UNITED KINGDOM · GRAVEL

DIRTY REIVER TRAINING PLAN.

Dirty Reiver is the UK's flagship gravel event — 200km across Kielder Forest with 2,500m of climbing on forestry roads, single track, and open fell crossings. Self-supported navigation, weather-exposed. The event that established UK gravel.

200 km·2,500 m climbing·8-14 hours·April

THE OVERVIEW

WHAT THE DIRTY REIVER ACTUALLY IS

TERRAIN

200km on Kielder forestry roads, single track, and open fell crossings. Mostly fast-rolling gravel with sections of rougher fire road, occasional water crossings, and two genuinely rough fell-top stretches that punish under-tyred bikes. Borderline mountain-bike terrain in places — but rideable on a gravel bike with the right rubber.

WEATHER

Late April in Kielder is volatile. The forest sits at 200-400m altitude on the Scottish-English border, and the same day can deliver sun, sleet, hail, and snow within 90 minutes. Wind off the Cheviots adds 8-12 km/h of crosswind on the open fell crossings. The forestry sections are sheltered but the climbs out of them are exposed.

FITNESS DEMANDS

WHAT YOU NEED TO ARRIVE WITH.

MINIMUM FTP

2.4 W/kg

to finish, well-fuelled

COMPETITIVE FTP

3.2 W/kg

to ride the day on your terms

ENDURANCE

10-12 hours/week peaking, with at least two weekends of 6-7 hour rides paired with 3-4 hour days the next morning. You should have done one 8-hour ride before race day, ideally on rough gravel or forestry surface. Road-only training transfers poorly — gravel eats the legs faster than tarmac for the same heart rate, and the back-to-back rides build the durability that single Saturdays cannot.

WHY THESE NUMBERS MATTER HERE

Dirty Reiver is endurance-limited and surface-limited before it's FTP-limited. 2.4 W/kg with disciplined pacing and the right tyres finishes inside the cut-off; 3.2+ W/kg with a fed gut lands you in the sub-9-hour group. Watts win less time at Reiver than tubeless setup and the willingness to eat through cold rain.

CLIMBING DEMANDS

THE CLIMBS, IN ORDER.

Around 2,500m of climbing across 200km — modest by sportive standards, but the surface multiplies the cost. The Reiver does not have a single defining climb. Instead it's a steady drip of forestry-road rises, fell-top crossings, and short steep punches that never let the legs settle. The hardest sections are the open fell crossings between km 120 and km 160, where the wind, the surface, and the fatigue compound.

BEWSHAUGH CLIMB (FORESTRY)

KM 40

3.2 km·5.5% avg·176 m gain

First sustained forestry climb. Sets the rhythm — wide gravel, steady gradient, the place to settle into your all-day heart rate.

BLOODY BUSH CROSSING

KM 130

4.8 km·4.2% avg·200 m gain

Open fell crossing on a rougher surface. Wind exposed, surface variable, and 130km already in the legs. The day's most underrated section.

KIELDER STONE CLIMB

KM 165

2.5 km·6% avg·150 m gain

Late-day kick. Short by Lake District standards, but it lands when you've been riding for 7+ hours on rough surface and the legs notice every metre.

EXPECTED FINISH TIMES

WHERE YOU'LL LAND.

Use these bands to set a realistic goal. Pick the band closest to your current fitness — not the one above it. Pacing a band you haven't earned is the fastest way to a back-half blow-up.

FIRST-TIME FINISHER

12-14 hours

FTP 2.2-2.6 W/kg, 6-8 hours/week, longest ride 5-6 hours on mixed surface, gravel-specific bike handling.

AVERAGE ENTHUSIAST

10-12 hours

FTP 2.6-3.2 W/kg, 8-10 hours/week, multiple 6+ hour gravel rides in training, comfortable on rough surface.

STRONG AMATEUR

8-10 hours

FTP 3.2-3.6 W/kg, 10-12 hours/week, gravel-specific terrain, structured tempo work, fast group-ride experience.

ELITE AMATEUR

7-8 hours

FTP 3.6+ W/kg, 12-15 hours/week, racing background, gut trained to 90g+ carbs/hour, comfortable holding fast wheels on gravel.

Ask Roadman about your Dirty Reiver target →

THE TRAINING PLAN

HOW LONG TILL YOUR DIRTY REIVER?

Six weeks-out windows, each built around the demands of this course. Pick the one that matches your window today. The framework is free; coaching makes it personal.

16 WEEKS OUT

BASE PHASE

Aerobic foundation. High volume, low intensity. Don't skip this.

12 WEEKS OUT

LATE BASE

Bridge phase. Volume still rules, but structure begins.

8 WEEKS OUT

BUILD PHASE

Structured intensity enters. Threshold + VO2 max work.

4 WEEKS OUT

PEAK PHASE

Event-specific sharpening. Volume drops, quality rises.

2 WEEKS OUT

TAPER

Sharpness is banked. Now shed fatigue.

1 WEEK OUT

RACE WEEK

Don't do anything clever. Eat, sleep, show up.

FUELLING STRATEGY

EAT LIKE THE DAY DEMANDS.

Self-supported means you pack it. Target 70-90g of carbohydrate per hour, more if it's cold (and at Kielder in April, it usually is — cold weather increases the calorie cost of staying warm). The mid-point feed stop is open in most years but not guaranteed; treat it as a bonus, not a plan. Real food works better than gels once the ride stretches past 8 hours — sandwiches in foil, malt loaf, flapjacks, soft bars that don't freeze. Hot tea or coffee at the feed if it's running is genuinely useful for both calories and morale. Sodium matters even in the cold: target 600-800mg/hour through electrolyte mix. The mistake we see most often: riders fuel well for the first 5 hours, then stop eating because they're 'not hungry' — which is exactly when the back-half bonk lands at km 160.

PACING STRATEGY

RIDE IT IN THE RIGHT ORDER.

Gravel events punish overpacing because the surface varies. Target heart rate rather than power — aim for high Z2 / low Z3 as your all-day ceiling. Let faster riders go on the early forestry sections; you'll catch them when the rough stuff starts and they discover what their tyres weren't ready for. The first 80km are fast forestry; sit in a group if you can find one and ride at endurance heart rate. Bloody Bush at km 130 is the day's hidden test — the wind and the surface and the fatigue all land at once, and pacing it well is the difference between an 11-hour and a 13-hour finish. From km 165 onwards, the legs are heavier than the watts suggest; ride to feel rather than the head unit.

COMMON MISTAKES

DON'T DO THIS.

Patterns we see at the Dirty Reiver every year. Each one has a fix that costs nothing — except the discipline to actually use it on the day.

MISTAKE

Running road tyres or under-spec gravel tyres

FIX

40-45mm minimum, tubeless, with sealant and a plug kit. Rene Herse Humptulips, Challenge Getaway, WTB Nano in the wet — pick the casing for Kielder fire road, not the marketing photos. Light XC tubeless tyres puncture inside 50km on the rougher fell-top sections.

MISTAKE

Underdressing because 'it's April'

FIX

Kielder makes its own weather. Long-finger gloves, gilet, rain cape that actually works, and a base layer that retains warmth when wet. The riders who DNF at Reiver almost never DNF from fitness — they DNF from cold, which is preventable kit, not a training failure.

MISTAKE

Pacing it like a sportive

FIX

Gravel eats the legs faster than tarmac. Sit at high Z2 / low Z3 heart rate as your ceiling, accept slower forestry-road averages than you'd expect, and trust that the riders who pass you at km 30 will come back at km 160. Surface fatigue is real and only training on rough surface prepares you for it.

MISTAKE

Skipping the feed stop because it's 'only mid-point'

FIX

Refill bottles, eat a proper piece of food, take 10 minutes. Kielder has no resupply between feed and finish — running out of water at km 130 in the wind ends days that fitness alone could have finished.

MISTAKE

No head torch in case the finish runs late

FIX

Slower finishers regularly come in around dusk in low-light April. A small bar-mounted torch is mandatory in some years and useful in all of them. The forestry roads are unlit and the last 20km in fading light is genuinely dangerous without one.

ASK ROADMAN

GOT A QUESTION ABOUT THE DIRTY REIVER?

The Dirty Reiver doesn't have a predictor course yet. Ask Roadman directly — Anthony reads every question and replies with event-specific advice.

Ask Roadman

FAQ

DIRTY REIVER TRAINING, ANSWERED.

What FTP do I need for the Dirty Reiver?

Dirty Reiver is endurance-limited and surface-limited before it's FTP-limited. 2.4 W/kg with disciplined pacing and the right tyres finishes inside the cut-off; 3.2+ W/kg with a fed gut lands you in the sub-9-hour group. Watts win less time at Reiver than tubeless setup and the willingness to eat through cold rain. A practical floor is 2.4 W/kg to finish; 3.2 W/kg to ride competitively.

How long should I train for the Dirty Reiver?

Most riders benefit from 12-16 weeks of structured preparation. 10-12 hours/week peaking, with at least two weekends of 6-7 hour rides paired with 3-4 hour days the next morning. You should have done one 8-hour ride before race day, ideally on rough gravel or forestry surface. Road-only training transfers poorly — gravel eats the legs faster than tarmac for the same heart rate, and the back-to-back rides build the durability that single Saturdays cannot. If you have less time, the 8-week and 4-week plans still produce a meaningful result on the right starting fitness.

What's the typical finish time for the Dirty Reiver?

Amateur finishers cover the full range. First-time finisher: 12-14 hours; Average enthusiast: 10-12 hours; Strong amateur: 8-10 hours; Elite amateur: 7-8 hours. The difference between bands is climbing fitness and fuelling discipline more than flat speed.

What's the biggest mistake riders make at the Dirty Reiver?

Running road tyres or under-spec gravel tyres. Fix: 40-45mm minimum, tubeless, with sealant and a plug kit. Rene Herse Humptulips, Challenge Getaway, WTB Nano in the wet — pick the casing for Kielder fire road, not the marketing photos. Light XC tubeless tyres puncture inside 50km on the rougher fell-top sections.

How should I pace the Dirty Reiver?

Gravel events punish overpacing because the surface varies. Target heart rate rather than power — aim for high Z2 / low Z3 as your all-day ceiling. Let faster riders go on the early forestry sections; you'll catch them when the rough stuff starts and they discover what their tyres weren't ready for. The first 80km are fast forestry; sit in a group if you can find one and ride at endurance heart rate. Bloody Bush at km 130 is the day's hidden test — the wind and the surface and the fatigue all land at once, and pacing it well is the difference between an 11-hour and a 13-hour finish. From km 165 onwards, the legs are heavier than the watts suggest; ride to feel rather than the head unit.

When does the Dirty Reiver take place?

The Dirty Reiver typically runs in April. Count back from your event date and pick the weeks-out plan that matches your window.

WANT THIS BUILT AROUND YOUR FTP?

PLAN MADE FOR YOU, NOT FOR THE AVERAGE.

The framework here gets you in the right territory. Roadman coaching builds it around your FTP, your week, your weeks remaining, and your delivery via TrainingPeaks.

Apply for Coaching

How Coaching Works

← TRAINING PLAN HUB FOR THE DIRTY REIVER