Cycling - Chris Froome’s top tips for training indoors

Thousands of cyclists, both amateur and professional, have turned to indoor bikes to maintain their fitness during the pandemic, and Froome says there are some simple things you can do to make the experience easier.

In an interview with Winter Olympian Aimee Fuller on her show The Lockdown Lowdown, Froome took the host on a video tour of his home set-up and offered some handy advice.

“First tip I’d say is definitely try and sort out the ventilation,” Froome said.

“For my set-up I’ve got one fan behind me, one fan coming from the front and another fan in the corner. Basically when you’re riding indoors you overheat so quickly, so definitely try and sort out the ventilation.”

One of the big issues with indoor cycling is boredom and lack of motivation. But as Froome points out, an advantage of being static is that you can have your attention safely elsewhere:

"I’ve been watching Homeland and Noah’s Arc. You can still get the session done but mentally it’s not too tiring.”

And even though efforts on the turbo are of greater intensity than the road, meaning that you don’t need to ride for as long, fuelling still remains an important part of a substantial indoor ride.

“Thirdly, make sure you’ve got some good nutrition within reach,” Froome concludes. “I’ve got a bunch of gels and some homemade energy balls ready. They energy balls are crushed-up dates and rice krispies mixed together. Thankfully my wife made those ones so I’m very lucky.”

Froome has been riding hard on the indoor platforms since lockdown as he continues his recovery from the crash that almost ended his career last summer. The Brit has racked up some huge virtual mileage across the past two months and says that he is back to full fitness with an eye on the rearranged cycling calendar this Autumn.