The British Cycling 8-week MTB Marathon Training Plan is ideal if you’re targeting a MTB Marathon, mountain bike sportive, challenge ride or are just wanting to apply some structure and gain fitness that’ll allow you to ride faster for longer. .

The plan and the workouts within it are most suited to power users but can be adapted for heart rate. All of the cycling workouts are fully built within the plan and so, it’s compatible with smart trainers and many head units.

To start the plan, you should ideally be riding three or four times a week, be familiar with structured training and be capable of riding for 3 hours.

The volume of training is between 6-11 hours per week. If you’re already familiar with TrainingPeaks and its metrics, weekly TSS starts at 388 and peaks at 540.

The training is typically broken down into five rides; three mid-week and two at the weekend.

In general, the first mid-week ride, when you’ve just had a rest day, will focus on high intensity efforts. Although you’re training for a MTB Marathon, having the ability to sprint, produce high power and recover is essential for mountain biking; think about when tackling a technical climb. This session, although do-able on your mountain bike, is most suited to an indoor trainer.

The second mid-week ride is effectively strength training on your bike and is all about building low cadence torque for grinding up steep climbs. You’ll also find it excellent for building trunk strength. If you’ve got a suitable trail, you can do this session off-road but it can equally be done on the road or indoor trainer.

For the third mid-week ride, you should definitely try and get out on your mountain bike. With two tough sessions in your legs, you’ll be glad of the skills focus but, if you’ve got some energy left and with a day off the bike tomorrow, there’s scope to put in some hard efforts.

Onto the weekend rides and both should be on your mountain bike. The first is your main endurance ride and the second, more of an opportunity just to get out and enjoy the trails.

There is also an optional session that gives you the opportunity to do some cross training. Cross training, although optional, should be part of your training. Don’t worry if you can’t manage dedicated sessions, even doing regular mobility work at home will benefit your riding. Cross training helps to prevent boredom, provides options if you are unable to ride and builds all-round injury preventing robustness. Be aware though, having done three midweek rides and with two sessions at the weekend, you might need to make your cross training more restorative or even take an extra rest day.

The plan is fully supported by content on the British Cycling Insight Zone, where you can find advice on skills, training, nutrition, equipment, clothing and maintenance.
www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge