Even amateurs can train properly for this legendary cycling marathon: alternate a long road race in the weekend and short indoor precision-training sessions on Technogym Ride on weekdays
One of the most exciting Gran Fondo races in the world, a spectacular route between the blue sky and the majesty of the Dolomites. Over 30,000 cyclists from all over the world pre-register for the Maratona dles Dolomites every year, 8,000 are the lucky ones who take part in the 2022 edition. The Maratona dles Dolomites is an extraordinarily beautiful and, at the same time, extremely tough long-distance race: the long course covers 138 km with an altitude difference of 4230 metres and involves cycling on the Campolongo, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena, Campolongo again, Giau, Falzarego and Valparola passes in succession. One does not invent oneself on such a route. If you are not properly trained, you run the risk of experiencing a real ordeal; with adequate preparation, on the other hand, it’s still a big challenge, but you can fully enjoy the extraordinary landscape of the Dolomites.
Cycling performance is not the result of chance: apart from the technical skills needed to drive the bike downhill and – in the case of a Gran Fondo – to stay in a group, the fundamental skills to train are strictly
physiological: general aerobic endurance, strength endurance, lactacid tolerance. It’s necessary to train them!
How to train these basic abilities? It’s good to make a distinction between professionals and amateurs who have a lot of time to train – more than 15 hours a week – and those who are well below this threshold, because of their professional life. We can, however, say that 8 well-structured hours per week are enough to prepare for such a long cross-country race. The preparation starts from afar and finds its roots in the winter period, when one works on general aerobic endurance. However, it is difficult in winter to devote so many hours to long, low-intensity training: daylight hours are limited, and cold and bad weather are serious obstacles.
Intensity is really the key to getting the best out of indoor training: there is little point in spending long hours indoors at low intensity, it is better to concentrate on short to medium training, an hour and a half at the most, and work on intensity.
High-intensity training, however, must be organised on a physiological basis: to be effective, the individual training session must comply with certain parameters and be placed in the structured context of a training programme.
It's also the fundamental concept of precision training which was kept in mind to design Technogym Ride programmes. This is why, to start a training programme, Technogym Ride asks you to impute your anaerobic threshold value or – for those who don't know it – it proposes 2 ad-hoc tests to assess it: one based on heart rate, and one based on the power you are able to express in a given time: the essence of precision training. Depending on the programme chosen, the individual session has one or more specific objectives characteristic of the session itself (e.g. exercises to improve strength endurance or to raise the anaerobic threshold) and other more general objectives linked to the programme. Among the various programmes, one is specific to train for the Maratona dles Dolomites.
Then there is another, very important aspect to consider: entertainment. Training at high intensity is tiring, and indoor training is even more so. Each of us, however, can adopt strategies to make training more motivating and easier. However, these strategies differ from cyclist to cyclist. Some want to focus on numbers and metrics, others look for images and music, and others for the guidance of an online trainer.
That's what's so unique about
Technogym Ride: an indoor training platform for cyclists in which everyone finds their
ideal training modality. The content always remains high-level from the point of view of training physiology, only the form changes. Here’s why you’ll find the very technical
TNT (Technogym Neuromuscular Training)
workouts, the
on-demand classes conducted by professional trainers, the
outdoor routes, and the possibility of connecting
to online platforms such as Zwift and Rouvy.
No matter what your preferred mode of training is, set yourself a goal and rely on Technogym Ride, you'll find the answer you're looking for.
