Events/The Downs Divide

The Downs Divide

Gravel

Date

Sat, 14 Aug 2027

Venue

Cranleigh, Surrey → North & South Downs loop

Countdown

August

Routes

Distances

102-162km

Climb, 162 km

2,700m

Glorious Gravel's big southern endurance day: 162km of chalk and flint linking the North and South Downs in one loop from Cranleigh in the Surrey Hills, on a mid-August Saturday.

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The course

The route

The flagship line stitches the North and South Downs together across Surrey and Sussex chalk country: mixed chalk and flint bridleway, byway and quiet-lane links, with an estimated 2,700m of climbing spread across countless rolling drags.

Weather

Mid-August, Cranleigh

22°CTypical high

14°CTypical low

8°CColdest in 20 years

37%Days with rain

Highs around 22°C and lows around 14°C, but it has dropped to 8°C. Rain on 37% of days.

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

Training

Training for the The Downs Divide

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

A relentless rolling grind

Typical sessions

No long flats and little recovery between climbs, hour after hour on tired legs

Countless chalk and flint bridleway drags, a rolling-resistance tax paid every kilometre

Fuelling under load: 70 to 100g of carbs an hour, or the back half falls apart

August heat on exposed Downs ridgelines, where hydration matters more than warmth

What your weeks look like

Typical sessions

Progressive long ride: build from 3hr toward a 6 to 8hr gravel day, mostly Z2

Event-pace long: hours at your target Downs Divide intensity, feeding for the full distance

Sweet spot gravel: 2 to 3 x 20min at 88 to 93% FTP on rolling climbs

Chalk and flint handling plus tubeless plug practice, for loose-surface confidence

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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