Preparation and Racing on the Trainer (The Modern Training Approach of Vojtěch Hačecký)

Don’t Burn Yourself Out. The calendar has turned to October, and most cyclists need to take a break from their passion, at least for a while. If not physically, then at least mentally, so they can regain the drive to start preparing for the next season. A fairly ideal option for a Central European who experiences the changing seasons and can’t live without the bike—or even the thrill of racing—even in winter, are virtual races on the trainer.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has changed and made indoor training in bad weather more enjoyable. Primarily for amateurs, as pros still tend to relocate to warmer destinations—or they’re simply tough as nails, like Niki Terpstra used to be, who wouldn’t let any weather stop him. However, even among pros, it’s not uncommon to spend dozens or even hundreds of hours on the trainer during winter. Maybe more than they’d like. These days, it’s fashionable to do warm-ups before races and cool-downs afterward—something that didn’t used to be the norm. Sometimes they get stuck in bad weather during a high-altitude camp, or they live in Andorra where it regularly snows, so they simply have to hop on the trainer. Or they’re fulfilling marketing duties outlined in their professional contracts and must participate in certain races on platforms like Zwift. Another thing is that some professional teams organize remote group rides with their riders. Virtual reality allows fans to go for a "ride" with their favorite star, to see how they train—so you could end up pedaling next to someone like Chris Froome from the comfort of your home.

All of this eventually led to the emergence of virtual racing. This winter, the national championship took place (won by Vojtěch Řepa), and there was also a rainbow jersey up for grabs at the world championship (the first winner was rower Jason Osborne, who is now a teammate of this year’s champion Jay Vine at Alpecin). In my opinion, however, a major issue lies in the calibration and power transmission to the game. Not all ergometers are properly calibrated, even if manufacturers boast low margins of error and claim everything works reliably. But if you sit on three different trainers, you’ll ride three different power outputs. Putting the technical side aside, if the whole concept is well managed, it’s a fantastic marketing opportunity. People write about the winner, about the team that gave them a chance—it’s a win-win situation. On the other hand, physical talent alone isn’t everything. The women's team Canyon//SRAM started offering contracts to the best virtual riders, where the risk of failure is lower due to less depth in the women’s peloton. It’s a different story with men—you risk that the fastest guy on a stationary bike doesn’t know how to actually ride and race on a real one. That’s the downside. The upside is giving a chance to people who would otherwise go unnoticed at traditional races and slip through the scouting net. Here, they get to show what they’re made of.

And Jay Vine proved exactly that—even though he was already 25. But given what he has achieved since, the timing was just right. His success certainly didn’t fall into his lap. People like that usually have some kind of racing background, at least at the local level. So they have some basic experience, and if they’re skilled, they can learn the rest. They’ll probably be weak tactically, but in a big team, they’ll have a captain to guide them—and unless it’s the world championships, they’ll race with a radio, so they’ll receive plenty of real-time information. If both sides are willing, anything can be worked out. But if you assess a cyclist solely based on numbers, it’s risky, because e-races are typically not very long. You get one hour of full-on effort indoors versus a six-hour stage in the real world. On the flip side, that’s why talent academies organize a series of races—to see how riders hold up over time. If they’re lacking endurance, they’ll do well on day one, maybe day two, but then fall apart on day three.

In terms of scouting, UAE Team Emirates (Pogačar’s team) uses a rider’s five-minute power output—maximum peak power—as a metric to evaluate potential. For my taste, there’s too much reliance on statistics, but those who love numbers can theoretically predict how a rider will perform even in a long race. In any case, this way you can measure a “no-name” guy on the other side of the world. Most people who make a living from cycling do it to be outdoors—not to sit on a trainer in the living room. A specific group is triathletes, and especially in the U.S., virtual cycling is a huge market because in large cities, it’s hard to get a proper outdoor ride, so many people train at home on an ergometer. Most pros aren’t really into virtual cycling, so they don’t prepare much for the races—they already have a high baseline level and can perform well even without specific prep. The prestige is high, so they race hard, but they don’t focus on it because there’s nothing real at stake for them. Still, pros need intensity in the winter, and virtual tests can be a great way to do interval training.

The main reason for the current decline in interest in virtual racing is market saturation. Retailers assumed everything would keep growing, but COVID is (hopefully) finally behind us. During lockdown, people had to ride trainers because they couldn’t go outside. And perhaps they even grew to hate it a bit—there was simply too much of it. But as they say, “to each their own,” so everyone should choose what suits them best.

On the other hand, if you have to ride the trainer, then virtual reality is a much easier way to do it, because for hobby cyclists, it’s the simplest form of intense training. Tons of races are held on virtual platforms, which sometimes leads to unnecessarily frequent intensity. This type of racing needs to be monitored as part of the training plan, so the cyclist doesn’t burn out before the season even begins. They mustn’t just keep racing, because spring will come and they might be in rocket form—but by the end of spring, their legs will be gone.

They’ll suddenly start lacking basic endurance—those simple, slow, and long efforts. If you go full gas all the time, your metabolism begins to shift, and you’ll function mostly on carbohydrates. In spring, they’ll head outside and initially outperform their friends who didn’t race on trainers all winter. But their friends will gradually race into form, while the guy who trained like a maniac indoors will have nothing left to build on and will start to fade because he lacks a base.

If you do one-hour full efforts twice a week, why not—if it brings you joy. But you can definitely design a smarter and more effective training plan. On the flip side, this is the easiest way, because amateurs don’t have to stress over staring at stopwatches or heart rates—they just ride with others. They latch on to someone, can’t keep up, then someone else comes along. And it doesn’t have to be a one-hour effort—apps offer short five-kilometer routes too, which only take a few minutes at high intensity. But again—I’d include such races no more than twice a week, and the rest of the rides should just be easy. Also, include other complementary sports, because the rest of the season will be spent on the bike, and you need general development—gym workouts, ideally also other endurance activities like walking, cross-country skiing, swimming, and so on. Simply put, get your body back in balance and don’t stress over the fact that pros ride every day—because they get paid for it, while an amateur should see cycling and sport as a way to care for their physical self.

This brings us to the risks of virtual cycling—primarily health risks. We assume everyone has had medical checkups and is healthy. But you race indoors in a closed room, and the hotter it gets, the greater the risk of collapse. If you have an undiagnosed heart condition (not that rare nowadays), or even a known one you ignore, the risk is even greater. The most critical factor when riding indoors is cooling. Ankles, wrists, and the neck are the best places to cool down. The goal is to keep your core temperature stable.

As with pros, preparation for an e-race depends on the purpose of the activity. If the race is to be used as an interval workout, you can jump in without special prep. Otherwise, the preparation isn’t much different from preparing for an outdoor race—including food and hydration. You need more fluids indoors because you overheat, and the airflow isn’t great. A virtual race can be great for practicing higher carbohydrate intake at race intensity, or for learning to drink during the race. That’s why we’re not completely writing off virtual races—but… everything in moderation