I am looking for any and all input on how to design my trainining plan towards my main goal in 2026 (yes I know it is far away but better start early ;-)).
I am a 50 years old and a little too heavy guy that have trained on and off for the last 5 years or so and I am currently sporting an FTP of 260 watts to go with my 90kg.
I have just decided that my one and only A goal for 2026 will be a 4 day stage “race” where each stage is arond 100km (+/- 10 kms) with around 2500-3000meters of climbing in each stage. So I am envisioning a lot of needed training and some work on the weight too.
I don’t intend to compete against anyone but me but would like to be able to go at an ok pace without crawling to the finish line.
The weight part I have dialed in (I hope) with a current weightloss of 7kgs this year and plans for 10 more towards raceday leaving me at 80kgs just before the race.
The training part I am working on right now is with a focus on consistency (my downfall over the last couple of years) until summer and then spending the time after that focusing on adding more hours to the plan which I hope will result in heightened FTP too
Currently I am training around 6 hours per week with a focus on increasing FTP but I would like to end up at around 8 hours per week with a combined focus on increasing FTP and durability.
The questions I am struggeling (right now as others will probably come up) is wether I should design my plan around Climbing Roadrace or Gran Fondo as it seems both of them cater towards my goal but seem a to have different “paths” there and how I should plan for the increase in hours from the current 6 to the goal of 8.
So any thoughts are welcome and any other input or ideas that could ease my path towards the goal are also desired.
For me it would be increasing the long zone 2 ride or adding an additional zone 2 day
As far as which plan: pick one you can stick with. If I wanted to see big improvements I would pick the one that has elements I am weak at and don’t like. I like short hard intervals and hate long tempo workouts. So for me it would be making sure the plan had long tempo workouts.
Thanks for the link - I will take a look and see if that changes things up. I think I am close to that split it suggests so it should “only” be a matter of adding hours to specific training sessions.
Yes! The Gran Fondo plan is designed to focus on longer-distance, smoother efforts. There is a big focus on aerobic development and muscular endurance.
The Climbing Road Race is designed to build attacking strength to help you make/cover big accelerations when you’re already riding near threshold (think hilly/mountain stages in the TDF). Arguably, this plan has a bit more specificity to that type of riding, whereas the Gran Fondo plan is a really good all-around fitness plan.
I agree with everyone else on here, and I’d also pick the GF plan.
I’d recommend focusing on consistent training and building power over weight loss. Strength is more important than weight 99% of the time, and replacing non-functional mass with functional mass might not always result in a net weight loss, but it will likely make you faster.
It’s tricky to build fitness while losing weight at the same time, so I’d recommend focusing on knocking out those workouts and fueling well both on and off the bike.
Let us know if you have any other questions, and good luck!
Thanks for the explanations on what the plans focus on - seems like Gran Fondo training plan is my “home” the next year
In regards to the weigth thing I fully understand and agree that it might be tricky but for me the loss of weigth is not so much related to cycling as it is to general health - so I will have to try to balance it out even if it is tricky
