← All eventsSomerset Gravel Epic
The hilly one — a Mendip Hills climbing day on limestone bridleway and forest gravel near Cheddar — 74km or 100km flagship, real climbing, no cut-offs. Date approximate; climbing estimated.
The hilly one. While most early-season gravel sportives roll, the Somerset Gravel Epic climbs, hauling you up into the Mendip Hills above Cheddar Gorge on limestone bridleway and forest gravel.
The 100km flagship stacks around 1,700m of climbing across 5.5 to 8 hours. Steep limestone pitches, rough tracks, rewarding descents. A 74km option keeps the climbing but shortens the day.
Nothing brutal about the rules: no cut-offs, e-bikes welcome, a medal and a beer at the finish. The brutal part is the terrain. Power to weight and climbing legs decide how your day goes.
Is Somerset Gravel Epic for you?
- Riders with climbing legs. Power to weight decides this course, so anyone who enjoys a long day of going up will feel at home in the Mendips.
- People who want a genuinely hard gravel day without a clock chasing them. No cut-offs means you climb at your own pace and still earn the medal.
- Confident descenders. Rough, often wet limestone rewards riders who stay relaxed and carry speed instead of grabbing brakes.
- Anyone stepping up from flat gravel. The 74km keeps the real climbing but shortens the day, a smart way in before the 100km flagship.
Training plan for Somerset Gravel Epic
A training plan for Somerset Gravel Epic isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Sustained and steep limestone climbs, roughly 1,700m of it on the 100km. Power to weight, not flat rhythm, sets the pace.
- 5.5 to 8 hours on the flagship, so climbing durability and fuelling matter as much as raw climbing power.
- Rough, often wet limestone descents that reward handling and punish over-braking.
- Changeable West Country spring, 6 to 14C and cooler on the exposed tops.
- Progressive hilly long ride, building from 2.5 hours to 6 on hilly gravel.
- Gravel climb repeats, 3 to 5 times 8 to 12 minutes at 88 to 95% FTP on real climbs.
- Event-pace hilly long, 4.5 to 6 hours with full fuelling, rehearsing the day.
- Late-climb durability, a 4 to 5 hour ride with the biggest climbs in the back half.
- 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
