Events/Banchory Explorr Gravel Stage Race

Banchory Explorr Gravel Stage Race

Gravel

Date

Sat, 29 Aug 2026

Venue

Banchory, Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire

Countdown

August

Distance

120km

One of the only true gravel stage races in the UK. Four timed stages, 76km of racing inside a 120km day, on Royal Deeside at the edge of the Cairngorms.

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The course

The route

Four timed stages total 76km inside a 120km day, with untimed transitions to recover and refuel between them. The terrain runs from closed tarmac to forest gravel, open moorland and windfarm roads, with the 50km, 1,000m Queen Stage the crux.

Weather

Late-August, Banchory

16°CTypical high

9°CTypical low

4°CColdest in 20 years

45%Days with rain

Highs around 16°C and lows around 9°C, but it has dropped to 4°C. Rain on 45% of days.

NASA POWER data, 2006-2025, the week either side of race day

Training

Training for the Banchory Explorr Gravel Stage Race

We don't do generic plans. We combine deep knowledge of this race's demands with your recent training, then build a plan with you that progresses as you do.

Beina integrates directly with your existing tools to understand your current fitness, and synchronise your planned sessions.

Intervals.icu

Four efforts, one day

Typical sessions

Four timed stages back to back, with only untimed transitions to recover between them

Stage 3, the Queen: 50km and 1,000m of climbing across three climbs and two sprints

Five 250m sprint segments scored as their own Sprint Challenge

Late-August Aberdeenshire wind on exposed moorland and windfarm gravel

What your weeks look like

Typical sessions

3x15min at 95-100% FTP off 6min easy, for sustained Queen-Stage pace

Stage sims: three to four timed efforts in one ride with easy transitions between

5x4min VO2max at 110-120% FTP for the short, sharp climb attacks

Sprint off threshold: 8min at FTP into a 30sec all-out sprint, on tired race-like legs

Not a generic schedule

Typical sessions

Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have

Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond

Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo

One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet

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7-day free trial, no card required.

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