AI 速览
- Crits are won by repeatability — 30+ anaerobic surges per hour out of corners — not raw FTP.
- An 8-week build goes base threshold, then over-unders, then anaerobic repeatability, then race openers.
- Two hard days per week is plenty; the rest is endurance, recovery, and racing yourself into shape.
- Sprint work only matters if you have the anaerobic buffer to still be there at the finish.
/ 01
Why crits demand a specific engine
Criteriums are not road races. The pace is stochastic — every corner is a 200-600 watt acceleration followed immediately by a coast and a brake. A typical hour-long cat 3/4 crit has 30 to 50 of these surges layered on a baseline aerobic load hovering around 75-85% of FTP. Raw FTP matters, but repeatability matters more.
The metabolic cost is the story: each surge burns glycogen and accumulates lactate, and the aerobic system has to clear that lactate between surges. Riders with great repeatability clear it fast and keep snapping out of corners; riders without it blow up halfway in and spend the last 20 minutes surviving.
/ 02
The three energy systems you are training
Aerobic base (Z2, 55-75% FTP) supports recovery between efforts and lets you finish the hour fresh enough to sprint. Without it, the anaerobic work falls apart in week 4.
Threshold and sweet spot (88-94% FTP) cover the sustained pace between attacks — the rolling 45 km/h middle phase of a crit where position is decided.
Anaerobic capacity (150-200% FTP, 30 seconds to 2 minutes) covers the surges themselves, the jumps across gaps, and the sprint. You train it last, on top of the base.
/ 03
The 8-week plan
Eight-week crit build — two intensity days, one long ride, the rest endurance and recovery.
| Week | Focus | Key session 1 (Tue/Wed) | Key session 2 (Sat) | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Base | 3x15 min Z2 @ 65% FTP | 4x8 min sweet spot @ 90% | 8-10 h |
| 2 | Base | 3x20 min Z2 | 5x6 min sweet spot @ 90% | 8-10 h |
| 3 | Threshold | 4x12 min @ 95% FTP | Over-unders: 4x(4 min @ 95% / 1 min @ 110%) | 9-11 h |
| 4 | Threshold | 3x15 min @ 95% | Over-unders: 5x(4 min @ 95% / 1 min @ 110%) | 9-11 h |
| 5 | Anaerobic | 5x3 min @ 105% | 8x(1 min on @ 130% / 1 min off) | 9-10 h |
| 6 | Anaerobic | 4x5 min @ 100% | 10x(1 min @ 140% / 1 min easy) | 9-10 h |
| 7 | Race-specific | 6x(2 min @ 115% / 1 min @ 85%) | 6x30 s standing starts, full recovery | 8-9 h |
| 8 | Taper / race | 3x3 min @ 105% | Openers Friday: 3x90 s @ 120% | 6-7 h |
/ 04
The two sessions that decide your crit
Over-unders are the single most crit-specific workout in the book. They train the lactate clearance that lets you roll out of a corner at threshold and accelerate without redlining. Pace the under at 88-92% FTP, the over at 105-115% FTP. Start with 4x(4 under + 1 over) and progress to 5 or 6 reps as the weeks go on.
The 1-minute on / 1-minute off set is the bread-and-butter anaerobic session. 1 minute at 130-140% FTP (hard, but not an all-out sprint), 1 minute easy, repeated 8 to 10 times. Discipline yourself: do not sprint the first one. The training effect is repeatability, not the peak number you hit on rep 1.
/ 05
Volume, rest, and racing into shape
Two hard days a week (Tue/Thu or Wed/Sat) is plenty. Add a long Z2 ride of 2-3 hours on the weekend and the rest is recovery or a true day off. A common mistake is adding a third hard day when you feel good — it works for one week and then you dig a hole that takes three to climb out of.
Do not race in weeks 1-4 of this plan. Crits are the highest anaerobic load per hour you can do, and racing one under-trained will set you back two weeks. If you must race early, count it as your race-specific session and skip that week's equivalent workout.
/ 06
Race week and tactics
Drop volume by roughly 30% in week 8, keep the intensity. Tuesday is a short threshold session (3x3 min @ 105%); Friday is openers (3x90 seconds @ 120% with full recovery). On race day you should feel almost under-trained — that is the taper working.
Tactics beat power. The top 15 wheels in a crit cost 20-30% less power than the back of the field, because each acceleration is softer and the air is already broken. Move up on the headwind side, hold your line through corners, and never start the last lap from outside the top five. Most crits are lost in the last two corners, not the sprint itself.
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