A 100-mile ride is cycling’s marathon, the point at which you can comfortably claim to be a member of the gang. It’s the typical distance of a sportive and a respectable distance to be able to hit before you tackle a multi-day tour – the Fitbit Fifty, for instance, contains two 130-mile days, done back to back. But while you may think preparing for such a distance is just about spending every spare minute in the saddle, grinding out endless miles, you’d be wrong.
“You can take someone with a moderate amount of training and get them to do a 100-mile ride in four weeks, absolutely,” says James McCallum, sports director and performance coach at One Pro Cycling. “I’ve done it with full-time workers who had anywhere between eight and 15 hours a week to train. It’s just about pushing your body past its limits – and it’s important that when you’re on your bike, you’re working with purpose.”
The key, McCallum explains, is managing intensity properly. “People get caught up in distance, but really it’s about time,” he says. “It’s about getting better riding at speed over shorter distances – pushing that threshold. If you’ve got three hours to train, you’ll cover maybe 45 to 55 miles, but by training at the right intensity you’ll get the same training stress from that as you might from a 100-mile ride. The most important thing to do is push yourself outside your comfort zone. Even an hour and a half blast will get you results, if you approach it correctly.”
A big element of good riding is going at the right cadence: Chris Froome climbed La Pierre Saint Martin during his ride to victory in 2015's Tour de France at a fast 97rpm, while many of his rivals pushed the pedals at a much slower rate in bigger gears. You don’t need to go that fast but this plan works on keeping your cadence high, so you need a reliable way of checking what yours is.
The easiest method is to time yourself with a stopwatch – the Fitbit Surge has one built in – while you pedal for 15 seconds, counting each turn of the pedal you make with one foot. Multiply the total count by four and you’ll have your cadence. After doing this a few times, you should be able to get a good feel for just how fast you’re pedalling without constant checks.
This plan also includes different heart-rate zones to help manage intensity. “I prefer heart rate as the metric of choice for cycling,” says Mike Vulanich, an experienced triathlete and Fitbit ambassador. “Road grade and wind can impact speed, making it a less optimal gauge of effort. Whatever device you're using, ensure it’s worn higher up on the arm as wrist-based optical heart-rate readings aren’t always reliable during cycling if left at the base of the wrist.” Use it to make sure you’re exerting the right amount of effort and you’ll be in the 100-mile club in under a month.
It’s a good idea to track your training, not only so you can make sure you’re progressing from week to week, but also to keep you motivated. “The Training Log view on the Fitbit app is immensely helpful in understanding weekly training hours and mileage,” says Vulanich, who uses his device alongside run/ride tracking app Strava to measure his performance on specific climbs and segments of road. “There’s an added fun factor of performing over different Strava segments and the social motivation that goes along with it.” After all, you are doing this for fun.
Four-Week 100-Mile Sportive Cycling Training Plan
Week 1
| Monday | Rest or gym session. |
| Tuesday | Over-under session: 10min warm-up followed by 4 x 5min efforts (change gears to ride one effort at 60rpm and the next at 100rpm+), resting for 3min between efforts. Take 5min rest then do 10 x 10sec sprint efforts with 50sec rest between each sprint. |
| Wednesday | 2hr ride on rolling terrain: keep the cadence around 85-100rpm and your heart rate in the cardio zone on your Fitbit Surge (70-84% of your maximum heart rate) for the entire ride. |
| Thursday | 10/20 session: 10min warm-up followed by 10min of 10sec accelerating in the saddle, 20sec cruising or freewheeling (you should complete approximately 30 accelerations). Rest for 5-7min then repeat. Warm down for 10min. |
| Friday | Rest. |
| Saturday | 2hr ride on rolling terrain: keep the cadence around 85-100rpm and your heart rate in the cardio zone on your Fitbit Surge (70-84% of your maximum heart rate) for the entire ride. |
| Sunday | 3hr seated strength ride: do 1hr at predominantly endurance pace, 1hr of 6 x 2min hard efforts which you can sustain over the reps, ideally on a 10-15% incline, with 3-4min recovery of easy riding or freewheeling between efforts, and finish with 1hr at predominantly endurance pace. |
Week 2
| Monday | Rest or gym session. |
| Tuesday | Alternating climb session: 1hr ride at 90-100rpm, in the cardio heart-rate zone. On a hilly route, do the first climb seated, then the next out of the saddle, and repeat for the duration of the session. Try to keep each climb to 3-4min in length and hit the peak heart-rate zone, with 5-7min of rest in between. Warm down for 10min. |
| Wednesday | 2hr ride: do the first hour at endurance pace, with 15sec max-effort every 5min (get out of the saddle on odd-numbered reps and stay in the saddle for even-numbered reps). Do the second hour at endurance pace, and at the 15min mark do 3 x 20-30sec max-effort bursts in a big gear, then cool down for 90sec. After completing the set, return to endurance pace. Repeat the efforts at the 30min and 45min mark. |
| Thursday | Seated strength session: 10min warm-up, followed by 10 x 20-30sec efforts. In the hardest gear, slow down to about 5-8mph. While seated, tighten your abs, grip your handlebars and, with all your force, turn that gear over until you reach 85rpm. Once you’ve reached 85rpm, stop and cruise for 2min. Stop the interval after 30sec whether or not you’ve reached 85rpm. |
| Friday | Rest. |
| Saturday | 2hr ride on rolling terrain: keep the cadence around 85-100rpm and your heart rate in the cardio zone on your Fitbit Surge (70-84% of your maximum heart rate) for the entire ride. |
| Sunday | 3hr seated strength ride: do 1hr at predominantly endurance pace, 1hr including 6 x 2min efforts, ideally on a 10%-15% incline, with 3-4min recovery of easy riding or freewheeling after each effort, finishing with 1hr at predominantly endurance pace. |
Week 3
| Monday | Rest. |
| Tuesday | Over-under session: 10min warm-up followed by 4 x 5min efforts (alternate gears to ride one effort at 60rpm and the next at 100rpm+), resting for 3min between efforts. Rest for 8min, then do 10 x 10sec sprint efforts with 50sec rest between each sprint. Warm down for 10min. |
| Wednesday | 150min ride on rolling terrain: keep the cadence at 100rpm and your heart rate in the cardio zone on your Fitbit Surge (70-84% of your maximum heart rate) for the entire ride. |
| Thursday | Light 1.5hr ride or commute: keep the intensity low – around the fat-burn zone on your Fitbit Surge (50-69% of your maximum heart rate). |
| Friday | Rest. |
| Saturday | 2hr ride: do first hour at endurance pace, with 15sec max-effort every 5min (get out of the saddle on odd-numbered reps and stay in the saddle for even-numbered reps). Do the second hour at endurance pace and at the 15min mark, do 3 x 20-30sec max-effort bursts in a big gear, then cool down for 90sec. After completing the set, return to endurance pace. Repeat the efforts at the 30min and 45min mark. |
| Sunday | 4hr ride on rolling terrain: keep the cadence around 85-100rpm and your heart rate in the cardio zone on your Fitbit Surge (70-84% of your maximum heart rate) for the entire ride. |
Week 4
| Monday | Rest or gym session. |
| Tuesday | Light 90min ride or commute. This is the start of your active recovery and taper, so keep the intensity low, around the fat-burn heart-rate zone on your Fitbit Surge (50-69% of your maximum heart rate). |
| Wednesday | Over-under session: 10min warm-up, followed by 4 x 5min efforts (change gears to ride one effort at 60rpm and the next at 100rpm+), resting for 3min between efforts. Rest for 5min then do 10 x 10sec sprint efforts with 50sec rest between each sprint. |
| Thursday | 90min tune-up: 20min warm-up, 3 x 1min max-effort riding with 5min recovery, 10min warm-down, 3 x 30sec max-effort riding with 5min recovery, 10min warm-down. |
| Friday | Rest. |
| Saturday | 90min ride at light pace (hovering between the cardio and fat-burn zones on your Fitbit Surge) to loosen up and make sure your bike’s in good order. |
| Sunday | 100-mile ride. |
