Marmotte Gran Fondo

Lets not beat around the bush, the Marmotte Gran Fondo is a long day even for a well seasoned cyclist so for your average amateur its going to require some serious staying power. The key to ensuring you get round and also enjoy the experience is to focus on the following. ⦁ Consistent training, so riding your bike at least 5 days a week, ideally 6. ⦁ Accumulate in excess of 10+ hours during that week, ideally some weeks pushing that out to 14-16 hours. ⦁ You also need to do some long rides, one to train your body, not just the cardiovascular and muscular systems but also your neurological system to tolerate the duration you will be riding for. ⦁ And secondly you need to work on your ability to consume and utilise sufficient fuel (carbs) to complete the event. I can't stress how important this aspect of your training is to ensure you are able to complete this without getting swept up by the broom wagon. Given the intensity you'll be riding at the vast majority of your training should be below the anaerobic threshold or your FTP. That's not to say you shouldn't do some intensity but the primary focus should be on working mostly aerobically, therefore we need to build the largest aerobic capacity that we can. And the way to do that in a consistently repeatable way is to keep it steady. I see too many people sign up for these events, go from 5 hours a week training to double that at an intensity that is way too hard only to then get tired, ill and then lose motivation. This leads to missed sessions and a lack of consistency and it's this word - "consistency" that will allow you to get the most out of yourself. Don't overly focus on the goal, ideally focus on the process and the goal will just happen. Below is the link to the plan - 👇 https://www.trainingpeaks.com/training-plans/cycling/gran-fondo-century/tp-620163/marmotte-gran-fondo-alps-tried-tested-16-week-plan?srcv=treatment