Workouts
Workout
Training focus · Zone 3 · 76–87% FTP
Tempo cycling workouts
Comfortably hard. Emphasis on both.
Tempo is the zone between endurance and sweet spot — roughly 76–87% of FTP. It is "comfortably hard": sustainable for long stretches, but with clear pressure on the legs. Tempo builds muscular endurance and is a natural stepping stone when sweet spot still feels like too much.
35
free sessions
20–250
minutes
76–87%
of FTP
Free to ride No account needed to start Works with Bluetooth smart trainers ERG mode holds the watts
Start here
Three ways in
Don’t scroll all 35 sessions on day one. Pick the one that fits the time you have, press start, and the trainer does the pacing.
The way in
High Power Tempo With Short Sprints!
Shortest session in the set. Ride it today.
20
min
0.56
intensity
The staple
Basic Foundation 6
The session you will come back to every week.
50
min
0.74
intensity
The long haul
Long Ride Zone 2 (4hr) + Fatigue Resistance
Block out the time. This one builds depth.
250
min
0.65
intensity
Why it works
The physiology, briefly
Tempo blocks of 15–40 minutes inside an otherwise steady ride mimic the demands of fast group rides and rolling terrain, where you sit at this effort for long periods without true recovery.
The sessions below are free to ride with ERG mode or power targets. They pair well with a base block: swap one weekly endurance ride for a tempo session as your fitness builds.
How to run it
Pressure on the legs, conversation in short sentences.
- 01Treat tempo blocks as one continuous effort — no soft pedaling mid-block.
- 02Hold a natural cadence, 80–95 rpm, the way you would ride a long climb.
- 03Swap one weekly endurance ride for tempo as your base block matures.
- 04If you drift toward sweet spot, ease back — duration is the point here.
The full set
All 35 tempo sessions
Under 40 minutes
7 sessionsHIIT
High Power Tempo With Short Sprints!
A quick, 20-minute cycling HIIT workout to improve your tempo pace with short, high-power sprints.
20 minIF 0.56
tempo
sprint
HIIT
+4 more
HIIT
Wake Up And Smell The Lactic!
A 25-minute session with a slow build and a heavy punch at the end, designed to get your lactate levels high and improve your fitness on the bike.
25 minIF 0.71
GCN
Sprint
Lactate
+4 more
HIIT
Wake Up And Smell The Lactic! | 25 Minute Sprint Bike Session
Today's bike session on GCN Training is slow build with a heavy punch at the end. Guaranteed to get your lactate levels high and improve your fitness on the bike.
25 minIF 0.70
Sprint
Lactate
Tempo
+4 more
Interval
Tempo Efforts With Sprint Finishes
This workout focuses on building fatigue through tempo intervals, each finishing with a powerful sprint.
29 minIF 0.52
Tempo
Sprint
Intervals
+3 more
HIIT
Intense High Tempo Bike Workout | 30 Minute HIIT Session
A 30 minute session focussed on intense intervals and keeping the RPM high to the beat of the music.
30 minIF 0.73
HIIT
Intervals
High Cadence
+3 more
Interval
Tempo Threshold Repeats
Build your sustainable power with this 30-minute session. After a progressive warm-up, tackle four sets of tempo and threshold intervals.
30 minIF 0.79
Intervals
Threshold
Tempo
+2 more
HIIT
The Climb | 30 Minute HIIT Indoor Cycling Workout
An increasingly challenging half-hour spin session with tempo, sweet spot, and over-FTP work. The session increases in difficulty with each effort getting increasingly longer.
30 minIF 0.54
HIIT
Indoor Cycling
Tempo
+4 more
40 to 70 minutes
17 sessionsHIIT
40 Minute HIIT Indoor Cycling Workout
This session starts with a longer threshold section including some cadence work before a really tough finish with some longer sprints!
40 minIF 0.83
HIIT
Threshold
Tempo
+4 more
Basics
Basic Foundation 1
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
40 minIF 0.69
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 2
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
42 minIF 0.70
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 3
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
44 minIF 0.71
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 4
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
46 minIF 0.72
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 5
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
48 minIF 0.73
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 6
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
50 minIF 0.74
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 7
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
52 minIF 0.75
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 8
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
54 minIF 0.76
Tempo
Foundation
Interval
55 Minute Cycling Training Ramp Session
This session is a longer session going through the gears from long tempo efforts all the way to flat out sprints. This will really help build endurance and power as well as fatigue resistance.
55 minIF 0.82
Ramp
Endurance
Power
+5 more
Basics
Basic Foundation 9
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
56 minIF 0.77
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 10
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
58 minIF 0.78
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 11
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
60 minIF 0.79
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 12
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
62 minIF 0.80
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 13
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
64 minIF 0.81
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 14
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
66 minIF 0.82
Tempo
Foundation
Basics
Basic Foundation 15
Steady state foundation ride with some tempo efforts.
68 minIF 0.83
Tempo
Foundation
Over 70 minutes
11 sessionsEndurance
Endurance + Tempo Finish 10m
Zone 2 ride finishing with controlled tempo, mimicking fatigue resistance demands of real rides.
80 minIF 0.64
Zone 2
Tempo Finish
Endurance
Endurance + Tempo Finish 12m
Zone 2 ride finishing with controlled tempo, mimicking fatigue resistance demands of real rides.
82 minIF 0.64
Zone 2
Tempo Finish
Endurance
Endurance + Tempo Finish 14m
Zone 2 ride finishing with controlled tempo, mimicking fatigue resistance demands of real rides.
84 minIF 0.65
Zone 2
Tempo Finish
Endurance
Tempo Continuous 60min
Thursday Option A: 60 minutes continuous Tempo at 76-85% FTP (Zone 3). No breaks. Lactate clearance. For when feeling fresh.
85 minIF 0.71
Tempo
Zone 3
Lactate Clearance
+2 more
Endurance
Endurance + Tempo Finish 16m
Zone 2 ride finishing with controlled tempo, mimicking fatigue resistance demands of real rides.
86 minIF 0.65
Zone 2
Tempo Finish
Endurance
Endurance + Tempo Finish 18m
Zone 2 ride finishing with controlled tempo, mimicking fatigue resistance demands of real rides.
88 minIF 0.65
Zone 2
Tempo Finish
Basics
Tempo Staircase 3×(6/8/10m)
Tempo staircase session that gradually lengthens efforts while staying below threshold.
110 minIF 0.66
Tempo
Sub-threshold
Interval
Tempo/Group Ride (2hr)
2 hours with 3x15min Tempo intervals (76-90% FTP). Glycogen storage. Or replace with disciplined group ride.
125 minIF 0.65
Tempo
Group Ride
Glycogen
+1 more
Interval
Tempo/Group Ride (3hr)
3 hours with 3x15min Tempo intervals (76-90% FTP). Glycogen storage. Or replace with disciplined group ride.
155 minIF 0.65
Tempo
Group Ride
Glycogen
+1 more
Endurance
Long Ride Zone 2 (4hr) + Fatigue Resistance
4 hours total: 3.5hr Zone 2 + 20min Tempo at end. Fatigue resistance training. Mimics race demands.
250 minIF 0.65
Long Ride
Zone 2
Tempo
+2 more
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Tempo training FAQ
What is tempo in cycling training?
Tempo is Zone 3 riding at roughly 76–87% of FTP. It is harder than endurance pace but below sweet spot and threshold, and it can be sustained in long blocks of 15–40 minutes or more.
Is tempo riding useful or a "grey zone"?
Tempo earned the grey-zone label only when it replaces both easy rides and hard intervals. Used deliberately — as muscular endurance work in a structured week — it is a productive zone, especially for long-distance and gravel riders.
Tempo vs sweet spot — what is the difference?
Sweet spot (88–94% of FTP) is closer to threshold and more fatiguing per minute; tempo (76–87%) lets you accumulate more total time. Riders often progress from tempo to sweet spot as a training block develops.
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Reading for the rest day
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