CYCLING COACH SPECIAL: WHY YOU PLAN YOUR SEASON

CYCLING COACH SPECIAL: 5 REASONS TO PLAN YOUR SEASON

Season planning differs from goal setting because it’s grounded in the reality of actual events and when they happen in relation to one another. So if there’s two things you want to do but they both happen at roughly the same time, you will need to get serious about choosing what’s achievable and what’s important to you this season.

So that’s one big reason cyclists plan their season, but what are the other reasons to do a deep dive on season planning at this time in the year? Here are the five things our riders and cycling coaches brainstormed together on last week’s Project PAU call:

1 – Logistics

So you know where you need to go and how you’re going to get there.

Planning your season will flag up some of the practical aspects of the year ahead and get you thinking about things like entry deadlines, travel and accommodation. That gives you plenty of time to solve any challenges ahead of your goals, or, in a worst case scenario – change your goals to reflect what’s practically possible.

2 – Avoid Burnout

To schedule racing, training and rest, giving structure to your season and keeping fatigue at bay.

Planning your season helps avoid burnout by providing structure and balance to your training and racing schedule. By strategically mapping out your goals, races, and rest periods, you can ensure that your training intensity and volume are manageable and sustainable over the long term. This approach allows for adequate recovery between hard efforts, reducing the risk of physical and mental exhaustion. Additionally, planning allows you to identify potential stressors or overload situations in advance, enabling you to adjust your schedule accordingly to prevent burnout before it occurs. Overall, a well-planned season promotes consistency, moderation, and a healthy approach to training and competition, minimising the likelihood of burnout and maximising long-term enjoyment and success in cycling.

Without a plan it’s tempting to keep piling on the training without adequate rest – and any cycling coach will tell you that road lies ruined riders.

3 – Prioritising Important Races

By identifying key races and structuring your training and preparation around them, you can optimise your physical and mental readiness for those events. Some races will form part of your goals for the season. It’s good to know when you’re going to an event with an outcome goal, a performance goal, or a process goal. Then you can measure success accurately on the day.

This focused approach allows you to allocate resources such as time, energy, and finances effectively, ensuring you’re at your best when it matters most. Additionally, you can schedule adequate recovery periods between races, keeping you on track to reach your competitive objectives.

4 – To share with the people in your support network

It’s important for you to know where you’re meant to be, but it’s also handy for those around you to know what’s happening in your racing and training and why it matters. This can help you plan ahead when it comes to asking for an extension on an assignment at school because of a clash with a big event. Similarly it can help make sure family know when you have a heavy block of training and might be less available to do social things. On the flip side of that – planning your training also means you know when you’ve got space and time to give a bit back to friends and family on the social front. These relationships are incredibly important and they flow both ways.

5 – Motivation

Without planning, a season can become a procession of training sessions and races – mentally and physically draining. Having a plan gives shape to the year and ensures we know what we can look forward to next, whether that’s the opportunity to tick off a goal or the chance to put up our feet for a little while before the next big push.

So that’s season planning – next week’s Project PAU webinar, we’re going to take a look at the next level of detail – planning your training, with our expert cycling coaches.