12-Week Gravel Race Training Plan for Beginners

A 12-week gravel race training plan is the most efficient way to build the fitness, endurance, and mental toughness you need to finish your first event — or to break through a plateau on races you’ve already done. This plan is designed for riders with a functional base (2–4 hours per week on the bike) who want to complete a 50–100 mile gravel race. Here’s how to execute it.

What This Gravel Race Training Plan Covers

This 12-week plan is organized into three phases: Base (weeks 1–4), Build (weeks 5–9), and Peak + Taper (weeks 10–12). Each phase has a specific physiological goal. Base work develops aerobic efficiency and gets your body used to sustained saddle time. The Build phase adds intensity and volume to improve power output and race-pace fitness. Peak and taper sharpen your fitness and ensure you arrive at the start line fresh.

The plan assumes 3–4 rides per week with a hard cap of 10 hours in the peak week. If you’re training for an event longer than 100 miles, extend the Base phase by 2–4 weeks before beginning the Build. For Unbound Gravel 200, check our full race guide for extended training guidance. See the race calendar to plan your target event around this 12-week block.

Phase 1 — Base (Weeks 1–4): Aerobic Foundation

Week 1–2: Three rides per week. One mid-week ride of 60–75 minutes at Zone 2 (conversational pace, able to speak in full sentences). One 90-minute mid-week ride with 3×10-minute tempo efforts at a pace you could hold for an hour. One weekend long ride of 2.5–3 hours at easy Zone 2 pace. Total: 5–6 hours per week.

Week 3–4: Add a fourth ride (easy 45-minute recovery spin). Extend the weekend long ride to 3.5–4 hours. The tempo block stays the same for now — you’re building aerobic base, not accumulating fatigue. At the end of week 4, do a rest week: cut volume by 40% and let adaptation happen.

Phase 2 — Build (Weeks 5–9): Adding Intensity and Volume

Week 5–6: Introduce back-to-back weekend rides. Saturday: 4–5 hours with 2×20-minute sustained efforts at threshold (80–85% max heart rate, just below race pace). Sunday: 2.5–3-hour recovery ride at easy Zone 2. This back-to-back structure mimics the cumulative fatigue of a multi-hour gravel event and teaches your body to keep performing when glycogen is low.

Week 7–8: Peak volume weeks. Saturday long ride extends to 5–6 hours, with the final 30–45 minutes at tempo pace — this simulates the end of a gravel race when you’re already tired. Mid-week rides include 1×30-minute sweet spot effort (88–93% threshold power). Rest week at the end of week 8.

Week 9: Race simulation week. One mid-week ride of 90 minutes with a 20-minute threshold effort. The weekend long ride should be your longest of the cycle — 5–6 hours on gravel terrain similar to your target event. Include snacks and hydration practice exactly as you plan to race. This is also the week to test your gear — shoes, shorts, gloves, bags.

Phase 3 — Peak and Taper (Weeks 10–12)

Week 10: Maintain intensity, reduce volume by 20%. Keep your mid-week tempo work. Shorten the long ride to 4 hours but keep a quality tempo block in the middle. Your fitness is locked in at this point — the taper is about managing freshness, not adding fitness.

Week 11: Cut total volume by 40% from peak week. Three short, quality rides: 60-min easy, 75-min with 2×10-min at tempo, 90-min easy with a few short race-pace surges. No long rides. Sleep becomes the priority.

Week 12 (Race week): Three short rides: Monday easy 45 minutes, Wednesday 45 minutes with 4×2-min race-pace efforts to wake up the legs, Friday 20-minute easy shake-out with a few 15-second accelerations. Race day: fuel well the night before, arrive early, ride your plan.

Key Training Principles for Gravel

Zone 2 discipline is the most important and most violated rule of gravel training. Most riders ride too hard on easy days, which blunts the aerobic adaptation and accumulates fatigue. If you’re not sure you’re in Zone 2, slow down. A heart rate monitor and a target of 60–70% max heart rate keeps you honest.

Ride your event-specific terrain. If your race is rocky and technical, train on rocky terrain. If it’s long and rolling, train with long rolling rides. Gravel racing rewards riders who know how to pace rough terrain, not just those with the highest FTP.

Nutrition practice is training. Use long rides to test your fueling strategy — what sits well in your stomach at hour 4, how often you can eat without GI distress, and how you feel on different carbohydrate sources. Your nutrition plan for race day should be completely rehearsed before you toe the line. See our gravel race nutrition guide for a detailed fueling protocol.

What Race Should You Target?

There are great gravel events at every distance across the country. Whether you’re looking for a local 50-miler to test your fitness or you’re building toward a major event, the right race is out there.