A long bike race requires physical fitness, but it also offers unparalleled scenery and a welcome change for endurance athletes of all kinds. Here’s how to prepare for your bike marathon. 

Mountain biking is a sport that automatically involves many changes of pace due to the wide variety of surfaces and terrain. For a bike marathon, you should follow the below tips: 
 

• The necessary stamina to be able to maintain a steady tempo for several hours without getting into the red zone too quickly.
• The necessary leg strength to be able to tackle several thousand metres difference in altitude.
• The certainty that you are able to withstand several hours of muscular strain in the same seated position as well as in exposed areas such as the shoulders, neck and back without any major complaints.
• The technical cycling ability to ensure tricky trail descents do not become a source of stress.

To make your race a success, we have put together the most important tips for the remaining months:

1. Regular basic training 
   A 2 to 4-hour basic training session, done weekly if possible, forms the foundation upon which you can build. These steady sessions are extremely important for your body to learn how to get as much energy as possible from burning fat. Therefore, consider this form of training as an indispensable key session, which you can complete both on a mountain bike or road bike. 
    
2. Interval sessions as a supplement 
   With one or two supplemental intensive sessions, you can improve your performance and build strength in the legs. These one-hour sessions can easily be done during the week if you don’t have a lot of time. As a general rule of thumb, these should be either short, but really intense, or a little longer and "moderate". One example: After a warm-up, cycle 4 x 6-8 minutes just above the anaerobic threshold with a 5-minute rest in between each rep. Or 3 x 10-15 minutes just below the anaerobic threshold with a 5-minute rest between each. Your threshold speed is about the maximum intensity you could maintain continuously over a period of about 40-50 minutes. 
    
3. Optional sessions 
   If you are able to fit in more sessions, you can cycle for 1 to 2 hours on a terrain of your choice, alternating between easy and more intense sections. Such speed variations help you to cope with short-term speed increases without tiring yourself out.
    
4. Schedule enough recovery time 
   It is important to factor in regular rest days so that your body can recover. As a rule, the harder (and longer) a session, the more important it is to recover properly afterwards. Therefore, it is essential to listen to your body's signals and rest for a day in case of fatigue or weakness.  
    
5. Supplementary measures 
   If you want to ride quickly and without any discomfort, you should also strengthen and maintain your muscles. One to two strength training sessions per week are useful for the torso and all the muscles relevant to movement. If you are specifically preparing for a marathon goal, you should also do yourself a favour and find time for a massage or stretching and yoga exercises. 
    
6. Test the racing distance when training
   Unlike a runner’s marathon, you can prepare for the bike marathon by testing the racing distance because it won’t detrimentally affect your musculoskeletal system. A 5 to 6-hour training unit is a great way to get your body used to the load or work out your nutrition strategy. However, such a long training unit will drain your body considerably, so you should treat yourself to plenty of rest and relaxation! Long training units can also be used to determine whether your saddle is comfortable and whether your shoulders and neck are able to cope with the stooped position for a long period of time without hurting.
    
7. If you want, cycle the race track
   It is naturally an advantage if you know the route really well. So, if you have the time and the inclination, cycle the route beforehand. But you shouldn’t do it just before the marathon. And if you are not in a position to do so, then this is also not a problem. With some experience, you can divide up the route well according to the kilometre markers and altitude profile. In terms of cycling technique, the marathons are not usually extremely difficult. They rarely have passages that you need to examine several times beforehand.
    
8. Incorporate a tapering week
   Tapering before a bike marathon does not take as long as before a runner’s marathon. But it is extremely important to be completely rested and ready to start with full batteries. Around one week before the marathon, amateur athletes should again do a good - in other words, longer - training unit and then focus on their recovery. You can still do one or two short training units (1-2 hours) during the final week. And as with a running competition, the following applies: in the final week, don’t do any other types of sport but stay completely focussed on your target sport. Ambitious cyclists can challenge themselves with a longer training stimulus four days before the competition and only then start tapering for the marathon.
    
9. Fill up your reserves and sleep a lot
   During the tapering week, make sure you eat a good and healthy (carbohydrate-rich) diet and get plenty of sleep. Take a rest day two days before the marathon and “train your emotions” the day before the race doing short leg movements.
    
10. Plan your nutrition for the competition in advance
    Food and drink are the be-all and end-all when it comes to getting through a bike marathon! And not just when you start feeling hungry and thirsty! A clear strategy makes sense and you should strictly adhere to it during the race. This is because it is important to give back the energy your body consumes right from the very first minute. Otherwise, you will soon hit the wall! A good guideline is to drink a carbohydrate drink every 10-15 minutes and carbohydrate-rich and easily digestible food (banana, Biberli, bar, etc.) every 45 minutes. Keeping a gel in reserve can work wonders in an emergency. If you are starting the race with well-stocked carbohydrate reserves, you will not need to eat a particularly large breakfast on the day. It will only burden the stomach and your reserves should already be full on the morning of the race.
     
11. Dividing up the race
    Due to the sheer length of a bike marathon, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t let the other competitors tempt you into starting too quickly. Patience and constancy are called for. Tip: an altitude profile on the top tube helps you to estimate the length of the ascents (if need be together with a sports watch equipped with an altimeter) and approach them at the correct tempo, so you can cycle uphill at a constant speed.