Cycling
9 ways to smash Strava’s cycling challenges every month
How to secure additions to your trophy case from January to December.
If you’re a regular user of the popular activity tracker, you’ll be aware of the various Strava cycling challenges that you can take part in each month. Each one challenges participants to complete a set amount of mileage, riding time or elevation in a limited amount of time. If you manage to complete the challenge, you get a nice award for your virtual trophy cabinet, while some even offer up discounts or access to limited edition accessories.
There are one-off challenges, such as the Rapha Festive 500, but there are also three cycling-focused tasks that can be taken on every month of the year: the Cycling Distance Challenge, where riding 1,250km in a month will get you the trophy; the Gran Fondo, which requires you to do a 100km ride in one activity; and the Cycling Climbing Challenge, with its 7,500m of elevation in a month. We caught up with Cyclism’s performance coach Gareth Pritchard to find out how to smash each one every month of the year.
1. Make sure you turn on Strava, but try not to worry about data when riding
Switch strava on then forget about it while you ride
© TBS
To complete any of these challenges, you’ll obviously need to have Strava recording during all of your rides – otherwise, you’ll be missing out on the all-important kilometers ridden and meters climbed. But Pritchard recommends using Strava as a reflective tool, rather than focusing on the data during a ride. “If you’re out on the road, the hazard is to always be looking down at what the numbers are saying and not really paying attention to your surroundings, so it’s best to look at the data after. It’s always good to reflect on what you’ve done and then potentially compare the numbers a week or two down the line, just to see how you’re coping and managing.”
2. Focus on getting a good base fitness first
You need to get in some base miles to build up fitness
© Leo Francis/Red Bull Content Pool
Before trying to smash more than a 1,000km a month, it might be best to get some time in on the bike if you haven’t been riding recently. “For an out-and-out beginner, you probably want to go out and get some underlying mileage in your legs to start with,” explains Pritchard. “The fitter you are, the quicker you’ll be able to recover and naturally, the quicker you can recover, the quicker you can do repeat bouts of training.”
And if you’re a regular cyclist, there’s still room for improvement, with Pritchard recommending riding at a set tempo or set pace to build a greater level of endurance.
3. Take the Cycling Climbing Challenge a hill at a time
Work in some uphills
© Alberto Lessmann/Red Bull Content Pool
The beauty of Strava’s regular challenges is that you’ve got a whole month to complete them, so there’s no need to see the climbing test like an Everesting attempt.
Pritchard recommends doing specific hill repeat sessions at weekends to not only chip away at the 7,500m elevation target, but also to build your climbing ability. “Plan a hill that’s safe enough that, if you’re unable to complete it, there’s a footpath that you can step off the bike onto.” He suggests starting on four repeats – riding to the top and, you guessed it, riding back down to the bottom again – and doing this on a weekly basis. “By the end of the fourth week, you can potentially be increasing that to six or eight repeats.”
4. Elevate your commute
Use your commute for vital bike time
© Max Bender / Unsplash
As all rides contribute to the totals on the distance and climbing challenge, you could think about extending your commute by bike to help inch closer to the monthly targets. “Planning a longer route either on the way home or the way to work is an ideal way to get some additional bonus mileage in,” adds Pritchard. “Getting consecutive rides in on the commute is really good as it builds up some endurance. You could be doing 15-20 miles per day over a week and that can amount to 100 miles, which is a quick and easy way of building up the volume."
5. Get to grips with gears
Understanding your gears can really improve your ride
© Leo Francis/Red Bull Content Pool
“For someone that’s new on the bike, they need to be able to understand the gears and selecting the correct one so they can climb using the correct gearing,” explains Pritchard. “Staying seated is going to be an advantage throughout the climb because you’re going to show some consistency in your effort – if you’re having to jump out the saddle and sit back down repeatedly, that’s a different type of fitness and can be quite exhausting for someone who’s new.”
To find the right gear for climbing, Pritchard recommends starting in a middle gear on the bike’s cassette and the small ring on the front and pedalling until it becomes too difficult to manage. Once you’ve reached this point, you should change down one step and repeat. “You’ll be comfortable to a point where it becomes too difficult and then you’ll have to change down to the point where you get to the lowest gear.” Once here, it’s time to dig in and get out of the saddle or, if you’ve got nothing left, get off the bike.
6. How to build up to the Gran Fondo challenge
Increase your distance each ride
© Donald Miralle
Riding 100km might seem like a daunting prospect if you’ve not tackled a century before but it is achievable with just four weeks’ worth of weekend rides. “One way of doing it is back-to-back rides on a Saturday and Sunday,” says Pritchard. “It will have a fatigue effect in the legs that will promote your ability to ride the distance but with tired legs. If you were to ride 30km on a Saturday and an additional 30km on the Sunday, there would be accumulative load in the legs on the second day. You’d be riding a little bit under duress but by the following week you can increase the mileage.”
He adds that this training technique is good for those who are time poor and not able to go out on a long distance ride every weekend. “On weeks one and two, you could do two back-to-back rides that equate to 80km. The third week would be 80km straight out and on the fourth, you’d probably be able to attack the 100k and be confident that you can complete it.”
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7. Don’t forget to fuel
An innovative solution to eating on the go
© George Marshall
Taking on food and liquid while taking on a long-distance challenge is key – even if you’re not hugely hungry or thirsty. Not fuelling correctly could lead to bonking (hitting your metaphorical wall), and therefore the end of your Strava challenge attempt for the day.
“The most important thing for anyone is to find out what works for you,” says Pritchard. “The natural things to do would be to eat a banana and take some simple sandwiches like jam and peanut butter on the ride. The shorter training sessions are a good time to work out what a you can take on board during a ride. It doesn’t need to be a lot, but it’s about being disciplined.”
8. How to beat winter
Electrolyte drinks help replace the salts riders lose
© Denis Klero
Strava’s challenges take place every month of the year, so can act as good motivation to get out on the bike even in the cold and poor conditions that blight the UK during the winter. But just because you’ve got a virtual challenge to complete doesn’t mean you should risk your life doing it.
“If you’re out in the winter you need to dress appropriately – if you’re under dressed then you can suffer with hypothermia, so a good base layer, snood and gloves are important.” It’s not just about wrapping up warm though. “The most important thing is to complete the effort safely, especially in the winter months because of the poor state of the roads,” adds Pritchard. “Take it easy and try not to get too competitive.”
9. Join a club and smash all three challenges every month
Cycling clubs are a great way to push yourself to another level
© Getty
If the idea of trying to beat all of these challenges on your own is filling you with dread, then it shouldn’t – there are hundreds of cycling clubs up and down the UK where you can ride with people of your ability and take on the challenges together. “With group exercise, everyone is feeling the same pain, everyone’s riding together, and there is an environment of team togetherness and getting through the ride together,” says Pritchard. “You’ll always make great friends when out on the bike too, which is a testament to people that ride bikes together.
