READ THE FULL GRAVEL AND TAR REVIEW →
ELITE RACE — OPEN EVENT PAUSED — The Classic is a UCI elite race; its open-entry companion, the Slicks and Stones Gravel Assault, is on pause with no next edition announced. This plan trains the gravel-and-tar demands either way.
An elite-only New Zealand race with gravel sectors
Gravel and Tar courses cross rolling New Zealand farmland, mixing sealed roads with gravel sectors so riders handle surface changes at speed. The course demands steady endurance, control across changing surfaces, and repeated hard efforts through the gravel sectors.
With 5 to 9 hours each week, this six-week plan prioritizes the most useful preparation still available: steady endurance, strength for rolling farmland, and practice moving between gravel and sealed roads. It is a focused reset for Gravel and Tar.
INSIDE THE SAVE MY RACE PLAN — 5–9 HR/WK
Includes zone-tailored structured rides for your devices, built-in strength with video walkthroughs, heat-training protocols for racing in the hot stuff, peloton skills workouts, weekly coach notes + the Gravel Grit mental program, and nutrition and hydration guidance.
The Complete Gravel and Tar Guide — the training, the tactics, the gear and race day, explained simply and clearly: what to do, when to do it, and why it works.
WANT A DIFFERENT GRAVEL AND TAR PLAN?
Questions? Great. Hit me up at plans@gravelgodcoaching.com.
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