Rothaus RiderMan Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The individual time trial opens the RiderMan, a three-day amateur stage race based in Bad Dürrheim in the Black Forest. The 17.2 km point-to-point course is anything but a flat drag race: it rolls constantly and gains noticeably more height than it loses along the way.

The first real test comes around km 4, just over a kilometre at 6.7 percent average with ramps touching 13 percent. Short rises at km 11 and km 14.5 keep the rhythm broken before the decisive finale: from km 15.6 the road climbs for 1.6 km at 5.6 percent, with pitches around 13 percent, essentially all the way to the line.

Only about a third of the distance is genuinely flat; the rest is split almost evenly between climbing and descending. Ridden by all categories on the Friday, the time trial sets the first gaps in the general classification before the weekend's two road stages. It rewards riders who can blend a committed aero position with real climbing ability and disciplined pacing.

Pacing Strategy

This time trial rewards even effort rather than even speed: the profile asks you to lift your power over the two climbs and keep driving cleanly on the descents. The first rise at kilometre four runs just over a kilometre with pitches to 13 percent and is the opening trap - go at it too hard and you pay in the middle section. After the dip the course kicks up briefly around kilometres eleven and fourteen, before the final kilometre over the closing climb - 89 vertical metres at an average of 5.6 percent - settles the result.

Keep a reserve for that ramp and take it out of the saddle instead of emptying yourself lower down. On the flatter sections between, aerodynamic position matters more than raw force.

12-Week Preparation

Expect an effort of roughly 25 to 35 minutes for most age-group riders, which puts this time trial right at and slightly above threshold intensity. The rolling profile means it is not a steady-state effort: power spikes well above threshold on the climb at km 4 and again on the final ascent from km 15.6, while the sections in between demand committed aero riding and pressure on the pedals through the descents.

Pacing decides this race. Overcooking the first ramp costs more time across the rolling middle section than it gains, yet the course finishes uphill, so you need reserves for a 1.6 km closing climb where the stage is effectively decided.

Build your preparation around threshold intervals of 8 to 20 minutes, supplemented by 3 to 6 minute efforts above threshold on a climb, ideally placed at the end of a session to mimic finishing uphill on tired legs. Practise holding your aero position on rolling roads and rehearse the transitions between climbing, descending and flat riding, because that is where most amateurs lose time without noticing.

Since this is the opening act of three consecutive race days, it also pays to include occasional training blocks with hard sessions on back-to-back days, so your legs are ready to race again in Saturday's road stage.