Seasonal weather

Winter is already showing its face, even though it’s only mid-November. But these early weather events remind us that there’s a season for everything, even for (not) cycling. A good opportunity to question sports calendars and club organization, which are poorly adapted to the whims of the weather.

Almost every year, good weather extends into early November. Temperatures, at least, remain largely acceptable. However, the season for road races, triathlons, and other sportives is largely over, sometimes even since the end of September. Is it due to a lack of events or competitors? A bit of both, surely. Inspired by the professional calendar – which often starts in much more favorable latitudes – our events are taking place earlier and earlier in the year, and they are often full of competitors eager to battle it out. But they are also increasingly rare in early autumn, a period that is nevertheless very favorable for cycling.

velo-meteo-hivernale — Sometimes you have to change continents to find good weather. And change your sport!

We find this paralogism in the organization of winter training for most clubs and riders. We cut when it’s still mild, to shorten the transition period, which is nevertheless necessary to fill certain gaps, and we resume earlier and earlier. Thus, it is not uncommon to see some over-motivated racers or sportive riders cycling for four hours in early December. For what benefits? While in mid-summer and especially from the start of September, the pelotons are seriously thinned out.

Forgotten times

About thirty years ago, winter training began in mid-November with a cycle of general physical preparation and running. The bike was put away, and we only resumed riding in mid-January with short, easy rides. We then gradually increased the intensity until the first races in mid-March, to be at our best for the championships in June, and continued until mid-October with barely a short break in early August. Then the bike was disassembled, serviced, and we refrained from any sports activity for at least four weeks. We had real winters, the old-timers would say, before we started talking about global warming. But if storms have replaced snow in some regions, they are still incompatible with cycling. From time to time, a cold air current from Central Europe also reminds us that winter can still be glacial.

Postponing a ride, replacing it with an indoor trainer session or general physical preparation, or even a run, is not a problem when you’re just starting to pedal.

The difference is that the unpredictable winter, with snow, rain, wind, or frost, is not experienced in the same way on the bike, whether we are in a recovery phase or a pre-competition phase. And that changes everything! Postponing a ride, replacing it with an indoor trainer session or general physical preparation, or even a run, is not a problem when you’re just starting to pedal. On the other hand, when your legs are already sharp, the first opener rides have been done, and the logical progression calls for intensifying your rides, a forced break is frustrating. Not to mention the risks of getting sick, falling, or other inconveniences if you insist on riding anyway.

Many clubs have to readjust their schedule on January weekends, with all the difficulties involved in group organization, when sometimes a little flexibility is enough to ride anyway. For example, leaving at 11 am instead of 8 am to avoid black ice. Why this drift?

The example of the pros

High-level cycling has become specialized and highly technical, with teams often divided into two groups: classics riders and Grand Tour riders. To shine in the spring classics, the best start serious training in early November, go on training camps in December, sometimes add heavy workloads during the holidays, and start racing in January. While some French and Spanish races have followed suit even before February begins, it is in warmer climates that the pros race in winter. These same classics riders take a break in May, while Grand Tour riders get into action after a much more relaxed start.

Even in a group, rides in bad weather can be very difficult.

Among amateurs, the season now starts in early February, depending on the school holiday calendar. With races sometimes canceled or held in terrible conditions. Further down the hierarchy, the season starts on the last weekend of February, and in early March for sportive riders. Cyclocross, a discipline normally practiced in winter, is also completely out of sync, with the season starting in September and ending in mid-January! Among pros, this calendar extension responds to the internationalization of cycling, the number of high-level riders, and a general leveling up. But for amateurs or sportive riders, following this example means forgetting that the will and energy, both on the part of riders and organizers, are not limitless.

=> SEE ALSO : Why do we ride slower when it’s cold?

Common sense

Knowledge in terms of training has evolved, benefiting all categories of practitioners. It is simpler and more accessible today to train for a period of form, an event, a goal, if only because new preparation methods are transmitted at club level or via new communication channels. With the temptation to try too hard and the risk of ultimately wasting a lot of time.

An overly early and assiduous return to training goes against the very logic of the seasons. Even if it means skipping the start of the competitive year, which is difficult anyway, whether you’re in shape or not. There’s always time to shine in the height of summer. If competitors no longer play along, organizers will be forced to reschedule their events according to a calendar more favorable to cycling. Without a power meter, without a heart rate monitor, and without analysis software, the cycling that is called “old-school” was nevertheless based on simple questions of common sense.

You can dream of it. Good weather and beautiful getaways will return!

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