How many hours per week should I train?

For sportives, 6-10 hours/week is typical. Road racers often train 10-15 hours. Recreational riders benefit from as little as 4-6 hours. The key is consistency and gradual progression.

What is the 80/20 rule in training?

About 80% of your training should be at easy (zone 1-2) intensity and 20% at hard (zone 4-5) intensity. In practice this is applied by session: if you ride 5 days, roughly 4 are easy and 1 is hard. A 2-hour interval ride counts as one hard session even though only ~30 minutes is at high intensity, so a single quality day still satisfies the polarised model. Most trained amateurs run 1-2 hard sessions per week (three is the upper bound).

How quickly can I increase training volume?

Follow the 10% rule: increase weekly hours by no more than 10% per week. Include a recovery week (reduced volume by 30-40%) every 3-4 weeks to allow adaptation.

How long should my longest ride be?

Your longest weekly ride should be 30-40% of your total weekly volume. For a 100-mile sportive, aim to complete at least 80% of the distance in training.

What if I can only train 3 days a week?

Three quality sessions can be very effective: one long ride, one interval session, and one tempo ride. Many competitive cyclists maintain strong fitness on limited training time.

Training Plan Calculator — Structure Your Cycling Training

Estimate weekly training hours and structure for your cycling goals.

Goal EventYour target event — sets the peak-volume multiplier and the hard/easy intensity split (races favour more intensity, ultra favours more volume).

Current Weekly Hours

Your typical recent saddle time per week (recreational 4–6, sportive 6–10, racer 10–15). Be honest — it's the base the plan builds from.

Weeks to Event

Weeks until your target event. Allows roughly 10%/week volume growth with a recovery week every 3–4 weeks; progression caps after ~10 weeks of build.

Days Available Per Week

Days you can ride each week. The plan reserves 1 long ride and 1–2 quality/hard days, with the rest easy zone 1–2 (80/20 polarised).

How We Calculate This

Training Structure

Peak hours = Current hours × goal multiplier, capped at 3 hrs per available day
Volume build = no more than ~10% increase per week, compounding for up to 10 weeks (add a recovery week every 3–4 weeks at reduced volume)
Long ride = ~30–40% of weekly volume in a single ride (adjustable factor)
Intensity split (polarised 80/20): most weeks have 1 quality/hard session, race and time-trial goals up to 2 (capped at 3). The remaining ride days are easy zone 1–2. The 80/20 refers to the balance of easy vs hard sessions, so a single hard interval day still fits the model — hard sessions are short but high-stress
Estimated weekly distance assumes ~25 km/h, a deliberately conservative endurance pace (most volume is slow zone 1–2 riding, not event pace)

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: February 2026

All calculations are estimates. Always verify results and consult a professional bike fitter where appropriate.

Training Plan Calculator — Structure Your Cycling Training

How We Calculate This

Training Structure

Frequently Asked Questions

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