Every winter, many riders jump on the indoor trainer to “build the base” — yet by spring they feel stuck: threshold won’t rise, VO₂max plateaus, and they fade after a few hard efforts.
Winter doesn’t ruin fitness. Poor winter training does.
The winter trap: short and too intense
Cold weather, dark evenings, busy schedules and holiday fatigue push cyclists toward training that is short + hard. The problem isn’t intensity itself — it’s too much mid-intensity (tempo / sweet spot / “kind of threshold”) and not enough true endurance.
This “grey zone” work feels productive, but it often creates fatigue without building the foundations you need for spring.
What winter should build
Winter is where you develop the engine for the whole year:
- Aerobic base (efficiency + endurance)
- Muscular durability (staying strong after hours of riding)
- Repeatability (handling repeated efforts)
- Resilience (tendons and connective tissues)
When winter is overloaded with intensity and lacks progression, the base doesn’t form — and you pay for it in spring.
What the research suggests (simple version)
- Heavy “threshold-style” winter training tends to underperform compared to smarter intensity distribution approaches.
- Endurance athletes improve best when most training is done at low intensity, with a smaller portion of high intensity.
- Short VO₂-style intervals can be very effective — if used sparingly rather than stacked multiple times per week.
The 5 most common winter mistakes
- Too much intensity (especially tempo/threshold every week)
- Repeating the same hard session over and over
- Too much sweet spot too early in the winter
- Not enough endurance (even indoors)
- No progressive structure
A simple winter structure that works (even with limited time)
If you can ride 3 times per week, you can make real progress:
- 1 endurance session (Zone 2, 60–90 min)
- 1 quality session (short VO₂ intervals or controlled tempo, once per week)
- 1 endurance + durability session (mostly Zone 2, 60–90 min)
The goal isn’t to be heroic. It’s to be consistent.
Key message
Most cyclists stagnate in winter because they confuse “training hard” with training correctly and regularly. A well-structured winter — mostly easy riding, one focused intensity session, and gradual progression — builds the fitness you’ll cash in during spring.
