Anyone got any suggestions for Zwift workouts to do which would be best suited for training for Enduro races?

I’ve done a lot of reading but most discussion seems based on increasing FTP, increasing w/kg & longer efforts. I know this would all generally be of help but looking to be a bit more targeted.

I’m comfortable with completing races in terms of the day but would mostly like to improve my in stage pedalling for the 1 pedally stage that the SES inevitably put in every race, so 5-10 minute efforts. Increasing the short burst stuff too would be handy (forest road sprints between tech sections, mid stage sharp uphill bits)

Thoughts?

Generally as big an engine as possible so you arnt wasting much energy on the loop & using it where you need to would be my suggestion, so yes, a solid FTP would be good and improving it will always help.

For the rest of it, loads of dirty intervals, from really short 5s stuff upwards, if you think about where you pedal it’s not just the fire roads & short uphill bits, it’s grabbing a few meaningful pedal strokes between corners that starts to add up.

I’d also add a decent amount of strength work, being strong and stable on the bike will help when you are 5 minutes into a stage, totally gassed & coming in hot to a steep, tech section & the difference of trying to hang on and survive Vs attacking it will be huge.

But, and it’s still a big but, riding ability still trumps a lot of the above. I’ve got some friends who manage to wheeze their way round a loop, yet still smash in a result, because they can ride a bike, fast. So get out and ride fast!

It’s not what you want to hear but Hob nob nails it.

Base miles and intervals is what it’s all about. They’re horrible though, really horrible.

Intervals with different cadences help a lot as well, I can put out some decent power these days grinding away but that’s not really representative of a stage where i’m having to throw in fast pedal strokes for a few seconds.

Im not sure about zwift, but trainer road has tons of stuff that mimic enduro stuff. intervals of around 4 mins with sprints and the like. with recoverry inbetween. My go to on TR is sufferfest violator. 5, 10 and 15 sec intervals. if i can finish that with good power, i know im on for a result.
As mentioned before though some base miles help with energy across a weekend, and recovery. Outdoors, i tend to target uphill sprints on strava of around 40secs, this helps when there is any kick ups in a race.

6 descents of the golfie every weekend will get you sorted

Thanks for the responses guys.

I was more looking for what workouts on Zwift people thought reflected the needs of training for Enduro. Most of the workouts are based on increasing FTP (which I know is helpful in general) but I’m looking to be a bit more specific.

I’m already doing intervals and strength training plus loads of riding (2500m+ per week) which is pretty much all Enduro type rides on proper trails which while they aren’t quite the Golfie they’re not far off. I simply don’t have the time to do more and have a job & wife, so it needs to be properly focused.

I’ve had some good results this year and it’s clear the people in front of me don’t “just” ride their bikes to get there.

So I’m always open to suggestions for training.

What are you looking to achieve? Top 10’s at nationals etc? Age? Weight? Current FTP?

Use whatsonzwift and have a look through the workouts, I tend to do a few of the GCN based ones, if I can find the motivation to get on the turbo.

My training is just beginning to kick off now & I mean to try and do most of it off the turbo, mostly as I suffer with boredom on it, but it would be a similar vain of a few local spots I can ride laps of, a 10 minute climb which I can play with the pace on and a few longer descent options to focus on riding and putting in meaningful pedal strokes.

Ultimately I just want to have better results, mostly to beat my mates and maybe stand on the podium again (I managed once last season). I’m 33, 75kgs and my FTP when I tested it last week was 237 (so there’s definitely room for improvement).

I’ve has a look through the workouts and last night I did “The Gorby” which I thought was a better fit for Enduro training and sparked off the thread wondering what others thoughts were.

I’m finding the turbo with zwift being much better for training than outside as I can concentrate just on the effort. I’ve found zwift a lot better than a dumb trainer and it lets me fit it in around my other riding more easily.

There’s definitely room for improvement in all the elements of my riding and I’m trying to address all of those in some way.

That’s a good a reason as any, we all want bragging rights when racing!

Given your numbers, I would definitely suggest you need to work on the FTP side of things for now. I’d probably stick at it for the next couple of months. If you want to be at the sharp end of masters & you can ride a bike I’d expect you need it to be high 200’s / low 300’s in output & have a good sprint on you. That’s a tall order in a short space of time but you can still make some good gains.

The top end sprint work you can work on for a month or so before the season kicks off to get the legs really working.

Maybe look at the builder programmes for now & the dip into the intervals and sprint improvement plans towards the end of March would be my suggestion.

I can understand why you want to focus the efforts on the turbo and Swift – I know my attention span isn’t great, hence I go out in the cold 😆