The taper strategy that worked perfectly before may not be as effective next time round. Get to peak condition on race day – by formulating your own tapering plan. By Mark Carroll

Your big race is approaching, you’re riding well, and your training has been consistent. Everything’s going just fine. But you still have one more aspect to get right: the taper. With tapering, experience is invaluable. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, and uncontrollable factors such as a stressful lifestyle and restless sleep may require a more aggressive taper. Even for the same individual, the taper strategy that worked perfectly before may not be as effective next time round.

Here are the important factors to note when coming up with your tapering plan:

Taper duration

The general rule is eight to 14 days, with the length of your taper depending on the following considerations:

• How fast do you recover generally? The faster an individual recovers, the shorter the duration required for tapering.
• How many hours per week do you train? A 20-hours-a-week rider will need a longer taper than someone training six hours a week.
• What level of accumulated fatigue do you have? Has lethargy set in, along with persistently sore and tired legs? If so, taper for longer.

Prioritising races is important too – if your calendar has a dozen big races, you’ll spend the season tapering rather than preparing. Treat less important races as ‘train troughs’ that contribute to your preparation for the races that
really matter.

Volume and intensity

Your intensity must not reduce during a taper; and ideally, neither should your training frequency. If you normally ride five days a week, continue with this frequency. The exception would be if you have high levels of fatigue, needing an aggressive taper – only then should you reduce frequency.

The only component that should reduce during your taper is volume, both in training hours and volume of intensity:

• Reduce session volume by doing shorter rides, i.e. shorter training time and distance.
• Reduce the volume of intensity during the taper – the duration of intervals as well as total number. Aim to halve the volume in the taper.

Note that individual differences in fitness and recovery as well as lifestyle must be considered here too.

Event-specific tapering

Interestingly, whether the taper is for a three-day stage race or a one-day classic, the general rules are the same because your goals remain the same – to offload fatigue, increase freshness, and find those extra gains in performance.

What To Eat During The Taper

Kilojoules in, kilojoules out. If you keep portion size unchanged for 10 days, while cutting back on training, then expect to gain weight and fat. Note the key here is portion size, not composition of meals; so keep eating the same type of foods, while cutting back on how much is served up.
It’s better for you to arrive at the start of a race a little over- rather
than under-recovered, so don’t be afraid
to schedule an extra rest day if you
need it, or to cut the time on your training days.

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