London to Paris bike ride training plan

This is one of the most popular cycling challenges out there - and getting your London to Paris bike ride training plan right is absolutely essential.

If you sign up for a charity challenge or a group trip then you'll usually be sent bespoke fitness plans and these will vary depending on whether you are spreading the ride over four days - or cramming it into 24 hours.

And all of our London to Paris experts are united in stressing the importance of putting in the hard yards well before the ride itself.

Dominic Irvine, the man who holds multiple London to Paris records, had to put in thousands of hours of training as he built up to his successful world tandem record from Land's End to John O'Groats in 2015.

And he explained: "As well as meticulous preparation, you’ve also got to put the time and effort into training for the ride. It’s great having a goal to keep you training through the winter and you need to build up to whatever level the challenge is for you. And also make sure you use those training rides to test out any equipment you'll be using in all different types of conditions."

In terms of how far you should be riding in training, route creator Donald Hirsch advises: "Include at least some rides in your training of comparable length to your longest day. Don’t think that cycling 10 miles round trip on your daily commute prepares you for a 60-mile day. Build up your stamina in advance and you’ll have a much better time."

And that's underlined by Craig Wilson, UK & European Event Manager for Global Adventure Challenges, who stressed: "My best tip for London to Paris would be to make sure you have trained, trained and trained some more, and that you have also practiced cycling in hilly terrain. Fitness-wise people should aim to be cycling at a minimum of 12mph for more than eight hours."

Here are four great ways to give your training some added structure:

1 You could consider taking part in training weekends beforehand or how about some warm-weather work at a training camp? They will fastrack you to the required speed and standard and also let you get used to riding in a group.

2 Another excellent way to boost your training is to factor in a local sportive ride, we've got hundreds available all around the UK and they are easy to sign up for.

3 If you haven't done so already, why not consider joining a club. It's one of the easiest ways to improve your cycling and a great way to make new friends.

4 For more specific cycling training plans, with the focus on improving your endurance, check out our in-depth Expert Advice section.

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