The teenage cyclist (about 12-18)
Varied riding, organised hours a week no more than the rider's age, supervised technique-first strength, few structured intervals (optional at 12-14, a second weekly session only for the older racer), food for growth and never a weight target, and growth-site pain, missed periods, weight loss, chest pain or fainting go to a parent and a clinician; no entry studies teenage cyclists, so the week, the interval dose and the fit steps are practice
The question it answers
A parent, coach or teenager: "My 13-year-old wants to race — how much, intervals or not, can they lift, what about the growth spurt?" or "I'm 15 — how do I raise my FTP / lose weight?" Adult beginners: SYNTH-75.
Default (what to prescribe first)
Not from a study; the base's own practice (the order and every number):
Variety and skill before volume (practice): road, MTB, cyclocross, track, pump track, and at least one other sport in the year.
Basis: in 1190 athletes aged 7-18 from all sports, sports-specialised training was an independent risk for injury (OR 1.27, 1.07-1.52) and serious overuse injury (OR 1.36, 1.08-1.72) after adjusting for age and weekly hours (REF-602, B+, clinic case-control — association, not causation; transfer to cycling).
The AAP report: early specialisation may harm a young athlete physically and psychologically, and intensive training carries risk with or without it (REF-1062, A, general youth sport, no ages or hours — transfer to cycling); the IOC consensus aims at healthy, resilient young athletes (REF-1058, A, general youth sport, scope only — no recommendation is taken from it).
Organised hours a week no more than age in years; free riding at least half of the organised time (practice, set from that study). Organised-sport hours above age went with serious overuse injury (OR 2.07, 1.40-3.05), and an organised-to-free-play ratio above 2:1 with OR 1.87 (1.26-2.76) (REF-602). Practice: club rides, races, coached and trainer sessions count as organised — the study did not classify cycling.
Mostly easy, playful riding; intervals optional and at most once a week at 12-14, up to twice a week for an older junior in season, races counted as hard sessions (practice). Indirect basis: in 232 youth soccer players (mean age 16.2, nine studies), small-sided games matched running intervals for gains in VO2peak, maximal aerobic speed and lactate-threshold speed (REF-694, B+; transfer; both arms were high-intensity, so it tests neither easier work nor this age cap).
Strength twice a week, supervised, technique first, light loads before heavier ones (frequency is practice).
The 2014 international consensus states that supervised, age-appropriate resistance training is safe and effective for children and adolescents and that the claim it stunts growth or damages growth plates is not supported (REF-600, A; full-text statements, the abstract has none).
Across controlled trials in under-18s strength rose by a large effect (ES 1.12, 0.9-1.3), growing with age and maturity with no special boost at puberty (REF-601, A). The NSCA position agrees that youth on age-specific, supervised programmes can gain many adult benefits (REF-1060, A, school-aged youth — transfer).
Eat for training plus growth; no weight targets (the latter a house rule). An adolescent position statement says eat for long-term health, match eating to training, spread carbohydrate and protein over the day and watch calcium, vitamin D and iron (REF-1067, A, adolescents, sports unnamed — transfer; no numbers).
The 2023 IOC consensus lists deviation from a young athlete's growth trajectory among the primary REDs indicators, and lower IGF-1 and deviation from the expected growth curve among the consequences of low energy availability (REF-341, A, full-text tables; all ages).
Protect sleep around school (practice). Sleep problems can raise the risk of concussion and other injuries and impair recovery after injury (REF-205, B+, narrative, athletes, not adolescents); a sleep-medicine consensus sets age-based amounts for adolescents (REF-1068, A, general paediatric population — transfer), but its abstract gives no hours, so the base holds none.
House rules for a minor (not evidence):
Decision (who → what)
| Rider | Do this | Source and how sure |
|---|---|---|
| 12-14, rides for fun or a club | Practice: 3-5 rides a week, mostly social or skills, another sport kept; no interval plan needed | Practice; hours and variety REF-602 B+, early specialisation REF-1062 A; general youth sport — transfer |
| Growing fast, clumsier, new knee or heel pain | Practice: hold or trim load in the fastest-growth months for the coordination dip (not as proven injury prevention; the injury data are mixed), keep skills easy, re-fit the bike; knee or heel pain that worsens with riding, causes a limp, swells or is there at night goes to the red flags below, not to a lighter week | The bio-banding overview says rapid growth around peak height velocity transiently disrupts coordination and advises tempering technical expectations and load (REF-603, C+; full text, not checked against the abstract). Soccer cohort (n=26): more traumatic injuries reported in the PHV year than the year before (the abstract's per-player figures repeat its overuse figures, so none are quoted), and days missed 7.27 vs 15.69 per player-year before vs during PHV (moderate effect; training load not reported) (REF-1064, B, talented soccer players — transfer uncertain). Against it: growth rate was not related to injury (4.8 cm/y in both groups) (REF-602) |
| 15-18 junior racer | Practice: mostly easy; up to two interval sessions a week in season; strength kept; organised hours ≤ age | In 21 national-level junior cross-country skiers (age not given), two interval sessions a week for 8 weeks with 5-10-min reps totalling 40-45 min improved 12-km roller-ski time 6.8%, more than 2-4-min reps totalling 15-20 min (REF-1052, B-; rep length and total time changed together). In 11 nationally competitive junior skiers about 75% of endurance sessions were below the first threshold (REF-304, B, descriptive). Both transfer from skiing |
| "Can they lift?" | Yes, coached and technique first; it does not stunt growth | REF-600 A (full text), REF-601 A. A trial in "young elite cyclists" (n=14, age not given) raised 45-min capacity 8% (REF-075, B, Tier 4-5) — not evidence about teenagers |
| App or trainer plans | Practice: at most two trainer workouts a week, mostly not maximal; outdoor and social riding first | No entry tests trainer volume in teenagers |
| Bike fit as the rider grows | Practice: re-check saddle height at each growth jump and with any knee pain; pick crank length by fit, not power | A 5% saddle-height change shifted knee kinematics about 35% and knee moments 16%; the authors recommend 25-30° knee flexion (REF-882, B+, mechanics, not injury counts). Maximal power moved only 1149-1194 W across 120-220 mm cranks in 16 trained cyclists (REF-1026, B+); ±5 mm left efficiency unchanged in 12 amateur adults (REF-1028, B+). Inference: a short-legged teenager loses little on shorter cranks; none studied growing riders |
| Junior gearing | Rule, not evidence: the base holds no governing-body rule — check the current UCI or federation rulebook | Evidence gap |
| MTB and cyclocross | Practice: offer as skill variety | Adult road cyclists in regular training have low bone density at key sites, and mountain biking or cycling combined with other sports could reduce this (REF-896, A-; adults — transfer). Race demands: SYNTH-49 |
| Road safety, group riding | Practice: ride with a club or adult, group skills before fast bunches, lights, quiet routes | No entry |
How to progress / periodise
When NOT to use it / red flags
House rule: each goes to a parent or guardian and a clinician; no diagnosis, no "easy version" until a clinician has seen it.
What the evidence does and does not show
Evidence gaps
How this entry was checked and changed
(no entry studies adolescent cyclists; variety and hours rest on a B+ case-control in general youth sport REF-602, variety also on an A paediatric report's direction without hours REF-1062; strength on two A statements REF-600 REF-1060 and an A meta-analysis REF-601; food on an A adolescent statement REF-1067; maturation on B to C+ papers; menstrual, weight-loss and growth-trajectory red flags on A consensus REF-341 REF-1066 (growth-site, cardiac and head-knock flags stay house rules); weekly structure, interval dose, trainer limits, bike-fit steps and rules for minors are house practice)