2-Hour Race Pace Outdoor Ride: Sustain Your 70.3 Bike Power

Session Overview

This 2-hour outdoor ride is designed to build your capacity to sustain 70.3 race power for an extended period. By spending significant time at your target race intensity — roughly 75-80% of FTP — you develop the metabolic efficiency and pacing discipline that separates athletes who blow up on the run from those who run strong off the bike.

What You’ll Need

• Road bike or tri bike
• Power meter (or heart rate monitor as fallback)
• 2 bidons of water or electrolyte drink
• Nutrition for 2 hours: 60-90g carbohydrate per hour during the main set

Warm-Up (20 minutes)

Ride easy at 55-60% FTP (RPE 3-4) to allow the body to settle. Include 3×1-minute builds finishing at 85% FTP to prime the neuromuscular system for sustained effort. Keep cadence at 85-90rpm throughout the warm-up.

Main Set

The main set is 80 minutes at 70.3 race pace power — approximately 75-80% of FTP. Focus on the following:

• 20 minutes at 75% FTP: settle into rhythm, eat first nutrition at 30 minutes
• 20 minutes at 78% FTP: slight increase to build into target intensity
• 20 minutes at 80% FTP: target race effort — this is the key training stimulus
• 20 minutes at 78% FTP: maintain pace as fatigue builds, simulate the final quarter of a 70.3 bike leg

Cool-Down (20 minutes)

Reduce to 55-60% FTP for the final 20 minutes. Spin at 90-95rpm to flush the legs. Continue hydrating and begin post-ride nutrition within 20 minutes of finishing.

Coaching Notes

• 70.3 race pace is typically 10-15 watts below your 1-hour FTP — not as hard as a time trial
• Practice your race nutrition strategy in this session: gels, bars or chews every 20-30 minutes
• Make it easier: reduce main set to 60 minutes and stay at 75% FTP throughout
• Make it harder: add 2×5-minute surges to 90% FTP in the second and fourth blocks to simulate overtaking efforts
• If using HR: target 140-155bpm for the main set (zone 3-4)