2-Week Race Taper Plan (Sunday Race Focus) Beginner/Intermediate

If you’re a beginner or intermediate cyclist preparing for an important race, this 2-week Race Taper Plan is built to help you arrive on the start line rested, responsive, and ready to perform. The focus is on shedding accumulated fatigue while protecting the fitness you’ve worked hard to earn, so you can line up confident and prepared to race at your best.

Who’s it for?
The Taper Plan is designed for beginner to intermediate riders targeting a key event who have completed solid base and build phases and are looking for a short, smart, and controlled taper into a Sunday race. It is shaped by best practice and current scientific literature, combined with over 10 years of hands-on coaching and race experience, to ensure you arrive on the start line fresh, confident, and ready to perform.

Is it for you?
The plan is designed for motivated beginner to intermediate athletes who have completed base and build phases, are comfortable training both indoors (such as Zwift) and outdoors, and can blend highly structured quality sessions with longer endurance rides to maintain sharpness. It’s ideal if you’re looking to transition smoothly from hard training into peak performance, allowing fitness to surface naturally without forcing it.

What’s Involved?
This 2-week taper is designed to reduce accumulated fatigue while preserving the fitness and sharpness you’ve built through the season. Training volume is progressively reduced, while intensity and specificity are maintained to ensure you feel ready and responsive on race day.

Week 1: A concentrated loading week aimed at increasing training stress and stimulating meaningful adaptation.
Week 2: A sharpening and taper phase where overall load is reduced to minimise fatigue and maximise race-day readiness.

The result is a controlled step back from heavy training that allows your fitness to surface naturally, so you arrive at the start line rested, confident, and ready to race.