The MAAP Beechworth Granite Classic is 71 miles with about 4,600 feet of climbing on gravel roads and forest tracks through the Victorian high country. The climbing begins in earnest around mile 30, and the terrain turns technical and sustained through the high country grind near mile 60. Conditions can range from cool to warm depending on the season.
This is an eight-week plan for riders working with four to six hours a week against a job and everything else. Most of the limited hours go toward the repeated climbing and the technical riding this course asks for, so the training fits the schedule you actually have rather than the one you wish you had.
71 MI · 4,600 FT CLIMBING · MIX OF GRAVEL ROADS AND FOREST TRACKS THROUGH VICTORIAN HIGH · 8 WEEKS · 4–6 HR/WK · TIME-CRUNCHED
WHAT'S INSIDE
- Structured workouts on your calendar, with real power and heart-rate graphs
- Strength work built in, with video walkthroughs
- Weekly notes from me, plus the Gravel Grit mental program
- A testing week, so the plan runs on your real numbers
- The full MAAP Beechworth Granite Classic guide — terrain, gearing, fueling
Hey, I'm Matti. I spent 11 years at TrainingPeaks, where they trusted me to teach coaches how to coach at TrainingPeaks University. I raced Amateur Elite with Rio Grande Cycling Team and podiumed my age group at Unbound 200 in 2026. I have a degree in biology and exercise physiology from St. Olaf. I'm also a middle-aged dad of three, so I know training doesn't happen in a vacuum. I help gravel riders get stupidly fast without becoming the person who brings a food scale to a party