Triathlon Base Training Series 3 - Cycling

Nov 20, 2025

Join Jack Hutchens, a Scientific Triathlon coach, as he delves into the essentials of cycling during the base training phase. He discusses the significance of training volume and the benefits of mixing bike types for varied workouts. Expect practical advice on low-cadence workouts and maximizing sustainable volume. Jack also highlights the importance of setting effective triathlon goals, emphasizing the balance of outcome and process goals. Tune in for insights on improving your cycling game this off-season!

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ADVICE

Test To Build A Power Profile

Do test multiple maximal efforts (e.g., 3–6–20 or 3–5–20 minutes) to build a power profile and compute critical power and W' values.
Use those metrics to identify whether you need more anaerobic or aerobic work for your race goals.

ADVICE

Mix Road And TT Bikes

Ride both road and TT bikes during base but prioritise road for variety and power work, while keeping TT time on the trainer.
Use the road for group rides and rough roads, then maintain TT exposure for race position adaptation.

ADVICE

Periodically Use Low-Cadence Blocks

Do low-cadence (torque) sessions periodically, often in multi-week blocks, but not necessarily every week year-round.
Use weekly blocks of low-cadence work for targeted strength phases rather than permanent weekly sessions.

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Do you want to level up your cycling this off-season? Then this episode is a must-listen, with detailed and practical guidance for your bike training during the base training phase, presented by Scientific Triathlon coaches Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens.

HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS:

Key training principles for cycling in the off-season
What types of workouts do we recommend for this time of year?
How important is training volume on the bike?
Riding on different types of bikes, and riding indoors vs. outdoors
Bike fitting, aero testing, and position optimisation
Listener questions
...and Jack's "Surprise Segment": goal setting in triathlon

DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES:

We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode.
The shownotes for today's episode can be found at www.scientifictriathlon.com/base3/

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

Jack's coaching profile and Instagram
Triathlon Base Training Series 1 – How to train smarter in winter to race faster in summer
Triathlon Base Training Series 2 – Swimming
Aero.chat - tool mentioned by Mikael in the episode

WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT?

If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following episodes:

Including sprint training in cycling – training responses and performance improvements with Nicki Winfield Almquist, PhD | EP#300 - this episode gives additional background as to why including sprints in your base training might be a good idea
John Wakefield of Red Bull BORA hansgrohe – cycling coach and bike fitter | EP#465 - some great thoughts here on both torque training and bike fitting, both of which where topics discussed in today's episode
Anna Kiesenhofer – Olympic Champion | EP#454 - one of my favourite interviews of 2025!
Q&A on bike training | EP#381 - with Scientific Triathlon coaches Lachlan Kerin and Mikael Eriksson

You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc.

You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes.

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