VO2max, Anaerobic & Sprint cycling workout

Punchy Rollers

65 min · 41-50 TSS · IF 0.64 · 115-125% FTP · Zone 6 (Anaerobic)

Increase VO2max Best on rolling terrain
0%
50%
100%
FTP
0:00
16:30
33:00
49:30
1:06:00
Duration 1:06:00
Load · TSS 45
Intensity · IF 0.64
Avg target 61%
Work 606 kJ
Customize in Workout Builder →
W
Download:

What this workout does

Short, repeated surges over rolling terrain - the puncheur's bread and butter. Ten hard efforts of 30 seconds teach your legs to punch over every rise without blowing up.

Repeated 30s efforts at 115-125% FTP train the surge-and-clear cycle - producing lactate over each rise, processing it on the way down, then punching again. That repeatability is what decides rolling road races and hard group rides. Slot it in weekly during race season to keep the punch honest.

How to ride it

Indoor / trainer

Warm up 15min with 3 short openers. 10x30s at 115-125% FTP, one over each roller, with about 2min 30s easy between. Cool down 15min.

Outside

Pick a rolling loop where a short rise comes every couple of minutes. Punch over each crest at 115-125% FTP - out of the saddle, hard but controlled - then recover on the descents and flats between rises.

Workout structure (65 min)

- Warm-up 15m 55%

3x
- Opener 30s 110%
- 1m 30s 55%

10x
- Punch 30s 120%
- 2m 30s 55%

- Cool-down 15m 55%

Targets are a percentage of FTP. This is the same shorthand the free workout builder understands — paste it there to edit any step, or download the workout for Zwift, Garmin or any smart trainer.

Related cycling workouts

← Browse all cycling workouts

AI Cycling coach
AI Cycling Coach

A coach who's seen every ride you've done

Ask FormBeat's AI Coach anything - what to ride today, why a session felt flat, how to pace your next race - and it answers from your real training: your power, your history, how you're recovering. Not generic tips, but a read of what each ride actually meant and what to do next.

The guidance you'd pay a coach for - for the price of an app.