CYCLING QUESTIONS, ANSWERED.

FTP benchmarks for amateur cyclists by category and age. The honest numbers — what's average, what's strong, and what's actually rare.

Realistic FTP improvement timelines for amateur cyclists. What 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and a full year of structured training can actually move.

FTP stuck for months? The five reasons amateur FTP plateaus — too much grey-zone, under-fuelling, no periodisation — and what actually breaks through.

Power vs heart rate for cycling training. When each tells the truth, when each lies, and how the best amateur cyclists use both.

FTP testing frequency — every 4 weeks, every 8 weeks, or never? When testing helps, when it gets in the way, and how often coached athletes actually retest.

How much FTP you actually need for a 100km, 160km, or hilly sportive — and why durability and pacing matter more than raw threshold power.

How masters cyclists over 40 should actually train — recovery, intensity distribution, and the strength work that separates riders who keep gaining from riders who decline.

Recovery for masters cyclists over 50 — sleep, fuelling, deload structure, and the protocol that lets older riders keep training hard without breaking down.

The case for targeted strength training for cyclists over 40 — what the latest research shows, what protocol actually works, and why riding more isn't enough.

How many hard sessions a week masters cyclists should actually do — and why three is the ceiling, two is the sweet spot, and four is a guarantee of overtraining.

Zone 2 training for masters cyclists. Why it works harder for the over-40s than the over-30s, how slow is slow enough, and the weekly volume that actually moves FTP.

Why cyclists lose power with age — sarcopenia, VO2max decline, recovery debt, and grey-zone training. What's biology, what's fixable, and where to start.

How masters cyclists actually lift FTP after 40 — the polarised-plus-strength template, recovery windows, fuelling, and the changes that work when 'just train harder' has stopped working.

Recovery for cyclists over 40 — the levers that actually move the needle. Sleep, fuelling, hard-day spacing, deloads, and what most masters get wrong.

Should you strength train as a cyclist over 40? The published evidence (Rønnestad), the masters case for it, and the two-session-a-week template that actually works.

Carbs-per-hour targets for cycling — for endurance rides, sportives, and hard race efforts — plus how to gut-train your way up from 30g to 120g.

Pre-ride nutrition for long cycling rides. Timing, carb amounts, fat and protein, and why what you eat the night before matters as much as breakfast.

Sportive fuelling protocol — pre-ride, in-ride, and post-ride. The exact carb, fluid, and sodium targets that finish strong rather than bonking on the back third.

Protein for cyclists — daily targets, per-meal distribution, masters-specific needs, and why most amateurs underestimate by 30-40%.

How cyclists actually lose weight without dropping FTP — fuel for the work required, protein adequacy, body composition over scale weight. The evidence-based method that doesn't break performance.

When a cycling coach is worth it, when it isn't, and how to tell which side of the line you're on. Honest answer from a coach who interviews other coaches.

Online cycling coaching costs in 2026 — entry-level, mid-tier, and premium. What you actually get at each price point and why the cheapest option usually isn't.

What an online cycling coach actually does week-to-week — plan design, ride-file analysis, periodisation, nutrition, accountability — and what they don't do.

When hiring a cycling coach actually pays off — plateau, target event, life transition, or returning from injury. The four signals to act on, plus when to hold off.

Realistic weekly cycling hours by goal — from finishing a sportive to lifting FTP into Cat 2. Why the right structured 6-8 hours beats an unstructured 12.

Cycling training for full-time professionals. The 6-8 hour weekly template that fits around a job, lifts FTP, and doesn't burn you out by Wednesday.

A 12-16 week training framework for the Wicklow 200 — long-ride progression, threshold work, durability, and the pacing plan that beats Sally Gap and Wicklow Gap without blowing up.

A pacing plan for the Mallorca 312 — when to climb conservatively, when to draft, when to eat, and why Sa Calobra at km 80 is the trap that decides your day.

Realistic training timelines for amateur cyclists targeting a sportive — 12-16 weeks for a flat 100-160km event, 16-20 for a mountain sportive, and what to do if you're already inside 8 weeks.

Honest FTP targets for the Étape du Tour — the W/kg you need to finish strong, the floor below which you're surviving, and how long the gap takes to close for an amateur.

An evidence-based fuelling protocol for 200km sportives — pre-ride loading, in-ride carb and sodium targets, hydration through hour 7, and the gut training that makes 120g/hr possible.

How often serious amateur cyclists should do VO2max intervals — once a week as a baseline, twice in a focused block, never more. The session frequency that lifts the ceiling without breaking the rest of the week.

When fasted training helps, when it wrecks your week, and how to use it without bonking 60km from home. The Roadman position grounded in the published research and real World Tour practice.

How to know if your zone 2 rides are actually zone 2. The talk test, the heart rate drift check, and the four tells that say you're riding too hard on your easy days.

Three intensity distributions, evidence-based picks by rider profile and weekly hours. The contested debate settled in plain language with the Roadman expert network.

Why your watts collapse after three hours and the training that fixes it. Cycling durability — the metric pros optimise that most amateurs ignore.