As the return of bike racing approaches, the pros will no doubt be stepping up their training after a long wait and uncertain lay-off.
One rider who is seriously increasing the training load is Tour de France champion Egan Bernal, who has been putting up some serious numbers at home in Columbia.
Team Ineos rider Bernal, who became the youngest Tour winner in the modern era last season, spent most of April and May off Strava but has been ramping up the kilometres in June.
In the first week of the month, the 23-year-old racked up 34 hours in the saddle and rode 1,161km over seven rides.
On June 4 Bernal put up a 242km day in the saddle with 1,503 metres of climbing at high altitude around his home of Zipaquirá, which is 2,650m above sea level.
He followed up with a 183km ride the following day, then a 63km recovery ride on June 6, before another huge 239km ride on June 7.
While for the rest of us a 1,000km+ week would be a phenomenal achievement worthy of a good couple of rest weeks, Bernal has not eased off the gas.
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The following week rode for 31 hours, covering 962km.
His longest ride that week came on June 9, when he rode 281km and covered 1,337m of altitude.
This week he’s also started strong, with a 224km ride on Monday.
Bernal has made no secret of the fact he wants to win the 2020 Tour de France, despite riding alongside two former Tour winners on Team Ineos, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas.
Last month, Bernal said he isn’t willing to sacrifice himself for his fellow team leaders if he is on top form when the Tour finally starts in Nice in late August.
He said: “I’m young, I’ve already won one Tour de France, and I’m not going to throw away an opportunity to win another Tour de France, that’s for sure. That I would sacrifice myself being at 100 per cent…I don’t think I’m going to do that, nor will anyone.”
The road will decide if Bernal’s huge training weeks will pay of later this summer.
Egan Bernal’s training week, June 1-7
June 1 – 166km - 952m altitude gain - five hours riding
June 2 - 201km – 815m – five hours
June 3 – 65km 242m – two hours
June 4 – 242km – 1,503m – seven hours
June 5 - 183km – 830m – five hours
June 6 – 63km – 430m – two hours
June 7 – 239km – 3,321m – seven hours
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
