Good morning!

I come from a distance running background, am self-coached in cycling, and base most of my training on running. There are many similarities - long, slow base periods, longer intervals at lactate threshold, shorter VO2 max work in the mid-season, easy days, etc., etc...

At the university where I coach (as with many places), our distance runners do 4-8 FAST accelerations at the end of an easy/recovery day. The purpose of these is to "shake out" the legs a bit, practice high speed muscle coordination/efficiency, and to keep high-end speed throughout the entire year. The accelerations are short (<20 seconds), and not all out (up to about 400-800m pace). Full recovery (>1 minute) is taken between accels. A healthy runner can do these accelerations 3-4 times per week throughout the entire year without injury or negative consequence.

Here's my question: is there any value to doing the equivalent in cycling? That is, at the end of (or during) an easy 2 hour recovery ride, do any folks throw in some sprints? Is this common practice? Advantages/disadvantages?

I happen to be a terrible sprinter (skinny distance runner legs), and was thinking that throwing in an extra 20 sprints / week during the base period could help build muscle, coordination, etc.

Thanks for any help/feedback.