Tour Divide Race Plan

Preparing for the Tour Divide is like no other race. The training loads are quite high, but that's not what makes preparing for the race hard. It the off-the-bike research and preparation which takes a good deal of research, planning and testing. To deliver this information and set a timely planning schedule, I've developed a Race Plan specific to Tour Divide. I've been there twice, my partner completed it in 2016 and is also a great source of knowledge and I've taken quite a few riders through the process. This race plan is proven to deliver riders to the start-line ready to face the physical and mental challenge of going the distance. Before commiting to the plan here is an outline of what it involves, whether you're going though the Traditional coaching or using a more affordable Race plan format.

The Training side

My first task for planning for an athlete is to benchmark the race. This gives me an understanding of what is needed to compete in the race and determines how I structure the blocks of training to build up towards the race. It also means I am looking at what strength training is needed and whether this is only needed in the base phase or needs to extend closer to the race.

Once I have an overview of what we need to prepare for, I can determine what kinds of training blocks I’ll build to support the right fitness for the race. I then prepare a Gap Analysis.

The Gap Analysis in about you, the athlete. I'm looking to see where you are now and what the gap is to get you ready for the race. I have a few different test and for Traditional coaching these could vary depending on your race goals. For the Race Plan, these are based on a mid-field finish and gives me a view on where to start with your training blocks. I am essentially looking to set your training zones, establish your durability and understand what intensities you can tolerate. These tests guides me on what types of workouts you can tolerate in the different training blocks. I will cross reference this against your training history to ensure we are going in at the right level.

Tried and tested plans

The format for these big races has been tried and tested over the years - it's the big picture of what needs to be trained but it's not set in stone. The format comes from preparing Justinas Leveika for the Tour Divide, we brainstormed different ideas, looked for blocks of training that made sense for preparing for these big races and then put them to the test. I subsequently used this format on riders of different abilities in the Tour Divide – someone finishing in 14 days and someone finishing in 22 days. While the format was the same, the training load for both athletes varied and I changed some of the intensity in the blocks, allowing both athletes to achieved their goals for the race. This is the format I use for this Tour Divide race plan.

Adjusted to you

The races plans, while being a predesigned plan, are adapted to you. This is done through the testing and viewing your historic data. Because all the ‘planning work’ is done for the race, I can make these plans more affordable and if you are able to follow the plan well and work with digital feedback and communication, you can take advantage of the Race Plans. If you need more detailed input for the race with more plan changes, then you can still sign up for the Traditional coaching and take advantage of everything offered in the race plans.

Training is monitored with feedback

This is not an off-the-shelf plan where you buy it and are left alone. I am still monitoring your training, giving feedback, and adjusting it depending on how you are responding to the training.

The Planning Side

There is a lot to cover when planning for these races, for some athletes they can manage on less planning, others need more. This side of coaching often feels more like a sieve than a tightly sealed container, it’s often left to the athlete to take care of this side of things with little monitoring from a coach. But having helped both Justinas Leveika and Meaghan Hackinen to Tour Divide wins and breaking the record, I know there was a lot of behind the scenes planning that helped with their records. They both come to the game with a huge amount of experience, but I could still bring my knowledge and help to them to let them perform at their best.

In the past I used Google Sheets for all my planning and knowledge swap for my athletes but it was cumbersome, so I’ve spend the best part of the summer developing an online module system that delivers the information you need and tools to help you plan, where I can also see what planning you are doing. The system will send you an email when some work is due and I get notified when you’ve done the work. If you fall behind, the module remains in your to-do section to complete when you manage to catch back up.

What is in the Planning Portal:

Getting started, I’ll explain how we work together, giving you guidance on looking after yourself, changing something if you need and what to do if you get sick, for instance.
I’ll explain the tests I do and what I’m looking for.
In the blocks of training, I’ll explain why I’m giving them to you and what I’m hoping to achieve with each block or where we are heading with the plan.
There are resources to help with kit selection and this is specific to Tour Divide.
How to select your sleep system based on your planned race schedule. Doing the Tour Divide in 14 days is very different to doing it in 25-28 days for instance.
For the planning I’m covering:
- Route research
- Monthly bike mechanics for you to improve your skills
- Advice on kit selection, sleep systems
- Shared kit list and bike selection for me to check
- Bike, gearing and tyres – what do you need
- Creating a Road Book
- Planning your race schedule
- Travel to the race, what to consider, when to arrive
- Self- care – how to look after yourself in the race
- Share some stories and some of my favourite pieces of kit

The planning schedule will complete before your taper period, leaving you with a few weeks to destress before the race. So, everything you need buy, all the planning and testing will be done by then.

Monthly Group call and community board

There will be a month group call. I hope to have the call recordings available to view afterwards, for those not able to join the call.

You can submit questions for the call, each call will relate to the phase of training you are in or the phase of planning you are doing, and I’ll list the call topic we are discussing so you can submit any questions.

There is a community board you can post to and interact with others training for the race.

Option to purchase extra 1:1 call

As I know 1:1 calls are important, you can purchase these as needed.

Why did I develop this style of coaching?

Perhaps I should explain why I developed the race plan in the first place. Over the years of coaching, especially for the Tour Divide and Mountain Races, the amount of information and planning needed to deliver an athlete to the start-line as well prepared as I’d like them to be–this means both from a fitness and durability standpoint, but also with all their race prep really dialled in–takes a lot of behind the scenes planning from me. Keeping track of what I’ve said and when something needs to be done is like planning for a small army who are all marching in different directions. I can’t guarantee I’ve covered everything with every athlete when using Training Peaks as planning tool, leaving much of our call time just checking everything is done. Training Peaks works well when someone stays on schedule but once they fall behind, there is no easy way to move all the planning blocks ahead without affecting the workouts too. But more crucially there is no way of tracking how an athlete is doing with all their planning. The planning portal allows tracking of completed tasks and I can view the planning that’s being done.

When I rode Tour Divide, I planned to be 100% ready 3 weeks before the race. I ran into some issues with my Lauf fork and Tailfin bags and needed to switch to a different fork, despite the disruption this caused (I needed the new fork shipped from a different country), I was still full dialled in and ready to go 3 weeks ahead of time. This left me with time to do yoga, load up all the music and audiobooks I need for the race and 3 weeks to get all my athletes plans completed for 2 months I was away, it included instructions on how to manage themselves while I was away and have calls with all of them before I left. Many of us leaving for such a big race have big handovers to do for work but leaving this space before the race to do only worry about work stuff, you reduce your stress levels and arrive fresh rather than wired.