Conquer the cols and ride a big mountain sportive strong on 9 to 12 hours a week. This 12 week Alpine Sportive plan builds the sustained climbing power, low cadence strength and long day durability that carry you over the Marmotte, an Etape or any repeated col challenge, and every session is Zwift and indoor compatible.
WHO IT IS FOR. Riders targeting a mountainous sportive with repeated long climbs who can train 9 to 12 hours per week. It suits committed cyclists who want a serious, climbing specific build with real back to back weekend load and full fuelling practice. A power meter or smart trainer and a current FTP make every climbing target precise.
HOW IT PROGRESSES. Base and build weeks run around 9 to 11 hours with back to back climbing weekends, broken by recovery weeks at Week 4 and Week 8. The peak block features a full four and a half hour dress rehearsal about two weeks out, before a sharpening week and a race week taper. Saturday and Sunday are paired climbing rides so you learn to climb strongly on tired legs, exactly the demand of a multi col day.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT. It is built specifically for sustained mountain climbing, with twenty and thirty minute threshold climbs, low cadence torque work, rising tempo to threshold ramps, and col stack simulations no generic plan offers. Day one is an FTP test so every target is personal, and the final day is your event, with a placeholder EVENT DAY ride carrying your climb to power race plan. Every session has a full description, a coaching cue, and a link to the sports science behind it.
WHAT TO EXPECT EACH WEEK. Monday rest, Tuesday and Thursday sustained climbing quality, Wednesday endurance, Friday easy, and paired big climbing rides Saturday and Sunday. Weekly notes set the theme, hours and key sessions, and the plan tapers you to arrive at your alpine sportive fresh, fuelled and ready to climb every col strong.