Start from the race, not from a plan
Every good plan starts with three facts about your event: the distance, the total climbing and how long you expect to ride. A flat 160 km and a 140 km route with 3,000 metres of climbing need different preparation, even though the distance is similar. Look up the profile, find the longest climbs, and check the time limits and the feed stations.
Not sure how long it will take? Our race time predictor estimates your riding time from your FTP, your weight and the route.
Build in blocks
Most riders with 16 to 24 weeks to go do well with four phases:
- Base. Mostly easy endurance riding, building how long you can ride comfortably. This is the foundation everything else stands on.
- Build. Add one or two harder sessions a week: tempo, sweet spot or threshold intervals that raise the power you can hold for a long time.
- Specific. Make training look like the race: long rides with sustained climbing efforts at the power you’ll ride on the day, and race fueling practice.
- Taper. In the last one to two weeks, cut volume clearly but keep some short, sharp efforts so you arrive fresh and not flat.
Every third or fourth week, ride noticeably less. Recovery weeks are when the training turns into fitness.
A week that fits 6 to 8 hours
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Rest |
| Tuesday | Intervals, 60 to 75 min (for example 3 × 12 min at tempo or sweet spot) |
| Wednesday | Easy spin or rest, 45 min |
| Thursday | Endurance with a few climbs, 60 to 90 min |
| Saturday | Long ride, building from 2.5 to 4.5 hours over the weeks |
| Sunday | Easy ride, 60 min |
If a weekday session falls through, don’t squeeze two hard days together to catch up. Protect the long ride and the key interval session; the rest is flexible.
Climbing: pace it like you mean to finish
The most common gran fondo mistake is riding the first big climb far too hard. Climbs are where power matters most and where overcooking costs the most later. Practise long climbs at a power or effort you could hold for much longer than the climb, use low enough gears to keep a comfortable cadence, and stay seated where you can.
Fuel from the start
For rides over two and a half hours, many riders do well on 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, but only if they’ve trained their gut for it. Start eating early, before you’re hungry, and practise your exact race products on long training rides. Use the fueling calculator to set your numbers and read our race-day fueling guide.
Mistakes that cost the most
- Riding easy days too hard, so the hard days can’t be hard.
- Cramming extra volume into the last few weeks.
- Skipping recovery weeks because you feel fine.
- New shoes, saddle or fuel on race day.
- Starting with the fast group and paying for it after halfway.
Where FNISH comes in
FNISH plans this kind of preparation around your race and the hours you really have: training, fueling practice and race day in one plan that responds when a week doesn’t go to plan. See how it works.
