Iceman Cometh is a roughly 30-mile point-to-point MTB race from Kalkaska Airport to Timber Ridge. Dirt roads, two-track, abandoned railroad beds, the Vasa trail, selective singletrack, and a field of thousands turn a compact distance into repeated surges and constant position changes.
This is a twelve-week plan for racing Iceman, built around the higher weekly hours that racing takes. The added volume supports an aggressive start, repeated selections through the middle of the course, and useful power when the late Vasa trails demand one more move.
30 MI · 2,000 FT CLIMBING · DIRT ROADS + TWO-TRACK + SINGLETRACK · 12 WEEKS · 9–13 HR/WK · COMPETE
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 and a mid-plan retest, so the plan runs on your real numbers
- The full Iceman Cometh 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