Table of Contents
- The Race: Titan Desert Arabia
- The Ideal Cyclist Profile: Key Characteristics for Success
- Our Approach to Josep Maria’s Training
- Results and Considerations
- Conclusion
The Race: Titan Desert Arabia
The Titan Desert Arabia is an endurance race that combines a variety of terrains (with many sandy sections), challenging weather conditions (slight altitudes of 1,000–1,500 meters and a wide temperature range during the day), and five stages, some lasting more than five hours. Of these five stages, the first is a 30-minute time trial that does not count toward the overall classification and serves to determine the starting order for Stage 1. The other four are route stages lasting 3–5 hours each. All this makes being a winner of the Titan Desert a milestone achievable by very few.
Stage Analysis
The Titan Desert Arabia takes place in the NEOM region of Saudi Arabia. The 2024 edition consisted of a prologue and four stages, covering more than 380 kilometers and nearly 3,000 meters of positive elevation gain. Below are the details of each stage:
- Prologue: Individual Time Trial
- Distance: 12.9 km
- Positive elevation: 338 m
- Description: A loop around the Titan Mountain Camp, starting on flat terrain and ending in a sandy valley.
- Stage 1
- Distance: 79.4 km
- Positive elevation: 450 m
- Description: Similar to the first stage of 2023 but in reverse, starting on flat terrain and culminating in a sandy valley.
- Stage 2
- Distance: 104.5 km
- Positive elevation: 1,000 m
- Description: Soft and rocky terrain at the start, improving in the final kilometers. This is the most technical stage of the race.
- Stage 3
- Distance: 91.4 km
- Positive elevation: 685 m
- Description: Rocky tracks at the start, followed by a valley with canyons and dune crossings, offering breathtaking landscapes.
- Stage 4
- Distance: 52.3 km
- Positive elevation: 454 m
- Description: A traverse through a nature reserve with sandy terrain and fast tracks, providing a unique experience.
For more information about the race, you can visit the official website here.
The Ideal Cyclist Profile: Key Characteristics for Success
The ideal cyclist profile for the Titan Desert Arabia combines physical, technical, and mental attributes common in multi-stage MTB races, with some unique characteristics specific to this event. Although heat can be a key factor in some years, this was not the case this year, so it has been excluded from the following list:
1. Fatigue Resistance
The ability to maintain performance after hours of effort and over multiple consecutive days is essential. This is directly related to efficient substrate utilization, such as enhanced fat oxidation in Zones 2–3. Since this year’s stages had few high-intensity moments apart from the start, durability (the ability to produce strong power outputs after several hours or kilojoules of effort) was especially important.
2. Ability to Sustain Long Efforts in Zone 3
With flat and steady terrain in most stages, cyclists spend significant time in Zone 3 (75–90% of FTP). They must:
- Sustain power over long durations.
- Minimize carbohydrate consumption to avoid early depletion.
- Maintain adequate carbohydrate intake during the race to support this energy expenditure.
3. Recovery Between Stages
In multi-day competitions, quick recovery is critical. A good cyclist must:
- Optimize hydration and glycogen replenishment during and after each stage.
- Having a solid nighttime rest strategy with an optimized routine.
- Demonstrate high tolerance to heavy training loads.
- Execute an effective tapering plan.
4. Performance on Flat Terrain
Although this is a relatively slow race due to the terrain, most of the route is flat. Therefore, it’s important to:
- Generate high absolute power output (total watts), with less focus on watts/kg.
- Maintain strong performance during maximal efforts on flat terrain. Most cyclists produce more power uphill, but those who lose little or none on the flat have a distinct advantage here.
5. Sand Handling Skills
Dunes and sandy sections present unique technical challenges. Key skills include:
- Efficient tire pressure management.
- Mastery of techniques to maintain balance and traction in sand.
- Navigation skills to find the optimal path within the circuit to go faster and conserve energy.
Our Approach to Josep Maria’s Training
Taking into account the race course, the ideal characteristics our cyclist should have, and the actual characteristics he presents, we can design a training plan focused on optimizing every detail in preparation for the competition. Below, we analyze some of the aspects we included in his preparation that we believe were instrumental in his victory at the Titan Desert.
We are not recommending applying all these strategies to every Titan Desert rider, but we do believe that, in our case, they were crucial. The most important thing is to individualize each approach to bring out the best in every cyclist.
1. Increased Hours and Intensity on the MTB
For this year’s Titan Desert, a key change was focusing training volume and intensity sessions on the MTB. This allowed the cyclist to better adapt to the specific technical and physiological demands of the competition. Studies show that training in the same medium as the race improves skill transfer and efficiency. This was particularly important since Josep Maria usually trains on a road bike for most of the year. Adjusting to the MTB’s slightly different geometry, speeds, and inertia was essential for peak performance.
2. Heat Training
Heat is one of the most challenging factors in ultra-endurance desert competitions. Even though it wasn’t particularly relevant this year, we still included heat training. The main reason was that temperatures in his home region were 10–15ºC lower than in Saudi Arabia, so he was not well adapted to those conditions.
3. Intermittent Hypoxia: Exercise and Rest
Incorporating intermittent hypoxia sessions served two purposes:
- During exercise: To improve mitochondrial efficiency, aerobic capacity, and altitude performance. The race takes place at around 1,200 meters, where slight performance losses due to altitude begin to occur.
- At rest: To stimulate erythropoietin (EPO) production, increasing red blood cell count and oxygen transport capacity.
This combination helped the cyclist better handle the oxygen demands of altitude racing while providing an additional stimulus for aerobic performance improvement.
4. High Training Volumes on Weekends
Training load was concentrated in long weekend sessions, as Josep had more availability due to his work. This strategy developed the specific endurance needed for a multi-stage competition, with 2–3 consecutive days of training combining intensity and high volumes.
5. Tapering
It’s essential to listen to each athlete and adjust the plan based on their characteristics and perceptions. Josep performs better in races where he arrives very fresh, rather than with heavy training loads in the preceding weeks. Therefore, we implemented a tapering plan with a significant reduction in training volume, maintaining only 50% of his usual volume in the week before the race.
Adjusting volume and intensity in the final weeks was critical for reducing accumulated fatigue and optimizing performance. Studies show that a well-designed tapering strategy, maintaining intensity but reducing volume, significantly enhances race-day performance. Josep Maria’s strong performance in both the first stage (time trial) and the last stage is a testament to his excellent recovery and fitness.
Results and Considerations
The cyclist’s success is not only due to strategic planning but also to his dedication to fulfilling every aspect of the program. A well-structured training plan, along with proper technical and tactical preparation, are key to performing in a race of this kind. However, no plan will succeed without executing the prescribed work.
Many hours of training, intense sessions, and, above all, a great deal of consistency are required to perform at this level. This is why I have great respect for all the cyclists we train at JS Cycling Training.
Josep Maria secured victories in stages 0, 3, and 4, as well as the overall win in the Master 50 category, finishing 13 minutes ahead of the runner-up.
Conclusion
The Titan Desert Arabia is a race that rewards thorough planning and comprehensive preparation. From strategies for short, high-intensity stages to the ability to sustain long efforts and manage recovery, this race challenges every aspect of a cyclist’s performance.
Success depends on both training and the athlete’s inherent characteristics, as well as their ability to adapt to the desert’s extreme conditions. It is truly a unique competition that demands excellence in every detail.
Congratulations, Josep Maria! Here’s to even more success next year!
