EMPLOYING A "GENIUS" PACING PLAN FOR MY FASTEST SBT GRVL FINISH
SBT GRVL is Colorado's fastest gravel race, and with nearly 2,500 riders in attendance, it's also one of the biggest gravel races in the world. This year, SBT GRVL introduced an all-new race course, but the high altitude, tough climbing, and beautiful scenery remain.
This year's full-distance Black Course was 108 miles long with around 8,000 ft of climbing. It's a tough challenge for most, but especially for me since I struggle with climbing and the effects of altitude. I had an ambitious goal of finishing this course under 6 hours, and to accomplish this, I formulated a "genius" 7-part plan to ensure I save the most energy I can while riding as quickly as possible:
Part 1: Pace Every Climb
Pacing climbs is way more fun than attacking climbs.
I've raced SBT GRVL five times now. Every single time, I blow up before the finish and end up partaking in a multi-hour death march to the finish. The main reason, obviously, is that I go too hard on the climbs! SBT GRVL is chock-full of climbs, and if your pace is too hard early on, you'll run out of matches for the climbs later in the race.
This year, I set a strict power window for the climbs: 200-300 watts. With a 100-watt range to work with, I had plenty of room to maneuver, but it also helped keep me in check. By consciously not going over 300 watts, I rarely pedal above my threshold.
Unless you're looking at your power, you may not realize how often you actually punch above your threshold on long and steep climbs. It's a lot! It may only be for a second or two, but if you do it regularly over the whole race, it adds up! Setting a window keeps me riding steadily all day.
Part 2: Avoid the Wind
Can you spot me? I'm hiding from the wind.
Besides the climbs, air resistance is the strongest force cyclists have to overcome. In the past, I've spent far too much time battling alone against the wind, which wastes precious energy. This year, I made a conscious effort to draft more.
I wanted to always have company whenever I was traversing a flatter section of road. This might mean putting in a bit of effort to catch a group ahead of me, or more likely, easing off to let a group behind me catch up. The more I could stay hidden behind riders, the less watts I had to put out. Sucking wheel isn't glamorous, but it's one of the most effective tools in your arsenal.
Part 3: Attack the Descents
Time to send it.
Descending is generally my favorite part of cycling! I'm not the world's best descender, but I'm a bit better than average, and I tend to catch or pass a lot of riders whenever the road goes downhill. It's all about not braking, finding the limit in corners, and staying tucked. If you're like me, or you have a super capable gravel bike, then you need to play the descending card as much as possible.
I like to think of it like SAG climbing. In SAG climbing, you jump ahead at the start of a climb, ease off, and drift back as better climbers catch back up. If done well, you'll lose less time to better climbers by putting time into them early. This is the same principle, but in reverse (I'll call it "GAS descending").
I used the descents to gain time on stronger climbers, forcing them to expend energy to catch up later. When I got dropped on a climb, I was often able to reattach myself to the groups of good climbers by attacking the descent and closing the gap.
Part 4: Stuff My Face
Always be eating.
Endurance gravel races are part fitness contest and part eating contest. You need to stay fueled to have energy to push at the end of a long race. I've learned a lot about proper fueling over the years, and my methods are pretty dialed at this point.
I intake around 80-100 grams of carbs per hour, generally by eating at least one gel every 30 minutes. I did this no matter what, whether I was climbing, descending, in a group, or alone. I stuck to my eating schedule and never fell behind. When the deciding moments came at the end of the race, I still had the energy to push. If I hadn't stayed on top of fueling, finishing under 6 hours would have been impossible!
Part 5: Ignore Your Ego
Getting dropped is not a reflection of your value.
Your ego is your biggest enemy. It makes you do dumb stuff, like chase riders who are stronger than you, or push too hard until you blow up or crash. It makes you panic and abandon solid plans.
Let's look back at Part 1, "Pace Every Climb." If I had listened to my ego during the race, I would have chased the riders flying up the very first climb because I'd be worried about getting left behind or being seen as "weak." If I had listened and left my power window to chase, it would have ruined my whole plan.
All your ego does is cause trouble. You need a bit of it to succeed, yes, but you need to know when to keep it in check. When you're thinking long term, like making decisions one hour into a 108-mile race, that's when you need to ignore it and stick to your plan!
Part 6: Make Race Friends
Getting a free tow.
This ties back to Part 2, "Avoid the Wind." Cyclists riding together are stronger than cyclists riding alone. To go as fast as possible, you need to work with others. If other riders happen to like you, then they're often more likely to take on a bigger share of work to keep you attached to the group.
I'm no social butterfly, but I do make an effort to talk to others, learn their names, and get to know them during races. Endurance gravel races are often long enough, with enough breaks and easy moments, that this isn't too hard. When you get friendly with people, amazing things happen. At SBT GRVL this year, a friend I made at a race two years prior recognized me. We got to talking, and he did some epic hero pulls in the back half of the race that kept my sub-6 dream alive. Community is power, and I made sure to thank him after the race!
Part 7: Don't Stop
I'll take a hand up, but I'm not getting off my bike.
I hate stopping. Whenever I do, my legs stiffen up, and getting back on the bike becomes a brutal chore. Instead, I try to carry enough nutrition and fluids with me so I can ride 100 miles non-stop. This won't work for everyone, but for me, it's been a major key to success in endurance gravel racing. By limiting stopped time, I have achieved faster finishes with less stress. To build the foundation for this, I had to practice it in training. Once I got comfortable with riding non-stop for 6-8 hours, racing big events got a lot less stressful!
A Sub-6-Hour SBT GRVL Finish
Final time: 5:59:31. I made it with only 30 seconds to spare!
With my 7-part plan, I managed to finish in just under 6 hours. I barely made it! Accomplishing this took every bit of fitness and mental fortitude I had, and I couldn't be more pleased. My Litespeed Toscano performed flawlessly, and I had the most fun I've had in a race in a long time. The new SBT GRVL course is fantastic, and I can't wait to come back next year to try and go even faster!
