Hi,
I am preparing for my first gravel race of about 120miles and almost 12000ft of climbing. I am about to start the gravel training plan.
I weigh 132lbs and with FTP of 310W. What should be my race strategy in terms of avg power, race tactics, pacing etc. Any tips will be welcome
Thanks!
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Assuming you have power on your bike, I’d recommended a IF of .7 to .75 for most of the race. If you have to hit the gas to make a selection great but look for a chance to recover. You should have plenty in the tank to rock the final 20 miles. Good luck and most important, have fun.
I recorded this podcast for you @Mat90
With power like that - try to draft in the front pack and hang on for as long as possible! Good luck
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@FRANK Hi coach, I followed the gravel training plan and finished all workouts. Just had my gravel race which went really went except 3 punctures and missed turn which costed extra 25km.
My next gravel race is in 7 weeks do you recommend following the same training plan or should I try another one?
Thanks
Heya @Mat90 - congrats on finishing your first race!
3 punctures…hmmmmm. are you using tubeless tires with sealant? If not - those will help a ton!
I’d also examine how you punctured and remedy that. Was it from bashing a rock? Or a sidewall gash? Both are fixable. What kind of tires were you using? You may benefit from a more beefy’er set of rubber.
For your next race, what kind of course is it & what’s the distance? One with a lot of climbing? If so I’d recommend our climbing intervals plan
Hope that helps - good luck & let us know those ^^ questions and we’ll be able to give a better recommendation!
Thank you @FRANK, I was comfortable in the front group until I punctured. I was running tubeless gravelking sk 38s. First 100km of the course was very rocky- big loose rocks everywhere, very technical descents too. More like an MTB course than gravel.
Next race is 150km with 3000m of climbing.
Thanks for sharing the tips:)