First timer TR user - Training plan build phase; short power build or general build for my goals?

Hello TR
First of all thank you for a great podcast and for giving me a new way to improve my biking with a structured training plan. Its awesome.

My question:
Background info:
Cyclist for 4-5 years, unstructured work on bike. Just started out with TR, finishing the SS1 with a FTP improvement of 20 watts!
I live in a country with mostly flat sections with short hills all around.
As a rider i believe i am good at hard efforts where my heart rate is high, and good at keeping it there for a short period of time. My weakness is stamina and long efforts, if i ride more than 3 hours hard i cramp up.

Goals
To be honest my goals for next season is to beat my freinds going up the hills in the area. The hills are
short, where the biggest hills will only take 5 minutes to complete whereas most will be around 2-3 minutes efforts.
I have chosen the plan builder with “rolling road race”. This plan suggest general build as build phase, but my questions is if it would make more sense to choose the short power build to be unstoppable up the short hills?
I do have other goals than beating my freinds, but its the same dynamic - about 100km. races with hills.

Hope you have time to answer my question!

If in doubt I’d always suggest general power build.

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I’m a little biased here, but I’d definitely recommend General build. General build has a nice balance of short and longer efforts. If your strength is already short surges, it definitely has enough to maintain and grow your abilities. The additional focus on longer efforts will help address your admitted weakness, too. For what it’s worth I live in an area with similar 2-5 minute climbs and general build is my favorite for this terrain!

3 Likes

I’d also suggest General Build. For one, as a beginner to structured training it will give you the widest breadth and will kind of hit on all systems.

Second, I may be mistaken but I think Short Power Build is more about repeated high power efforts like an XC race or Cyclocross where it’s HIGH power, then corner, then HIGH power… So I’d say most road riding would fall under the General Build umbrella

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Thank you for you´re answers!
It make sense - i will stick with the general build !
BR. Kenneth