The old maxim is there are three principles of training: 1. Ride the bike. 2. Ride the bike. 3. Ride the bike. If you are just stacking in 500 miles per week without any high-intensity work, you may not actually be improving. Armstrong said he would be on the 12, 13, 14 (53 chain ring) very soon after beginning Spring training. You have to accustom yourself to racing gears early on.

In avoiding Mistake No. 1 it is easy to fall into Mistake No. 2. Do not try to maintain an average 20 mph on every ride. Vary your speed and try to sprint for the hills and road signs. The aim is to become a quicker, more versatile rider. Do not just go flat out every day. Try and break it up. It is better to train with specific goals.

It is natural for lightweights to want to climb everyday and for powerhouses to want to do 11 second 200 meters all the time. You should not focus on your speciality in training. The maxim is, "Train your weaknesses and race your strengths."

It is a common error to train with too much intensity before you have got in a good foundation of basic training. You need six to eight weeks of easy pace early season miles as a good base upon which to build. If you do not then you might find early season success beginning to stagnate because fatigue sets in. In the early season, try not to increase your total weekly mileage by more than 10%.

Rest is a vital component of training. Going hard, day after day will put you into a downward spiral in which you become progressively more fatigued. Rest produces growth and you must give your body time to rebuild. Compensating for the thrashing you have just given your body is how it learns to perform at a higher level. It is important not to force yourself to train hard when you have no energy or enthusiasm. Take a shortcut home at an easy pace.

Our lives tend to be organised around a weekly schedule, but that does not mean we have to organise our training that way. Physiological adaptation can take a long time; weeks, months or even years and your training programme should reflect this. Plan not only for hard and easy days, but hard and easy weeks.

We know that eating and drinking correctly both in racing and training offers a significant performance enhancement. Keeping your glycogen levels high enables you to maintain a higher speed for longer. On rides over two hours take an energy drink at the rate of a bottle an hour, or any high carbohydrate solid food. Under two hours, take a bottle of water to maintain hydration.

All the evidence says that a racing cyclist is most efficient at somewhere between 90rpm and 100 rpm, but many cyclists, especially British time trialists, ride gears that are much too high. At 25 mph on a 53 x 12 you are doing only 66 rpm when you should be doing 96 rpm and 36 mph. If your legs hurt, change to a lower gear. If your lungs hurt, change to a higher one.

It seems obvious that this will not do you any good, but some quite experienced riders suffer from discomfort caused by a poor position. Make sure your saddle is not too high and that your handlebar stem is long enough to flatten your back.

Be dedicated but not obsessive. Go for a walk instead of a ride. Break your weekly regime for an alternative leisure activity. At all costs avoid getting stale.