July 11, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Plan a Winter Training Block to Ride Away from Your Rivals in Spring

You plan a winter block backwards — from the date of your first important race: subtract 6–8 weeks for the intensity block, before that 8–10 weeks of base, and 3–4 weeks of adaptation at the start. For a mid-April race that gives: November — adaptation and strength, December–January — base + sweet spot (CTL from 45 to 60), February–mid-March — a VO2max block, then 2 weeks of sharpening. Rivals who ride "whatever comes" all winter stand in April exactly where they stood in November — the difference is structure, not hours.

An amateur's winter has one advantage over summer: full control. The trainer gives repeatable watts, no traffic lights or descents, constant conditions — the perfect environment for building physiology. The condition is a plan with phases and measurable targets for each, not "I ride 3 times a week, it'll work out." How to survive it mentally is covered separately in motivation from November to March — here we lay out the training content itself.

The four phases of winter — what, when and why

• Phase 0 — adaptation (November, 3–4 weeks): 3 easy sessions/week + the start of a strength block. Goal: get into rhythm, run a baseline Ramp Test — your reference point for the whole winter.
• Phase 1 — base (December–January, 8–10 weeks): the core is Zone 2 and 2×/week sweet spot; the gym moves into its max-strength phase. Numeric goal: CTL +10–15 points, EF (power-to-heart-rate) rising, decoupling <5%.
• Phase 2 — intensity (February–mid-March, 6 weeks): 2 interval sessions/week (4×8, 5×5, over-unders), the rest easy; the gym drops to maintenance. Goal: FTP +3–6% confirmed by a test at the block's end.
• Phase 3 — sharpening (2 weeks before the race): volume −40%, intensity stays (short, sharp touches). TSB should move from negative to +5–+15 on race day.

What weekly training skeleton works in winter?

A proven frame at 4–6 hours: Tuesday — intervals or sweet spot, Thursday — a second quality session or Zone 2, Saturday — the longest aerobic ride at 90–120 min, Sunday/Monday — gym. Every fourth week cut TSS by 40–50% — the mechanics are in the piece on the recovery week. A steady rhythm beats a perfect session mix.

Progress control: three numbers instead of feelings

• CTL on the PMC chart — should climb smoothly ~3–5 points/month. Spikes and holes mean chaos, not progress.
• EF in Zone 2 sessions — a rising trend confirms the base is building before FTP even moves; details in the Efficiency Factor guide.
• A Ramp Test every 6–8 weeks — end of the base phase and end of the intensity block. Two tests per winter are enough; more frequent measuring is noise.

What's the most common winter-plan mistake?

Riding the whole winter in the grey zone — too hard for base, too easy for intervals, every session "solid." The result: fatigue climbs, CTL climbs, and FTP in spring stands still. The second mistake is skipping phase 3 — rolling into the first race on a deeply negative TSB and wondering "where's my freshness." Both are avoided with one tool: watching zone distribution and TSB on the chart instead of impressions from training.

Summary

The winter block that lets you ride away in spring isn't a secret workout — it's a sequence: adaptation → base with gym → intensity → sharpening, laid out backwards from race day and controlled by three numbers (CTL, EF, tested FTP). Pick a weekly skeleton you can keep for four months, cut the load every fourth week and do exactly two tests. In April, the gap between you and the "ride whatever" crowd will show on the first climb — and on the chart that predicted it three months earlier.

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