Q ~ Hi Gale...Anothertraining question for you! I am in France and have joined a team. I will start racing in late February they said. My mom has your book "Training Plansfor Cyclists" but she described most of the plans as preparing for tours or long distance rides. I wanted to ask if you have a book or suggest a certain book that could give me a good training plan for racing this season. It is my first year racing in cycling so I do not know exactly what I am doing!I think I will be doing road races and TT type stuff. Any help will be appreciated! Hope you're doing well. JB

A ~ Hi JB – Living in France – that's great! To answer your question, yes, “Training Plans for Cyclists” does focus on longer rides (centuries, 3-day bike tours, week-long tours) and mountain bike racing. There are different levels for the plans, one for comfortable completion and the other a more competitive plan – to get faster. We were going to include a chapter with road racing plans too, but ran out of room in the book. The good news is there are two plans in my book"Bicycling for Women" that might fit your needs. There is a 25-week plan that is designed to help riders time trial better (40k) or the plan can beused to help someone get faster for group riding purposes. This plan can be used as a springboard for racing. Additionally, there is a 25-week plan designed to help riders improve hill climbing – which can help racing or group ride fitness. Let me know how it goes for you. Hope you have a blast.