Originally Posted by pecos

Forgive me, but Coach Friel while right on the money on most topics discussed in his book is way wrong on some basic areas, such as the number of hours needed to train respective of the category one races in. He'd have you believe you can do start with 5-8 hrs a week (200-250 hrs per season). That is just not true unless you don't mind being peloton fodder. His weight training advice is way too hard, unless you are in your 20's or 30's. You will spend a good chunk of time recovering from that rather than putting time on the bike. He does not mention the importance of aerodynamics and how to a achieve an aero position suitable for racing. This is something others have covered much, much better. Even my 25 year old book by Greg Lemond has more on-target advice. The other issue I have with Friel's methods is the periodization concept, which in my opinion only applies to riders spending 15-20 hrs a week or more. For most of us who train with much less time, there really is no 'downtime'. sure, you change the intensity of course, to increase the aerobic base, etc etc. But if all you can do is put 8 hrs a week, does that mean that during the transition phase you should put only 4-5? I think that's the advice that gets most beginners the crappy results that make them quit the sport. Heck, if you are going to race and want decent results -i.e. not get dropped, you should plan on riding a whole lot more than you are currently. As fitness improves, sure you can relax some of that, but by then you will want to upgrade and the cycle continues....
But it is a good introduction.