I’ve just completed 12 weeks of Sustained Power Build MV. It’s not a typo - after completing the first half of it I got sick, spent some time recovering, and then decided to restart the plan.
My target event is GFNY - 100miles/8k ft of elevation, and naturally I was planning to continue with Century MV, but by the look of it it’s nearly identical in workout composition to SPB, and I just spent 12 weeks doing it. Hence, the “omg what should i do next” question:
Continue with Century as planned? The last 2 workouts of the last week of SP crushed me, so now i fear I am reaching a point where I need to change things a bit
Pick another specialty plan (for example, Climbing Road Race looks close enough to demands of the event)?
The taper in the specialty plan is useful. If you just want to do something different you can do climbing road race. If you just want to drive your sustained power as high as possible… keep on with century. Mostly it’s about consistently getting on the bike and doing solid work. The exact composition is mostly gravy.
I’d say do Climbing Road Race if it’s going to keep you interested and on track.
For a start, then main thing about doing 100 miles is that you’re fit and you have a decent FTP and endurance base.
Secondly, it looks like there’s only one major climb (5 miles at 5%) on the route. The rest of it, your pace may well be dictated by the groups you’re riding in, and will possibly involve more alternating between surging and cruising. That’s certainly been my experience at mass-start sportives.
If you were doing L’Etape or Marmotte I’d stick with century, but this looks potentially quite punchy to me.