Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Tour of Flanders Cyclosportive

Hi all,

I am thinking of doing the above next April and trying to decide on the 140km or the 260km - I think an ideal for me would be 200km.
I did a 220km in september and have been on short spins since then. I was wondering what your views would be in terms of how many miles prep would be needed for the 260km assuming training starts in earnest on 1/1/08 - giving 12 weeks before the event, or 10 allowing for missed sessions etc.
I was thinking of 2 long spins per wk starting at 3hrs and increasing by 30mins per spin until I'm at the 8hr mark - I would expect event to take c11-12hrs.
Is that a reasonable plan for such an undertaking or too much / too little given the timeframe?

Thanks

I am thinking of doing the above next April and trying to decide on the 140km or the 260km - I think an ideal for me would be 200km.
I did a 220km in september and have been on short spins since then. I was wondering what your views would be in terms of how many miles prep would be needed for the 260km assuming training starts in earnest on 1/1/08 - giving 12 weeks before the event, or 10 allowing for missed sessions etc.
If you've done a 200k already, bumping up to a 260k should be no problemo.

Otherwise:

- Stick with the "10% rule" - don't increase your weekly mileage more than 10%, or you may get overuse injuries.
- Try to do a 220k ride the week prior to the bik 260.
- Definitely do interval training. You will build your endurance much faster & more efficiently, even over 12 weeks, with interval training instead of plain ol' "more miles every week."
- Taper on the last week, so you go into the 260 fresh.

Do you speak any Flemish? Spreekt gij ook Vlaams?

Sorry - no - English