{"id":55901,"date":"2023-10-25T18:00:41","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T16:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=750769"},"modified":"2023-10-25T20:36:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T18:36:55","slug":"alex-dowsett-cycling-indoors-is-an-easy-way-to-feel-like-ive-done-something","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/alex-dowsett-cycling-indoors-is-an-easy-way-to-feel-like-ive-done-something\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Dowsett | Cycling indoors is an easy way to feel like I\u2019ve done something"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Dowsett tells us about the unique rewards of indoor training <\/p>

By BikeRadar\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 25 October 2023 at 16:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Words: Alex Dowsett<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always enjoyed indoor training, even back when most professional riders hated it. I discovered it in my first year at Team Sky, around 2011, when I did a five-hour indoor ride.<\/p>\n

It was ice cold, wet and foggy outside, which is why I stayed indoors. I didn\u2019t have a fancy turbo trainer, just a power meter<\/a> to focus on. But I really enjoyed it. I had snacks.<\/p>\n

I had a break for lunch. And I watched three movies. I was a first-year pro living at home with my parents, and my father worked from home.<\/p>\n

And I thought: \u2018He is at work, and so am I!\u2019 The difference was that I got to watch movies.<\/p>\n

A better experience<\/h2>\n
\"AMPLEFORTH,\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Dowsett discovered turbo trainers when riding for Team Sky.<\/span><\/figcaption> Brynn Lennon \/ Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Of course, there has been a big shift in attitudes in the last decade, with pro riders realising how good indoor cycling<\/a> can be.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a better experience now. Pro riders love racing, and we can race indoors, as things have become more interactive, with Zwift, smart trainers<\/a> and smart bikes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s so easy. You don\u2019t have the faff of getting kitted up to get out the door every day.<\/p>\n

I think we are more educated about the effectiveness of indoor training today too. During lockdown, we literally couldn\u2019t leave the house where I was living in Andorra, so I trained indoors.<\/p>\n

And when they let us out, my pedalling stroke had changed. The dead spot at the top and bottom was no longer a dead spot, and I was much more efficient. Done properly, indoor training can be very effective.<\/p>\n

But now I have stepped away from the WorldTour<\/a>, training is something I want to do, rather than something I have to do. And indoor training fits well with family life.<\/p>\n

At home in Essex, we have two Wattbikes for me and my wife Chanel.<\/p>\n

\"The\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Dowsett uses a Wattbike for his indoor cycling.<\/span><\/figcaption> Reuben Bakker-Dyos \/ Immediate Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

They\u2019re in a kind of loft space, so it is quite \u2018cave<\/a>\u2019 like. There\u2019s a TV on the wall for films, and an iPad on the handlebar for the training session on the Wattbike Hub cycling app<\/a> or Zwift<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We have two high-intensity area fans pointed at us, and there is a skylight window and front windows for good airflow. I will maybe put some old jerseys on the walls one day, too.<\/p>\n

With the Wattbike, I can just jump on and do a 20-minute session. As a pro, it wasn\u2019t worth getting kitted up for that. Now that is what I have time for, so I make it count<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I have to be well-fuelled and keep cool. And I have to be entertained, whether through intervals<\/a> or films.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m doing intervals, some concentration is required, so I tend to put on something I\u2019ve seen before, so I can switch in and out.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m just spinning, I\u2019ll put on something new. Superhero films like the DC and Marvel franchises are entertaining for an interval session, and Netflix\u2019s sporting documentaries are pretty good for a low-intensity session.<\/p>\n

To me, music on the turbo is just background noise: you could have drum and bass, Taylor Swift or something slow and it wouldn\u2019t make a blind bit of difference to how I\u2019m pushing. But if it has a really catchy line, it will get in my head when I\u2019m time trialling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A lack of pressure<\/h2>\n
\"IMOLA,\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Dowsett says he enjoys his training a lot more now, freed from having to hit certain numbers.<\/span><\/figcaption> Bas Czerwinski \/ Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

I enjoy my training a lot more now. I like the lack of pressure. Instead of thinking: \u2018I need to hit these numbers\u2019, it\u2019s more like: \u2018Those are the numbers I\u2019m hitting\u2019.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not where I was as a WorldTour rider, but sometimes they\u2019re a pleasant surprise. I just do a session, then carry on with my day.<\/p>\n

But I still push myself. My time trial numbers aren\u2019t bad, but I want to get them closer to what I recognise, which isn\u2019t impossible for 10- and 25-mile efforts.<\/p>\n

Over-under sessions \u2013 where you ride above and below your functional threshold power<\/a> (FTP) \u2013 are the killer for me. They creep up on you. And it is often the under \u2013 the easier bit \u2013 that gets you.<\/p>\n

If you commit hard to the over, when you hit the under and have to keep going, it can be really hard. And any VO2 max<\/a> stuff, at really high intensity, is also horrible.<\/p>\n

But the main thing is that indoor training allows me to adapt to my new time priorities. I\u2019m a father now and I want to make the most of the time I get to train.<\/p>\n

Health is important to my wife and I. And I think it\u2019s good that our daughter Juliette gets to see us exercise at home as she grows up.<\/p>\n

I always like to feel like I\u2019ve done something, whether it is 20 minutes or a five-hour ride, and sometimes it\u2019s just easier to do that indoors.<\/p>\n

But these days I\u2019m quite happy to be good for 20 minutes, rather than 21 days.<\/p>\n

Alex Dowsett is an ambassador for Wattbike. His autobiography, \u2018Bloody Minded\u2019, was published on 28 September (Bloomsbury Sport, \u00a320)<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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