Conclusion: Yes, I do ㅎ
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Because I'm very interested in long-distance riding, I was curious about how the bodies of people who excel at long-distance riding differ from
a scrawny person like me, and I looked up a lot of related materials.
I'll share a bit of what I've learned about this.
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Many of you probably know this, but the peloton speed in the Tour de France is getting much faster.
It's not so much because of advances in equipment, but because of advances in physiology (?), which we amateurs have absorbed,
and we've been able to do long-distance riding more easily.
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These advances in physiology and resulting changes are being applied to almost all sports, not just cycling,
and the discovery of these changes has only been about 2-3 years ago.
Therefore, it's natural not to know if these changes are happening,
and it's also natural to think we need to observe these changes more.
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However, amateurs who tend to buy new items right away
couldn't have just sat and watched this, and through various routes,
they started subtly applying related content to their hobbies.
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Among them, the easiest (though it's been around for a while) is baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).
I haven't tried it yet, but with consistent consumption of the recommended amount, at threshold intensity or above,
many reviews show about 1-3% of the effect.
(It seems like 3% is about the difference between life and death)
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What I mainly wanted to write about today is not about these intake drugs,
Many riders, including myself, have long believed that "mileage is king," but
the reason we couldn't feel it in long-distance riding, and
the key to solving this is
"consistent high-intensity training routines," which was previously
explained at length through physiology and science (?), has been
revealed.
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To put it a bit differently, to make long-distance riding easier,
it's not medium intensity, low intensity, or medium-high intensity,
what's necessary is "high-intensity" training, which I hate doing the most.
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This is because among untrained amateurs, especially those with a very low ratio of high-intensity riding,
long-distance riders' VO2 max can be improved through such high-intensity training,
there's a lot of room for improvement, but also
because it has a greater impact on the autonomic nervous system and muscle fiber utilization.
(Especially on the critical recovery ability)
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There are countless YouTube videos and blogs that discuss various aspects of this,
and there are so many that just one topic would require staying up all night, and it's still not
clearly organized,
but most of it is content you don't need to know to enjoy it, so I'll skip it.
Instead, from the data and YouTube below,
you can see in data how high-intensity training contributes to long-distance riding,
and if you infer from that,
we all can't reach that level, but
it seems possible to achieve about 1/10 of this success,
and I firmly believe that this will make long-distance riding easier and more enjoyable.
(What I want is to enjoy it without difficulty ㅎ )
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Data
2025 Unbound XL Strava Data
(Since it's a race that prohibits external support even at the CP throughout the course, you have to buy food yourself too)
FTP 240W Before and After
Average power 180w for 21 hours, NP 188
(75% over FTP power that can be output continuously for 21 hours)
- Birth: April 24, 1984 (Age 41 as of 2025)
- Height: Approximately 163cm (5' 4")
- Weight: Approximately 54~57kg (119~125lbs)
Women's Ranking (Men and women do not start separately)
| Rank | Athlete Name | Time | Difference from 1st |
|---|
| 1st | Heather Jackson | 20:57:57 | - |
| 2nd | Serena Gordon | 22:19:56 | +1:21:59 |
| 3rd | Kristin Legan | 23:16:23 | +2:18:26 |
- 575.79 km
- 20:22:34
- 4,935 m
| Avg | Max |
|---|
| Speed | 28.3 km/h | 65.4 km/h |
|---|
| Cadence | 84 | 200 |
|---|
| Power | 180 W | 587 W |
|---|
| Calories | 13,197 |
|---|
| Temperature | 16 ℃ |
|---|
| Elapsed Time | 21:22:37 |
|---|
(Story about her competition preparation, training concept, and nutrition)
(There are more stories on her YouTube channel)
(When watching her running,
it looks like she's squeezing real dried squid over and over
it makes me want to try to imitate it a bit ㅎ)
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After synthesizing various opinions from many coaches
One high-intensity session per week is sufficient(?)
The most recommended one is loved by many people
40/20 x 10 x 3~5 set (ftp 120~125%)
barcode.
I hope you have a safe and comfortable 2026
ps: If there's an opportunity next time, I will introduce a rider who dominates both long distance and short distance in the completely opposite way from this athlete
