Your Gravel Race Playbook (all distances)
The Gravel Playbook
Build Durable Fitness. Race With Confidence.
A practical guide to racing 50, 100, and 200 miles of gravel — the physiology, the execution, the mechanical, and the mindset.
50 MI · 100 MI · 200 MI · ONE PLAYBOOK
A Letter From ANC
Gravel is the most honest cycling discipline in the world right now. There are no team cars. No race radios. No shaved-leg pelotons protecting a leader. There's you, your bike, the road that hasn't been paved, and however many miles the organizers decided would be enough that day. The races have personalities — Unbound's dust and farm dogs, SBT GRVL's Colorado climbs, the Mid South's mud, Rebecca's Private Idaho's altitude, The Rift's volcanic ash, BWR's punishing mix of pavement and brutal sectors. Each one is its own beast. But they all reward the same things: durability, mechanical self-reliance, fueling discipline, and the willingness to keep moving when comfortable cyclists would quit.
This playbook covers three distances under one roof — 50 miles, 100 miles, and 200 miles. They share an engine, a fueling philosophy, and a bike setup logic. They diverge sharply in pacing, drop-bag strategy, mental management, and (for the 200) sleep deprivation. We've built shared chapters for what crosses over and distance-specific tracks for what doesn't.
If this is your first big gravel event, you'll find clear guidance on what to do, what to expect, what to pack, and how to finish strong. If you're an experienced racer chasing a category podium or a finish-time goal, you'll find the nuance, the leverage points, and the small decisions that compound over 8, 12, or 18 hours of riding.
Look for green First-Timer Notes, coral Going Faster boxes, and distance-specific tags throughout: blue for 50, gold for 100, earth-tone for 200. Everyone reads the main text. Choose the boxes that match your race.
This isn't a training plan — we don't put training plans in PDFs at ANC. Training is a living thing built around your body, your life, and your goal. What this gives you is the language, the physiology, and the frameworks behind how we coach gravel.
Three Distances, Three Races
People talk about gravel like it's one sport. It isn't. A 50-mile gravel race and a 200-mile gravel race share a bike and not much else. Treat them the same and you'll either be over-prepared and slow or under-prepared and broken.
| 50 Miles | 100 Miles | 200 Miles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical duration | 3–5 hours | 6–10 hours | 13–20+ hours |
| Pacing target | Upper Z2 to low Z3 (88–95% CP) | Solid Z2 (80–88% CP) | Low Z2 (72–82% CP) |
| Lead instrument | Power + HR | Power as ceiling, RPE checks | RPE + HR; power as guardrail |
| Carb intake | 60–90 g/hr (std) / 90–120 (agg) | 80–120 g/hr | 90–120 g/hr sustained, real food rotation |
| Real food needed? | Optional | Recommended | Mandatory |
| Drop bags | 0–1 stop | 2–3 stops | 4–8+ stops, full resupply |
| Mechanical self-reliance | Tube + CO2 + multi-tool | Tube + plug kit + CO2 + multi-tool + chain link | Full kit: 2 tubes, plugs, CO2, pump, multi-tool, chain tool, master link, derailleur hanger |
| Night riding | No | Rare | Yes — front + rear lights mandatory |
| Sleep deprivation | None | Pre-dawn start fatigue | Significant — can be a limiter |
| Where the race is decided | The final 15 miles | Miles 60–85 | Miles 120–170 |
The Personality
The 50 is a hard ride that finishes before lunch. It rewards fitness more than logistics. You can race it on adrenaline and fueling discipline alone. Mechanical issues are recoverable. The race has a finish line that feels reachable from the start.
The Personality
The 100 is the classic gravel distance — Unbound 100, SBT GRVL Black Course, BWR. Long enough that fueling discipline becomes the difference between finishing strong and crawling in. Short enough that you can still race it. The bike has to work, the body has to fuel, the head has to stay in the work for 6–10 hours. This is where most gravel athletes find their ceiling.
The Personality
The 200 — Unbound XL, the long course events, the SBT GRVL Blue Course-and-up territory — is a different sport entirely. It's a race, yes, but it's also an expedition. Sleep deprivation matters. Night riding matters. Stomach management matters. Mechanical self-reliance is non-negotiable because you can be 30+ miles from any aid. The 200 doesn't reward the fastest cyclist; it rewards the cyclist who keeps cycling the longest.
Two Athletes, One Playbook
First-Timer: Your Real Goal
Whatever distance you've signed up for, your goal is to finish strong, in control, and wanting to do another. Not a time. Not a place. Gravel events have huge fields and welcoming finish lines — there is no shame in finishing in the back half. The shame is in starting unprepared, blowing up at mile 40 of a 100, or DNF'ing because you forgot how to change a flat. Preparation is the entire game. Get to the line with a bike that works, fuel you've practiced, and a plan you've ridden through in your head — and you'll finish.
Going Faster: Your Real Goal
You've finished gravel events. You know what they cost. Your gains now come from aerobic depth, fueling commitment, and decision-making under fatigue. The fastest gravel athletes in any field aren't the strongest cyclists — they're the most aerobically durable, the best-fueled (90–120+ g/hr is the new normal), and the most disciplined about not riding too hard before mile 60 of a 100 or mile 120 of a 200. The work in this playbook is for you.
What gravel asks of both of you
- Aerobic durability over hours, not just watts
- Fueling capacity — gut training to handle 90+ g/hr for hours
- Mechanical literacy — fix your own flat, your own chain, your own derailleur hanger
- Mental flexibility — the day will not go to plan, and that's normal
- Pacing discipline — gravel punishes early efforts more than any other discipline
Your Engine, in Plain Language
Gravel is an aerobic sport. The longer the distance, the more aerobic it gets. Five physiological landmarks shape how a gravel race goes for you:
1. The First Aerobic Threshold (LT1)
The upper edge of comfortable aerobic work — roughly 85% of Critical Power. For gravel, this is the most important landmark in your body. The 200 lives below it. The 100 lives at it. The 50 lives just above it. Athletes who can ride for hours at or just under LT1 without their HR drifting are the athletes who finish gravel races strong.
2. The Aerobic Crossover
The transition zone where your body shifts from being primarily fat-fueled to leaning more on carbohydrate. The deeper your aerobic base, the higher this crossover sits — and the more efficiently you spend glycogen at race effort. Gravel rewards a high crossover more than any other discipline because you'll be on the bike long enough for glycogen management to decide the race.
3. Critical Power (CP) — also LT2
The highest power sustainable without accumulating excessive fatigue. The ceiling. You should almost never see this number in a gravel race — every surge above CP comes out of your finite battery (W'), and W' rebuilds slowly. Hills, headwind sections, sketchy descents that require power-on technical riding — these all draw on W'. Manage it like cash.
4. Maximal Aerobic Power (VO₂max)
The aerobic ceiling. You won't race here in gravel, but training that touches it makes every sub-threshold watt cheaper. A higher VO₂max means your Z2 hurts less for longer.
5. W′ — your anaerobic battery
The finite work you can do above CP before you blow up. In gravel, you'll spend W' on:
- The start (controlled, but real)
- Hills and steep climbs
- Surging to bridge to a group or hold a wheel
- Technical sections that demand short bursts
- The finish (if you've saved any)
The athletes who finish gravel races strong are the ones who arrive at the final 10–20% with W' still in the battery. Spend it all by mile 50 of a 100 and the final 50 are a survival exercise.
The Pacing Instruments — HR, Power, RPE
Gravel uses three instruments. Each tells you something true. Each lies differently. The hierarchy shifts with distance — what leads in a 50 is not what leads in a 200.
Heart Rate (HR)
Pros: Honest about internal state. Tells the truth about heat, hydration, sleep, and stress. Becomes more reliable as the race gets longer.
Cons: Slow to settle. Drifts upward across hours (cardiac drift). Spikes on technical sections from concentration alone.
Best use: A ceiling for the first half of any gravel race. Especially valuable in the 100 and 200 — HR drift tells you when fueling is failing, when you're dehydrated, when you need to back off.
Power
Pros: Honest on hills and in wind. Doesn't lie about effort. Pairs directly with CP zones.
Cons: Doesn't know about your day. Power that's sustainable at hour 2 is not sustainable at hour 10. Useless if you bury W' chasing target watts.
Best use: A ceiling and a target. In gravel, power is more useful as a "do not exceed" than as a "hold this." Different from road racing — gravel terrain forces variance; chasing exact watts on technical ground is wasted effort.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)
Pros: Always available. Integrates everything — fatigue, fueling, heat, mental state, terrain. The most honest instrument over long durations.
Cons: Subjective. Drifts with fatigue. Has to be calibrated by training.
Best use: The final arbiter. Especially in the 200, where data either lies or doesn't matter. In the 100, RPE governs the final third. In the 50, RPE is a check on power and HR.
The ANC Pacing Hierarchy by Gravel Distance
50: Power leads. HR as ceiling. RPE as check. Race at upper Z2 to low Z3, save 5–10% for the final 15 miles.
100: Power as ceiling, HR as drift indicator, RPE growing in importance through the second half. Race solid Z2 (80–88% CP), no surges above 105% CP except briefest climbs.
200: RPE leads from hour 4 onward. HR as drift indicator and red-flag system. Power as a guardrail — "do not exceed" not "must hit." Race low Z2 (72–82% CP) for the first 100 miles, then ride by feel.
Get pacing instruments that actually fit you
Generic zones from a calculator are guessing — and gravel punishes guessing more than any discipline. ANC's free zone testing turns three hard efforts into clean targets for power, HR, and pace.
→ Free Zone Testing & Training Insight
Back to TopYour Zones, Explained
Same ANC zone model. The difference for gravel is where you race inside it — and how that shifts with distance.
| Zone | RPE | % CP | % Thr HR | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZR — Recovery | 1–2 | <75% | ≤76% | Recovery |
| Z1 — Aerobic Base | 3–4 | 75–85% | 80–86% | 200-mile zone; aerobic base |
| Z2 — Aerobic Endurance | 5–6 | 85–95% | 86–93% | 100-mile zone; gravel endurance |
| Z3 — Threshold | 7–8 | 95–105% | 93–100% | 50-mile race ceiling; climbs |
| VO₂ Max | 9–10 | >105% | >100% | Avoided in gravel except brief surges |
Race-Day Targets by Distance
Pacing Window
Upper Z2 to low Z3 — 88–95% of CP, with HR climbing through 88% to 96% of Threshold HR. Save 5–10% for the final 15 miles. Brief surges to 105–110% on climbs are acceptable; sustained above CP is not.
Pacing Window
Solid Z2 — 80–88% of CP for the first 60 miles, climbing to upper Z2 (85–90%) in the final 30–40. HR drifts from 82% to 92% of Threshold HR across the race. Do not exceed CP except on brief climbs. Every surge above CP costs you 3–5x in the final third.
Pacing Window
Low Z2 — 72–82% of CP for the first 100 miles. After mile 100, ride by RPE — power becomes unreliable as fatigue accumulates. HR drift is significant; expect a 5–15 bpm drift over the day at the same effort. Brief surges above CP must be paid for in the next 30 minutes of recovery riding.
First-Timer Note
Whatever distance you're racing, target the lower end of the range. The single most common first-timer mistake is starting at the upper end of the window because you feel fresh — and paying for it badly in the second half. If your first hour feels embarrassingly easy, you're doing it right.
Going Faster
The leverage in gravel is aerobic depth, not threshold power. Athletes who PR move up the zone window over the race — riding the bottom of Z2 in hour 1, the middle in hour 4, the top in hour 7. Front-loading watts is the most common error among strong cyclists new to long gravel. Pace by aerobic state, not by what feels possible.
Testing That Tells the Truth
Zones without testing are guesses. For gravel especially, where pacing windows are wide and races are long, knowing your real CP matters more than knowing it precisely. We use a real field protocol — three maximal efforts that model your CP, W', and Threshold HR.
The Bike Protocol
| Effort | Time / Distance | What we learn |
|---|---|---|
| Effort 1 | 3 minutes all-out | Anaerobic capacity (W') |
| Effort 2 | 6 minutes all-out | VO₂ max zone |
| Effort 3 | 12 minutes all-out | Anchors Critical Power |
Execution Notes
Test on a steady road climb or a trainer — somewhere you can produce honest power without traffic or technical distraction. Warm up 20+ minutes. Take 8–15 minutes easy between efforts. The 12-minute effort is the most important — pace it like a hard 5K, not like an interval.
For gravel athletes specifically
Re-test every 6–8 weeks during a build. CP changes meaningfully as aerobic fitness deepens, and stale zones make every workout vague. For 200-mile prep, your aerobic endurance matters more than your CP, but you still need an honest CP to set the ceiling.
Don't test alone. Test with feedback.
The numbers only matter if they're interpreted correctly. ANC's free testing assessment gives you your CP, W', zones, profile — and what to do with them.
→ Submit your test to ANC
Back to TopThe Sustainable Aerobic Range
The single most important concept in gravel racing is the sustainable aerobic range — the percentage of your CP you can hold for the race duration without breaking down. It's not one number. It's a moving target shaped by training age, fueling, durability, and recovery. And it's distance-dependent.
| Tier | 50-mile range | 100-mile range | 200-mile range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very Low | Below 80% CP | Below 72% CP | Below 65% CP |
| Low | 80–85% CP | 72–78% CP | 65–72% CP |
| Moderate | 85–90% CP | 78–84% CP | 72–78% CP |
| High | 90–95% CP | 84–90% CP | 78–82% CP |
| Elite | Above 95% CP | Above 90% CP | Above 82% CP |
Notice the drop: the same athlete who can hold 90% of CP for a 50 might only hold 78% for a 100 and 72% for a 200. This is normal physiology, not a fitness failure. The longer the race, the lower the sustainable percentage — and the wider the gap between your hour-1 capacity and your hour-15 capacity.
How to know where you sit
Three signals:
- How stable your HR is across a 3-hour Zone 2 ride (drift under 5% is a strong sign of aerobic depth)
- How your power holds in the back half of a 5–6 hour ride at endurance pace
- How clean your recovery is between back-to-back long rides during peak training
None of these are tests in the formal sense. They're observations that a coach reads across weeks.
State Management & The Daily Check-In
Training stress is half the equation. Your state is the other half. Gravel training is volume-heavy, and volume without recovery is just accumulated damage. ANC manages state across four pillars:
Equilibrium
Chronic training load vs. acute fatigue. Drift too far either way and something gives.
Drift Tolerance
How much HR, power, and RPE can decouple in a session before it stops earning anything.
Overload Timing
Long rides land on recovered tissue. We sequence volume around life, not on top of it.
Restoration
Sleep, fueling, life stress, easy days. These aren't "in addition to" training. They are training.
The Daily Check-In
Train as planned.
Soften the session. Keep structure, lower dose.
Stop. Recovery or rest. The session won't earn you anything today.
Flags: sleep under 7 hours, resting HR 5+ bpm above baseline, HRV meaningfully low, flat mood, major life stress, soreness that alters gait or saddle comfort.
For gravel athletes specifically: back-to-back long rides on yellow days are how injuries and overreaching happen. The 4-hour ride that feels fine on a yellow day is the 4-hour ride that cuts the next 10 days in half. Soften or skip.
Back to TopThe Workout Toolkit
The gravel toolkit is volume-heavy and durability-focused. Threshold work has its place, but it's a smaller piece of the puzzle than in road or criterium training. The four big levers: aerobic volume, endurance rides with structure, gut training, and ride-specific durability.
Easy Aerobic Rides
The bulk of weekly volume. RPE 3–4, conversational, Zone 1 to low Z2. Builds capillaries, mitochondria, fat oxidation, tendon resilience, saddle tolerance. If you can't pass the talk test, you're riding these too hard.
Zone 2 Sustained Rides
The engine room. 2–5+ hour rides in upper Z1 to mid Z2, RPE 5–6. The single most important session type for gravel. Builds the aerobic depth that decides hours 4–10 of a 100 and hours 8–18 of a 200. Stack these. They are gravel fitness.
Endurance Rides with Structure
Long rides with embedded efforts — over-unders at CP, threshold blocks at the 3-hour mark, sweet-spot intervals in the final hour. Teaches the body to produce quality work on fatigued legs. Critical for 50 and 100 racers.
Threshold Intervals
3 × 12' to 4 × 10' at 95–105% of CP. Lifts the ceiling. Used more sparingly in gravel than in road — the goal is not threshold power, it's threshold resilience.
VO₂ Touch Work
5 × 3' above CP with full recovery. Done rarely (once every 2–3 weeks during build) but earns its keep — lifts the aerobic ceiling, which makes every Z2 watt cheaper.
Gut Training Rides
Long rides with deliberate fueling progression. Build from 60 → 80 → 100 → 120+ g/hr across 8–12 weeks. This is training, not nutrition. The gut adapts to higher carb intake just like muscles adapt to higher power. Practice it in workouts so race day isn't an experiment.
Terrain & Skills Rides
Gravel-specific riding on gravel. Cornering on loose surfaces, descending with confidence, climbing seated and standing, handling sketchy sections at race effort. Mechanical practice (changing a flat in the field, plugging a tire). These aren't "fitness" sessions, but they're race-day fitness.
Brick & Back-to-Back Rides
Long Saturday + long Sunday. For 100 and 200 prep especially. Teaches the body to produce sustained work on tired legs — the most race-specific session in gravel training.
The art is which tool, in which order
This toolkit is the language. Coaching is the sentence.
→ Personalized Training Plans | → TrainingPlans+ | → ECHO 1-on-1
Back to TopStrength for Gravel
Strength training is load-tolerance insurance for gravel. Long hours in the saddle on rough surfaces beat up your lower back, hips, neck, shoulders, hands, and core. The right strength work keeps those systems intact so the bike can do its job. For 200-mile athletes especially, strength is the difference between finishing upright and finishing wrecked.
What strength does for gravel athletes
- Holds your back, hips, and core together at hour 8 of a 100 or hour 14 of a 200
- Stabilizes the upper body on chattery descents and washboard sections — saves arm and shoulder energy you'll need elsewhere
- Improves cycling economy — same watts, less metabolic cost
- Protects against the most common gravel injuries (lower back, neck, hands, knees)
- Powers the standing climbs and short surges that gravel courses throw at you
How to dose it
Two short, focused sessions per week. Stack on hard-ride days so easy days stay easy. Volume builds in the base phase (winter and early build), tapers as race-specific volume comes up. In the final 6–8 weeks before a 200, strength becomes maintenance — short, frequent, light — to preserve neuromuscular function without accumulating fatigue.
We're not prescribing specific lifts in this playbook. Exercise selection should fit your body, your history, and your equipment. What we will do is point you at the resources we built for our athletes.
ANC Strength Resources:
→ Strength Training — main page
→ Run Strength Essentials (much of it cross-applies to gravel)
Strength built into your weekly plan
Inside ECHO 1-on-1 coaching and our endurance plans, strength is programmed alongside your rides — so it's never "the thing you keep meaning to do."
→ ECHO 1-on-1 Coaching | → Training Plans
Back to TopFueling & Hydration
If there's one chapter in this playbook that matters more than the rest, it's this one. Gravel is decided by fueling — more than fitness, more than equipment, more than pacing. The athlete who fuels best, finishes best. Every time. At every distance.
The Modern Carb Reality
The fueling rules in gravel changed in the last 5–7 years. The old "60 grams per hour" ceiling is gone. Trained guts now routinely absorb 90, 100, 120, even 150 grams per hour — and the athletes who fuel at those rates dramatically outperform athletes who don't, especially in races over 4 hours. Body size is not the major factor. Gut absorption is. And the gut is trainable.
Carbohydrate Math by Distance
Carb Intake
Mostly liquid and gels. Real food optional. Pre-race carb load matters more than in-race intake in a 50.
Carb Intake
Liquid + gels + real food rotation recommended. Flavor fatigue starts around hour 4 — you need variety.
Carb Intake
Real food mandatory. Aim for the standard range sustained — peaks of 130–150 g/hr possible in the first half if the gut is well-trained. Expect intake to drop 15–25% in the final third as fatigue and stomach distress reduce absorption.
The Glucose–Fructose Ratio
Above 90 g/hr of carbohydrate, the ratio of glucose to fructose matters. Pure glucose maxes out gut transport around 60 g/hr. Adding fructose opens a second transport pathway and lets you absorb more total carbohydrate without GI distress. Target a ratio of roughly 1:0.8 glucose-to-fructose at intakes above 90 g/hr. Most modern endurance fuels (Maurten, Precision, SiS Beta Fuel, Skratch Super High-Carb, Neversecond) are formulated to this ratio. Cane sugar is naturally 1:1, which is also fine.
Gut Training — The Most Underused Lever in Gravel
The gut is a trainable system. Athletes who race at 120 g/hr didn't start there — they built up. Here's how:
- Weeks 1–3: Practice 60 g/hr on every ride over 90 minutes. Sip steady, don't slug.
- Weeks 4–6: Push to 80 g/hr on long rides. Add a gel every 30 minutes alongside your bottle.
- Weeks 7–9: Push to 100 g/hr. Start adding real food (rice cake, banana, half a sandwich) at the 2-hour mark.
- Weeks 10–12: Test 120+ g/hr in a race-simulation long ride. Note what your gut tolerates and what it rejects.
The athletes who skip gut training and try to fuel at 100 g/hr on race day are the athletes who DNF with stomach distress at mile 60. Train the gut like a muscle.
Hydration
Hydration needs vary wildly. A sweat-rate test (weigh in, ride 60 min at endurance effort, weigh out, account for fluids drunk) is the most reliable way to know yours. General range: 500–800 ml of fluid per hour with 500–900 mg sodium per hour, scaled to sweat rate, heat, and individual losses.
The biggest hydration mistake in gravel: treating "drink to thirst" as a strategy. Over hours, perception lags reality. Drink on schedule, not on feel. Set a watch alarm or a Garmin notification every 10 minutes if you have to. Sip, don't slug.
Sodium by Distance and Conditions
| Distance | Cool (under 65°F) | Warm (65–80°F) | Hot (over 80°F) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 400–600 mg/hr | 600–800 mg/hr | 800–1,000 mg/hr |
| 100 | 500–700 mg/hr | 700–900 mg/hr | 900–1,200 mg/hr |
| 200 | 500–800 mg/hr | 800–1,000 mg/hr | 1,000–1,400 mg/hr |
The Four Iron Rules of Gravel Fueling
1. Eat before you're hungry. Drink before you're thirsty. By the time you feel either, you're 20–30 minutes behind. In a 200, "behind" means DNF.
2. Pair carbs with fluid. Concentrated gels without water sit in the gut and cause distress. Always chase a gel or solid with 100–200 ml fluid.
3. Train the gut. Practice race-day fueling at race intensity. The gut adapts.
4. Variety beats willpower. Flavor fatigue is real. After hour 3, your tongue refuses what your gut would accept. Plan variety into every drop bag.
Pre-Race Carb Load
In the final 2–3 days before any gravel race over 50 miles, carbohydrate intake climbs to roughly 8–12 g per kg of body weight per day, with most carbs simple and easy on the gut. Distribute across breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Reduce fiber 24–48 hours out. Hydrate consistently. Don't experiment.
Race Morning Nutrition
3 hours before start: 1.5–2.5 g/kg of easy-digesting carbohydrate — oatmeal with honey, bagel with jam, white rice with banana, toast. Low fat, low fiber, familiar. 500–750 ml fluid with electrolytes. 30–45 minutes before start: 30–50 g carbs (gel or sports drink) with a small sip of water.
Heat Adjustments
For every 10°F above 60°F, increase fluid intake by 10–15% and sodium by 25%. In hot conditions (above 75°F), consider a pre-race sodium load (500–1,000 mg sodium, 60–90 minutes before start) and pre-cool with cold fluid or ice in your jersey.
ANC Fueling Resources:
→ FuelMyMetrics — track your fueling like training
→ Sodium, Hydration & Carbs Quick Planner
→ Personalized Fueling & Nutrition Plan
Real Food & Flavor Fatigue
Gels and sports drinks work — until they don't. Somewhere between hour 3 and hour 5 of a gravel race, almost every athlete hits a wall not of fitness but of flavor fatigue: the gut still wants carbs, but the tongue refuses to take in another sweet, sticky gel. Real food is the answer, and for races over 4 hours it's not optional.
Why real food works
- Different texture — chewing breaks up the monotony of liquid and gel
- Different flavor — savory, salty, mild — anything but more sweet
- Slower release — solid food digests over a longer window, smoothing energy
- Psychological reset — real food at the 4-hour mark of a long ride is a moment of pleasure your brain will reward you for
What to actually eat on the bike
| Food | Carbs (approx.) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Rice cake (banana/honey/peanut butter) | 30–50 g | The classic. Easy to chew, easy to digest, pairs with anything. Wrap in foil for the jersey pocket. |
| Half a PB&J sandwich | 30–40 g | Familiar, calorie-dense, real-tasting. Use white bread for easier digestion. |
| Boiled small potatoes (salted) | 15–25 g each | Savory salt-fix. Especially good in heat. Pack 4–6 in a zip-top bag. |
| Banana | 25–30 g | The other classic. Easy on the gut. Useful for potassium. |
| Energy bars (low-fiber) | 30–50 g | Convenient but get harder to chew as the race goes on. Better in first half. |
| Fig bars / oat-based bars | 30–40 g | Soft, sweet, easy to chew even when tired. |
| Salted snack mix / pretzels | 20–40 g per handful | Late-race savory option when sweet has stopped working. |
| Pickles (yes, pickles) | ~5 g + electrolytes | Late-race sodium and the flavor cuts through everything. Many ultra cyclists swear by them. |
| Cold-brew coffee / Coke (from aid) | 20–35 g | Caffeine + sugar + variety. The late-race rescue drink. |
| Broth (savory hot or cold) | 2–5 g + sodium | Stomach reset when sweet has failed. Worth carrying a small thermos in cold conditions. |
The Rotation Strategy
The trick isn't picking one food — it's rotating across categories. A useful framework:
- Sweet liquid (sports drink, carb mix in bottle)
- Sweet solid (gel, energy chew, bar)
- Savory solid (rice cake, potato, PB&J, pretzels)
- Savory liquid (broth, water, electrolyte mix without sweet flavoring)
Rotate through the four every 60–90 minutes. The gut handles variety much better than monotony.
Real Food Strategy
Optional. Most 50-mile athletes can race on liquid + gels alone. Consider 1–2 small real-food items (a rice cake, half a banana) at the aid station around mile 25–30 if you'll be on course longer than 4 hours.
Real Food Strategy
Recommended. Plan for real food at every drop bag stop. Eat real food in the first half (rice cakes, half-sandwiches) and shift to softer, easier-to-chew options in the second half (banana, fig bars, gels). Drop bags should include both — your gut will tell you which it wants.
Real Food Strategy
Mandatory. You cannot race a 200 on gels alone. The fueling plan for a 200 should include at least 3–4 real-food categories. By mile 120, sweet flavors will have lost their appeal — savory options (potatoes, broth, pretzels, pickles) become the rescue. Cold drinks late in a hot race are magic. Pack a stash of variety at every drop bag and accept that some of it will go uneaten — that's the cost of optionality.
Going Faster
The fastest gravel athletes don't sacrifice fuel for time at aid stations — they sacrifice time at aid stations for fuel. The 90 seconds you spend at a drop bag eating real food and topping bottles is worth 5–10 minutes saved over the next 2 hours. The athletes who "race through" aid stations are usually the athletes who blow up 30 miles later.
Caffeine Strategy
Caffeine is the most-tested and most-effective legal performance aid in endurance sport. Used correctly, it raises perceived energy, sharpens focus, reduces RPE, and increases time-to-exhaustion. Used carelessly, it spikes HR, wrecks the stomach, and crashes you 4 hours later. Gravel is long enough that caffeine strategy matters across the day, not just before the gun.
The Pre-Race Dose
1–3 mg/kg of caffeine, 45–60 minutes before the gun. For a 70 kg athlete, that's 70–210 mg — roughly one strong coffee to two strong coffees, or a caffeinated gel. Only use a dose you've practiced. Race morning is not the day to try caffeine for the first time.
Mid-Race Doses
For races over 3 hours, caffeine can be redosed across the day. The pattern: 1–2 mg/kg every 3–4 hours, with a total daily ceiling around 5–6 mg/kg for most athletes (higher if you've practiced higher).
| Distance | Pre-race | Mid-race plan | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1–3 mg/kg, 45–60 min before | Optional 1 caffeinated gel around mile 30 | One pre-race dose usually covers the distance |
| 100 | 1–3 mg/kg, 45–60 min before | 1 caffeinated gel at mile 40, another at mile 70 | Time the doses to the harder sections — climbs, headwind segments |
| 200 | 1–3 mg/kg, 45–60 min before | Every 3–4 hours: 100–200 mg via gel, Coke, or chew. Save the biggest dose for the night-riding section if applicable. | Don't dose in the final 90 minutes unless you need it — caffeine crashes the next morning are real |
Caffeine Sources on the Bike
- Caffeinated gels: Easy, fast, dose-controlled. 40–100 mg per gel typically. Read the label.
- Coke or Mountain Dew: 30–50 mg per 12 oz. The classic ultra endurance trick — also gives you 30+ g of sugar and a flavor reset. Many aid stations have it.
- Cold-brew coffee: 100–200 mg per bottle. Carries a calorie load. Polarizing — some athletes love it, some don't.
- Caffeine chews / tablets: 50–100 mg, no calories. Useful when you need the caffeine but the stomach can't take more food.
- Espresso shot (at aid stops): Some events serve them. ~60 mg per shot.
Caffeine Rules
1. Don't try it on race day. Practice every dose, every source, every timing in training rides first.
2. Pair with fluid. Caffeine is mildly diuretic and can spike HR if dehydrated.
3. Time it to the work. Dose 30–60 minutes before a hard section, not during one. Caffeine peaks at 45–60 minutes.
4. Watch the crash. A big dose in the final 60 minutes of a long race may not crash you mid-race, but it can wreck the next 24 hours of recovery.
5. The cap is real. Over ~6 mg/kg in a day, side effects (jitters, GI distress, sleep destruction, irritability) outpace benefits.
Night Riding & Caffeine
If your 200 includes night riding, save a meaningful caffeine dose (150–250 mg) for 30–45 minutes before sunset. This is the moment alertness drops, vision narrows, and the urge to stop becomes loudest. Caffeine here is non-negotiable. A second dose 3–4 hours later if the night is long.
Bike Setup & Gear
Gravel rewards a bike that's set up for your race — not for the bike-shop aesthetic, not for what the pros run, not for what looks fast on Instagram. The right bike for a 50 isn't the right bike for a 200. Here's how we think about it.
Tires — The Single Most Important Choice
Tire choice is the #1 mechanical decision in gravel. The wrong tire wrecks fast smooth sections; the right tire saves you 30 minutes over a chunky 100.
- Smooth, hardpack gravel (think Kanza dry years, SBT GRVL): 38–42mm slick or semi-slick. Fast, efficient, low rolling resistance.
- Mixed surface, moderate chunk (most events): 40–45mm with a light file tread or mild knobs on shoulders. The all-rounder.
- Chunky, rocky, technical (BWR, Rebecca's, certain Mid South conditions): 45–50mm with moderate knobs. Comfort and grip beat pure speed.
- Mud (Mid South wet years): Whatever clears mud best. Often a cross-style knobby in the 38–42mm range.
Tire pressure: Lower than you think. Tubeless setups with modern wide tires run 28–40 psi for most gravel athletes (heavier riders go higher; lighter riders go lower). Lower pressure improves rolling resistance on rough surfaces and reduces fatigue. Practice the pressure you'll race.
Bike Fit
Gravel fit prioritizes comfort over aero for distances over 50 miles. A slightly higher front end, slightly shorter reach, and a saddle position that lets you spend long hours without wrist, neck, or saddle pain. Get a fit done before any 100+ mile event if you've never had one. The fit issues you "deal with" on a 2-hour ride become race-ending at hour 8.
Hydration Capacity
| Distance | Capacity recommendation |
|---|---|
| 50 | 2 bottle cages (2 × 24 oz). Drop bag refill optional. |
| 100 | 2 bottle cages + frame bag for bonus liquid or food. Refill at every aid. |
| 200 | 2 bottle cages + hydration pack (1.5–2L) OR 3 bottles via fork-mounted cages. Plan for 60–90 min between fills minimum, longer if remote. |
Storage
- Top tube bag: Mandatory for gels, chews, salt tabs, phone, small items. The most accessed location on the bike.
- Frame bag: Tubes, tools, multi-tool, spare bottle. The "I might need this" zone.
- Saddle bag (small): Backup tube, plug kit. Don't bury essentials.
- Jersey pockets: Real food, wrappers (trash), backup glasses, gloves.
- Aero bars (200 only, if allowed): Extends position options, gives a different muscle pattern to use over hours.
Lighting Setup
Front: 800–1200 lumens minimum. 2,000+ if technical terrain in pitch dark. Battery life: 4+ hours on high. Mount on bars AND helmet (helmet gives you "see where you point" light for technical sections).
Rear: Bright blinking red, USB rechargeable, minimum 10 hours of battery life. Carry a backup.
Reflective elements on your kit, especially ankles (the moving parts catch driver attention).
Clothing
- Bibs: Your race-day bibs should have been ridden for at least three 4+ hour sessions before race day. The chamois you "haven't broken in yet" is not a race chamois.
- Jersey: Cycling-specific with 3 rear pockets minimum. Avoid cotton.
- Gloves: Full-finger preferred for gravel — protects against the inevitable washboard hand fatigue and gives crash protection.
- Socks: Tested. Not new. Crew height for sun and grit protection.
- Sunglasses: Clear or photochromic for pre-dawn starts. Tinted backup.
- Sunscreen: SPF 50, applied 30 minutes before start. Reapply at aid stations on long races.
- Chamois cream: Use it. Especially for 100 and 200.
Mechanical Self-Reliance
Gravel is the only major endurance discipline where you might be 30 miles from any aid, with no cell service, no team car, and no one coming to get you for hours. Mechanical literacy isn't optional — it's the gear that decides whether you finish. The good news: 95% of gravel mechanicals are flats, plus a handful of chain/derailleur issues. All fixable in 5–10 minutes if you know what you're doing.
The Skills You Need
- Change a tubeless tire (yes, on the side of the road — practice this)
- Plug a tubeless tire that's still holding some air
- Re-seat a bead with CO2 or a pump
- Install a quick-link to replace a broken chain
- Shorten a chain to limp home if a derailleur breaks
- Adjust limit screws and barrel adjusters on the fly
- Identify and replace a snapped derailleur hanger (carry a spare specific to your bike)
- Tighten and torque a loose cleat, bottle cage, or stem bolt
If any of those are unfamiliar — practice them in your garage before race day. Watch YouTube. Have a friend show you. Race-day is not the day to learn.
What to Carry by Distance
Required Mechanical Kit
- 1 spare tube (even on tubeless — for emergencies)
- Tire plug kit (Dynaplug, Stan's, etc.)
- 2 × CO2 cartridges + inflator (or a small hand pump)
- Multi-tool with chain breaker
- 1 quick-link in your saddle bag
- Tire levers (2)
Required Mechanical Kit
- 1 spare tube + 1 patch kit
- Tire plug kit (at least 5 plugs)
- 3 × CO2 cartridges + inflator AND a small hand pump (CO2 fails)
- Multi-tool with chain breaker
- 2 quick-links (different chain sizes if you have multiple bikes)
- Tire levers (2)
- Spare derailleur hanger specific to your bike
- Zip ties (3–4)
- Electrical tape (wrapped around the multi-tool)
Required Mechanical Kit
- 2 spare tubes + patch kit
- Tire plug kit with 10+ plugs
- 3 × CO2 cartridges + inflator AND a real hand pump (compact frame pump)
- Spare sealant bottle (small)
- Multi-tool with chain breaker
- 3+ quick-links
- Tire levers (3)
- Spare derailleur hanger
- Spare cleat (and the bolts/key to install)
- Spare brake pads (if running rim brakes)
- Zip ties (6+) and electrical tape
- Small dollop of grease / chain lube (a single-use packet)
- Spare bolts (M5 × 2, M6 × 1) — these win you friends at aid stations
- Cash + ID + a credit card in a sealed bag
Pre-Race Mechanical Checklist
72 hours before race day:
• Fresh sealant in tubeless tires (check and top off — sealant dries out)
• New chain if current chain is over 1,500 miles
• Cassette and chainrings inspected for wear
• Cables and housing inspected; replace if frayed
• Brake pads inspected and replaced if worn
• Bolts torqued (especially stem, bars, saddle, cleat bolts)
• Tubeless tires checked for air retention overnight
• Lights charged (200 only)
• Computer paired and routes loaded
• One final shake-out ride of 30–45 min the day before
Going Faster
Practice changing a tire and a chain under timed pressure. The athlete who can plug a tire in 90 seconds versus 4 minutes saves real time — especially in events that count rolling time vs. clock time differently. Practice in the rain, in cold gloves, in fading light. Race-day conditions are not garage conditions.
Drop Bags & Support
Drop bag strategy is the unsexy logistics chapter that decides whether your race-day plan actually works. The drop bag is where preparation meets reality — the bag you packed at home becomes the only thing standing between you and a hungry, thirsty, broken-down ride.
Drop Bag Principles
- Pack each bag like the previous bag never existed. Assume you lost it. The current bag has to refresh you completely.
- Variety beats willpower. Pack more food than you'll eat. Your gut will tell you what it wants at hour 7 — make sure it has options.
- Sealed, labeled, organized. Each bag in a numbered zip-top. Each category (gels, real food, hydration, tools, spare clothing) in its own sub-bag.
- Pre-mix bottles when possible. Pre-measured carb powder in a ziplock that you dump into the bottle and shake. Saves 60 seconds per stop.
- Trash bag in every bag. Empty wrappers go back in the drop bag, not on the course.
What to Put in Every Drop Bag
- Hydration: 2 pre-mixed bottles (or pre-measured powder + bottles you fill from aid)
- Gels / chews: 4–8 per bag (depending on distance between bags)
- Real food: 2–4 items, varied (rice cake + banana + half-sandwich + pretzels — different categories)
- Salt tabs / electrolyte capsules: Easy to forget. Pack them.
- Caffeine source: 1 caffeinated gel or a small Coke can, especially in mid-to-late bags
- Mechanical backup: 1 spare tube, 2 CO2s — you'll have already used what's on the bike
- Sunscreen / chamois cream: Reapply both at major stops
- Backup clothing (200 only): Vest, arm warmers, gloves — for night riding or weather change
- Encouragement note: From you, your coach, your spouse, your kid. Sounds silly. Works.
Drop Bag Strategy by Distance
Strategy
0–1 drop bag. Most 50-mile athletes carry everything they need from the start. If your race has a single aid station, drop a small bag there with one bottle refill and 1–2 gels — minimal stop, 30 seconds tops.
Strategy
2–3 drop bags. Plan to stop at each one for 90–180 seconds. Refill bottles, take 1 real food item, swap a gel pack into your top tube bag, restock salt tabs. Don't sit down. Don't unpack everything. Eat one item, take one item to-go, leave.
Strategy
4–8 drop bags, depending on event support. Stops can be longer here — 3–8 minutes for major bags — because the math justifies it. A 5-minute stop to fully refuel and reset can save 30 minutes in the next leg. Plan one "longer" stop around the halfway point (5–10 minutes): sit, eat real food, change socks if needed, reset mentally. The mid-race stop is psychological as much as physical.
Night-riding handoff: the drop bag closest to sunset should include lights (if not already on bike), a warmer layer, fresh sunglasses (clear), and a caffeine dose.
Crew Support (if allowed)
For events that allow personal crew, your crew is a force multiplier — and an underestimated source of error. Brief them clearly:
- What you want at each stop (written down, not improvised)
- What they should NOT do (no advice you didn't ask for, no concerned faces, no surprise food)
- What to do if you DNF (where to meet, no guilt-tripping, no "are you sure?" — the answer is yes)
- What to do if you don't show up by a hard cutoff time
A great crew person is calm, fast, brief, and emotionally neutral. Save the celebrating for the finish line.
Back to TopRecovery & Sleep
Gravel training is volume-heavy, and volume without recovery is just damage. The adaptation happens between rides, not during them. The athletes who break down in their build aren't the ones training too hard — they're the ones recovering too little.
Sleep is the first lever
Eight hours minimum. Nine hours during peak build weeks. If only one thing in your life gets protected, make it sleep. For 200-mile athletes especially, building sleep capacity in training is part of training — you'll be using that capacity later.
Post-ride nutrition
Within 30–60 minutes of a long or hard ride: 1–1.2 g/kg of carbs + 25–35 g protein. Especially important when you have another quality session within 24 hours. Don't skip this even if you're not hungry — appetite suppression after long rides is normal, but the window matters.
Active recovery, not passive collapse
Easy spin days truly easy. RPE 3, conversational, 60–90 minutes. Walking, mobility, light stretching. A 90-minute "easy" ride at moderate effort is another workout, not recovery. The difference between a recovery day done right and one done wrong is the difference between adapting and accumulating.
Metrics that matter
Resting HR trending up, HRV trending down, mood flat, sleep poor, soreness lingering — these signal accumulating load before any number on Strava does. Patterns over individual data points.
Recovery hierarchy
Sleep, then nutrition, then stress management, then everything else. Massage, foam rolling, compression boots, sauna, contrast showers — accents, not foundation. The athlete with great sleep and no boots beats the athlete with bad sleep and great boots every time.
The Big Ride Recovery Window
After a 5+ hour Z2 ride or any ride over CP for sustained periods, you're looking at 48–72 hours before you can produce quality work again. Don't fight it. Plan light around it.
Back to TopRace Week
Race week is not the week you build fitness. It's the week you protect it, sharpen it, and prepare every variable. The mistakes in race week are almost always over-doing — over-training, over-packing, over-thinking. Less is more, except for preparation.
The Taper Shape
Volume drops 30–50% across the final 7 days, with the biggest drop in the final 3–4 days. Intensity is preserved through short race-pace touches — 4–6 minute efforts at race intensity, sprinkled into otherwise easy rides. The engine stays warm; fatigue clears.
Know Your Course — Really Know It
- Elevation profile: Where are the big climbs? Where do they fall in the race? A climb at mile 70 of a 100 is a different decision than a climb at mile 20.
- Surface map: Where's pavement, where's smooth gravel, where's chunky, where's mud or sand if recent weather?
- Aid stations: Distance between, what's served, drop bag locations, cutoff times if any.
- Technical sections: Steep descents, water crossings, hike-a-bike, sketchy turns. Mentally rehearse these.
- Sun and shade: A course that's exposed mid-day is a different race than one that's shaded.
- Wind direction: Especially on point-to-point or loop courses. Headwind in the final 30 miles is a known quantity if you check.
Weather Contingency
Check the forecast Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. Build three plans:
| Conditions | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Cool / Ideal (45–65°F) | Race as planned. Standard fueling and hydration. |
| Warm (65–80°F) | Soften early pace 3–5%. Sodium +25%. Fluid +10%. Cool with water at every aid station. |
| Hot (over 80°F) | Soften early pace 5–10%. Sodium +50%. Pre-race sodium load. Race the effort, not the number. Cooling at every aid — ice in jersey, water on head and neck. |
| Wet / Cold (under 45°F) | Throwaway warm layer for the start. Gloves and a hat. Eat slightly more before start to defend core temp. Dry socks in drop bag. |
| Mud forecast | Different tire choice. Different mental framing. Mud races are won by patience. |
Travel & Logistics
- Arrive at least 2 days early if traveling more than 3 time zones.
- Walk or drive a portion of the course if local.
- Bike check at registration. Brakes, gears, tire pressure, computer.
- Drop bag drop-off the day before if required.
- Pre-pack everything the night before, twice — once at 6 pm, once at 9 pm.
Sleep
The night before is rarely your best — adrenaline is high. Two nights before is the night that matters most. Protect it. Phone off, room cool, blackout curtains. Don't try a sleep aid you haven't used before.
Mental Rehearsal
Three times during race week, close your eyes and run the race in your head — the start, the first aid station, the hard middle, the final stretch. For the 200, run the night-riding section explicitly. Pre-living the hard part costs nothing and pays a lot.
Back to TopRace Morning
Race morning is choreography. Every step is rehearsed. You should feel like you're running a checklist, not making decisions.
- Wake 3 hours before gun. Coffee, water, breakfast you've eaten before every long ride.
- Eat 2.5 hours out: 1.5–2.5 g/kg carb. Low fat, low fiber, familiar.
- Sip water and a sports drink through the morning. Stop heavy fluids 45 minutes before gun.
- Bathroom routine — give it time. Plan for two visits.
- Final bike check: Tire pressure, brakes, chain, computer paired and on, drop bags confirmed delivered.
- Caffeine dose: 45–60 minutes before start, if part of your plan.
- Final fueling: 30–50 g carb gel 30–45 minutes before start with a small sip of water.
- Warm-up: 10–15 minutes easy spin 30–40 minutes before gun. A few short pickups to wake the legs. Don't overdo it.
- Corral 15 minutes early. Find your position. Don't start too far forward — gravel starts are chaos and being run over is real.
The Last Five Minutes
Box breathing: 4 in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold. Three rounds. Drops cortisol, drops HR, brings you into your body. Look around. Acknowledge the moment — you trained for this. Then narrow your focus to the first 30 minutes. Just the first 30 minutes.
Start Strategy
Start steady but not slow. The 50 has a real start, and being in the front group matters for drafting. Hold upper Z2 in the first 30 minutes — not Z3. Let the breakaway go if you're not racing for it.
Start Strategy
Disciplined. Sit in a group running your pace. Do not chase the front. The first hour of a 100 should feel "annoyingly easy." Every athlete who wins this race in the corral loses it at mile 70.
Start Strategy
Comically easy. The first 2 hours of a 200 should feel like a Sunday spin. Athletes who race the start of a 200 are athletes who quit by mile 130. Sit at the bottom of Z2, eat early, drink on schedule, and ignore everyone moving faster — most of them will be walking by mile 160.
The Start — Patience Is a Weapon
Every gravel race is won or lost in the first hour — not because the winning move happens there, but because the losing move usually does. The pack is fresh, adrenaline is high, and the temptation to "stay with the group" overrides every pacing rule you trained. The athletes who finish strong are the ones who start like they have nowhere to be.
Distance-Specific Start Strategy
| Distance | First-Hour Ceiling | HR Cap | Mindset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 mi | ≤95% target avg power | LT1 + 5 bpm max | "Warm up inside the race." |
| 100 mi | ≤90% target avg power | LT1 ceiling | "The race starts at mile 60." |
| 200 mi | ≤85% target avg power | 5–10 bpm under LT1 | "I am invisible for 4 hours." |
Pack Dynamics
Drafting in gravel is real but inconsistent — gravel roads spread the field, surges are common, and the "free speed" of a wheel can cost you 20–30 W of surges to hold. Rules:
- Sit in, don't pull. First hour, you are a passenger.
- Match the group, don't chase. If a surge takes the pack above your ceiling, let them go. They will come back, or you will catch them at mile 70.
- Pick your group. Better to ride steady with three athletes at your pace than yo-yo off the back of a faster group.
- Eat in the pack. Steady efforts in a draft = easiest fueling window of the day.
"Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast."
The Middle — Where Races Are Built
The middle of a gravel race is the longest stretch and the most boring chapter in any race report — which is exactly why it matters most. This is where fueling either holds or fails, where pacing either compounds or unravels, and where mental discipline either keeps you in the race or quietly removes you from it.
The Middle Mile Checklist (Run Every 30 Minutes)
- Fuel: Did I take in my target carbs in the last 30 min? (Yes / No / catch up now)
- Fluid: Am I drinking on schedule? Bottle level check.
- Sodium: Salt cap or electrolyte mix on plan?
- Power/HR: Am I in my prescribed band, or has HR drifted up?
- Body scan: Hands, neck, low back, feet. Reset position.
- Mental: What's the next checkpoint? What's the next fuel?
Watching HR Drift
Cardiac drift — HR climbing at the same power output — is normal and expected in long gravel races. It is also a diagnostic tool:
| Drift Amount | What It Means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 bpm over 2 hr | Well-paced, well-fueled | Hold the line |
| 5–10 bpm over 2 hr | Normal drift, especially in heat | Check fluid + sodium |
| 10–15 bpm over 2 hr | Underfueled, underhydrated, or overpacing | Reduce power 5–10 W, fuel aggressively |
| 15+ bpm or HR climbing while power dropping | You're in trouble | Soft-pedal 10–15 min, eat, drink, salt, reassess |
The Dark Patches
Every long gravel race has them. They are not signs you're failing — they are signs you're racing. The trick is to recognize them as states, not verdicts.
"Run the K/mile I'm in."
The Final Third — Where Races Are Decided
The final third of a gravel race rewards the patient. If you executed the first two-thirds well — steady power, fueled on schedule, calm in the pack — the final third is where you have options. If you overspent earlier, the final third is where the bill arrives.
Distance-Specific Final-Third Strategy
| Distance | Final Third Begins | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| 50 mi | Mile 33 | Lift power 3–5% if fueled and steady. Last 10 mi = race effort. |
| 100 mi | Mile 65 | Hold target power. Last 20 mi = lift if able. Last 5 mi = whatever's left. |
| 200 mi | Mile 130 | Survive to mile 160. Race from 160 to 190. Finish from 190 in. |
The Lift — Only If You've Earned It
The "lift" is the deliberate, controlled increase in effort in the final third. It is not a sprint, not a surge — it is a 3–8% bump in sustainable power held to the finish. Earn the lift by passing this four-part check:
- Fueling on schedule — caught up, not behind.
- HR responsive — climbs when you ask, drops when you ease.
- Legs answering — when you push 10 W harder, they hold it.
- Mind clear — you can do math, count K's, hold a plan.
If any one of those four is missing, do not lift. Hold steady. Finishing strong at target power beats blowing up at +5%.
The Final Hour
By the final hour, your stomach may be done with gels. Switch to easy calories: defizzed Coke, broth, a real-food bite, even chews. The goal is not optimal nutrition — it's any nutrition. Keep sodium going. Keep fluid going. Keep moving.
"Trust what you've built."
Aid Stations & Checkpoints
In gravel, aid stations are not refueling stops — they are resets. A well-executed checkpoint can save 15–30 minutes of suffering later. A rushed or sloppy checkpoint can cost the race.
The 4-Step Checkpoint Routine
- Bottles first. Swap or refill before anything else. Hydration is the slowest variable to correct.
- Food second. Reload jersey pockets/top tube bag. Take one real-food bite at the stop.
- Body third. Quick scan: chamois, hands, neck. Sunscreen, chamois cream, ibuprofen if planned.
- Bike last. Quick visual: tires, chain, brakes. Lube if needed.
Time Budgets
| Distance | Self-Serve Stop | Crewed Stop | Max Acceptable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 mi | 30–60 sec | 15–30 sec | 2 min |
| 100 mi | 1–2 min | 30–60 sec | 4 min |
| 200 mi | 3–5 min | 2–3 min | 8 min (longer is OK if needed) |
Mechanicals & Trouble — Staying in the Race
Gravel races break bikes. Flats, broken derailleurs, snapped chains, bent hangers, slashed sidewalls, lost bottles, dead Di2 batteries — all of it happens, and most of it happens in the worst possible spot. Your job is not to avoid trouble (impossible). Your job is to stay calm and solve.
The Trouble Triage
| Issue | First Action | If That Fails |
|---|---|---|
| Slow leak | Add air, ride on it, monitor | Plug → tube |
| Fast flat | Plug (1–2 plugs) | Tube it |
| Sidewall cut | Boot (tire boot or dollar bill) + tube | Limp to aid |
| Chain snap | Quick link + chain tool | Single-speed it home |
| Derailleur hanger | Spare hanger (if carried) | Single-speed conversion |
| Broken spoke | Tape to neighbor, open brake | Limp to aid |
| Dropped bottle | Ride on, refill at next stop | Sip from neighbor's spare |
Body Mechanicals
The bike isn't the only thing that breaks. Watch for and address early:
- Saddle sores / chamois issues — chamois cream at every aid, stand often, baby wipes at long stops.
- Hand numbness — change hand position every 10 min, shake out at stops, double-wrap bar tape if chronic.
- Foot hot spots — loosen shoes at aid, swap socks at long stops, talc powder for 200 mi.
- Neck/shoulder fatigue — chin tucks, shoulder rolls, change position. Often a fit issue surfacing under fatigue.
- GI distress — back off intensity 10 min, switch to fluid calories, salt, no new food. See Chapter 26.
GI Distress — The Most Common DNF
More gravel races end in a Porta-John than in a med tent. GI failure — bloating, cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea — is the #1 non-mechanical DNF cause at events like Unbound. The good news: most GI distress is preventable, and most that happens mid-race is recoverable if you act early.
Causes (in order of frequency)
- Too many carbs too fast — exceeding trained-gut capacity.
- Wrong carb ratio — too much glucose without fructose at high intakes.
- Dehydration — blood diverted away from gut.
- Overheating — same mechanism, worse.
- Riding too hard — high intensity shuts down digestion.
- New foods on race day — never, ever do this.
The GI Recovery Protocol
- Soft-pedal for 10–15 min. Drop intensity to ZR/Z1. Let blood return to the gut.
- Stop solid food. Fluid calories only for the next 30 min.
- Add sodium. Salt cap or strong electrolyte mix.
- Sip cold fluid. Small sips, frequently. Cold settles the gut better than warm.
- Reassess at 20–30 min. If improving, slowly reintroduce calories (chews, then gel, then food). If not improving, stop at next aid.
Prevention
- Train the gut. Practice race-day fueling in every long ride. 8–12 weeks of progressive carb loading (60 → 80 → 100 → 120 g/hr) before race day.
- Pair carbs with fluid. Every gel needs water. Concentrated carbs without fluid = osmotic distress.
- Low fiber 24–48 hr before. White rice, pasta, white bread, bananas. Skip salads, beans, raw vegetables, high-fiber bars.
- Test caffeine and NSAIDs. Both can torch a sensitive gut. Practice in training.
- Don't chase calories late. If you're behind at mile 150, don't try to make it up with three gels at mile 155. Steady wins.
Resources: Sodium, Hydration & Carbs · Carb Fueling Article
Night Riding — The 200-Mile Reality
Most 200-mi gravel races include 2–6 hours of night riding for mid-pack and back-of-pack finishers. Night riding changes everything: pace drops, focus narrows, fueling gets harder, and small mistakes get bigger. Prepare for it like a separate discipline.
Lighting
- Primary headlight: 800–1500 lumens, 4+ hr runtime on high. Mount on bar.
- Backup headlight: Smaller, helmet-mounted, 300–600 lumens. Aims where you look.
- Tail light: Mandatory at most night events. Steady or slow-blink, fresh battery.
- Spare batteries / cache battery: One full set of backups in drop bag or jersey.
Pacing at Night
Night riding adds physiological load — eye strain, narrowed focus, cooler temps, often headwinds. Expect:
- Power output drops 5–10% at same RPE.
- HR may run higher at lower power (fatigue + cold).
- Reaction time slows — leave more margin on descents and corners.
- Drafting is harder and more dangerous. Give space.
Fueling at Night
Cold + dark + late race = appetite shutdown. Strategies:
- Warm fluids if possible — broth, warm coffee at aid, even warm water with electrolytes.
- Easy-access calories — pre-open gels, gummies in jersey, nothing requiring fine motor.
- Caffeine becomes essential — 1–2 mg/kg every 3–4 hr through the night. Mind your daily cap.
- Salt before you crave it — cold hides sodium need.
Mental Strategy
Night riding compresses your world to the cone of your headlight. Use it. Stop thinking about miles remaining. Think about the next 30 seconds of trail, the next pedal stroke, the next breath. The race shrinks to right now — and right now is manageable.
"Steady is strong."
The Finish & After — Recover Like a Pro
You crossed the line. Now the second race begins: recovery. What you do in the first 24 hours and the first two weeks after a big gravel race determines whether the next month is a build or a hole.
The First Hour
- Walk for 10 minutes. Don't sit down immediately. Let HR and blood pressure normalize.
- Fluids first. 16–24 oz with sodium. Sip, don't chug.
- Carbs + protein within 30–60 min. 1 g/kg carbs + 20–40 g protein. Real food preferred — sandwich, rice bowl, recovery shake if nothing sounds good.
- Get warm and dry. Change clothes. Hypothermia risk is real after long efforts, especially at night.
- Skip the celebration beer for an hour. Rehydrate first. Then enjoy.
The First 24 Hours
- Continue eating every 2–3 hours. Sodium with every meal.
- Sleep priority #1. Aim for 9+ hours that first night.
- No intense exercise. A short walk is the most you should do.
- Expect bad sleep, weird appetite, mood swings. All normal.
The Recovery Window
| Distance | Easy Days | First Easy Spin | Return to Hard Training |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 mi | 2–4 days | Day 2–3, 30–60 min Z1 | Day 5–7 |
| 100 mi | 5–10 days | Day 3–5, 30–45 min Z1 | Day 10–14 |
| 200 mi | 10–21 days | Day 5–7, 20–40 min Z1 | Day 21–28 |
The Race Debrief (Day 3–5)
Once you can think clearly, do a written debrief. Three questions:
- What worked? Pacing, fueling, gear, mental cues — what do I keep?
- What didn't? What broke, what hurt, what I'd change.
- What's next? What do I want to build between now and the next goal?
Work With ANC
This playbook gives you the framework. If you want it built around you — your power, your gut, your event, your life — that's what we do.
Knowledge Hub
Glossary
- CP (Critical Power)
- The highest power you can sustain in a quasi-steady state, roughly corresponding to LT2. Anchor of the ANC zone model.
- CS (Critical Speed)
- Running equivalent of CP — the highest sustainable steady-state pace.
- W′ (W-prime) / D′ (D-prime)
- Your anaerobic "battery" above CP/CS. Finite, refillable below threshold. Matters in surges, climbs, and finishes.
- LT1 / LT2
- Aerobic threshold (LT1, ~85% CP/CS) and lactate/anaerobic threshold (LT2, ~100% CP/CS). The two breakpoints that define your training zones.
- VO₂max
- Maximum rate of oxygen consumption. Ceiling of aerobic capacity. Trained with short, hard intervals.
- Cardiac Drift
- HR rising at constant power — a normal feature of long efforts and a diagnostic for fueling, hydration, and pacing.
- The Lift
- A deliberate, controlled 3–8% increase in effort in the final third of a race, only used if fueling, HR response, legs, and mind all check green.
- Trained Gut
- The progressive capacity to absorb high carbohydrate intake (90–150 g/hr) during exercise, built over 8–12 weeks of practice.
- Glucose:Fructose Ratio
- The ratio of carb sources in race fueling. ~1:0.8 for intakes >90 g/hr to engage both intestinal transporters and reduce GI distress.
- Drop Bag
- A pre-packed bag staged at a checkpoint with fueling, spares, and clothing. Critical for 100 and 200 mi gravel events.
- The Four Iron Rules
- Start fueling early · Pair carbs with fluid · Train the gut · Don't chase calories late.
- The Four ANC Pillars
- Aerobic first · Inside-out first · Repeatable before harder · Trust what you've built.