Date
Sat, 6 Feb 2027
Venue
Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand
Countdown
February
Distance
159km
Total climb
2,000m
New Zealand's spring classic on mixed surfaces. Long, fast sealed roads hold the bunch together, then a gravel sector hits and splits it apart, the way cobbles do in Europe.
Create a free training plan for the Gravel and Tar Classic
7-day free trial, no card required
The course
The route
Roughly 159km and 2,000m of climbing, rolling rather than mountainous, stringing long sealed sections together with selective gravel sectors across exposed, often windy Manawatū farmland.
Weather
Early-February, Manawatū-Whanganui
24°CTypical high
13°CTypical low
6°CColdest in 20 years
35%Days with rain
Highs around 24°C and lows around 13°C, but it has dropped to 6°C. Rain on 35% of days.
NASA POWER data, 2006-2025, the week either side of race day
2024 results
Who finishes, and how
#TeamLapsTime
01Kate MCCARTHY33:01:34.41
02Sammie MAXWELL33:01:34.76
03Charlotte CLARKE33:01:58.33
18
Women finishers
3:14:17
Median time
3 laps
Median laps
Women · 2024 results, as published by the organiser.
How many laps could you do?
Get a prediction based on your recent training
Training
Training for the Gravel and Tar Classic
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.icuA road race on mixed surfaces
Typical sessions
Long sealed sections at bunch speed, where losing the wheels means a lonely, costly chase
Selective gravel sectors that split the field and reward repeatable hard efforts in position
Surface transitions: hitting gravel at speed, then getting back into the fast tar bunch
Manawatū crosswinds that form echelons and shell unprepared riders off the back
What your weeks look like
Typical sessions
Sector threshold repeats: 6 to 10 times 3 to 8 min at threshold with short recovery, the core race demand
Over-unders: 3 to 4 times 8 to 12 min alternating just below and above threshold, for surviving sector surges
Long mixed-surface rides building from 2.5hr toward a 4.5 to 5.5hr peak on tar and gravel
Fast group rides in the wind for drafting, positioning and echelon skills
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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Get your Gravel and Tar Classic plan.
7-day free trial, no card required.
