The Life of a Pro Cyclist

By Rick Scott

“It’s just like riding a bike.” How many times have you heard that said? There is nothing easy about riding a bicycle competitively. Riding professionally is a demanding lifestyle that virtually requires a 365-day, 24-hour commitment and sacrifice. With salaries nowhere near what athletes command in the big four sports – baseball, football, basketball & hockey - the reality is far from the glamorous lives we assume all professional athletes live. Cyclists literally eat cycling, sleep cycling, travel cycling and live cycling every single day.

The 136 elite athletes competing in this year’s Amgen Tour of California typically ride their bikes twice as many miles as the average person drives their car each year. Pro cyclists put between 20,000-25,000 training and racing miles into their legs per annum. That’s a whole lot of time in the saddle so like athletes in any sport, it begins with training.

Training

Pro cyclists spend an average of two to six hours per day training. Most of that time is spent riding, but they might spend an hour in the gym a few days a week lifting weights to build leg and core strength, especially during the off-season months (mid-October to mid-January). The athletes receive a training schedule from their team or personal coach customized for the type of cyclist they are – a powerful sprinter, a lithe climber or an all-rounder who does both with equal aplomb - and the type of races in which they will compete in and prioritize during their season – one-day races or multi-day stage races like the Amgen Tour of California.

In the initial phases of training, riders will spend many hours building their aerobic engine on long rides at about 60% of their maximum heart rate. The pace is steady and relatively easy, thus they can literally pedal all day without feeling taxed. This is known as base training as it forms the athlete’s essential foundation of fitness. After a month or two of base rides, the riders add moderate efforts at 75-80% of their maximum heart rate in the form of intervals, which vary in length and intensity from as short as explosive 10-second sprint efforts to as long as one-hour efforts on a long hill. The pre-race phase involves intervals on hills and flat terrain at high intensity – 90-100% of maximum heart rate – that are typically 2-15 minutes in length. As the intensity goes up, the volume (or length) of the rides typically decreases.

To measure their efforts, cyclists usually wear a heart rate monitor and most pros today utilize a power meter, which measures power output in terms of wattage. Experienced pros often know intuitively how hard they are riding based upon feel.

During the off-season, pros take anywhere from 1-4 weeks off the bike, which is as much mental as it is physical. During the break, they usually do some type of exercise. Mountain biking, running, hiking and cross-country skiing are some of the cross-training activities preferred by cyclists, which they may continue for a period when they return to more structured training.

Eating

Recovery

Hard training or racing days are followed by recovery rides: short, easy rides that enable the body to recover from the previous day’s effort by getting the legs spinning and the blood flowing. Hincapie and Zabriskie both stated the need for at least eight hours of sleep nightly. Hincapie also tries to squeeze in short power naps when his schedule permits after long training days.

After training and races, riders usually down a recovery drink of carbohydrates and protein followed by a complete meal to stimulate recovery. During races, the teams provide a massage therapist to help the rider work the lactic acid out of the legs and alleviate the aches and pains earned as badges of honor from the day’s efforts. When at home, pros usually do self-massage or may use a foam roller or another massage aid. Riders may elevate their legs to let the toxins and lactate drain. There’s an old cycling adage that many pros follow: “Don’t walk if you can stand. Don’t stand if you can sit. Don’t sit if you can lay down.”

Lifestyle