Endurance cycling sessions: durability and cadence
Endurance makes up most of your riding: hours at an easy pace, at 56–75% of FTP, where you can talk without effort. An endurance ride needs no structure: ride at that pace and that's it. The 2 sessions on this page add something to that easy time without turning it into an intensity session. High-cadence drills 5 × 3 min work your pedal stroke at 108–120 rpm, at moderate power. The durability ride puts two threshold efforts after 2 h 30 on the road, where long events are decided.
Every target is in % of your FTP, so if yours isn't recent, start with a 20-minute FTP test. Each page gives the exact structure, the watts for an FTP of 200, 250 or 300 W, how to ride it and what the sources say.
2Z2 · Endurance
How to choose
New to structured riding, or a natural grinder
high-cadence drills 5 × 3 min, 52 minutes, open to newer riders, and easy to fit in the day after a hard session.
Training for a long race or sportive
the durability ride, 2 h 30 + 2 × 10 min, as your long ride of the week, once 3-hour rides feel familiar.
Looking for endurance one notch harder
tempo intervals 3 × 15 min, on the tempo page.
The sessions
High-cadence drills 5 × 3 min
Five 3-minute blocks at a very high cadence and moderate power. A technique drill for a smoother pedal stroke, with no cardio fatigue.
Durability: 2 h 30 + 2 × 10 min at threshold
A long endurance ride, then two threshold efforts once your legs already have 2 h 30 in them. For producing power where races are decided.
Frequently asked questions
What power should endurance rides be at?
Between 56 and 75% of your FTP, level 2 on Andrew Coggan's scale: you breathe harder than at rest, but you can hold a conversation. Both sessions on this page stay in that range, apart from the durability ride's two threshold efforts. No recent FTP? Ride on feel: being able to talk easily is a good guide.
How much of my training should be endurance?
Most of it, as a rule: most plans keep the bulk of the hours at an easy pace, with one to three hard sessions a week. These are common training guidelines to fit around your volume, not rules drawn from studies.
Do endurance rides need structure?
Not necessarily: a steady ride at an easy pace already does the job. The sessions on this page get a little more out of it: cadence drills for technique, with little extra fatigue; the durability ride to get used to producing power at the end of a long ride. Keep most of your rides simple.
Endurance or tempo: what's the difference?
Endurance is ridden at 56–75% of FTP, a pace you can hold for hours that leaves little fatigue. Tempo, at 76–90%, takes more effort: the pace of a long climb at your own rhythm. The first builds the volume, the second turns it into work. Tempo intervals are the next step.
Other types of cycling sessions
Take it up a level with Wattson
An intuitive workout editor to build cycling and running sessions in no time, then sync them to your watch or bike computer: Wahoo, Garmin, Suunto or Coros.
Try a session