Indoor bike training for triathlon and Ironman
Tour du Pain has ten bike workouts for triathlon, five for Ironman and five for 70.3, plus zone 2 rides from 30 minutes to 5 hours. They run in a browser tab on your smart trainer in ERG mode, with heart rate, a .fit file for your training platform, and bots named after Ironman legends riding beside you. It's free through 2027, everything included. It runs on donations.
Updated · Written for version 1.36.3
Tour du Pain is free for everyone through 2027, everything included. Donations are optional.
Ironman and 70.3 bike workouts
The Workouts screen has a Race menu: pick Ironman or 70.3 and the library shrinks to those five. Every target is a share of your FTP, so first make sure it's right; the free ramp test takes about 20 minutes.
The five Ironman workouts
Ironman race pace in these workouts sits around 70 to 72% of FTP, ridden at a quiet 88 rpm.
| Workout | Length | TSS | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| IM Race-Week Opener | 54 min | 39 | Three 6-minute blocks at Ironman pace, then three 1-minute efforts at FTP to wake the legs |
| IM Steady 2 h | 2 h | 94 | 100 minutes at Ironman pace, no surges |
| IM Race Pace 3×30 | 2 h 10 | 100 | Three 30-minute blocks at Ironman pace with 5 minutes easy between, a block to practise drinking on |
| IM Long Ride 4 h | 4 h | 180 | Zone 2 with two 45-minute blocks at Ironman pace in the middle |
| IM Simulation 3 h | 3 h | 147 | Three 50-minute blocks at Ironman pace, each with three 3-minute surges for wind and bridges |
The surges in IM Simulation 3 h go to 77 or 78% of FTP and no higher. That's on purpose: they stay well below threshold, the way you'd ride a headwind stretch on race day without burning a match.
The five 70.3 workouts
70.3 pace sits around 80% of FTP, at 90 rpm.
| Workout | Length | TSS | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70.3 Opener | 42 min | 33 | Two 5-minute blocks at 70.3 pace and three 1-minute efforts at FTP, for two or three days out |
| 70.3 Brick Prep 90 min | 90 min | 75 | 55 minutes of zone 2, a 5-minute build, then 20 minutes at 70.3 pace and no cool-down |
| 70.3 Race Pace 3×20 | 1 h 33 | 86 | Three 20-minute blocks at 70.3 pace with 5 minutes easy |
| 70.3 Over-Unders | 1 h 11 | 70 | Two 24-minute blocks at 80% with 2-minute lifts to 90%, to practise settling after a surge |
| 70.3 Simulation 2 h | 2 h | 111 | 70 minutes at 70.3 pace in three blocks with 2-minute feed breaks, then zone 2 home |
70.3 Brick Prep ends on the race-pace block on purpose. The workout's own description puts it plainly: shoes on and run off the bike.
Long zone 2 rides
Most of an Ironman build is easy hours. The library has steady zone 2 rides (endurance, 56 to 75% of FTP in Andrew Coggan's power levels) at every length: Zone 2 · 30 min, 45 min, 1 hour, 90 min, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours and 5 hours. They're a short warm-up, one long block and a short cool-down, nothing else. The longer ones sit a touch lower, from 70% of FTP for an hour down to 67% for five, so the last hour feels like the first.
A few things help on the long ones. The bakery van brings a baguette for every 5 km you ride, workouts included, so a 5-hour ride fills a basket. The lake loop is 8.3 km with a village, a café, vineyards and a viaduct, and the time of day changes the light. If you want variety on a long day, Tempo Endurance 2 h 30 folds three tempo blocks into zone 2, and Negative Split 75 builds from 63% to 74%. More about the whole library in ERG workouts in your browser.
Ride with bots named after legends
The bots in Tour du Pain carry the names of legends: Ironman greats and Tour de France winners, a fresh bunch every ride, each with their own flag and kit colours. You'll see names like Mark Allen, Dave Scott, Chrissie Wellington, Daniela Ryf and Jan Frodeno (all Ironman world champions) over their heads, tagged as bots in the riders list, next to Tour winners like Eddy Merckx. Near a peloton the list names the four legends closest to you.
They're bots with famous names, nothing more: they don't ride at the real athletes' power, they don't coach you, and none of those athletes is involved with Tour du Pain. On hour three of a long ride, a bunch to sit near makes a difference. If friends or your tri club ride at the same time, they share the road too, with voice and chat; see riding with friends and your club.
The gold TT bike
There's a time trial bike in the shop, La Boulangerie: the Golden TT bike, with deep aero tubes, a deep front wheel and a disc. You sit low with a flat back and your hands on the extensions. It costs 300 baguettes, and you bake one for every 5 km you ride, so it's something you earn over a winter of long rides.
To be honest about it: the bike is a look. Your speed in the game comes from your watts, weight and height, and every bike rides the same. It just feels right to ride a 70.3 simulation in the aero position.
Heart rate during your rides
Connect a Bluetooth heart rate strap in Devices and your heart rate shows in the HUD, as a line in the workout chart and in the ride report next to your power. Some trainers pass on heart rate from a strap too; that only counts while it keeps coming, so a strap that drops out doesn't leave a flat line in your file. With your resting and maximum heart rate filled in under Settings, you get heart rate zones as well.
Heart rate is health data, so it only reaches Tour du Pain's servers if you choose to store it with your rides. It stays in the EU and only you see it. You can change your mind later, and removing it deletes it from your stored rides.
Your rides on Strava, Garmin Connect, TrainingPeaks or intervals.icu
Every ride makes a .fit file, Garmin's FIT format, with power, cadence, heart rate, speed and distance.
- Strava: link it in Settings, Apps, and every ride uploads by itself.
- Garmin Connect: use "Export for Garmin Connect" on the ride report and import the file in Garmin Connect. Tour du Pain can also read rides from your Garmin watch.
- TrainingPeaks and intervals.icu: download the .fit file from the ride report and upload it there yourself, as in TrainingPeaks' guide to uploading a workout file. A direct link isn't switched on yet.
The step-by-step version is in Strava, Garmin Connect and .fit files.
What you need
- Chrome or Edge on a Windows or Mac computer or a Chromebook, or Chrome, Edge or Opera on an Android tablet. No iPhone, iPad or Safari: they can't reach Bluetooth.
- A smart trainer with ERG over Bluetooth. A power meter on a basic trainer works too, without ERG: you match the targets with your gears. ANT+ only won't work in a browser.
- A heart rate strap if you like.
To see how a workout looks without a trainer, ride the demo.
Questions
Does Tour du Pain have an Ironman training plan?
No. It has five Ironman and five 70.3 bike workouts plus zone 2 rides up to 5 hours, but no plan that schedules them for you.
What power is Ironman race pace in these workouts?
Around 70 to 72% of your FTP. The 70.3 workouts use around 80%. Both follow your FTP, so set it with the ramp test first.
Can I ride 5 hours indoors in Tour du Pain?
Yes. Zone 2 · 5 hours is in the library, and a free ride has no time limit. A finished ride is saved on your device as soon as the report opens.
Does the gold TT bike make me faster?
No. Every bike rides the same; your speed comes from your power, weight and height. The Golden TT bike is a look you buy with baguettes.
Can I get my rides into TrainingPeaks?
Yes, by uploading the .fit file from the ride report yourself. A direct TrainingPeaks link isn't switched on.
Is it free?
Yes. Tour du Pain is free through 2027, everything included. It runs on donations.
