Most riders train for a cycling tour as though it were a single big ride. It isn't. A tour is five, six or seven rides in a row, and the hardest part is not any one of them. It is getting on the bike on Day 4 with Days 1 to 3 still in your legs.
This plan is built around that. It assumes you already ride regularly, four or five times a week, and have ten weeks before you go. If you have longer, extend the first phase. If you are aiming specifically at a climbing-heavy week, read it alongside our guide to training for climbing on flat roads.
Start with the target
Look at the tour you have booked and find three numbers: the average riding day, the longest single day, and the biggest climbing day. These are what you are training for.
Across our own tours those numbers vary widely. Northern Thailand averages 88 km and 538 metres a day. Mae Hong Son averages 99 km and 2,183 metres, with two days of 129 km. A plan for one is not a plan for the other, so scale the long rides below to your own tour.
The shape of the plan
Weeks 1 to 4: base. Build steady volume. One long ride a week, growing each week. Mostly endurance riding, with one session of steady sweet-spot work.
Weeks 5 to 8: build. Keep the long ride, add a second long ride on the following day, and add one session of sustained, harder efforts. Week 8 is the biggest week of the plan.
Weeks 9 and 10: sharpen and taper. Reduce volume, keep some intensity, and arrive rested.
Make week 4 slightly lighter than week 3, so the base settles before the build begins. The build should then rise to a peak in week 8, not plateau. Fatigue that never clears turns into a tired week on holiday.
A typical week
| Base (weeks 1 to 4) | Build (weeks 5 to 8) | Taper (weeks 9 and 10) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Rest | Rest | Rest |
| Tue | 60 to 75 min endurance, cadence drills | Sweet spot or threshold intervals | Short intervals, reduced volume |
| Wed | 60 to 90 min endurance | 75 to 90 min endurance | 60 min easy |
| Thu | Sweet spot, e.g. 2 × 15 min | Low-cadence strength or climbing efforts | 45 to 60 min with a few short efforts |
| Fri | Rest or 45 min easy | Rest or 45 min easy | Rest |
| Sat | Long ride, building each week | Long ride at tour distance | Moderate ride, 60 to 70% of the long ride |
| Sun | 60 to 90 min easy | Second long ride, back to back | Short spin, legs open |
Treat this as a structure, not a prescription. If your weekdays are short, protect the weekend rides and the one hard weekday session above everything else.
The four sessions that matter most
The long ride. By the end of the build phase, your Saturday ride should reach the longest day of your tour. You do not need to go beyond it. Ride it at the effort you will ride on tour, steady and eating and drinking as you go, not as a race.
The back-to-back. This is the session riders skip and the one that matters most. From week 5, follow the Saturday long ride with a second long ride on Sunday. The second day is where you learn how your legs, your back and your saddle respond to consecutive days. It is also the closest thing at home to Day 3 of a tour.
Sustained efforts. One weekday session of sweet-spot or threshold work (88 to 105 per cent of your FTP, in blocks of 10 to 30 minutes) builds the ability to hold steady power on climbs. Indoors on a trainer works perfectly for this.
Cadence work. Most riders climb best in the 70s to 80s rpm and spin the flat in the high 80s to 90s. Include some high-cadence drills in base weeks to keep your pedalling smooth, and short low-cadence blocks at 60 to 70 rpm in the build phase to prepare for steep pitches. Check your average cadence on long rides: if it drifts down sharply in the last hour, that is fatigue showing, and a sign to fuel better.
Eat on the bike, every ride
Tours run on food. Use your long rides to practise eating regularly from the first hour, not when you feel hungry, because by Day 4 that is too late. Find out which bars, gels or real food your stomach tolerates at effort. Fuelling and recovery on consecutive days have a post of their own.
The taper
The last ten days are about arriving fresh, not fitter. Fitness gained in the final week is negligible; fatigue carried into the tour is not. Cut your volume by roughly half, keep a few short efforts so your legs stay sharp, and sleep. If you are flying your own bike, pack it a few days early so the last rides are on the bike you will tour on, not a rushed rebuild.
How to know you are ready
By the end of week 8 you should have ridden your tour's longest day, and then ridden again the next day without dreading it. If you have, you are ready. If the second day was a struggle, take that seriously: either adjust your expectations for the tour, or look for one with a gentler average.
For how each of our tours grades, including the hardest single day on each, see our difficulty grades.
This is general guidance, not an individual plan. Training zones are based on your own FTP. If you have health concerns or are returning from injury, speak to a coach or doctor first.
Written by Barnowl Adventures.
