Flat Road Time Trial: 25-Mile Effort

Session Overview

A 25-mile road time trial effort tests your sustained cycling power and simulates the bike leg of an Olympic or sprint triathlon at race intensity. This session builds threshold fitness, teaches pacing discipline, and helps you understand your functional threshold power on the road. Target total time: 60-90 minutes depending on fitness.

What You’ll Need

• Road bike or triathlon bike
• Power meter or GPS watch with heart rate monitor
• Aero bars (clip-on or integrated) — highly recommended for sustained speed
• Nutrition: gel or bar for efforts over 60 minutes
• Helmet, cycling kit, and water bottle

Warm-Up (15 minutes)

15 minutes easy cycling at RPE 3-4, including 3 x 30-second efforts at 100+ RPM to open the legs. Find your pacing gear in the final 5 minutes at near-threshold pace before the main effort begins.

Main Set

The 25-mile (40km) sustained effort is the main set. Pace yourself across three phases:

• Miles 1-3: conservative start, settle at 88-92% FTP or RPE 7. Resist the urge to go hard early
• Miles 3-20: sustain effort, aim for steady power output. Push into any headwind sections at consistent effort
• Miles 20-25: empty the tank — push to RPE 8-9 if form and breathing allow

Cool-Down (15 minutes)

15 minutes easy spinning. Do not stop abruptly after a hard TT effort — your cardiovascular system needs gradual wind-down time.

Coaching Notes

• Aero position is critical for sustained speed on flat roads — clip-on bars alone can save several minutes
• Pacing by power or heart rate is more reliable than speed due to wind variations throughout the ride
• This session pairs well with a short 15-20 minute run off the bike to simulate race day transitions
• Target RPE 7-8 for the full distance; going too hard early will cost you significantly in the back half