120 | Cycling World
This New Year , take on a new cycling challenge with British Cycling
How about trying a new challenge , A Sportive , Cycling World discovers more
So , it ’ s the New Year and you are looking to take on a new cycling challenge . How about trying a Sportive ? From the thrill of being part of a group of riders , to discovering the many amazing cycling roads in Britain and making new friends along the way , Sportives offer all this and more !
The first thing to do is choose the perfect event for you . There are hundreds of events to choose from throughout the country , which can be found on the British Cycling Sportive calendar at www . britishcycling . org . uk / sportives .
The next thing to do is start training for the event to ensure you are fully prepared . Fortunately British Cycling has free training plans available for any level of rider , beginner , intermediate and advanced . The British Cycling training plans can be found here www . britishcycling . org . uk / sportives
The Beginners ’ Training Plan is ideal for all novice cyclists who haven ’ t followed a structured training plan before or riders who want to get back to fitness after some time off the bike . If you ’ re targeting a 60- mile ( 100 km ) sportive in the spring , the beginners ’ plan is the perfect plan to achieve these goals .
The intermediate and advanced plans are designed for successful completion of a 100 mile Sportive event and for riders who already train specifically for sportive events , and may also be racing competitively . These plans are aimed at riders who already have a reasonable base of cycling fitness .
HOW ARE THE TRAINING PLANS DELIVERED ?
An overview of each plan is given to allow you to see how it progresses and the commitment that you ’ re making . The detailed sessions , on easy to view and printable single page documents , are delivered on the website in 4-week training blocks .
HOW MUCH TRAINING IS INVOLVED ?
For the beginner plan the training weeks are broken down into three rides per week . There is also an optional bonus session for some off the bike training . Days can easily be swapped about to fit the plan around your life . Training hours vary between 3 hours and 7 hours 30 mins per week .
For the intermediate and advanced plans , the training weeks are broken down into three rides , two off the bike