La Drômoise Gravel is 43 miles with about 4,900 feet of climbing, mostly on forest fire roads with short paved passages and some stony technical sections, navigated by GPS trace rather than a fully marked course. Late September brings mild days and cool mornings, with variable pre-Alpine mountain weather possible.

This is a six-week plan for when the entry is paid and the weeks are short. Six weeks won’t build the climbing endurance for 4,900 feet from scratch, but most of the work in this window goes toward repeated climbing and time on rough surfaces, so the limited hours get you to the start with a plan for the day.

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 La Drômoise Gravel guide — terrain, gearing, fueling