Most cycling companies hand you a route and wish you luck. We do it differently. We don’t just want to make you fitter. We want you to ride into Annecy ready to enjoy six days in the mountains. Not survive them. And everything here is built so you can do it again on your own, long after the trip ends.
The plan takes six weeks. Five weeks of building, then a week of taper so you arrive fresh. It assumes you can ride comfortably for about an hour now, and that you want to handle back-to-back days of 42 to 85 km with real Alpine climbs. If that feels like a leap from where you are, tell your coach. We’ll move the starting line. The shape of the plan stays the same. One more thing. Every claim here comes from published sport science, so you’ll see small numbers like [1] that point to the reference list at the end.
Before you start
This is a general plan. It’s not personal medical or coaching advice. If you have a health condition, you’re coming back from injury, or you’re new to structured training, see your GP before you begin. Treat the plan as a framework. Your coach will shape it to you, and you should always ride to how you feel on the day. Nothing here asks you to train through pain or starve yourself to lose weight. If something doesn’t sit right, stop. And talk to us.
How this plan works
Each week pulls together five threads. Each one maps onto something the Foundation trip will ask of you.
- Aerobic base. The easy, talk-all-day riding that builds your engine. It’s the biggest lever you have, and the one most riders skip.
- Climbing and intensity. A small, well-placed dose of hard work to lift your ceiling and teach you how to pace a long climb.
- Durability and descents. Getting your legs ready for repeated days and long descents, so day four feels like day one. Most plans leave this out.
- Strength. Two short sessions a week, at home or in the gym, that make you more efficient and harder to break.
- Fuelling and recovery. Practising how you eat, drink and sleep as if the trip depends on it. It does.
Three efforts, your way
To keep it simple, the whole plan runs on three efforts. Easy, Tempo and Hard. We don’t use “Zone 1, 2, 3.” Your Garmin, Strava or Wahoo already number zones their own way, and on those a 5-zone scale is normal, where “Zone 2” means easy riding. Rather than fight that, we use plain words. The table below turns each effort into whatever you train with. Feel, heart rate or power. Read the column that fits you.
| Effort | Feels like / talk test | Heart rate (% of max HR) | Power (% of FTP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EASY the bulk of your riding |
Conversational. Full sentences without gasping. You could keep going for hours. (RPE 3–4) | Up to ~75% device zones 1–2 (recovery & endurance) |
Up to ~75% power zones 1–2 (recovery & endurance) |
| TEMPO steady, comfortably hard |
“Comfortably hard.” Short sentences only. The pace of a brisk group ride or a steady climb. (RPE 5–6) | ~75–85% device zone 3 (tempo) |
~76–90% power zone 3 (tempo) |
| HARD climbing & intervals |
A few words at a time. Breathing hard. Sustainable for minutes, not hours. (RPE 7–9) | ~85% and above device zones 4–5 (threshold & VO₂max) |
~91% and above power zones 4–5 (threshold & VO₂max) |
The numbers line up with your apps. The heart-rate figures follow the standard 5-zone model that Garmin, Strava and Wahoo use by default, based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate. The power figures follow the Coggan 7-zone model, based on a percentage of your FTP. No gadget? Use the “feels like” column. It’s all you really need.
Finding your max HR and FTP. The old “220 minus your age” sum is a rough guess, and it’s wrong for plenty of people. You’ll get a better max-HR number from a recent all-out effort. Or let your device learn it over a few hard rides. FTP is roughly the most power you can hold for about an hour. Most head units offer a guided test, usually 20 minutes, and take your FTP as about 95% of that average. When your body and your device disagree, trust your body. Heart rate drifts with heat, fatigue and caffeine, and a stale FTP throws your power zones off.
The thinking behind the plan
You don’t need this section to follow the plan. But if you want to know why it looks the way it does, here it is.
1. Build the engine first
Long, easy riding is the base of everything. Study after study of trained endurance athletes lands on the same answer. Ride a lot at low intensity, add a little hard work, and your VO₂max and your efficiency both climb.[1][3] Easy riding is also where you teach your body to burn fat and keep going for hours, which is exactly what a 70 km Alpine day demands. The common mistake is riding the easy days too hard. Do that, and everything blurs into a grey middle that tires you out without making you fitter.[2]
2. Add intensity in small doses
A little hard work goes a long way. Short, hard efforts lift your ceiling and your climbing power. But the returns drop off fast. More is not better, and too much medium-effort riding just digs a hole in your recovery.[2][3] So the plan brings in climbing efforts slowly, and never on back-to-back days.
3. Prepare for repeated days and long descents (the bit others skip)
This is where Foundation riders get caught out. One long ride is fine. Six in a row, each ending in a long descent, is a different animal. Descending loads your muscles as they lengthen under tension, while you brace, corner and hold the bike. Your legs aren’t used to that, and loading of this kind is the main cause of the deep soreness and strength loss that can hang around for days.[4][5] Here’s the good news. Your body has a built-in defence called the repeated-bout effect. Once your muscles have been through one bout of this work, the soreness and damage after the next one drop sharply, and the protection lasts for weeks.[4][6] So we expose your legs to descending and back-to-back days before you fly out. Not on day one in France. No hills near you? The strength work below stands in for them.
4. Get stronger off the bike
Two short strength sessions a week will make you a better cyclist. A systematic review with meta-analysis found that heavy strength training improves cycling efficiency and performance, mostly by making you more efficient and your muscles smarter, not by raising VO₂max.[7][8] For a Foundation rider, stronger legs are also tougher legs. They cope better with repeated climbs and look after your knees on the way down.
5. Practise fuelling. Your gut is trainable
Blowing up two-thirds of the way round is almost always a fuelling problem, not a fitness one. On rides longer than about 90 minutes, eating carbohydrate keeps your pace up.[9][10] One type of carbohydrate, say glucose, absorbs at up to about 60 g an hour. Pair glucose with fructose and you open a second route, which lifts what you can use to around 90 g an hour on long, hard days.[9][10][11] Your gut adapts to what you ask of it. So we rehearse race-day eating in training instead of gambling on the day.[11]
6. Arrive fresh: the taper
You build fitness in training, but you only see it after rest. A meta-analysis of tapering found the best approach before an event is to cut your training volume bit by bit, by roughly 41 to 60% over about two weeks, while you hold the intensity and frequency steady.[12][13] That’s exactly what week six does.
The 6-week plan, week by week
“Easy, Tempo and Hard” are the three efforts from the table above. Follow them by feel, heart rate or power. The times are guidelines. If a ride is meant to be easy, keeping it easy matters more than hitting the clock. Two rules hold all the way through. Easy days stay easy. And you never ride two hard days in a row.
Week 1: settle in and set the baseline
Ride easy, learn the efforts, do nothing heroic. About 4 to 5 hours riding plus 2 strength sessions.
| Day | Focus | Session | Fuel / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Rest | Full rest, or a 20 to 30 min easy walk. Stretch if you like. | Normal meals |
| Tue | Strength | Strength session A. Learn the moves with a light to moderate load. | Protein at each meal |
| Wed | Easy ride | 45 to 60 min Easy, flat to rolling. Stay in talk-all-day territory. | Water; no food under 90 min |
| Thu | Strength | Strength session B. Add some gentle single-leg work. | Protein within a few hours |
| Fri | Rest | Rest, or 20 min easy spin. | Nothing special |
| Sat | Long-ish ride | 75 to 90 min Easy with 3 × 3 min at Tempo on a gentle rise. Practise drinking on the move. | Carry a drink; snack if over 90 min |
| Sun | Easy + skills | 60 min Easy. Spend 15 min on cornering and braking on a quiet descent. | Eat normally |
Week 2: add a little time
Same shape, a bit longer. Add your first short climbing efforts. About 5 to 6 hours riding plus 2 strength.
| Day | Focus | Session | Fuel / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Rest | Full rest. | Rest day |
| Tue | Strength | Strength A. Add a little load if last week felt easy. | Protein with meals |
| Wed | Easy + efforts | 60 min Easy with 4 × 3 min Tempo on a climb or into a headwind. | Drink regularly |
| Thu | Strength | Strength B. | Protein after |
| Fri | Rest / spin | Rest, or 20 to 30 min easy. | Nothing special |
| Sat | Long ride | 90 to 120 min Easy. Start fuelling: about 30 g carbohydrate an hour after the first hour. | Practise on-bike food |
| Sun | Endurance | 60 to 75 min steady Easy. Add 10 min of descending practice if you want. | Easy |
Week 3: first back-to-back weekend
The key week for durability. Two rides on back-to-back days wake up the repeated-bout effect. About 6 to 7 hours riding plus 2 strength.
| Day | Focus | Session | Fuel / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Rest | Full rest. You’ll want it after the weekend. | Rest day |
| Tue | Strength | Strength A. Lower slowly on squats and step-downs. | Protein with meals |
| Wed | Climbing | 70 min with 5 × 4 min Hard climbing efforts and long easy recoveries. Stay seated and smooth. | Fuel before and during |
| Thu | Easy | 45 to 60 min Easy recovery spin. Keep it gentle. | Easy day |
| Fri | Rest | Rest. Get your food and kit ready. | Prep day |
| Sat | Back-to-back 1 | 2 to 2.5 h Easy over rolling hills. Full fuelling: about 40 to 60 g carbohydrate an hour. | Fuelling rehearsal |
| Sun | Back-to-back 2 | 90 min Easy on tired legs. Notice how they feel. This is the trip in miniature. | Fuel again; recover well |
Week 4: recover, then sharpen
A lighter start to soak up week 3, then one quality climbing session. About 5 to 6 hours riding plus 2 strength.
| Day | Focus | Session | Fuel / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Rest | Full rest. | Rest day |
| Tue | Easy + strength | 40 min easy spin, then Strength A with a little less volume. | Protein with meals |
| Wed | Easy | 60 min Easy, flat. Let the legs come back. | Easy day |
| Thu | Strength | Strength B. | Protein after |
| Fri | Rest / spin | Rest, or 20 min spin. | Nothing special |
| Sat | Climbing quality | 2 h Easy with 4 × 6 min Hard on the longest climb you can find. Pace it evenly. Don’t start too hard. | Full fuelling |
| Sun | Endurance | 90 min steady, Easy into low Tempo. | Fuel after the first hour |
Week 5: peak, your biggest weekend
Your hardest week. Handle this and you’re ready for Annecy. About 7 to 8 hours riding plus 1 to 2 strength.
| Day | Focus | Session | Fuel / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Rest | Full rest. | Rest day |
| Tue | Strength (last heavy) | Strength A. Your last heavy session before you ease off. | Protein with meals |
| Wed | Climbing | 75 min with 5 × 5 min Hard climbing, smooth and controlled. | Fuel before and during |
| Thu | Easy | 60 min Easy recovery. | Easy day |
| Fri | Rest | Rest. Sort your kit and food. | Prep day |
| Sat | Biggest ride | 2.5 to 3 h Easy with long climbs and the longest descents you can safely find. Full event-day fuelling. | Dress rehearsal |
| Sun | Back-to-back | 90 to 120 min Easy on tired legs, with a few easy Tempo rises. | Recovery and sleep first |
Week 6: taper and travel
Cut the riding, keep the sharpness. Arrive fresh, not flat. About 3 to 4 hours riding, no heavy lifting.
| Day | Focus | Session | Fuel / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Rest | Full rest. | Rest day |
| Tue | Short + sharp | 40 to 50 min Easy with 3 × 2 min Hard to keep the legs awake. Easy overall. | Normal meals |
| Wed | Easy | 30 to 40 min Easy. | Easy day |
| Thu | Openers | 30 min Easy with 3 × 1 min Tempo to Hard openers. Then rest and pack. | Top up carbohydrate |
| Fri | Travel / rest | Travel, or full rest. A gentle walk to loosen up. | Hydrate well; eat normally |
| Sat | Arrive | Optional 20 to 30 min easy spin to shake out the travel legs. | Good meal, early night |
| Sun | Ride day 1 | The Foundation trip starts. Trust the work you’ve done. | Fuel from the start. Don’t wait. |
Missed a session? Don’t try to claw it back. Skip it, keep the easy days easy, and protect the big weekend rides and the taper. Six weeks of steady work beats one heroic makeup ride.
The strength sessions
Two sessions a week, 30 to 40 minutes each, with at least a day between them. The aim is strong, durable legs and a solid core. Not big muscles. Heavy, controlled lifting makes you a more efficient cyclist,[7][8] and the slow lowering phase does double duty as descent training through the repeated-bout effect.[4][6] Warm up first. Control the way down, about three seconds. Stop a rep or two short of failure. New to lifting? Do the first few sessions with a coach, or use your bodyweight and whatever is heavy around the house.
Session A: main lower body
- Goblet or barbell squat: 3 sets of 6 to 8, lowering under control.
- Romanian deadlift or hip hinge: 3 sets of 8 to 10.
- Step-ups onto a sturdy box: 2 to 3 sets of 8 each leg.
- Plank: 3 holds of 30 to 45 seconds.
Session B: single-leg and descents
- Split squat or static lunge: 3 sets of 8 each leg.
- Slow step-downs. Lower under control off a box, three to four seconds. 3 sets of 8 each leg. This one is your descent rehearsal.
- Single-leg calf raises: 3 sets of 12 each leg.
- Side plank: 2 holds of 30 seconds each side.
Tapering the strength work. Keep both sessions through week 4, drop to one lighter session in week 5, and lift nothing heavy in week 6. The strength you’ve built sticks around for weeks.
Fuelling, hydration and recovery
This is the part most riders skip before a mountain trip. And the easiest place to gain an edge. Practise all of it at home, so nothing is new on the bike in France.
On the bike: carbohydrate
| Ride duration | Carbohydrate target | Practical examples |
|---|---|---|
| Under ~75 min | Usually none needed | Water; let the body use its own stores |
| ~1 to 2.5 hours | ~30 to 60 g per hour | 1 gel and half a banana, or a drink mix and a bar |
| Long, hard days (2.5 h+) | up to ~90 g per hour, glucose and fructose (~2:1) | Mix gels, drink and real food; build gut tolerance in training |
One carbohydrate alone tops out near 60 g an hour, because the gut’s glucose door can only open so wide. Add fructose and you open a second door, so you absorb more.[9][10][11] Most modern gels and drink mixes already use the 2:1 blend, so check the label. And start eating early. Before you feel empty, not after.
Hydration, protein and sleep
- Hydration. Drink to thirst as your default, a little more in the heat. Roughly 0.4 to 0.8 L an hour suits most riders. Add sodium on long or hot rides, which most electrolyte mixes provide. Don’t make the opposite mistake of drinking far more than you need.
- Protein. Spread it across the day to help repair. The evidence supports roughly 1.4 to 2.0 g per kg of body weight a day for active people, with about 0.3 g/kg (20 to 40 g) after hard sessions.[14][15] Don’t under-eat while training hard.
- Sleep. The most powerful recovery tool you have, and the cheapest. Aim for 7 to 9 hours a night, often the upper end when training hard. Short sleep, night after night, raises injury risk and slows recovery.[16][17]
A note on the Alpine air. September in the Alps can still be warm on the valley climbs. If you can, ride a few times in warmer weather, or with an extra layer. Even a short run of heat exposure triggers useful changes. Your blood plasma volume expands, which eases the strain of riding when it’s hot.[18][19] It’s a small gain, and an optional one. But it’s real.
Why this plan is different
- The why, not just the what. Every principle here is tied to published research you can look up. The numbers are at the bottom.
- We train for the descents. We load your legs for long descents and back-to-back days on purpose, using the repeated-bout effect, so the trip isn’t the first time they feel it.
- We treat fuelling as a skill. Real carbohydrate targets, rehearsed in training, with the reason behind each one.
- Strength is built in. Two sessions a week that the research shows make you a more efficient, more durable rider.
- A proper taper. A planned wind-down so you turn up fresh. That’s the difference between surviving day one and loving it.
Want it tailored to you?
That’s the whole point of coaching. Tell us your fitness, your week, and where you live, and your coach will shape this plan before you turn a pedal. Then keep tuning it on the trip.
References
These are the peer-reviewed sources and consensus reviews behind the recommendations above. Markers in the text [n] match the numbers here.
- Stöggl T, Sperlich B. The training intensity distribution among well-trained and elite endurance athletes. Frontiers in Physiology. 2015;6:295.
- Seiler S. What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2010;5(3):276–291.
- Systematic review on polarized training intensity distribution, VO₂max and work economy in endurance athletes. 2024.
- Hyldahl RD, Chen TC, Nosaka K. Mechanisms and mediators of the skeletal muscle repeated bout effect. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2017;45(1):24–33.
- Nosaka K, et al. Muscle damage induced by eccentric exercise, recovery and adaptations (review). Springer; 2023.
- McHugh MP. Recent advances in the understanding of the repeated bout effect. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2003;13(2):88–97.
- Llanos-Lagos C, et al. Heavy strength training effects on physiological determinants of endurance cyclist performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2025.
- Rønnestad BR, Mujika I. Optimizing strength training for running and cycling endurance performance: a review. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2014;24(4):603–612.
- Jeukendrup AE. A step towards personalized sports nutrition: carbohydrate intake during exercise. Sports Medicine. 2014;44(Suppl 1):S25–S33.
- Jeukendrup AE. Carbohydrate feeding during exercise. Eur J Sport Sci. 2008;8(2):77–86.
- Jeukendrup AE. Training the gut for athletes. Sports Medicine. 2017;47(Suppl 1):101–110.
- Bosquet L, Montpetit J, Arvisais D, Mujika I. Effects of tapering on performance: a meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(8):1358–1365.
- Wang Z, et al. Effects of tapering on performance in endurance athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE. 2023;18(5):e0282838.
- Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20.
- Moore DR, et al. Protein nutrition for endurance athletes: a metabolic focus on promoting recovery and training adaptation. Sports Medicine. 2024.
- Walsh NP, Halson SL, Sargent C, et al. Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations. Br J Sports Med. 2021;55(7):356–368.
- Watson AM. Sleep and athletic performance. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2017;16(6):413–418.
- Lorenzo S, Halliwill JR, Sawka MN, Minson CT. Heat acclimation improves exercise performance. J Appl Physiol. 2010;109(4):1140–1147.
- Périard JD, Racinais S, Sawka MN. Adaptations and mechanisms of human heat acclimation. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2015;25(Suppl 1):20–38.
This article is general guidance, not personal medical or coaching advice. Ride within your limits, and check with a professional when you need to.
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