Gran fondo training plans
Four gran fondo races in the library, builds from 14 to 16 weeks. Every one is written two weeks at a time, phased for how far out you are, and rebuilt the moment you travel, get sick or something starts hurting.
On Pro, the hours, the experience level and the date you give shape every block, and the plan is rewritten when your week changes.
On Pro, a beginner's cycling week holds 6 to 8 hours and an advanced rider's 12 to 16, so the same ride gives two different plans.
The races on this page are examples. In the app you choose a distance and set your own date, so a race we have not listed works the same way.
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GRAN FONDO AT A GLANCE
- Races covered4
- Typical build14-16 weeks
- Race monthsApr · May · Jul · Sep
- True of all 4Road
- SportCycling
WHO A GRAN FONDO PLAN IS FOR
From a first long ride to a mountain gran fondo
A gran fondo is a mass-participation ride with a route, a time limit and usually a long climb. Choose it for a ride of 100 kilometers or so, a charity ride or your first event on the bike.
You do not need a power meter. On Pro, a plan works from your goal, your experience and the hours you have, so a first-time rider and a seasoned one get different weeks for the same ride.
The rides below are examples. Pick Gran Fondo in the app, set your date, and the weeks are built for your route.
THE GRAN FONDO FIELD
What a gran fondo build has to cope with
Counted off the four gran fondo races on this page. It is not a general claim about the distance.
HOW LONG THE BUILD RUNS
Builds here run from 14 to 16 weeks, depending on the race.
It sits between century (12 weeks) and multi-day (18 weeks).
Whatever the length, the plan is written two weeks at a time and phased for how far out you are, so gran fondo races that start in a hole and gran fondo races that start fit do not get the same first block.
WHAT YOU BUILD THROUGH
Two of the four put the bulk of the build in spring; the rest split one in summer and one in winter.
Race dates land in four different months of the year.
WHAT THE COURSES DO
Two of the four are hilly; the rest split one mountainous and one point to point.
All four are on road.
We hold a total-climb figure for three of the four. They run 1,500 m to 4,230 m. For the rest the table leaves the cell empty, because we hold no figure for them.
WHAT THE WEATHER DOES
Two of the four are cool; the other two are temperate.
HOW YOU GET IN
Entry: two by first come, one by ballot and one by open entry.
One of them cannot simply be bought into, which is its own planning problem: those builds have to start before you know whether you are in.
Field size, in starters: two at 1,000 to 10,000, one at 10,000 to 40,000 and one at 40,000 or more.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE DATES
None of these has a confirmed date in our library yet, so the table carries the season each one is usually run in rather than inventing a day.
Dates are checked against each race’s own announcement before they go in, and a date we cannot stand behind is left out.
ALL FOUR GRAN FONDO RACES
Every gran fondo race we have a plan for
Six of the seven things we track vary between these races, so those are the columns. The ones that do not vary are in the card above. Every name links to its own plan.
| Race | When | Course | Climb | Conditions | Field | Entry | Build |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolomites Gran FondoCorvara, Italy | Summer 2027 | Mountainous | 4,230 m | Cool | 40,000+ | Ballot | 14 wk |
| Mallorca Gran FondoPlaya de Muro, Spain | Spring 2027 | Hilly | -not known | Temperate | 10,000-40,000 | Open | 14 wk |
| New York Gran FondoNew York, NY | Spring 2027 | Hilly | 2,300 m | Temperate | 1,000-10,000 | First come | 16 wk |
| Whistler Gran FondoWhistler, BC | September 2027 | Point to point | 1,500 m | Cool | 1,000-10,000 | First come | 16 wk |