Big Sugar Gravel (100 mile): 6-week KICK START training plan (Zwift compatible)

If you’re an intermediate cyclist targeting Big Sugar Gravel and coming out of winter ready to build with intent, this 6-week plan is designed to kick-start your spring training and guide you toward the specific demands of one of the toughest and most distinctive gravel races in the US. It’s the ideal transition phase to rebuild rhythm, lift fitness, and develop the durability, punch, and resilience required for 100 demanding miles across the Ozark Mountains.

Who’s it for?
This training plan is aimed at intermediate gravel riders with a solid base of fitness who are ready to move into a more purposeful build toward Big Sugar. Whether you’ve trained consistently through winter or are sharpening your focus as the season approaches, this plan provides structure and direction at exactly the right stage. It’s shaped by real race experience and a clear understanding of what Big Sugar demands physically, mentally, and tactically.

Is it for you?
This plan assumes you’re comfortable riding both indoors (such as Zwift) and outdoors, and happy blending structured quality sessions with longer endurance rides as daylight increases and conditions improve. It’s ideal if you want to transition smoothly from winter training into more race-specific preparation without burning out, while rebuilding aerobic fitness, strength, and climbing durability.

The focus reflects the realities of Big Sugar: a fast, aggressive start; repeated short, steep climbs; technical gravel and dirt roads; frequent changes in pace; and limited opportunities to settle into a steady rhythm. Success here depends on being able to produce power repeatedly, recover quickly between efforts, and stay composed as fatigue builds over constantly undulating terrain.

What’s involved?
The plan builds progressively over six weeks, carefully balancing structure with flexibility to support consistent progression. Each week targets key training zones using indoor sessions for precision and repeatability, alongside outdoor rides to develop endurance, fatigue resistance, and real-world gravel skills.

There’s a strong emphasis on aerobic conditioning combined with repeated threshold and over-under efforts to reflect the punchy climbs and surging nature of the course. Long rides focus on maintaining power as fatigue accumulates, managing traction and line choice on mixed surfaces, and practising fuelling under load, all essential for handling the relentless terrain, technical descents, and constant decision-making required throughout the 100 miles around Bentonville and the Ozarks.

The goal isn’t to peak during these six weeks. Instead, it’s to come out of this block fitter, tougher, and more confident, ready to move into the final, more Big Sugar–specific preparation phase. You’ll be well positioned to handle the hard start, repeated climbs, technical gravel, and cumulative fatigue that define one of gravel racing’s most demanding and respected events.