[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"public-library:en-GB:workout:cycling-durability-intervals":3},{"slug":4,"sport":5,"category":6,"level":7,"intensity_unit":8,"modified_at":9,"author":10,"head":11,"equipment":14,"sources":16,"content":22,"facts":188,"blocks":293,"related":300},"cycling-durability-intervals","cycling","endurance","intermediate","watt","2026-10-25","Pierre Halloo",{"title":12,"description":13},"Cycling durability: 2 h 30 + 2 × 10 min threshold","Cycling durability session: 2 h 30 of endurance at 60–70% of FTP, then 2 × 10 minutes at 95–100% on tired legs. For the business end of a race. 3 h 05.",[15],"power_meter",[17,20],{"citation":18,"url":19},"Maunder E. et al., Sports Med 2021",null,{"citation":21,"url":19},"Hunter B. et al., revue sur la durabilité, 2025",{"h1":23,"summary":24,"purpose":35,"execution":62,"feel":91,"mistakes":98,"not_for":135,"faq":142,"evidence":179},"Cycling durability: 2 h 30 endurance and 2 × 10 min at threshold",{"type":25,"children":26},"root",[27],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":30,"children":31},"element","p",{},[32],{"type":33,"value":34},"text","A cycling durability session: 2 h 30 of endurance at 60–70% of FTP, then two 10-minute efforts at 95–100%, ridden on tired legs. 3 h 05 in all. For training your ability to produce power after hours in the saddle.",{"adaptation":36,"for_whom":48,"when":55},{"type":25,"children":37},[38,43],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":39,"children":40},{},[41],{"type":33,"value":42},"Your thresholds measured on fresh legs don't last all day: over a long effort, the power you can sustain drops, faster for some riders than others. Researchers call the ability to limit that drop 'durability'. And it's often after three or four hours that a road race or a mountain sportive is decided.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":44,"children":45},{},[46],{"type":33,"value":47},"Putting two threshold efforts at the end of the ride gets you used to working in that state, and shows you your real level late in a race. The concept is well established; whether this kind of session improves durability has not been shown. No standard training format was found.",{"type":25,"children":49},[50],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":51,"children":52},{},[53],{"type":33,"value":54},"Riders preparing for long races or sportives, with a solid endurance base: 3-hour rides should already be familiar. You need a recently measured FTP to set the endurance and the final efforts.",{"type":25,"children":56},[57],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":58,"children":59},{},[60],{"type":33,"value":61},"It's your long ride of the week, not an extra session: once a week or every other week is a common guideline in the weeks before a long event. Keep the next day easy. To progress, lengthen the endurance part towards 3 hours.",[63,70,77,84],{"type":25,"children":64},[65],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":66,"children":67},{},[68],{"type":33,"value":69},"10 minutes at 50–60% of FTP, or 125 to 150 W for an FTP of 250 W. The endurance ride serves as the warm-up: nothing more needed.",{"type":25,"children":71},[72],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":73,"children":74},{},[75],{"type":33,"value":76},"2 h 20 of endurance at 60–70% of FTP, or 150 to 175 W. You should be able to talk. Eat and drink throughout, as on event day: roughly every 20 to 30 minutes. Running short of carbohydrate would distort the final efforts and raise the risk of bonking.",{"type":25,"children":78},[79],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":80,"children":81},{},[82],{"type":33,"value":83},"Two 10-minute efforts at 95–100% of FTP, or 238 to 250 W, with 5 minutes at 50–60% between. They'll feel harder than usual at the same power: that's the point. If you can't hold the target, finish at 90% rather than abandoning the effort. Note your average power and heart rate: they're your benchmarks for next time.",{"type":25,"children":85},[86],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":87,"children":88},{},[89],{"type":33,"value":90},"10 very easy minutes at 40–55% of FTP. Eat within the hour: you've ridden more than three hours.",{"type":25,"children":92},[93],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":94,"children":95},{},[96],{"type":33,"value":97},"The endurance stays easy for a long time, then your legs get heavier in the last hour. The first threshold effort is a shock: the same power as on fresh legs feels far more costly. The second is a mental game. Guide: 3 to 4 out of 10 for the endurance, 8 out of 10 on the final efforts.",[99,108,117,126],{"title":100,"body":101},"Not eating",{"type":25,"children":102},[103],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":104,"children":105},{},[106],{"type":33,"value":107},"Without carbohydrate for 2 h 30, your final efforts mostly measure your lack of fuel, not your durability. Eat and drink regularly, as in a race.",{"title":109,"body":110},"Riding the endurance too hard",{"type":25,"children":111},[112],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":113,"children":114},{},[115],{"type":33,"value":116},"Endurance ridden at tempo leaves you empty for the final efforts, and the ride turns into a three-hour hard session. Stay at 60–70%: the fatigue should come from duration, not intensity.",{"title":118,"body":119},"Doing the efforts too early",{"type":25,"children":120},[121],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":122,"children":123},{},[124],{"type":33,"value":125},"Two threshold efforts after an hour is a normal ride with intervals. The whole point is to do them late, on legs that have already been working for a long time.",{"title":127,"body":128},"Treating it as an extra session",{"type":25,"children":129},[130],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":131,"children":132},{},[133],{"type":33,"value":134},"Durability replaces your long ride of the week. Added to an already busy week, it tires you enough to spoil the sessions that follow.",{"prerequisites":136,"avoid_if":139},[137,138],"A recently measured FTP.","Familiarity with 3-hour rides.",[140,141],"You're coming back after a break, or your endurance base is still short.","A hard session or race is planned for the next day.",[143,152,161,170],{"question":144,"answer":145},"What is durability in cycling?",{"type":25,"children":146},[147],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":148,"children":149},{},[150],{"type":33,"value":151},"It's your ability to limit the drop in performance over a long effort. Your FTP measured on fresh legs doesn't count for much after four hours on the road: a 'durable' rider keeps more of it. The term was formalised by researchers in 2021.",{"question":153,"answer":154},"What power for this session?",{"type":25,"children":155},[156],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":157,"children":158},{},[159],{"type":33,"value":160},"For the endurance, 60–70% of FTP: 120 to 140 W for an FTP of 200 W, 150 to 175 W for 250 W, 180 to 210 W for 300 W. For the final efforts, 95–100%: 190 to 200 W, 238 to 250 W, 285 to 300 W.",{"question":162,"answer":163},"Does this session really improve durability?",{"type":25,"children":164},[165],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":166,"children":167},{},[168],{"type":33,"value":169},"That hasn't been shown. The durability concept is solid, but no study has established how to train it. The session at least has a practical use: it shows you what you're worth late in a race, and teaches you to eat and pace over a long day.",{"question":171,"answer":172},"Should I do it outdoors?",{"type":25,"children":173},[174],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":175,"children":176},{},[177],{"type":33,"value":178},"It's easier: three hours on the turbo is a long time, and the road is closer to the event. On a turbo the session is still doable, with plenty to drink and good airflow. The watt targets are the same.",{"level":180,"text":181},"limited",{"type":25,"children":182},[183],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":184,"children":185},{},[186],{"type":33,"value":187},"The concept of durability was formalised by Maunder and colleagues (Sports Med 2021): the time of onset and magnitude of the deterioration in physiological characteristics over prolonged exercise. A 2025 review (Hunter and colleagues) points out that nutrition and environment strongly influence these measures. No standard training format for durability was found: this session is a Wattson choice, from the endurance duration to the final efforts, as is the advice to finish at 90% if the target doesn't hold. It isn't established that this kind of session improves durability. Bottom line: good evidence on the concept, weak on the 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