Training
Today
Training
Today
The long ride is the plan. Everything else supports it.
A century is an endurance problem before it is a fitness problem. Almost anyone with a few months of consistent riding can complete one; the difference between finishing it comfortably and surviving it is whether your body has practised being on the bike that long, and whether you have practised eating while you ride.
So the long ride is the spine of this plan. It ramps from two hours in week one to four and a half hours in week ten, with two recovery weeks that pull it back so the ramp is survivable. Midweek, sweet spot and tempo work raise the power you can hold, which is what turns a nine-hour century into a seven-hour one.
Week twelve is a taper. Do not add anything to it — arriving fresh is worth more than any session you could squeeze in.
Every session below is a real workout you can open and ride right now, with or without the plan. Applying the plan puts them on your calendar on the days you choose.
| Week | Focus and sessions | Load |
|---|---|---|
1 week | Baseline Week 1: two hours on the weekend. Note how you feel at 90 minutes — that is the number this plan is going to move. | 5.8 hours |
Twelve weeks is the usual answer for a rider who already rides regularly and can manage two hours comfortably. Starting from very little riding, sixteen to twenty weeks is more realistic — do a base block first, then this plan.
Around four to four and a half hours, roughly 70–80% of the event duration. Riding the full distance in training costs more recovery than it buys in fitness.
Aim for 60–90 g of carbohydrate an hour, starting in the first hour rather than when you feel empty. The long rides in this plan are where you practise it — a stomach that has never been asked to absorb that much will not cooperate on the day.
The midweek sessions, absolutely. The long rides are better outdoors if you can manage it, because position, handling, and eating on the move all matter over 100 miles — but four hours on a trainer is a legitimate substitute when the weather makes the choice for you.
Training works in blocks. These plans pick up where this one leaves off.
Twelve weeks and five rides a week for a long, hilly event: endurance volume, sweet spot and threshold power, and dedicated low-cadence climbing work.
Eight weeks of sweet spot work at 88–94% of FTP, progressing 2×15 → 3×20 minutes, wrapped in enough Zone 2 to keep it sustainable.
2 week | Two and a half Week 2: the long ride goes to 2h30. Start eating in the first hour, not the third. | 6.1 hours |
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3 week | Three hours Week 3: three hours. The first ride where fuelling and pacing genuinely matter. | 7.4 hours |
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4 recovery | Recovery week Week 4: recovery. The long ride drops to two easy hours. Keep it genuinely easy. | 4.7 hours |
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5 week | Three again, better Week 5: three hours again, with more midweek intensity. This one should feel easier than week 3. | 7.4 hours |
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6 week | Group ride pace Week 6: a tempo group ride midweek and 3h30 on the weekend. Practise riding at someone else’s pace. | 8.3 hours |
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7 week | First four-hour ride Week 7: four hours. Take everything you would take on event day and see what works. | 8.9 hours |
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8 recovery | Recovery week Week 8: recovery. Two thirds through. The last block is the one that makes the difference. | 4.7 hours |
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9 week | Four hours, repeated Week 9: four hours again. Repeating the distance is what makes it routine rather than an event. | 9.6 hours |
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10 week | Peak long ride Week 10: four hours with fatigue-resistance work late in the ride. The hardest day of the plan. | 8.2 hours |
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11 week | Start unloading Week 11: volume comes down, the last long group ride goes in. Nothing new from here on. | 8.9 hours |
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12 recovery | Taper Week 12: easy riding and openers. You cannot gain fitness this week; you can absolutely lose the event to fatigue. | 3 hours |
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Applying the plan schedules all 48 sessions from your chosen start date. You pick which days of the week you ride.
Start Century Training Plan