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A Rueda: Amateur Cycling — Get Ready for Your Gran Fondo
Professional coach structure to help you arrive strong at your sportive with the time you actually have.
A 12-week plan for amateur cyclists aiming to complete a 100-200 km sportive or gran fondo without sacrificing work or family commitments. Combines 80/20 polarised training, cyclist-specific strength work and periodised on-bike nutrition, all AI-tailored to your real available hours and overseen by professional coaches and nutritionists. Because ‘bonking’ isn’t about weak legs – it’s about missing a plan.
Plan structure
Weeks 1-4 · Aerobic Base and Strength Foundation
Build your engine: low-intensity rides (Z1-Z2), first tempo and sweet spot intervals (2x15 min), and introductory anatomical adaptation strength work (2–3x12). Saturday long rides start at 90 minutes, with early practice for on-bike fuelling at 30–40 g carbs per hour.
Weeks 5-8 · Focus Block: Threshold and VO2max
Selective intensity: threshold intervals (3x10 min) moving to VO2max (5x4 min), longer hilly rides and heavy strength (4x5-6 at ~75–85% 1RM, explosive effort). The fourth week is a deload with 40% less volume — recovery is training too.
Weeks 9-12 · Sharpening, Simulation and Taper
Long rides build to 4–4.5 hours with a full event simulation: ride by feel, 60 g carbs per hour fuelling and hill pacing. The last 10–14 days reduce volume but keep intensity, so you reach the big day fresh — plus a 48-hour carb loading protocol.
Cyclist Nutrition — Throughout the Plan
Protein split into 4 meals (1.6–2 g/kg/day), periodised carbs (3–5 g/kg on easy days, 5–7 g/kg on hard/long days), gut training to handle glucose/fructose mixes, sodium hydration (500–700 mg/L), and post-session recovery after every key workout.
What's included
- 80/20 polarised training in three 4-week blocks: aerobic base, focused threshold & VO2max work, and a 10-14 day taper for peak freshness
- Progressive long rides at the weekend: from 90 minutes up to 4–4.5 hours with hills, practising real event fuelling
- 2 weekly sessions of cycling-specific strength (squat, Romanian deadlift, lunges and core) for 30–40 minutes, progressing towards heavy strength
- Periodised cyclists’ nutrition: carbs adjusted to training load, gut training to handle 60 g/hour on the bike, and sodium hydration
- AI-generated plan tailored to your available time and adjusted with session tracking, feedback and adherence in the app
- Support from professional coach and nutritionist, with a scheduled deload week every fourth week
Benefits
- No more endless moderate-intensity rides: every session has a clear purpose, with gains in just 5–8 hours a week
- You learn to fuel and hydrate on the bike step by step — the real cause of most bonks in long sportifs
- Targeted strength training improves pedalling efficiency and reduces late-ride fatigue, backed by endurance sport research
- You arrive on event day with a practised strategy for pacing, fuelling and carb loading — no last-minute guesswork
Recommended for
Your typical week
Monday: rest or 20 min mobility. Tuesday: strength (squat, Romanian deadlift, lunges, core; 30–40 min). Wednesday: intervals on bike or turbo 60–75 min, sweet spot to VO2max depending on phase. Thursday: easy ride Z1-Z2, 60–90 min. Friday: second strength session (or rest in deload weeks). Saturday: progressive long ride Z2, 90 min to 4–4.5 hours with hills, practising event fuelling. Sunday: optional 45–60 min recovery spin or rest. Every fourth week: deload, 40% less volume.
Daily: protein 1.6–2 g/kg over 4 meals, periodised carbs (3–5 g/kg on easy days, 5–7 g/kg on interval/long days). Before the long ride: carb-rich, easily digestible dinner and breakfast. During rides over 90 min: start with 30–40 g carbs/hour, progressing to 60 g/h with glucose/fructose mix, plus 500–750 ml fluid/hour and 500–700 mg sodium per litre depending on heat. After each key session: 1–1.2 g carbs/kg and 0.3 g protein/kg within 2 hours. Weeks 10–12: full simulation of event nutrition and 48-hour carb load.
Qué puedes esperar
- Track your power (or climbing speed on a chosen hill) with a 20-minute test at the start and end: with structured work, typical gains over 12 weeks are 5–8%
- Progressive long ride tracking each week, aiming to finish 100–120 km (or your target event) controlling your pace with no late fade
- Monitor gut tolerance on the bike, building gradually to a 60 g per hour carb fuelling strategy with no digestive issues
- Adherence tracked in the app: build the habit of 3–4 rides plus 2 strength sessions a week, targeting over 80% completion
Who this plan is NOT for
- Sedentary people or those long out of exercise: first build a progressive base and get a sports medical check-up
- Over-40s without a recent check-up who want to jump straight into high-intensity training
- People with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes or another chronic condition without prior medical clearance
- Cyclists with ongoing knee, back or neck pain on the bike: start with a medical and biomechanical assessment
This plan is for sports information only and does not replace medical advice. If you are over 40, have been inactive for a while or have high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes or another chronic condition, get a sports medical check-up — ideally with an exercise test — before starting. Stop exercising and seek medical advice if you experience chest pain, palpitations, dizziness or unusual shortness of breath. On open roads, always use an approved helmet and lights, follow UK Highway Code rules, and take extra care with heat and hydration on long summer rides.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours a week do I need to train for a gran fondo?+
With 5–8 well-structured hours a week, you can prepare for a 100–200 km sportive: 3–4 bike sessions (two short midweek rides, one interval session, and a long weekend ride) plus two 30–40-minute strength sessions. It’s not about racking up time, it’s about each session having a clear purpose.
What is polarised training and why does this plan use it?+
It’s doing about 80% of training at low intensity (zones 1–2), with the other 20% at high intensity. Research backs it as the most effective way to improve in endurance sports, and it stops the most common amateur mistake: always riding at a hard-moderate pace, which is tiring but not effective.
Can my FTP go up with this plan?+
This programme specifically targets your threshold and VO2max — the keys to sustainable power. We track your progress with a 20-minute test at the start and finish: typically, amateur riders see 5–8% gains in 12 weeks of structured training, depending on your base, rest and consistency.
What should I eat in a sportive to avoid bonking?+
Bonking is almost always a fuelling error, not a physical one. The plan builds up your gut tolerance: start with 30–40 g carbs per hour on long rides and advance to 60 g/h, using glucose/fructose mixes, plus 500–750 ml fluids/hour with sodium. On the day, nothing new: you’ll have practised it all.
Do I really need strength training if I’m focused on cycling?+
Yes — it won’t make you heavier. Meta-analyses in cyclists show that strength improves pedalling efficiency, power and reduces late-ride fatigue, with no significant weight gain. It’s just two 30–40 min sessions using basics: squat, Romanian deadlift, lunges and core.
How is this plan different from a downloadable or online coaching plan?+
PDF plans can’t adapt to your real-life week and bespoke coaching costs €60–€150/month. Triwell gives you the best of both: an AI plan tailored to your hours and feedback, integrated cycling nutrition (which most plans ignore), and the support of both a coach and nutritionist, for a fraction of the price.
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