Congratulations on deciding to to take your taper seriously!
I have lots of people ask me: how do I taper for an enduro race?
Enduro is all about having the skill to ride down hills fast, but you also need to be fit!
So what do you do? You train a lot! But if you keep training and training and training, you'll just be tired and you won't ride well!
But this is avoidable; you need to taper so that you can be fresh for race day.
All the hard training is behind you; this taper will help you bring out the best in the fitness that you've gained over the last several weeks or months so that you can feel fresh and fast for your big race.
Inside this plan you will find: strategically placed hard sessions to keep you fresh; strategically planned rest or recovery rides so that you can keep the blood flowing to your muscles; race practice days so that you can find the best strategy for your best performance. This is the same type of taper Seamus Powell used to win two Elite national titles!
This plan is 2 weeks long. Training starts on a Sunday and the race is on a Saturday.
If you need more personalisation, feel free to contact coach Matt at m.miller1@massey.ac.nz
Matt Miller is a specialist MTB coach working with professional and amateur athletes in Enduro, XC, DH and road. He has over 20 international publications focused on MTB performance, including pioneering research into FTP and braking (BrakeAce) in MTB. Matt has 20 years of personal race experience, including elite level in XC and EWS. Athletes Matt has worked with have achieved 8 USA Nationals wins (XC & Enduro), 7th overall in the EWS, 11th in an XC World Cup and top 40 in the DH World Cup.