Welcome to Zwift Academy 2020! Training begins by building your endurance, an essential skill for every level rider–from recreational to elite pro. Plan on hard efforts for durations lasting 5-8min. These are considered long intervals, so pacing is critical to complete it to the best of your ability. Longer intervals help develop your threshold power.
We want to push your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) to its limit today, bringing you to a level just above your Threshold effort and ask you to ride at this power for a total of 18min. This session will take the focus and effort of a Time Trial to push your aerobic power to a sustained limit.
To make sure we use as much of the aerobic pathways as possible for your energy production, depletion efforts at the start will reduce the reliance on any anaerobic contribution.
We then move into 2x5min efforts just above your FTP with minimal recovery. This is followed by an 8min all-out effort, which will require adequate pacing if you are to reach your potential. Anyone with a solid aerobic engine will be aiming for 100% FTP. Those with excellent lactate clearance capabilities will be close to 105% of FTP, and elite riders are expected to be riding between 105-110%. The priority is pacing your last 8min to a sustained effort, where you'll want to give it EVERYTHING you have.