100km Cycling Plan
Metric Century
The metric century — 100 kilometres — is a rewarding milestone for any cyclist. It's long enough to demand proper preparation, but achievable for anyone willing to put in consistent training. Whether you're building up to your first 100km ride or sharpening your fitness for a faster finish, we've put together three free training plans to help you get there. Pick the one that matches your current fitness and timeline.
Plan A: 8-Week Beginner
- Goal: Complete a 100km ride
- Fitness level: Beginner — can ride 30-40km comfortably
- Timeline: 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week + rest days
This plan progressively builds your distance from weekend rides of 35km up to a full 100km metric century. Every week follows the same rhythm: ride Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, with rest on the remaining days. Keep easy rides truly easy — you should be able to hold a conversation throughout. Fuelling and hydration practice on longer rides is just as important as the pedalling itself.
Week 1-2: Building Base
Tuesday
Easy ride 25km
Thursday
Easy ride 20km with cadence drills — alternate 5 min at a higher cadence (90-100 rpm) with 5 min at your natural cadence
Saturday
Long ride 35km easy pace
Rest Days
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
Week 3-4: Increasing Distance
Tuesday
Easy ride 30km
Thursday
Fartlek — 10 min easy warmup, then alternate 2 min hard / 3 min easy for 20 min, 5 min easy cooldown (35 min total)
Saturday
Long ride 45km easy pace
Rest Days
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
Week 5-6: Building Endurance
Tuesday
Easy ride 30km
Thursday
Tempo — 10 min easy warmup, 20 min at comfortably hard pace (tempo), 10 min easy cooldown
Saturday
Long ride 60km easy pace — practise eating and drinking on the bike
Rest Days
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
Week 7: Peak Week
Tuesday
Easy ride 30km
Thursday
Hill repeats — 10 min easy warmup, 6 × 3 min climbs at hard effort (3 min easy recovery spin between each), 10 min easy cooldown
Saturday
Long ride 75km easy pace — simulate race-day nutrition and pacing strategy
Rest Days
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
Week 8: Taper and Ride
Tuesday
Easy ride 25km
Thursday
Easy ride 20km with 4 × 1 min pickups (faster effort with 2 min easy between)
Saturday
Event day — 100km! Start conservatively and enjoy the ride
Rest Days
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
Plan B: 8-Week Intermediate
- Goal: Improve 100km performance
- Fitness level: Intermediate — has ridden 100km before, wants to go faster
- Timeline: 8 weeks, 4 sessions per week
This plan layers structured intervals and tempo work onto a solid mileage base. Heart-rate zones keep effort honest — MHR means maximum heart rate. If you don't have a heart-rate monitor, use perceived effort: easy means conversational, tempo means "comfortably hard," and interval pace means you can only manage a few words at a time.
Week 1-2: Base Phase
Monday
Easy ride 40km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
Intervals — 15 min warmup, 6 × 3 min at 85-90% MHR (3 min easy recovery spin between each), 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Recovery ride 25km (55-65% MHR)
Saturday
Long ride 60km (65-70% MHR)
Week 3-4: Building Intensity
Monday
Easy ride 40km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
Tempo — 15 min warmup, 30 min at 80-85% MHR, 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Recovery ride 25km (55-65% MHR)
Saturday
Long ride 70km (65-70% MHR)
Week 5-6: Peak Training
Monday
Easy ride 45km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
Intervals — 15 min warmup, 4 × 6 min at 85-90% MHR (4 min easy recovery spin between each), 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Tempo — 10 min warmup, 35 min at 80-85% MHR, 10 min cooldown
Saturday
Long ride 80km with last 15km at tempo pace (80-85% MHR)
Week 7: Sharpening
Monday
Easy ride 35km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
Intervals — 15 min warmup, 6 × 3 min at 85-90% MHR (3 min easy recovery spin between each), 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Recovery ride 20km (55-65% MHR)
Saturday
Long ride 60km (65-70% MHR)
Week 8: Taper and Ride
Monday
Easy ride 30km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
15 min warmup, 4 × 3 min at 85-90% MHR (3 min easy recovery spin between each), 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Recovery ride 20km (55-65% MHR)
Saturday
Event day — 100km! 15 min easy warmup spin, then ride at target pace
Plan C: 4-Week Intermediate
- Goal: Sharpen for a 100km event
- Fitness level: Intermediate — strong base, event sharpening
- Timeline: 4 weeks, 4 sessions per week
Already fit and just need a structured run-in to event day? This four-week block assumes you have a solid aerobic base and focuses on sharpening speed endurance, threshold fitness, and race-specific pacing. MHR means maximum heart rate.
Week 1: Speed Endurance
Monday
Easy ride 40km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
Intervals — 15 min warmup, 5 × 5 min at 85-90% MHR (3 min easy recovery spin between each), 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Recovery ride 25km (55-65% MHR)
Saturday
Long ride 75km (65-70% MHR)
Week 2: Threshold Focus
Monday
Easy ride 40km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
Tempo — 15 min warmup, 35 min at 80-85% MHR, 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Recovery ride 25km (55-65% MHR)
Saturday
Long ride 80km with last 15km at tempo pace (80-85% MHR)
Week 3: Race-Specific
Monday
Easy ride 40km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
Intervals — 15 min warmup, 3 × 8 min at 85-90% MHR (4 min easy recovery spin between each), 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Tempo — 10 min warmup, 30 min at 80-85% MHR, 10 min cooldown
Saturday
Long ride 65km (65-70% MHR)
Week 4: Taper and Ride
Monday
Easy ride 30km (65-70% MHR)
Wednesday
15 min warmup, 4 × 3 min at 85-90% MHR (3 min easy recovery spin between each), 10 min cooldown
Thursday
Recovery ride 20km (55-65% MHR)
Saturday
Event day — 100km!