Can you take on the many many berg of the infamous Tour of Flanders?!
We have designed this plan on the assumption that the user is already comfortable riding for at least 3-hours at the weekend and can train five to six days a week.
For such an ultra-distance event, whilst it might seem counterintuitive, there's not much benefit to doing crazy long individual days like you would say, in preparation for a marathon. Instead we focus on frequency of training, consistency and targeting key weeks. The consistency in training will build the base and the key weeks will build the confidence with back-to-back longer rides at the weekend.
In the first phase of the plan, our focus is on building strength, power and developing good habits. This means plenty of V02max and anaerobic work.
In the second phase of the plan (week 10 onwards), we really dig in to preparing you for the short and incredibly sharp bergs like the Koppenberg, the Kwaremont and the Paterberg. This means even more Vo2 work both on the turbo but also hitting the road for some hill reps.
Certain sessions are marked 'key'. These are the most important sessions of the week and the ones you should endeavour to get done. Sessions not marked 'key' are still important but can be moved around, scaled etc. depending on how your week looks.
Whilst the non-key sessions are important, if your week is busy and you only manage to get the key sessions done, you will still be moving forwards.
Every fourth week you leave the usual long ride behind and ride a virtual section of the course instead. Virtual sessions take you over some of the most famouse climbs of flanders so you can get an incling as to what you're in for. The provided GPX file can be used to ride on Training Peaks Virtual.
What you need:
- A road bike with a power meter
- A heart-rate monitor
- A smart trainer
- A premium Training Peaks subscription (so you can move workouts around and ride virtually on Training Peaks Virtual)
If you need help at any point, please head to our website where you can book and pay for a 30-minute coach consultation https://riak.fitness//
Rich is extremely experienced, having started coaching triathlon, cycling, running and more recently, Hyrox, over 10-years ago. As a former lawyer working insane hours in the city, the experience has naturally led him to specialising in helping time-starved athletes find balance in their lives and achieving training consistency.