The 2024 Cape Town Cycle Tour is just 12 weeks away, and the good people at Bicycling magazine have a collection of scientific training programmes lined up to help you crack your ultimate time.
They work best if you have a heart rate monitor – head over to our partners Garmin and they will hook you up with one of their sublime wearables or bike-mounted computers – but can also be run without, using common sense and perceived effort.
There’s a link to working out your training zones in the programme, but RPE is simpler, if you don’t have the gizmos:
- Zone 1 – Easy (1-3): Can talk normally, breathing naturally, felt very comfortable
- Zone 2 – Moderate (4-6): Can talk in short spurts, breathing more laboured, within your comfort zone but working
- Zone 3-4 – Hard (7-9): Can barely talk, breathing heavily, outside your comfort zone
- Zone 5 – Max effort (10): At your physical limit or past it, gasping for breath, can’t talk/can barely remember your name!
So, whether you are looking to finally crack that sub-three, four or five, or just simply want to enjoy the Cycle Tour to its fullest, click on and prosper!
12-week Sub-3 Training Plan
12-week Sub-4 Training Plan
12-week Sub-5 Training Plan
12-week Novice Training Plan