I want to get faster over short bursts, anyone got any good routines for doing this?

I think I've hit a bit of a wall with regards to flat pedals and speed 🙁 time for a newer lighter SPD equiped bike 🙂

5 sprint every minute for 5 minutes then rest 5 minutes.

x 5 and try standing up!

If you ride in a group on the road (big if I know) select sign posts/junctions/prominant buildings to sprint past maybe with the loosing rider picking up the bar tab at the end (unless a post ride beer isn't the done thing anymore…) Or if on an mtb ride first to get into the singletrack. The competition will make you go much harder than an interval on your own.

Iain

It can be as simple as above. Or just do your normal route but rather than riding it all in one go, ride it in sections, all flat out and then have breaks/recovery between the sections.

Or just do your normal route but rather than riding it all in one go, ride it in sections

I can do that, it's getting ion the 3-4 pedal strokes at the start/small rises/after corners etc that I just lose the guy in front on. I can carry as much/more speed into corners, I just can't keep up when they accelerate out of them!

To do list:

*more leg work at the gym
*Will get some new shoes and pedals sorted and get out on the road with the local club
*SPD's (I hate them for technical stuff, so might build a second bike to remove the temptation to take on jump's drops clipped in)

Are you sure that it's not just that they carry speed through the corners, etc better than you…

For the 3-4 pedal stroke efforts, you want to exercise your ATP-PC system. Thsi is best done with 15-30 second sprint efforts I reckon. 4 sets of 8x15s max (and I do mean MAX) sprints with 1m rest.

In my experience, it's as much about muscle memory as it is about strength. Learning how to really mash the **** out of those pedals… Grrr!

Deffo SPDs tho.

I thought this would be about agile project management, I need help

Try Pliometrics. I started doing an hour a week after Xmas and the difference once back on the bike was astonishing.

Leg work at the gym will give you strength; something more dynamic like Plio will give you power.

If you're really serious you could try riding on the track. A couple of months of match sprints, pursuits and point races will see you right.