Joe’s Top Ten Tips For Planning A Successful Ultra-Cycling Season

Whether your current season has come to a close or you’re still racing, chances are you’re already thinking about what comes next and what you want your next season to bring.

I’m known for my philosophy of reaching further, but it’s important to say that not every season needs to be about stretch goals. Sometimes it’s smart to consolidate. Sometimes you need to take a step back so you can take a step forward.

Everyone has their own process, priorities and influences. But after decades in cycling, I’ve learned a thing or two about what goes into a successful season.

Here are ten tips from the TJB vault that might help you plan yours.

1. Take the time to consider your goals

Start by asking yourself what you actually want from your season.

Are your goals personal or competitive? Do you want to complete a particular race, achieve a target time or get on the podium?

Are they related to your health or fitness? Perhaps you want to improve your cardiovascular fitness, change your body composition or simply feel stronger on the bike.

Or is there something happening in your life that gives you a reason to aim for something new? Maybe you have a significant birthday coming up or you want a goal that gives you focus in another area of your life.

And one more question: is this season a stepping stone towards a bigger goal, or does it stand alone?

Keep asking questions until you identify the goals that really matter to you. Then prioritise them. You can’t give everything equal attention, and understanding what matters most will help you align your season with your priorities.

2. Map out your preparation around your goals

The point of preparation is to give yourself the best possible chance of achieving what you set out to do, while learning something along the way.

This is where I see some of the most well-intentioned mistakes.

Take the rider who wants to complete a distance they’ve never ridden before. The obvious response is to ride more miles. And yes, distance requires preparation. But are those miles productive training, or are they simply accumulating fatigue and increasing the risk of injury?

Another example is riding inefficiently, losing speed and wasting energy mile after mile. Your preparation might need to focus on becoming a more efficient rider as well as a faster one.

There will always be marketing messages telling you what you need to buy or do to achieve your goals. Before you follow that advice, take an objective look at yourself, your current capabilities and what your goal actually requires. Better still, ask your coach to help you assess where you are and what needs to change.

Only then can you create a thoughtful training plan that prepares you properly for the season ahead.

3. Give yourself enough time to make the gains you want

Performance gains come from cumulative cycles of training stimulus and recovery. You apply the stimulus, allow your body to adapt, and repeat the process.

It’s not one long, hard push. Nor is it a mad rush to get yourself ready for the first start line.

Effective time management is a crucial part of a successful season. You need to allow enough time for the adaptations you’re looking for, build your training progressively and arrive at your key events prepared rather than exhausted.

There is often enough time to make meaningful progress, provided you use it well.

4. Make sure your nutrition supports your performance goals

Nutrition needs to align with what you’re asking your body to do.

It supports your training, but it also plays a crucial role in recovery and adaptation. Training provides the stimulus for improvement; nutrition supplies the energy and building blocks your body needs to repair, adapt and become more capable.

It’s a shame to put focused effort into training and leave potential gains on the table because your nutrition isn’t keeping pace.

Think about what you eat and drink in the context of your training load, recovery needs and overall goals. Your requirements will change as your training changes, so your nutrition needs to change with it.

You don’t need to make things complicated. You do need to make them purposeful.

5. Be strategic about rest

Rest is an often-overlooked training session, and it deserves to be treated with the same respect as the hard work.

Take sleep seriously. Schedule at least one rest day each week where appropriate for your training plan, and build additional recovery into your programme following periods of particularly demanding training.

And please, please, please rest when you plan to rest.

It’s remarkably easy to busy yourself with other things, find another job to do or decide that a little extra training won’t hurt. But recovery is part of the process, not time stolen from it.

The golden rule is simple: if you train hard, recover properly.

Your season will thank you for it.

6. Stay connected to your purpose

Motivation will wax and wane. That’s normal. What matters is having a reason to keep going when it does.

Stay connected to your bigger why. Why does this goal matter to you? What do you want to achieve, experience or learn from the process?

The mental side of training is often overlooked, yet we all encounter those moments when the inner dialogue starts to turn.

What’s the point? I don’t want to do this. I don’t care any more. It doesn’t really matter.

Those thoughts will show up from time to time. The difference lies in how you respond to them.

There are strategies you can develop to help you work through those difficult patches, but start by understanding what you’re working towards. Your purpose gives you something to return to when motivation takes a dip.

7. Develop daily routines that support your goals

What habits and cues make it easier for you to get your training done?

Small things, repeated consistently, can make a significant difference over time.

For example, I need about 30 minutes of seemingly mindless puttering before I get on the turbo trainer. From the outside, it might look like wasted time. For me, it’s a way of preparing my mind for what I’m about to ask my body to do. That routine helps me train more effectively.

Your routine might be laying out your kit the night before a big ride, preparing your bottles in advance or having your bike ready and waiting when you come downstairs.

There’s no magic formula. Find the small habits that work for you and make them part of your day. The less energy you spend negotiating with yourself about getting started, the easier it becomes to be consistent.

8. Set relevant short-term performance goals

Long winters can be hard to navigate, particularly when your main event is still months away.

Short-term performance milestones give you something to work towards along the way. They help you maintain momentum, recognise progress and see how the work you’re putting in is translating into improvement.

Choose milestones that are relevant to your bigger goals. That might mean improving a particular aspect of your riding, completing a training block or reaching a fitness benchmark.

And reward yourself when you achieve them. A new piece of kit always works for me!

The important thing is to recognise progress rather than waiting until the end of the season to decide whether all that effort was worthwhile.

9. Make sure your equipment fits you properly

I see riders bringing out their winter bikes and spending hours training on equipment that doesn’t fit them properly.

I understand the temptation to save your race bike for better weather. But a poorly fitting bike can compromise comfort, efficiency and performance, and may increase your risk of injury.

That’s a significant price to pay for protecting your favourite bike from a bit of winter road grime.

Check your position and make sure your training equipment is appropriate for the work you’re doing. If something doesn’t feel right, get it assessed rather than hoping you’ll adapt to it.

Your equipment should support your training, not become the thing that derails your season.

10. Say your goals out loud or write them down

There’s something powerful about putting your goals into words.

Writing them down helps clarify what you want to achieve. Sharing them with people who care about you gives you another layer of accountability and support.

Ultimately, you’re responsible for your own goals. But that doesn’t mean you have to work towards them in isolation.

None of this needs to be onerous. As one season draws to a close and another begins to take shape, give yourself some space to reflect. Keep the legs moving, enjoy a little breathing room and take an honest look at the landscape ahead.

We live in a culture that’s quick to tell us what to strive for, which goals are worthwhile and which ones aren’t.

But you’re the athlete. Ultimately, you know yourself better than anyone else.

It’s your season.

What do you want from it?

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Ready to make the most of your next season?

If you want to approach your next season with greater clarity, a training plan built around your goals and support from someone who understands what it takes to perform, let’s talk.

Train with Joe combines decades of racing experience with personalised coaching to help you prepare intelligently, develop your strengths and arrive at your key events ready to perform.

Because a successful season isn’t built by accident. It’s built through the decisions you make, day after day.