Hey there,
how would you periodize your year with no racing in mind (for personal reasons, no injuries etc)? I plan to race in 2026 so I can use this year just to build fitness and improve.
Currently I am in base (4th month) and plan to add 2 months of build in April afterwards - but then what until end of 2025?
Extend build?
Repeat Base / Build cycle?
Other ideas?
Building my plan by hand with the TR phases and no intend to use Custom Plan.
Thanks 
See how you feel as you approach the end of that 2 month build?
You might fancy a VO2 block for instance. You might not.
Take a look at your power curve and see if there is a particular time period range that you want to work on.
Generally, more decent base work is never the worst thing to do though.
If a goal is to help prepare for racing next year, I’d suggest you try to identify some weaknesses after you get through your build blocks. It can be challenging to identify weaknesses without real racing, but it’s still worth trying if you have other “race like” efforts. If MTB, do some solo TT efforts. If road, some hard group rides can highlight weaknesses. For road or gravel, I’d highly recommend Zwift if you are open to virtual racing. Obviously not the same as real life, but enough cross over to highlight areas to focus on.
If you are fairly new to training, I’d start over with base and go through it all again. If you have a lot of seasons in the legs, you can probably reduce base a bit. Either way, I’d suggest taking at least a couple easy/fun weeks off structured training before jumping back into a plan.
Do a specialisation phase in whatever type of riding / racing you like. I do that each summer, takes me through and if I fancy a race slot one in.
You could always have the year off specific training, and just watch your intensity distribution , frequency and volume. Keep the motivation going when you have no targets.
As other athletes mentioned, more Base work is almost never a bad idea and is often our “go-to” recommendation for athletes with a lot of time before their next big event.
Going through a complete cycle of Base → Build → Specialty is another great approach – especially if you find you start to get bored of some of the Base work. It’s also fun to work a Specialty Phase in there so you can enjoy all of the fitness you’ll have built up and maybe get out on some group rides or go after some Strava segments!
Working on limiters is also a good idea. You don’t have to dedicate an entire year to them, but a block or two can really help athletes see gains in power zones/durations that might usually be more difficult for them.
No matter the approach you choose, we’d also recommend planning for some time off the bike in your overall plan. Keep in mind that a full cycle of Base → Build → Specialty usually takes about 6-7 months. After that full cycle is complete, we advise athletes to take a week or two off the bike to rest and recover from all of that hard work and stress. Even if you aren’t racing this year, remember that it’s still important to schedule in some breaks so you don’t run yourself into the ground.
The following TR article also has some tips on this subject that might interest you:
Hope that helps guide you in the right direction – feel free to let us know if you have any additional questions!
If I were to take a year off racing, I would look at building the biggest aerobic engine I could afford time wise, coupled with building strength, dialing in nutrition, and optimizing body composition. 10,15,20+ hours a week of zone 1/2, maybe 4-5 structured vo2 or strength workouts a month, 2 days in the gym building core and lower body strength, and figuring out how to fuel, sleep, etc to maximize performance. Don’t even worry about anything else until you’re 2 months out from your first race.