Cycling training plan for road racers: 10-week plan to get you start line ready

If you are looking to get started in racing or take your riding to a new level this is the plan for you. It is designed to work for race efforts of around 2-3 hours and several different types of events such as a mountainous sportive, gravel event, or road race. It is an ideal plan to follow before the first race of the season. It'll also be useful if you're an established racer whose fitness has stagnated and you need a boost to get your fitness and motivation back on track.

This cycling fitness plan assumes that you're already a cyclist with at least a year of consistent training behind you.

This 10-week programme builds towards a race effort with a short taper at the end so you are fresh for the event day. Speed skills form part of each week of training to ensure that you are working on the change of pace and zip needed to survive and compete in a fast-paced bunch. Longer intervals in the HIIT sessions will work on sustained high-end efforts while three-hour endurance rides will give you the stamina to feel strong right through to the end of the race.

I want to access the plan

Cutting straight to the chase, here's your 10-week racer's training plan.

Save it somewhere for easy access, or print it out so you can take a look every day.

You can complete the training outside, indoors, or any any platform.

How to get the most from the plan

Nutrition will play an increasingly important role in your performance and your recovery, Jakub Kadlec, performance coach of UCI team ROUVY Specialized explains; “pre-race you can take on more carbohydrates than you usually eat. Optimal pre-race meals are for example sweet rice, rice with egg omelette, pasta with olive oil, or porridge. During the race you can take energy gels or energy bars, it depends on the part of the race and how easy it is to consume solid food. 80-110g/hour carbohydrates are usually recommended, but it varies according to body mass”

It’s not just about energy, “hydration is a key factor and it can help you fuel some energy too because usually the main part of sports drinks are carbohydrates.” Sports drinks are normally in two forms: hypotonic drinks are absorbed quickly into the bloodstream because they contain lower concentrations of solutes (such as sugars and electrolytes) compared to the fluids in the human body whereas isotonic drinks contain a concentration more similar to those found in your body. Weather affects your drinks choice, “when the weather is hot use hypotonic drinks, when it's cold you can take isotonic drinks. However, it is not recommended to drink more than 600ml/hour to prevent hyponatremia [low blood sodium levels causing symptoms like headache and confusion].”

With the sessions in this plan featuring more intensity and being more challenging you will have to pay extra attention to how you optimise your recovery, “adhere to the prescribed intensity during your cool down after intense workouts and refuel by ensuring you take on enough energy and optimal nutrition during the first hour after training. Avoid hard-to-digest foods which can make it harder for your body to absorb nutrients. Cool your muscles with an ice bath or shower.”

But the most important part of recovery is sleep, “always go to bed on time” Coach Kadlec stresses, “the number one way to maximise your recovery is good sleep. Ideally between 8-10 hours and fall asleep before midnight. Pre-sleeping habits have a great influence on the quality of sleep and of course recovery so make sure you have a good bedtime routine and start your relaxation before it is time to go to sleep.”

High intensity sessions and interval work can be very demanding on your body, to get the best from the tougher sessions you need to feel fresh and strong. If you are feeling ill before a session or if you notice that your power or heart rate data is not behaving as you would expect, consider cutting a session short or skipping it altogether. Sometimes you need to think about the bigger picture “Stay calm and do not underestimate the illness.” says Coach Kadlec.

Training zones explained

You can follow this plan using a power meter, heart rate monitor, or simply rating effort via RPE (rate of perceived exertion).

If you're using power, your zones will be based off a percentage of FTP; you can test this via a 20-minute test, a ramp test, or using ROUVY's session if you're a member. Heart rate figures are based off a percentage of youe maximum.

RPE is based on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is as hard as you could possibly go.

Refer back to our introduction to cycling training plans page for more detail about the terms used throughout.