Anton Palzer’s 8 tips for road cycling training in the winter – Red Bull

Below, Palzer shares how he approaches winter training, combined with some tips on how budding, but committed, amateur road cyclists can also prosper in unfavourable conditions.

Winter training is crucial for setting up your performance goals in spring and summer. It’s here where you lay the foundations for the entire year. Palzer says drawing up a plan to structure a training routine is extremely important. Always have in mind the goal you want to accomplish over the next year, whether it be racing, sportives or long rides. Everything should be geared towards this: from the point at which you start your preparation to the training content and the scope.

The most important question you should ask yourself before you start planning is what you want to achieve and what’s the best way to prepare for it. For non-pros, this may be a simple case of improving fitness, but there’ll be some of you that have semi-competitive goals to aim for, like finishing organised races, podiuming those races, completing riding tours and tackling major climbs or routes. You can then adjust the volume and nature of your training to fit the goal.

Motivation plays a major role in winter training – the winter is long, cold and hard. In order to be able to fulfil your training plan, you have to be mentally strong and relaxed in your mind. This means sometimes getting off the bike for a few days or weeks as the pros do themselves. Doing this is the best thing for you to do to reset for the training ahead.

“From November to January I’d put the ratio – cycling to alternative sports – at around 70:30. In the time leading up to Christmas, I’ll focus a little more on alternative sports like cross-country skiing, which strengthen the muscles. In general, you should concentrate on this as a training focus to compensate for the neglect of the upper body when cycling.”

Some bike athletes like Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock and Blanka Kata Vas even race in the winter in cyclocross. Not every pro does this, but as a bit of variety, pro riders do switch to gravel and mountain bikes for low-intensity efforts, as it’s a fun way of keeping training interesting.

“The basic units only become shorter well after Christmas. Until then, the rides are long and leisurely. This is followed by an interval program once or twice a week. You only develop effective racing toughness in competition,” Palzer says.

“The roller/indoor trainer is ideal for interval training. The device specifies the resistance and the units can be set specifically to the wattage that you want to achieve. But there’s no alternative to the road for basic training – I try to ride at least two-and-a-half hours outside or more each day during the winter months.”

In winter, cyclists not only have to be able to deal with their training schedule, but also with the cold. Palzer wears specific clothing for his winter rides and is at pains to advise that this clothing should protect parts of the body that are susceptible to the cold – even when they’re covered up.

“Frequently, people neglect to keep their toes warm with thermal socks or overshoe protection. With the hands, which get a lot of wind exposure, I recommend three-finger gloves [Lobster gloves] instead of normal winter cycling mitts. These gloves will allow you to brake and steer well and more importantly keep the hands warm. A tube scarf or neckwarmer, which can also be pulled over the face, is also pleasant.”

You also need to be visible to others in poor weather conditions and reduced daylight. Palzer is an advocate of becoming more easily seen with eye-catching clothing. With this in mind, make sure the clothing you wear has reflective elements, or go all out with gear in neon colours for ultra-visibility.

As with the reflective clothing recommendation above, you should also equip your racing bike with lights that allow you to be seen in different lighting conditions. Front and rear lights are mandatory.

Take hot tea with you, treat yourself to a piece of cake and coffee at a cafe stop, or prepare something at home that you can look forward to during or after your ride. After a few hours in the cold, you definitely deserve it.