How to improve your average speed?

Rightly or wrongly, the average speed during rides is an important metric in the minds of most road cyclists. Even if chasing the average isn’t always the best way to improve, a few tips can help you improve it while maintaining the same basic fitness level.

By Guillaume Judas – Photos: PEdALED

When we talk about performance, if there’s one that’s unverified yet often cited as an example, it’s the average speed of a ride! Many parameters come into play, making any remote comparison almost impossible. Wind, topography, traffic conditions, and, above all, how the ride is conducted (alone, in a group, on a closed circuit, etc.) influence the numbers to the point that no valid conclusion can be drawn. It even turns out that, in some cases, this race for the average is rather detrimental in terms of progress in traditional cycling races. Nevertheless, for those who remain attached to raw numbers, it is always possible to improve the average speed of their rides thanks to a few tips, ultimately beneficial in the long term for managing performance in competition.

To optimize training time

For many, fighting against the average speed is a way to make the limited time spent on the bike useful. We all know people like our former training partner Éric, who can’t help it; it’s stronger than him: “I’m a hyperactive person; I always do many things at once. Naturally, it’s always complicated to ride. I free up two mornings a week, plus weekend races. So, during these two three-hour training sessions, if I haven’t done at least 100 km, I’m not satisfied.” Even if it means taking some liberties with the consistency of effort sequencing: “The old-school racers often tell me to ride more calmly, but to break up my efforts to target specific zones. But I prefer to ride at a sustained and steady pace, with a big gear.” In races, Éric is courageous and never hesitates to launch into long breakaways. However, it’s undeniable that he lacks something during the peloton’s big accelerations. “Yes, it’s true,” he smiles, “my bike computer is a bit stuck!”

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The pursuit of optimizing training time is commendable in the sense that it is already part of a voluntary approach to be an actor and not a spectator of one’s progress or the maintenance of one’s physical condition. But counting in kilometers – with the feeling of a job well done – undeniably pushes one to fight against the average rather than to specifically work on elements interesting for performance in competition.

This is also the case for those who, like our friend Geoffrey, come from other sports and have a different culture: “I ride every evening, and I can’t stand not having sore legs during and after training. On the bike, I thought the main thing was to improve my engine, to ride hard and long. In my early days, I found success thanks to my strength and courage. But later, I realized that I had major technical shortcomings and lacked explosiveness. Unlike a half-marathon or marathon, for example, competitive cycling requires a wide range of power development. You have to know how to be economical at low speeds to last a long time, but also be able to sprint.” Two qualities he would necessarily have to work on by accepting to put a brake on a sustained average pace.

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Choosing your routes

The pursuit of the best average speed is more or less consciously accompanied by the choice of an appropriate route. Long, flat or moderately hilly straight roads, wind-sheltered roads with good pavement or low car traffic favor sustained average speeds. “When I ride in Brittany, where my second home is located, I always achieve higher average speeds,” explains Charles, a Parisian by birth who has his bearings in both regions: “In the Chevreuse Valley, it’s rare for me to be able to complete a ride at more than 31 km/h average. In Brittany, it’s rather rare for me to ride below 33 km/h. Even if it’s hilly, I always use a big gear, I know the roads to protect myself from the wind, and above all, I hardly encounter any traffic lights. In Paris, I turn off the bike computer at every light, but you always have to brake, accelerate, weave through traffic. It’s difficult, for example, to approach a climb with momentum.”

The necessary gymkhana to get from one climb to another in Île-de-France, descents with a stop at the bottom, and always the traffic, can encourage one to move away from the capital, and thus to look for more rolling routes. But for what benefit at the end of the ride? “Obviously, if my goal is to climb as many hills as possible to progress in that area, the fight for the best possible average speed no longer makes any sense.” Philippe, a very good cyclosportif from the Grenoble region, agrees with this, even if for him the notion of average speed is directly linked to that of elevation gain: “In winter, we ride in the valley, and it’s very flat. And since we mostly do short rides, we ride fast. As soon as spring arrives and the passes reopen, we change our approach. The average speed of my rides doesn’t interest me at all. I evaluate my progress based on the length and difficulty of my rides, and possibly by timing myself on two or three test climbs, but never on average speed.”

Solo or group rides

“At Longchamp on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, it’s 100 km in two and a half hours. If I did the same ride alone on such a rolling circuit, it would be closer to 75 to 80 km.” Fred is a regular on the West Parisian circuit and in peloton training. The average speed there is always very close to that of a competition. However, well hidden within a compact group, the effort is completely different. “It’s utopian to think that the effort in a peloton, relative to the average speed, is proportional to the speed one could maintain alone. I do it for convenience, but in reality, I know that when I really want to prepare specifically for a race, I’ll ride solo.” The use of a heart rate monitor, or better yet, a power meter, helps to put the value of these rides into perspective. Unless you actively participate in the group’s progress, or even simulate a race, with attacks and accelerations.

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Weather conditions

Rain, cold, and of course wind influence muscle efficiency, grip conditions, and air resistance. “By the sea, one windy day I rode at 20 km/h into the wind, at 170 beats per minute, Charles specifies. In the other direction, I was at 45 km/h without pedaling!” In the case of a circuit ride, the time spent being slowed down by a headwind is greater than the time spent with a tailwind. As a result, the average speed is necessarily disturbed compared to usual conditions.

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Tips to increase your average speed

It is still possible to improve your average speed, taking into account the aforementioned elements. Equipment plays an important role, especially in terms of aerodynamics. Wheels or the frame, for example, can provide a significant gain in terms of timed performance, at constant speed and equal energy expenditure, if the course is suitable. From about 30 km/h, a difference of more than 2 km/h can be observed with a power meter between the best equipment in the field and the most handicapping. You can even push it further by riding with a low-slung bike and a time trial suit, to further improve speed, and always with equivalent energy expenditure. The position on the machine is also crucial, between an upright posture and hands-in-the-drops.

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Equipment is not the only source of possible progress, however, since by adjusting the effort precisely, optimal pressure is maintained on the pedals. Continuing to pedal on descents and false flats, riding with a significant gear, staying focused to avoid all dead time, maneuvering smoothly in turns… To a lesser degree of intensity, these are still elements that determine the success of a solo breakaway in a race. Those who naturally possess this science of riding at a steady pace are capable of achieving good average speeds in training. While others benefit from this pursuit to progress in races and learn to regulate their effort when chased by a peloton.

It can thus be interesting to take benchmarks on a circuit, to self-evaluate by doing laps and trying to remain as consistent as possible. A good way to maintain rhythm is also to ride to music, even if it is now forbidden by the Highway Code. Charles specifies: “I rode a lot with a portable music player when I was alone. With appropriate music, I got into the zone more easily, the sustained and regular rhythm seemed less monotonous. Of course, I remained attentive to everything around me, but the music allowed me to overcome a lot of mental blocks related to simple psychological fatigue.”

Neither too much nor too little

There are many ways to save a little time everywhere, despite unchanged potential. This alone is certainly not enough to achieve success in competition. However, it can contribute to long-term progress, provided it is not overused. And above all, it can be suitable for certain practices, by improving endurance or for those preparing for ultra-distance goals. In the meantime, with the aim of overall progress, we encourage you to try – from time to time – to improve your average speed on certain target rides. Not every day, but consider it a long-term beneficial exercise in addition to other rides with more specific themes.

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