Start with a Goal in Mind.

Choose from VeloPro's growing list of event types including Century/Gran Fondo, Road Race, Criterium, CycloCross, Time Trial, Hill Climb, Randonnee, MTB XC, MTB Endurance, MTB Ultra Endurance, Multi Day Sportive, Gravel Ultra Endurance, Increase Endurance, Climb Better, Sprint Better, Charity Event, and Maintain Fitness. Pick your event date and event duration (for multi-day events). Then, choose the length of your Base Period. Whether you’re starting from scratch or have been riding for months, VeloPro has you covered.

Get a Periodized, Goal-Specific Training Plan.

VeloPro produces a custom plan that has a periodized training load. Your weekly load will progressively increase over a three week period and then decrease in week 4 to allow you to recover. Then, the four week cycle begins again. At the same time, the plan includes workouts that are increasingly specific to the type of goal you choose. For example, since Criteriums require many sharp mid-race accelerations, training plans for Criteriums include highly specific workouts that train you just for that.

Of course, VeloPro only schedules workouts on the days that you have specified and keeps the weekly hours under the maximum that you have time for. Along the way, you can always take specific days off - VeloPro will adjust your training plan to account for these days off.

Ride, Upload, Repeat.

Get out there and ride. Follow the specified workout and upload your ride file to VeloPro once you've completed your ride. The system takes note of your training load and adjusts future workouts based on whether you went over or under your specified load.

When you first start with VeloPro, the system uses the default Functional Threshold Power (FTP) that you specify to prescribe your daily workout loads, so it's important that you provide a reasonably good estimate of your FTP (see our FAQ for more details). Over time, as you perform the FTP Checks that are regularly scheduled on your training plan calendar, VeloPro fine tunes your FTP. With an FTP based on actual measurements, the system assigns loads that precisely match your recovery capabilities and improve your cycling fitness. In addition, VeloPro predicts your FTP over time (see the blue line below).

Actual Power vs Estimated Power.

If you have a power meter, that's great! VeloPro makes practical use of your power data by calculating your completed ride loads and then assigning your future workout loads based on the power you produce during your rides.

If you don't have a power meter, that's great too! VeloPro will estimate your power output based on multiple factors. Our formula sums the power required to overcome aerodynamic resistance (including wheel rotation), rolling resistance, wheel bearing friction, changes in potential energy, changes in kinetic energy, and drive chain friction. VeloPro uses your weight (as specified in your profile or during a ride upload), plus the weight of your selected bike, and applies this formula to every second of your ride data to come up with Estimated Power. While a formula will never be quite as accurate as an actual power meter, it is pretty close. With Estimated Power, VeloPro uses the same training planning process as if you had an actual power meter on your bike.

Analyze Your Rides.

Included with your subscription are a set of sophisticated ride analysis tools that provide you with additional insight into your capabilities. These tools provide insight into how your watts, heart rate, cadence, and other metrics vary across different efforts, and help you to understand the relationship between them.

Execute the Peak Week and Ride with Confidence.

The training you do in the week before your goal event is critical. VeloPro reduces the overall training load in that final week and even schedules extra days off the bike to give your body the right amount of time to fully recover and build up the energy stores that will be at your disposal during the event. When you arrive at your event, you will know that the training you've done has specifically prepared you to be in top form. Go out there and ride with confidence!