What plan should I choose for gravel event that is 60 miles and 6000 feet of climbing.
I’m not sure if I should do the 60 mile plan or the 100 mile plan, or if there is a plan to prepare me for that much climbing that is not under the gravel section.
The plan selector used to say how many metres of climbing were in the event planned for. This appears to no longer be the case.
My 2 cents. If your event is 60 stick with the 60 plan and you can supplement with some climbing focused vids and/or outdoor rides. GOAT, Power Station, Ian Boswell’s Strength Endurance vid etc, just go to the Library and filter for Climbing focus and you’ll get loads of options.
Makes sense I may go with a lower volume plan and add in long climbing rides on the weekend.
Do you know the profile of the ride? Is it all rolling hills or are there some big long climbs in there? For big long climbs you’ll likely settle into a good endurance pace but for rollers you may kick it up a bit and recover on the descents. That’s a fair chunk of climbing over 60 miles.
I’m waiting on the gpx file. I’ve ridden parts of the route. There are a few 8-10 minute climbs but nothing huge as far as I know.
The 2 Phil Gaimon short and long KOM training vids could help you with pacing too.
If you are looking for a training plan over 12 weeks, I replied on Facebook. There is/was a hilly grand fondo plan designed to get people ready for Phil’s Fondo which certainly is hilly.
Sir Glen, It’s funny to hear anyone say that 6K of vertical over 60mi is a lot of climbing. Out here in the Pacific Northwest, that’s the golden ratio for a gravel event. The short route is about 4.5K over 45mi, and the long course if you’re lucky will be like 8.9K over a century. Of course, we don’t do any of that 200mi nonsense like they do in the Midwest! If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can do more. I did an event last year outside of Olympia WA that had 7.3K over 58mi. Brutal. Long stretches over 15% grade. The attrition rate was a third of the field, half the field for the century riders. If memory serves, I think I was using the hilly gran fondo plan as the old gravel plan assumed a longer flatter parcours.
Love it! I envy you cuz, though I am not built like a climber in any sense, I LOVE to climb. But, alas, I live in the prairies in the middle of Canada where to get a hilly ride worth anything, I’ve got to drive for 3 hours to get there.
One of my favourite places in Manitoba to ride (a 3 hour drive) is called Riding Mountain National Park (not a mountain) where from one end of the park to the other and back is about 130 kms and gets you 1000 metres of gain.
My longest single ride last year was just over 200 km and got me 260 metres, lol!
What we do have is relentless and unforgiving headwinds (aka prairie mountains 
) where your reward is a tailwind (unless the wind changes direction 
)
Totally agree following a plan designed for specific to the type of event is optimum. That said, a few years ago I was living and riding at sea level, flew to Denver, CO on a Sat, and did a 100 mile ride with 12,000’ feet of climbing that Sun. It was a slog, but despite the altitude (up to 9000’) and long steep climbs , I just kept steadily plugging along. I’m saying this to point out that I got away without any special training, and that my general sea-level 60 year old roadie fitness was sufficient to get me through it.
I would say that for this sort of event then the mountainous/hilly GF plan may be most suitable for the elevation gain side of it. The gravel plans will be good to but sounds like the elevation is going to be the real kicker for this event! Incorporating strength work will also be beneficial as on steeper gravelly climbs you want to be able to deliver a smooth pedal stroke and also likely have to put out good power with high torque and low leg speed