Every rider knows the feeling. It’s time for the session circled on the training plan that makes your stomach tighten just a little. The one you don’t skip – but might quietly hope will get rained off. It’s not the longest ride or the most challenging route, but it is the hardest one. Usually the one that strips everything back to effort, discipline, and the ability to sit with discomfort.
Many riders approach their hardest sessions with trepidation, but it's here that the biggest gains are made. “These are the sessions that expose your limits, then ask you to push beyond them,” explains coach Matt Bottrill. “Threshold blocks that burn through your legs and lungs.
