Events/Cannock Chase Gravel X

Cannock Chase Gravel X

Gravel

Date

Sat, 20 Mar 2027

Venue

Rugeley, Staffordshire, England

Countdown

March

Distance

74km

Total climb

900m

A fully-signed early-season gravel sportive on Cannock Chase, with no cut-offs, feed stations, a medal and a beer at the finish. E-bikes welcome, first-timers too.

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The course

The route

The long route covers 74km with around 900m of rolling climbing (estimated) across Cannock Chase, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Forest fire roads, open heath tracks and quiet-lane links, with a shorter 44km option on the same terrain.

Weather

Mid-March, Rugeley

10°CTypical high

2°CTypical low

-4°CColdest in 20 years

38%Days with rain

Highs around 10°C and lows around 2°C, but it has dropped to -4°C. Rain on 38% of days. Pack for the cold end, not the average.

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

Training

Training for the Cannock Chase Gravel X

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

What the day throws at you

Typical sessions

Rolling relentlessness: repeated short heath and forest climbs, not big cols, so it is durability over the rollers that counts

Mixed surface: forest gravel plus soft, open heath tracks where tyre choice and handling pay off

Exposure: open heath catches the wind, with the forest sheltering you in between

On the 74km, 3.5 to 5.5+ hours of early-spring riding where fuelling discipline decides a strong finish

What your weeks look like

Typical sessions

Progressive Long Ride: build from 2hr toward 4.5hr on rolling gravel, mostly Z2, the core adaptation

Sweet Spot Gravel: 2 to 3 x 15 to 20min at 88 to 93% FTP on gravel climbs for rolling-climb durability

Event-Pace Long: 3.5 to 4.5hr at target intensity with full fuelling rehearsal, 60 to 90g carbs per hour

Winter Turbo Endurance plus soft and greasy handling practice, protecting duration when the tracks are unrideable

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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