CoachingAnswer

WHAT IS DURABILITY AND HOW DO I TRAIN IT?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 26 May 2026

ANSWER

Durability is the ability to hold FTP-level power after accumulated fatigue — typically measured as the difference between your fresh FTP and your functional power output after 2–4 hours of riding. A durable cyclist loses very little power across a long ride; a non-durable cyclist may drop 15–20% by hour 3. Train it with long rides that include quality work in the final hour, after significant prior load.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Durability = the ability to sustain power after fatigue. Fresh FTP is a different measure from race-relevant power.
A non-durable rider may lose 15–20% of FTP power after 3–4 hours at moderate intensity.
Train durability with quality intervals in the back half of long rides — not before fresh legs.
Ryan Collins' 6-hour ride at 46.6 km/h is an extreme demonstration of trained durability; the same principle applies at amateur level.

WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

The rider who tests well but performs poorly in long races

Your FTP test looks good but you're consistently slower than expected in events over 3 hours.

The gran fondo and sportive rider

You want to hold pace in the final third of long events rather than managing a slow fade.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

FTP tests are done fresh. Races are not. The gap between those two situations is what durability measures, and it's a gap most amateur training completely ignores. Anthony raised this after the Ryan Collins episode — someone who sustains 46.6 km/h for six hours is not doing that on a fresh FTP. They're doing it on a trained ability to hold power after hours of accumulated fatigue.

The concept is sometimes called 'power fade resistance' and it's been discussed in the podcast by multiple coaches, including Dan Lorang. The World Tour approach to this is subtle: long training rides that include quality work in the later hours — not the first 45 minutes when riders are fresh, but after 3+ hours of riding when the body has to work harder to sustain the same output. That's the specific training stimulus for durability.

For amateurs, the practical application is simpler than it sounds. On your weekly long ride, instead of always going easy for 4 hours, occasionally include 2–3 threshold efforts of 10–15 minutes in hours 3 and 4. This is not comfortable. It's not meant to be. It's a deliberate stress on the system in the fatigued state — and that's exactly where the durability adaptation comes from.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Ryan CollinsUltra cyclist, 6-hour velodrome world record holder (46.6 km/h)
Sustaining high average power for 6 hours requires systematic training of the ability to produce quality efforts when already deeply fatigued. The adaptations are different from fresh FTP work — they require specific exposure to that fatigued state in training, not just accumulating more easy hours.
Hear it: 46.6 km/hr for 6 Hours | Roadman Cycling Podcast
Dan LorangHead of Performance, Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
Durability is a training quality that's separate from FTP and VO2 max. Building it requires specific exposure to quality work under fatigue — which means placing threshold or VO2max intervals at the end of long rides, not after a rest day. That discomfort is the stimulus.
Hear it: 13 Years Of Coaching Pros: What Amateurs Don't Know

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

Test your durability honestly
On a long ride (3+ hours), hold your normal steady pace for 2–3 hours, then do a 20-minute effort at FTP pace. Compare power and heart rate to the same effort done fresh. The gap is your current durability deficit — it's fixable.
Add quality intervals to the back half of long rides
Once a fortnight: a 3–4 hour zone 2 ride, but in hours 3–4 add 2×15 minutes at threshold pace. These feel significantly harder than fresh threshold work — that's the point. The fatigued stimulus is the adaptation.
Increase long ride volume gradually
Consistent long rides over a season extend the range at which you can hold power. Weekly long rides of 3+ hours build the aerobic foundation durability stands on — quality intervals in fatigue are more effective on top of a large easy-riding base.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKEAssuming FTP test results predict long-ride performance.
FIXFTP is a fresh measure. In a 5-hour event, what matters is your fatigued power. Train both, but don't let a high FTP give false confidence about event readiness.
MISTAKEAlways doing hard intervals at the start of rides when legs are fresh.
FIXInclude some quality work late in long rides, after significant prior load. Uncomfortable, but necessary for durability adaptation.
MISTAKENeglecting fuelling during training rides and calling the fatigue 'durability training'.
FIXDurability training is about sustaining power under real accumulated physiological fatigue, not glycogen depletion. Fuel properly — the stimulus should be fatigue from effort, not from running out of food.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the difference between endurance and durability?

Endurance is the ability to sustain effort over time at sub-maximal intensity. Durability is specifically the ability to sustain high-intensity (FTP-level) power after hours of prior load. You can have good endurance and poor durability — common in riders who train lots of easy miles but little quality in fatigue.

How do I measure my durability?

Compare a standard FTP-effort (20 minutes or a ramp test) done fully fresh to the power you can hold in hours 3–4 of a long ride. The percentage drop is your durability gap. Elite endurance riders lose less than 5%; non-durable riders may drop 15–20%.

Does durability decline with age?

Recovery from fatigue slows with age, which makes durability harder to maintain but not impossible to train. Masters cyclists often benefit from targeting durability specifically — the fitness to hold power late in an event is one of the trainable qualities that doesn't require raw physiological youth.

Is durability important for gran fondos?

Extremely. A gran fondo or multi-hour sportive is a durability event more than an FTP event. Riders who fade badly in the final third almost always have a durability deficit — they've trained their fresh FTP but not their ability to hold power after 3 hours in the saddle.

How long does it take to improve durability?

A focused 8–12 week block with regular long rides and some quality in fatigue typically produces noticeable improvement. Full durability development is a long-term project — riders who accumulate years of long-ride mileage develop it most thoroughly.

RELATED EPISODES

HEAR THE CONVERSATIONS

46.6 km/hr for 6 Hours | Roadman Cycling Podcast

13 Years Of Coaching Pros: What Amateurs Don't Know

How Team Bora Build Endurance: John Wakefield on Ultra Cycling Training