I started using TR just over 3 months ago, and am loving it (must be all the endorphines).
I want to start doing sportives in the UK this year, hopefully working my way up to more challenging events in 2026 and beyond (like the Fred Whitton, Struggle Dales, Dragon Ride etc).
I want to set myself some ambitious target events to do over the next few years (great for motivation etc). But given I’m new to all this, I’m not sure what’s realistic etc.
I’m 54, with a FTP of 230 and weigh 82kg - so my 2.80 w/kg makes me reasonably ‘average’ according to the TR w/kg calculator (47th percentile). Not sure how many FTP gains I have left in me, but I can definitely stand to lose some weight…! Fwiw Garmin says my cycling VO2 max is 50.
I’m relatively new to cycling. Used to bike to work years ago when I lived in London. Rediscovered exercise at the start of 2024, using a Peloton for general fitness. Went on a relaxed 3 day gravel ride at the start of September 2024 with mates (round King Alfred’s Way). I wanted to push on from that, so signed up to TR at the end of September.
So, my questions are:
(a) what sort of w/kg is required to complete the Fred Whitton (without too much walking)? The gearing on my bike is 50/34 and 11-34.
(b) Assuming I can get 2 or 3 easier 100 mile rides done this year, would I be ready to start doing harder events like the Fred Whitton in 2026?
(c) How much recovery time does an average 50-something need in between harder events? (A lot of the events on my list are in May and June each year, so I’m guessing that I’ll only be able to tick off one or two big events per year…?)
(a) what sort of w/kg is required to complete the Fred Whitton (without too much walking)? The gearing on my bike is 50/34 and 11-34.
The w/kg to complete is a lot lower than what is required to complete with out walking at all. In my experience you probably need to be capable of sustaining over 3 w/kg on the steepest climbs in order to keep moving forward on the gearing you have.
That said a LOT of people walk or stop for a breather on the steepest climbs every year. Don’t let an arbitrary w/kg figure stop you from riding the event.
(b) Assuming I can get 2 or 3 easier 100 mile rides done this year, would I be ready to start doing harder events like the Fred Whitton in 2026?
Yes, just cut your cloth accordingly to your fitness. Set off early on the day and take it easy in groups between the climbs. Ride as conservatively as you are able on the climbs and keep fuelling well and you will be fine.
I would suggest getting a few harder long rides in to give you some idea of what to expect though. The Lakeland Loop in April might be a good taster for you?
(c) How much recovery time does an average 50-something need in between harder events? (A lot of the events on my list are in May and June each year, so I’m guessing that I’ll only be able to tick off one or two big events per year…?)
This is entirely individual but a couple of weeks between events and you should be fine
Endurance/ muscular endurance will be key to longer events. So instead of thinking about it in terms of increasing FTP W/kg I would start by considering the time that I can comfortably ride for. I would train for these longer events by planning longer training rides. Joining a club would probably be beneficial or you can train inside on TR/ Zwift. Either way progressing to regular 2-3 hour rides each week averaging around 1.5-2.0 W/kg would be a good start. Then enter a couple of events, see how you get on and go from there. Once up to speed you can do longer rides/ events as frequently as you want. These will in effect form the base for the really difficult events that you mention.
A cycling sportive isn’t a marathon. Cycling puts far less demand on your body. As long as you don’t plan them back to back you could probably do one or two every week
How tall are you, what’s your bmi because just weight and ftp are sort of meaningless
I’m 50+ too. I was hoping to do the marmotte and a week later the maratona. Should have been fine but unfortunately the marmotte is scheduled a week earlier than usually (so I got to go home between the events)
As as already been said, it is more about endurance that W/kg for those big sportives that you aspire to.
TR can get you fit, but it really helps to supplement your workouts with some long rides outdoors - think 4 hours and longer - in preparation for your first sportives. Doing one such ride per week is not too many.
As well as being important for building endurance, those rides help you get your position on the bike right and just get you used to being on the bike for the sort of durations those bigger sportives are going to take you
You can certainly get ready for the Fred Whitton in 2026 from now and you can do more than one of the big May / June events in the same year with the right preparation.
Thanks Peter - very helpful feedback. I’d not heard of the Lakeland Loop before, but sounds like ideal prep - I’ve added it to the list.
In terms of how long I would need to sustain 3 w/kg - would that be for around 20 mins going up Hardknott Pass start to finish? I’m currently doing the Masters low volume Gran Fondo plan - and find 9 mins at threshold hard (but do-able). 20 mins at threshold would mean digging pretty deep…!
Thanks for the advice dj. There is a large cycling club where I live (St Albans), so I was thinking I should join them, and perhaps do one 4hr club ride a month. (I’m basing that on a recent TR podcast, where the presenters discussed that indoor rides can be more time-effective, but still suggested doing a longer outdoor ride once a month to practice time in saddle & fuelling etc, if you’re planning to do an endurance event).
I’m currently on the low volume masters gran fondo plan (3 hrs 45 mins per week) - but can look to build one of the endurance rides up to 2-3 hrs over time.
Hardknott has an ‘easier’ section in the middle. I would guess you might be looking at 8-10 minutes hard, a few minutes where you can stay in a low gear and recover then a final 7-8 minute push to the top.
If you can get lower gears on the bike then the power requirement will drop a little as well.
The other things to bear in mind are that your cadence is likely to be very low and you will be out of the saddle a lot of the time.
The major issue is the climb comes at 95+ miles. If you can still put out threshold efforts at that point you are doing well.
To be honest most walk some of it, even some of those who are turning in very good times at the end of the day. Don’t let the fear of walking prevent you from trying
Almost identical personal stats to me. I did the Fred last year, no special training as such but just tried to build the time in saddle with plenty of climbing but I was focused on the event and it was very motivating. My sole objective was to get around, no concern at all about time or speed, just pottered all day, constantly eating. It was a long, tough day out that was the hardest road event I’ve ever done. To my continued delight I cleared every single climb, not a single foot down, Honister, Hardknott and Wrynose are threshold climbs, truly brutal, kept in the saddle throughout, didn’t risk standing, lots of people went past me and then started pushing. 9 1/2 hours, 0.65 IF, 419 TSS overall. Took me a good week to properly recover, legs were heavy for some time. I did a very hilly 100k sportive 3 weeks before and rode home, great for the self-belief. I’ve done plenty of sportives in the past, up to 100 miles is perfectly manageable, slow and steady, always begin with the end in mind, anyone can smash hour 1, it is hours 5/6 that really count. 2 or 3 a year is perfectly manageable, maybe start with 100k and build?
Thanks ArHu. Good luck with the Marmotte and Maratona - I was reading about the Marmotte a couple of days ago, and it sounds like a beast.
I’m 181cm, and my BMI is 25. Losing weight is a long-term health goal (stepping on some scales was what launched me on this whole exercise thing).
Last year I managed to go from (roughly) 89kg to 80kg (from 1 Jan to 30 Aug), but then put some back on in Nov/Dec. (This is a big part of why I want to set myself long-term goals - it would be all too easy for me to slip back to where I started.)
This year my aim is to get to 76 kg (BMI of 23). If I can do that, then (at my current FTP) I would have 3.03 w/kg.
Thanks again Peter. (I’ve read some of your previous posts about Fred Whitton - all really helpful.)
All my training on TR so far has been high cadence. On my most recent threshold ride, it told me to ride out of the saddle for the first time, which was a lot, lot harder for me. Definitely something to work on.
Thanks for the advice & encouragement ive. This is reinforcing that I need to join my local cycling club…! They do 4hr rides every Sunday. (I also need to learn the dos and don’t of group riding & drafting.)
fwiw I would think you’d be fine at that w/kg and/or weight. I don’t have direct experience of those events, but am aware they are hard, but get the gearing right and I think you’d get around. Any of these bell curves you see are of people doing structured training/ using training platforms - an awful lot of people doing sportives in my experience don’t really do structure at all tbh.
I’d echo join a club - a large club like mentioned should have several groups going out (be conservative initially with the group speed/ distance). That’s the most social way of building endurance, if you can fit it in with life. Now with the masters plans, you can schedule the two hard workouts for the week, and then have a weekend group ride.
I don’t know the UK scene, but I imagine there’s multiple sportives of varying degrees of elevation every weekend?
(b) Assuming I can get 2 or 3 easier 100 mile rides done this year, would I be ready to start doing harder events like the Fred Whitton in 2026?
I did a 220km sportif over 4500 meters of climbing, much on dirt roads just with lunch rides as training one year. Not ideal but given the regular feed stops on sportifs, much easier than going it alone over that distance. I wouldn’t over estimate the difficulty of doing a long sportif with the aim of finishing.
Thanks for the advice Macy. I’ll email my local club to join up - it looks like they do have several groups doing weekend rides at different speeds (and new joiners have to do a slower introductory ride).
I think you’re right about the UK scene - there seem to be different events every weekend (though the bigger, hillier ones seem to be a 4-5 hour drive from me).
Cheers ive - Verulam is my local club. I’ve just been looking at their website, and see there’s a bunch of local sportives (60/100k) coming up in the next few months that I didn’t previously know about. I’ll email them now to see about joining up.
definitely would encourage you to do those 4hr group rides as you indicate above. volume really does work wonders, i find the more I do, the more I can do. My high point was in 2023 where I was able to pretty consistently do 14-16hr weeks, with 2x4hr rides on the weekends, I really did feel on top of the world and feel like I could handle just about any type of ride. The more routine you make big rides, the less any one big event will be able to knock you out of commission for days following.
