winning move! Finishes can be very work on maintaining that same power output for dangerous on these wet roads, as all of each effort. Accelerate rapidly and then hold the other riders will be nervous and heavy that speed for the last few seconds. Then use on the brakes - which is likely to cause the longer recoveries to get the breathing back crashes. under control and take in fluids as required.

SET 1, 0:32:58 9m 10 A sprint finish is a very hectic affair and SET 1: STAGE 3 (6 x :15 sprints / 1:30 recoveries) Stage 3 given that you don’t have a lead out With the longer duration of this sprint, your 3 train, you'll need to fight for the perfect position behind the Orica GreenEDGE class will have to not only accelerate, but also and Cannondale teams with all the other hit top speed and hold it for several seconds… wannabe sprinters. Try to get right behind perhaps even finding a second boost of speed in Matt Goss and Peter Sagan, and come the last couple of seconds. around them in the last few meters...don't let anyone else take your position! This is a great time to remind your group of the importance of form and technique for sprinting; really work on holding a solid core in order to transfer as much power as possible through the pedals.

Recover 0:41:58 3m 3 Wow, that sprint got very messy at the Do you want the good news? That was the end there. There will certainly be a few longest sprint set - you're almost half way there! angry words said at the finish. This is a The bad news? The recoveries are about to good example of why you need to stay up get shorter...so make the most of the next 3 the front in the next stages, and avoid all minutes! the chaos.

SET 2, 0:44:58 3m 19s 3 It’s the Cannondale team doing the lead SET 2: STAGE 4 (10 x :05 sprints / :15 recoveries) Stage 4 out today and once again the Minions are Ouch. The recovery periods are now half as long 10 nowhere to be seen - you’re on your own! Cannondale are working for Peter Sagan - make sure your riders keep their legs turning - he’s a two-time Tour de France green over as it will help flush the lactic acid away. jersey winner, and one of cycling’s more Continue to focus on maintaining great form controversial characters. Watch as his lead during the sprints - stay low and keep the upper out riders drive as hard as they can for as body still. You want every ounce of power to be long as they can before swinging off and coming through those legs. letting the next guy in line do the same thing. And look out for Mark Cavendish coming up on the right hand side of the road...

SET 2, 0:48:17 5m 20s 3 Surely not Mark Cavendish again? His SET 2: STAGE 5 (8 x :10 sprints / :30 recoveries) Stage 5 Omega-Pharma-Lotto team are providing Continue to really push your riders to maintain 10 the lead out today - he hasn’t had this kind of support yet in this tour, however he has that power throughout the entire 10 seconds. already won a number of stages. Speeds Hitting and holding top speed will start to are up around 70km/h here - can you stop become more difficult about halfway through Cav from getting yet another stage win? this set. So, focus on staying low, strong core, relaxed arms and shoulders, and giving 100% to It’s a straight road up to the finish line every interval. meaning this sprint is all about raw speed and power - perfect conditions for the Really make the most of the 30 second Sufferlandrian Speed Demon. recoveries; lower the resistance, slow the legs, control the breathing.

SET 2, 0:53:37 3m 16s 3 The sprinters and their lead out trains SET 2: STAGE 6 (4 x :15 sprints / :45 recoveries) Stage 6 lose control here after a crash on the final Only 20 sprints to go - that’s less than a third! 10 corner. Riders are scattered all over the long uphill road to the finish. Luckily your Now, these 15 second sprints are going to hurt group were up the front of the peloton as the lactic acid will really flow in as riders and missed the crash. They'll need to dig attempt to hold that top speed. seriously deep to hold off the chasing bunch of riders behind. Some of your riders will be looking pretty shaky now and might be a bit slow off the mark to get that acceleration. Really encourage them to jump hard and push through all 4 intervals with maximum effort; they’re about to get a longer recovery of almost 3 minutes.

Recover 0:56:53 2m 44s 3 John Degenkolb from the Argos Shimano Only 1 set of sprints to go! This time, the team thought he could hold off the recoveries are even shorter - in fact, the Sufferlandrian Speed Demon. He was recovery time is the same as the sprint time, wrong! so it will pretty much feel as though you’re not getting any breaks at all. Rapid gear changes will be key.

Challenge your riders to finish off as strongly as they began; this is the ultimate test of physical and mental strength. Just 16 sprints to go!

SET 3, 0:59:37 1m 20s 3 There is no sign of Cavendish this time - SET 3: STAGE 7 (8 x :05 sprints / :05 recoveries) Stage 7 now you're with explosive climbers like The recoveries are super short - you’ll barely 10 Carlos Betancur and the Columbia team. It’s impressive that you, a pure sprinter have time to change gears. Some riders may and Speed Demon, are up here with prefer to stay in one gear, accelerating every 5 some of the best climbers in the world. seconds. Just remember two words - MAXIMUM The other sprinters are all 40 minutes ACCELERATION! behind in the ‘groupetto’. Riders in the groupetto are only concerned with one thing - making the cut off time limit for the stage. You don’t need to worry about that though, you've got a stage win to fight for!

SET 3, 1:00:57 2m 3 A wet finish again. There is a small SET 3: STAGE 8 (6 x :10 sprints / :10 recoveries) Stage 8 group off the front that could surprise You’ve got this - less than 3 minutes to go! One 10 the sprinters. With no team mates the Sufferlandrian Speed Demon must be in last reminder of form and technique as this is this move AND fight it out for the sprint where things can start to get ugly…we want to finish if the move fails. Look out for the finish off looking as good as we started! (well, white lines as these become very slippery that’s the dream...). in the wet and rain.

SET 3, 1:02:57 45s 3 This is it, the final run to the finish. SET 3: STAGE 9 (2 x :15 sprints / :15 recoveries) Stage 9 This one is special - Milano San Remo This is it - LAST TWO SPRINTS! Give it 10 at 298kms is the longest race on the professional calendar and a dream come absolutely everything - this is the one time true for any rider to win. when we don’t expect technique and form to be perfect. It won’t be pretty but these last two are It’s usually the domain of sprinters but all about putting that last little bit of energy to this year all have been dropped expect for use. Try to get the class to do a 2nd acceleration the Sufferlandrian Speed Demon – you’ll in the last 5 seconds of this sprint. be fighting it out with the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Peter Sagan and Gerald Ciolek for the win

Cool 1:03:42 4m 48s 2 Just in case all those sprint finishes Now is a great time to congratulate your class Down weren’t hectic enough, your class will now on a super hard work out! warm down through the streets of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Watch out for…. well How did everyone feel during those last efforts? watch out for everything really. It gets Who had the darkest moments? And who’ll be pretty crazy! back for more?!

Finish 1:08:31

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