This plan is built for one specific problem: you can hold threshold power for 30-40 minutes, but you fade well short of an hour when the effort really counts — a 40km TT, a long climb, a breakaway that has to stick. That's not usually a lack of peak power. It's a durability problem: your anaerobic reserve (FRC) is depleting faster than your aerobic system can carry the load.
Rather than simply chasing a bigger FTP number, this plan is built around extending the amount of time you can hold high power — with FTP gains arriving as a natural by-product of that durability work, not the primary target.
Who it's for: intermediate-advanced cyclists training 10-12 hours a week with an existing FTP established from a recent test, who want to hold race-relevant power for a full hour rather than fading in the back half.
I've made the assumption that you already know what your FTP is from either a recent ramp test or 20 min equivalent. It might also be helpful to then do the secondary test of trying to hold that FTP number for as long as you can. That way you have both an FTP number but also your TTE (Time To Exhaustion). You certainly need to have the baseline values before starting this plan.
Training is therefore weighted toward extending time-at-intensity and improving recovery/reconstitution under repeated load, with FTP gains treated as a secondary, expected byproduct.
The block is periodised 3:1 (three loading weeks to one recovery week) across three phases, followed by a taper and test week
Phase overview
● Weeks 1-3 — Durability Build: extensive sweet spot work and long rides with tempo finishes, building the aerobic base needed to tolerate volume without early fatigue.
● Week 4 — Recovery: volume cut roughly in half, intensity reduced, to absorb the block before loading resumes.
● Weeks 5-7 — Threshold Extension: sessions shift to true threshold intensity, structured for duration (progressing toward one continuous 30min effort) plus over/under intervals to train FRC reconstitution under load.
● Week 8 — Recovery: second down week before the specificity phase.
● Weeks 9-11 — Specificity: single continuous threshold efforts extending 40 → 50 → 55-60 minutes at goal power, done with full recovery around them since this is the highest-payoff, highest-risk session in the plan.
● Week 12 — Taper & Test: volume drops 40-50%, intensity touches maintained, testing in the back half of the week.
Hi, my name is Colin from Tried and Tested Cycle Coaching. I've been cycling for 15+ years and my primary focus has been on the road, both in terms of road racing and time trials with a high degree of success. I've learnt a lot in those years from reading and studying the science and from listening to others, that journey never stops. I still enjoy racing at a high level in the amateur ranks as a master and I'm now looking to pass on that knowledge and help others achieve their goals.