How to train for your first 100-mile ride: 3 tips and a structured plan for success

Cycling coach Zach Nehr explains how to use a structured training plan to prepare for a 100-mile ride

Female cyclist training towards their first 100 mile ride
(Image credit: Future)

It is a common myth in cycling that you need to ride 100 miles before you can complete a 100-mile sportive. If you’ve never tackled that distance before, then your body won’t be ready for it, the saying goes. But this suggestion is completely false – we break our own barriers all the time. It’s how we set PRs, or ride longer than we ever have before. And that is why training for a 100-mile sportive is mostly a matter of planning, and you don’t need 20 hours a week to do it.

When you picture a 100-mile sportive, what images or feelings come to mind? Endless suffering, pedalling squares, or the dreaded hunger flat? Or smashing the pedals all day, nailing your nutrition strategy, and beating your personal best by 20 minutes?

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