Coachinginterview

BEERS & KEEGAN SWENSON'S INSANE UNBOUND PREPARATION | MATT BEERS

Name: Beers & Keegan Swenson's Insane Unbound Preparation | Matt Beers
Uploaded: 2024-05-29
Duration: 42 min 36 s
Description: Matt Beers sits down to break down exactly how he and Keegan Swenson are preparing for Unbound—the biggest gravel race on the calendar.

with Matt Beers

42:36·29 May 2024

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MATT BEERS

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TOPICS

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Matt Beers sits down to break down exactly how he and Keegan Swenson are preparing for Unbound—the biggest gravel race on the calendar. We dig into the brutal training block they've just completed in Tucson, the science behind their fueling strategies on 10-hour rides, and how gravel has become a genuine pathway for riders who don't fit the WorldTour mold.

Key Takeaways

Matt and Keegan are logging 30-35 hour training weeks with metabolic intervals at 3.8-4.2 watts/kg to teach the body to buffer lactic acid and manage extreme fatigue
Unbound preparation is less about raw fitness and more about learning fueling protocols and managing energy across 10+ hours—there's a predictable energy crash around hour 4, another around hour 6, then a zombie state after that
The sub-maximum fatigue test (110% FTP for 3 minutes) is a reliable early-warning system for overtraining; if you can't hold it, your body is telling you to back off
Gravel offers a viable alternative career path for strong cyclists who lack the bunch-handling skills or early specialisation needed to succeed in WorldTour road racing
Attention to detail—tire testing, setup optimization, mud mitigation strategies—gives full-time gravel racers a measurable edge over part-time competitors, even elite ones
A pain stick from Walmart is legitimately your most high-performance tool when dealing with the mud at Unbound; silicone sprays and fancy coatings make almost no difference

Expert Quotes

"If you are a little bit behind in the beginning you're going to go through a pretty bad like in the middle you're gonna it's going to be a rough time. Around hour four you hit the slump then you get out of it and you actually feel really good and then like hour six another little slump, and then after that you're just so screwed it just—your body doesn't even know and you don't feel tired anymore. It's weird."

"I only started racing professionally at around 22, 23, and before that I did Motocross until 19. I think it's kind of helped being now that I'm 30—I'm only like under a decade in the sport where some of these guys have been racing since they were eight years old. So to me I'm still hungry and I'm still motivated."

"That pain stick from Walmart is your best, like most high performance tool at that point. Literally a pain stick is the most high performance tool in that moment."

KEY QUOTES

“I think last week we did like 35 hours and then this week is going to be like 30 hours um yeah a few eight nine hour rides clocking massive clocking CES off yeah in the desert so it's been cool.”
Matt Beers — Three-time Cape Epic winner and professional gravel cyclist

“I more do it to actually figure out how to fuel and how much water you need to consume it's it's not really the physical like you know you just got to raise 10 hours I don't think you can be too prepared for that um but yeah just figure out how to fuel and manage your the valys and and uh the highs and lows when you go through an 9 hour ride I think it's quite important just to know that you're going to you'll be fine.”
Matt Beers — Three-time Cape Epic winner and professional gravel cyclist

“The protocol is to it's basically 110 to 100% of your FTP so for me it's at 510 three minutes God that's absolutely brutal so you know pretty quick if you if you're on a good day or not.”
Matt Beers — Three-time Cape Epic winner and professional gravel cyclist

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT3 SECTIONS

Training Camp Volume With Keegan

Today's guest is Mr Matt Bears Matt is one of the top gravel cyclists in the world he is a treetime cape epic winner before turning his attention to the lifetime Grand Prix series Matt is on training camp at the moment with none other than Keegan Swenson in preparation for the biggest gravel race in them all Unbound today we dive into exactly what their training looks like the volume the type of intervals and we attempt to uncover how the very best in the game prepare for the biggest race and gravel to support this podcast please check out our sponsors in the description below and now it's Mr Matt beers my beers welcome to the RO my podcast yeah thank you for having me it's uh my I do listen to you so thanks for reaching out oh I'm excited I want to hear all about how your preparation for one bound is gone you in shape should I be getting to the book makers have put money on you I mean we've done some we just been done with a block now uh in Tucson so been training with Keegan and Russell and um yeah they're two good mates on mine and we did I think last week we did like 35 hours and then this week is going to be like 30 hours um yeah a few eight n hour rides clocking massive clocking CES off yeah in the desert so it's been cool what's our intensity you're riding on uh it's I mean I've I've had a little bit different I've done some like metabolic work in the beginning of the rides um obviously through my coach John he's prescribed some stuff and then like obviously intervals as high as you can at the end of the ride basically just full gas three minutes or five minutes you know trying to um get used to that that fatigue and um how to manage that you know maybe don't hit the numbers but the RP needs to just be you know 10 that's massive volume though like I get a chance to chat with World Tour guys most weeks on the podcast and not many writers are putting down that volume at World Tour level yeah I mean I don't normally like in preparation for epic I will do maybe a couple 30 hour weeks but yeah 30 plus is it gets meaty you know but um Unbound is a it's just a beast you know 10 it's going to be 10 plus hours and I more do it to actually figure out how to fuel and how much water you need to consume it's it's not really the physical like you know you just got to raise 10 hours I don't think you can be too prepared for that um but yeah just figure out how to fuel and manage your the valys and and uh the highs and lows when you go through an 9h hour ride I think it's quite important just to know that you're going to you'll be fine how's your Performance Management chart looking at the moment uh I don't I think it's like 150 plus detail that's brutal that's absolutely brutal I'm on 50 gosh but my FTP is is also not kind to that so John likes to make my life hard so it's good and how how fatigued are you at those sort of levels like what's your your fatigue score do you know what off the top of your head I think it was like minus close to minus 70 um so I mean it's not too bad because you're kind of doing it in two day three-day blocks so we would do like two big days back to back or three and then kind of take off like two easy days otherwise you can't really or like ramp it slowly if you know what I mean so it's I mean there's there's a lot of ways to do it I suppose but yeah yeah it's it's pretty scary like how much thought do you put into getting that train and stress balance back towards like a maybe not a positive figure but a lower negative figure as you approach race day like how will you approach that freshening up taper process well it varies a lot I've seen obviously John knows this better than I do but like like for a race like C epic you want to come into it you know really fresh like it actually feels kind of weird because you just well for me personally just because I'm not used to it I'm the type of guy that you know trains trains trains and John's like you need to stop or you going to be in big trouble and I'm like I'm sure we can do a little bit more um he loves it I give him a headache and um but he enjoys it so it's fine um but yeah I think just you kind of do everything has to be full you know like glycogen has to be top all the way up uh your body has to be rested like really good for just so you can just empty it for 10 hours you know what are you learning on these kind of 10hour training rids about fueling like you're saying managing those Peaks and valleys how what the learnings you've taken there so far uh that if you are a little bit behind in the beginning you're going to go through a pretty bad like in the middle you're gonna it's going to be a rough time uh like I would be doing my metabolic intervals the first three hours and then those middle you know 3 hours was like man I was like just sitting there like kind of just like I don't know what what how do I even get through this and then you kind of overfill almost and then because you out there for so long your body like kind of almost recharges again the glycogen gets a bit Fuller or well that I suppose that depletion rate becomes a little lower because you've now like just settled into like a Zone topace and then kind of feel good at the end again um hopefully but I found that around hour four you hit the slump then you get out of it and you actually feel really good and then like hour six another little slump hour six s and then after that I think you're just so you're just so screwed it just you almost your body doesn't even know and you don't feel tired anymore it's weird mention what's those like what's the specifics of the metabolic intervals you're doing what's the power what's the duration on them uh the power is it's kind of that uh so just before you start producing obviously a lot of lactic acid it's kind of like a buffering you want to be in that zone of lactic buffering so you're kind of using using the lactic acid as fuel I suppose that's kind of what it's targeted as um and shuffling it I guess um so for power for me it's around four 4 five I mean 3.8 to like 4.2 watts per kilo so yeah 330 to 35060 and you'll do those at you know for 45 minutes to an hour or for 3 hours continuously and then uh and then like a 10 minute 15 minutes really hard at the end depends on the session session yeah it's hard like you just on it the whole day and you obviously burn through fuel like you cannot believe your body's just um you know it's that zone where you're just going through carbohydrates like crazy that's a rough one to get out of bed and kind of flick onto your training Peaks on your phone and go oh what have I got in store today and like oh no sucks I just want to go back to bed I see it way too often but um you just kind of get out the door and just start stomping and then the quicker you you don't have to warm up or anything you just switch off and just yeah kind of go it's a nice idea in Arizona because it's just massive long straight roads no traffic lights so it's pretty ideal you mentioned your coach John a few times we're talking about John Wakefield who we've had on the podcasts you know a few probably by the time this year is probably a month or so back H John's working with Bora hcov but one of the one of the tests John talked to me about which I hadn't previously heard of was a sub maximum fatigue test are you using that with him yeah SF um yeah I've been doing that for for a long time I'm probably the worst guy to ever do that because even if I'm completely screwed and tired I'll I'll still try and fake it but he has caught me out a few times um I'll be like oh no I feel good and then I just can't do my efforts um but yeah it's it's a great like for epic and stuff like monitoring it's worked really well and uh yeah I think you were alluding to like you kind of know like three minutes in you're going to be like okay I cannot do my you know I can't do this today it's um you kind of know immediately like if you can't hold that pace and or you're really having to like rock and rock and roll you you're going to be in for day so yeah I think it's really worked over the years and you can really for people that haven't didn't hear that podcast what's the protocol for it so the protocol is to it's basically 110 to 100% of your FTP so for me it's at 510 three minutes God that's absolutely brutal so you know pretty quick if you if you're on a good day or not um it's also so like a short warm up so 10 minutes and then you just do it on a climb prbly a climb that you or flat like but something that you used to and you kind of know the feeling of um and then yeah then after that you fell out a a questionnaire of have you been sleeping well like your mood um and pretty much it's pretty good because you can kind of look back and be like man I have been not sleeping actually too well and you think back um and then yeah you make those adjustments like for the next couple days week and then yeah normally it comes around how serious are you on nutrition and like have you noticed your nutrition having an impact on that sub maximum fatigue test yeah for sure like if I you know if I'm trying to do silly things like trying to some weight or um yeah I'm a big guy I'm like 6'4 so I'm 81 82 kilos so I'm always like finding the balance of being like on the line so yeah as soon as I let's I've done a hard session two days ago and then I have a sft to do um you know immediately if you haven't feel right because you can just feel empty you just don't have anything you know your legs are just locked up um and then yeah but John's one of John's colleagues Mike custus um he's nutritionist also sport scientist and he's helps me with nutrition so I have all these guys in my corner so I'm pretty lucky it's a nice little ecosystem you're building out for yourself for performance uh let's shift GE slightly uh away this train and block how did you find your way into the US gravel scene cuz I think for some of us who are kind of road gravel focused and not so much of an eye on mountain bike that would have been the first time we seen you was coming into US gravel scene yeah so I mean I I kind of saw it happening in 2019 um I was obviously racing on the mountain bike and I did a little stint um as a studier with UAE in 2019 as well um and yeah really the road wasn't was brutal Cutthroat uh kind of knew it just wasn't for me and I kind of missed the boat you know I was a bit old and not I was on the oldest side I think I was like 27 then 26 um didn't have the experience and then yeah carried on kind of saw this gravel thing happening and then Co hit and I was like damn okay I'm not going to be able to get over to the US for at least another year and a bit and then yeah once I got I won the cap epic for the first time in 20121 and then from there I got enough sponsors enough support um for me just to get over here and um yeah do some gravel races and kind of you know throw my name in in the Hat and uh yeah I did my first one was BW California 2022 and I came second and then that just kind of it bouncing back and forth here ever since and then yeah it's about it Cape epic looks like a lot of fun and I it has that quite unique team element to it where it's I think it has mentally a challenge in both directions if you're the strongest Rider or if you're the weakest rider in the team there's a mental challenge in either direction there how how has it worked out for you in 2021 when you won it what was that Dynamic like in the team yeah so that was uh the race is quite strange because it was in October normally it's in March but it all got delayed because of Co and um I raced a Jordan suu he's a exo World Champ he was the reigning world champion and uh yeah I mean we got on it's you know you have to you have to learn each guy each time so it is quite a challenge I've had uh Jordan I've won with Jordan I've won with Christopher bevens is's also you know World cross country I mean short track champ and then I've won with n Howard so it's a lot of different personalities uh different riding Styles um but yeah I think it's it's part of what makes it so unique you know you have to be adaptable and and be you know level-headed and and I've been lucky enough to have some amazing Partners so it's been cool because we seen that mismatch when Keegan who you're staying with at the moment and laan teamed up and Keegan just made absolute bits of them every day it looked like from the highlights yeah I think it's it is tricky especially two guys that haven't done the race you know much like I've done the race so many times I think what was this year my eth or seventh so I've had like all the bad Partners before that I've like you know not talked to some guys some of my partners for you know a couple days or things like that not that bad but like close and but we've always made up but like I've gone through that whole process you know and I kind of um I'm like a veteran of it I kind of know how to I'm a bit older when you're younger so yeah it's kind of just figuring out through through the years yeah it must be brutal because in that one I remember seeing the highlights of the prologue and laam was already swinging off Keegan's wheel in the prologue and I was like oh look bro you are in for a tough week if you're already inside out 100% effort trying to just hold the wheel in the prologue yeah it's it's different like mountain biking is different you know especially like Keegan being he's grow he grew up his whole life racing mountain bikes and then luckan obviously was on the road came over he still he still had that deficit of I think just the bike setup like just producing power in that position like I know for me I can produce way more power on my mountain bike I'm just so like that setup is just so natural to me and the same goes for I suppose the road guys you know you had to throw today one of those guys on a mountain bike they probably well probably they would produce same I be fine yeah but it would feel strange to them for sure I think that does help you mentioned a couple of times that you're what are you 30 now you're not a you're not a younger athlete it's still weird that we think of 30 year olds is like old cuz it's just a bizarre thing it's like I remember quitting soccer at like 17 and think I was washed up like oh no I'm past it I'm way I'm way too old at 17 but how do you think about yourself in terms of your long-term development as an athlete now do you have a long-term plan like we're seeing Valverde still pretty competitive in gravel events at least here in Europe in his early 40s yeah I mean I think what might help for me is uh coming into cycling quite late I only started racing professionally at around 22 23 um and before that I did Motocross until 19 so I was in a similar situation to you I was 19 I was like oh man I'm old and washed up you know go to the next spot and and I think it's kind of helped being now that I'm 30 I'm only like you know under a decade in the sport where some of these guys have been racing since they were I don't know like eight years old um so to me I'm still hungry and um I'm still motivated and I think I'm progressing still which is which is quite nice you know figure out nutrition training what works and uh yeah hopefully have a few till like 35 I think till then you know like the Nino shirts as Malto they they're just special breeds all human yeah definitely and you know career-wise and making a living from us is do do you see it as an ecosystem that's going to develop in North America do you think you can stay Pro within that North American lifetime Grand Prix ecosystem or are you going to have to Branch out for refils to make a professional living from it I mean I think it's in a really good spot right now you know um there's a lot of a lot of hype there's a lot of industry and there where there's hype and there's you know attention there's money and uh it I think there will be a drop off at some point when this craze is going to kind of die out it you kind of see it always um the industry is also you know it's in a bit of a difficult place at the moment um but yeah the like with Welter guys coming in and like these other really high-end athletes um I think it'll it'll just keep keep it topped up I I believe um you know like having mAh race Unbound apparently that that's amazing and Greg van a I believe yeah Greg um you know those know this is a funny story I'm not sure if uh this one's been out in the media but I know Kimo a little bit and Kimo who runs Life Time and K telling me someone from his team came to him was like Hey we got an entry here like in the lottery I think this guy could be kind of a big deal and he's looking at it it's like Greg van aart it's like one of the questions is like experience and what why do you think you should ride Unbound and he's like uh we're podium in the Olympics one a few tour to France stages think I could fit in well in the event it's like all right I think Greg could be all right mic chop drop the mic what a legend he didn't even call anyone and look for a favor like he didn't even like you know put up a phone and try and leverage a sponsor invite into it he like paid retail into this event that's that's a funny thing with gravel here it's he probably even if he did reach out they they probably wouldn't really do anything they would be like well enter the lottery and hopefully get in mate it's weird it's a weird situation out here but it's kind of cool but they're G to have to start I think they would have I think they would have let him in if they had any idea who he is and what he's achieved for cycling I think one of the maybe even a bigger problem than getting in is like the griding on some of them like if you start in some of the events too far back like if he starts you know I don't know position 200 or something in Leadville on the single track you're just not moving up like there's an impossibility to move up yeah there I mean at unan now uh last year was the first year they had it you have like a pro Coral they call it so like a pro field which is I don't know what it's capped at but like at the moment it's got 150 Riders and to get in there you kind of have to have some sort of you know you need be a decent writer um so that's quite a nice change because yeah like you said before it would just be like yeah you're there with maybe a thousand plus people and you hope that you got there early and that's why lifetime is such a weird kind of concept it's weird enough that it's capturing our attention because of the diversity of it like you're going to Unbound you're now doing 10hour training rides but later in the year you're going to go to Big Sugar for shorter stuff then you're going to have lead fill where you're on you know some technical desense how do you think about Distributing your training time between road gravel and mountain bike yeah it is uh it's really tricky like last year obviously I did the lifetime Grand Prix and um I kind of just looked at it as like okay I'm going to try to do what I can but more of a like need to figure out how the hell do we structure this how do we manage racing at 3 and a half thousand meters for 6 hours Lille um then how do we manage racing Schwan for an hour 50 a month later um it's just like it's Madness so last year I used it as like basically figuring you know John and I figure out how the hell do we do this and um we have a better I think we have a lot better idea also what races suit me better so you kind of use that and uh I think rest is probably pretty important you know you can't just keep a peak for 12 months of the year it's impossible so you kind of have to sacrifice be like okay I'm not going to be good at this race but we need to light bulb through it for instance and even though the diversity of writers because you have like Alex H coming into it lackan coming into it who are coming from world tour and like spe specifically Alex H I've had Alex on the podcast a bunch of times he's a dude I love him but yeah his whole life has been in this bubble basically he was in like the slipstream development team which became Garmin which became canand which became EF like he's been world tour at that level since the wheel was invented and then to step out of that into a place where it's like how do you figure out how to get the races like who's fixing your bike how do you plan all this stuff you have to turn into like you know a logistics travel planner as well as an athlete ROM man I'm going to date myself here but I've been riding the bike for almost 20 years and in that time I've cycled through every cycling apparel brand out there and I kept swapping out different apparel Brands each season until I found lall there's something really different about lall and as soon as you slip into the gear you Noti this it feels different it feels better I've had the pleasure of chatting with yanto Barker on the podcast he's the laal founder and his dedication to crafting the fastest most refined cycling apparel out there it's nothing short of inspiring yanto isn't just trying to create gear I get the feeling he's actively and obsessively trying to perfect cycling gear trust me as soon as you slip on the theall kid as soon as you zip up that Jersey you can feel that commitment the proof for the call it's in the pudding this is the same kit that Jay hindley wore when he clinched overall victory in theur Natalia there's a confidence that comes with wearing a pearl that's been battle tested and Podium proven in races like this year to tellal you trust me feeling good on the bike means you're going to perform better if you have a second I highly advise you to jump on over to lol.

Gravel's Logistics and Community

CC and check out their amazing range kid and experience this feeling for yourself yeah I mean Alex is a great guy and uh I kind of I find it hard to believe that he was in the world t for so long because like gravel seems like it's his his spirit animal he's just you know it just suits his personality so well and um but yeah like you said it's it's crazy like coming from for him it must have been really weird having everything you just open your phone and there's a spreadsheet oh where you need to be what time uh and then now here you're like go God like what airport do I need to fly to America's like think you can drive there and then it's like freaking 13 hour drive so you have to fly rent cars no it's a huge undertaking and it can be pretty overwhelming at times especially for me who doesn't really know the US um but yeah I've had a lot of help from all these guys and it's really cool that it's like just a big Community you can just message anyone and they'll help you so it's pretty cool like you're saying you're staying with uh Sophia and Keegan at the moment down in Arizona will you guys kind of travel as a group and will you pull resources to get to the races yeah like sfir and I on the the specialized off-road team here in America uh so that's it's like a pro gravel team so um along with Howard grats who are red epic with um so yeah we're really lucky um Sophia's she's like management Queen and also like phenomenal Rider so she she takes care of me she just books on my flights and sorts me out tells me where I need to be and I'm really grateful for it like I love it it's just takes a lot of stress and she and she really um I'm very thankful that she's willing to help me so much it gravel has given us a new Pathway to you know quote unquote making it like as you said at 27 28 you go into the world tour as a ster and you realize you can be strong but road racing is a lot more than being strong just the same way mountain biking is a lot more than being strong there's a totally different skill set and it could be tough to pick up that skill set unless you're you know racing caresses are 14 15 16 years of age like there's you're Threshold at over 500 watts you could have a threshold at 900 watts and if you're starting some in Maran Classics in p 100 you're not moving back to the front of that bike race positioning and that ability to hold it is so important but do you think now that gravel is a viable route for a young kid that wants to make it in cycling and maybe just doesn't have the skill to go to World Tour Direction it not that he doesn't have the skill but has a different type of skill that's not as suited to World Tour racing yeah I definitely think so um like said I I was strong on the road but I had no experience of how to race road not doing cresses you know things like that and it's not worth a team to teach a 27 28 old you know they can pick up a guy who's 20 19 that can move through a bunch like you know from the back to the front in 5 minutes whereas me I'm like stressing death grouping the boss this is horrible um and that's kind of yeah that's kind of where I found my place like I took my mountain bike um technical skills and what I've learned there and then also from the road and then you kind of get this merge of gravel that suits both of that and suits me and I think for a lot of kids it can really help you know if they're not as confident in the bunch then maybe you know gravel's something that you can get away or um it's not as controlled so you can kind of go for long range attacks and things like that so I definitely think there's opportunity for it for sure being a part of the lifetime Grand Prix series seems to be the ticket it's like almost be like the validation of I'm in the world or I'm in the lifetime Grand Prix do you think as this ecosystem develops it needs to be a little bit more transparent for people as to what the requirements are to be a lifetime athlete yeah I think I mean I think they're trying to kind of figure that out um obviously in the very beginning it was like more almost like a social media like did you have influence like were you an influencer bike rider then it's kind of like narrowed down now to a very Performance Based but also it's yeah I don't know how the selecting criteria because there's some really good riders that don't get selected um I do think they need to I don't know like I know procycling stats went starting to introduce gravel into their algorithm of like you can go on the NC and I think that's maybe a good place for people at lifetime to maybe start looking being like hey you know uh but yeah I guess the challenge is like yeah we definitely don't want it as a group of Instagram HS who are you know can't ride a bike at all and they're just there for you know their social profile but probably if you swing that one to their very far end I'm not sure if we want 50 Flemish speakers who just have seven watt per threshold seven wats per kilogram threshold speak very well English and have no interest in doing podcasts in media and storytelling so finding that middle ground maybe is the challenge yeah 100% correct like I mean we they they do really try like with um you know doing appearances and like panels and things like that and you have to be I think we have to be open to that to try and to help us and help the um you know the whole thing just not collapse because the more we can speak about it it does help us in the long run um so yeah like you said it's a fine line of being kind of have to be an influence you need to have a presence but also be a good bike rider at the same time but in saying that to be someone with presence you have to get into these races and do well so it's it's a really tricky scenario you almost want to be an influence without the r on the end of it it's like I want to be an influence not an influencer exactly so it's It's Tricky um but yeah I think it's getting better each year so it seems to be whatever they're doing is working if if you're retired tomorrow and you looked back on your career what are you proud of stuff gez I think I think everything pretty much uh you know winning I think K epic for me three times is just crazy like when I I remember being 10 years old I think what and I saw them coming through my hometown the cape epic and I was just like in awe couldn't really believe it and if you told me that I'd win this race three times I'd be like you're absolutely mad there's there's no way and um it's a big deal back home you know obviously around the world it's a pretty big race but like it's a big deal every it's one of the it's one of the only mountain bike races that non- mountain bikers know yeah and to to be a South African and whenn it you know that many times is it's very special and uh yeah I don't I don't take it for granted one minute so I'd be happy and then winning bwr California here in America I've struggled the last few years to just win one of these big gravel races and then that was nice to just be like okay thank God got that TI take that box you know will you win Unbound this here this probably won't go out until after B so you can say it that would be the dream I mean that that will change that changes your life pretty as a as a gravel Rider even as non gravel it will change your your career quite substantially so yeah that's what we all fighting for so what were you for last year no I was in a Sprint for I think it was 8 something yeah but but you know if you're at the business end of it like you definitely could win it like there's a set it's not like me going to the race like there's no set of circumstances Beyond chemo sticking in another Muk section that I'm the only man that makes it through to Muk section you know I'm not going to win it you're there with you know probably one of 10 guys who can win the race I know it's maybe way to towards Keegan as every race seems to be waited towards Keegan but you're in the shakeup RO man I've got something exciting to share with you it's been making a huge difference in my performance of lace especially when it comes to my sleep allow me to introduce you to pillar we're probably all familiar with the importance of electrolytes and carbohydrates in our race preparation pillar is taking a slightly different route it's focusing on something called micronutrition ensuring you're ready to perform even before you ever hit the start line it's all about promoting a good night sleep facilitating effective recovery and replenishing those crucial micronutrients so you can perform your best over the past month I've been running a little experiment I've been incorporating pillar's triple magnesium supplement into my routine I take it 30 minutes before bed every night and I've seen a remarkable Improvement in My Sleep Quality and my HRV I'm tracking this every single night using my whoop and the results are there in black and white I wake up feeling refreshed having 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Friendly Rivalry and Marginal Gains

Shop and use the code roadman on your local website to get 15% off your first order if you're listening in the US you can head on over to the feed.com SL pillar and use the code roadman for the same 15% off your first order yeah for sure I mean I know I know I have the ability to do it obviously there's a lot of um scenarios and circumstances but like I think we've eliminated a lot of those so now we just got to put in the work we've done everything um yeah Keegan and I are really good friends so that's a really unique scenario I think in the sport as well you know Keegan and I don't really hide anything from each other just we go out there and the best man wins he knows so it's kind of I kind of like that it's to me that's that's cool feels like Rocky versus Apollo and Rocky four just knocking out of each other pretty much pretty much be like that but uh yeah there's some strong European guys you know um they also Beast so we I think we'll have a handful this year for sure yeah I wonder like there's obviously like Legends of sport lawren TMS are all the top 10 at the sort of France uh it doesn't seem like it's full focus is on gravel like he's you know like drinking beers he's a family man building Brands but I also think there's such an edge you guys have from this is what I do my full-time focus is preparing for this gravel race in terms of figuring out I know everyone's obsessed with tire wids and tire pressures but you actually get time to test this stuff when they're probably just just mimicking what you guys are doing rather than actually individually running tests for themselves on it yeah for sure I mean that's uh that's definitely something I've noticed with Keegan um his attention to detail and like how much he puts into each race individually like testing tires having the fastest set up you know or tiny just every little detail detail has been I've been like well okay that's quite different I just yeah as opposed to like Lawrence who's just gets there and he still does freaking unbelievably um but sometimes you know it's weird sometimes being full focus is at your detriment as well um like him coming in he's like whatever I'm just going to rip it and I don't care um also sometimes helps to not be so a type yeah definitely pressure off any uh Tech insights you can give us for what you're plan to run for unbalanced tires are you sponsored on tires because you can always disregard the recommendations when someone's sponsored they're like the best tires in the world there insert my sponsor yeah I mean we obviously being a specialized you kind of have that whole ecosystem of tires Wheels handlebars Saddles um we do have some special super tough tires this year um because the north we went South last year but the North Course has been very famously very very rough and chunky and just like gnarly so we've been lucky enough that specialized have have done that made some B do make a kick ass Tire as well like I've been running the 47 Pathfinders on my gravel bike and I loved them exactly so we we do have good selection and uh yeah it's going to be a tossup between 47 and 42 depending on the mud I guess if it if it's muddy again you have to go skinnier just so you have the clearance so um yeah we just kind of have all the scenarios planned and um we have crazy support from specialized for that race so I'm very lucky for sure is there any way you can mitigate the damage of the M like I've heard of people applying different ocean lotions onto their Fram so the mck isn't sticking as much and have you got a strategy on that God I tell you it is like last year when I hit it I was like what is even happening how like I've never ridden in mud that can do that like it it just cakes so bad doesn't matter what silicone you put on your frame anything it's just your bike becomes like 20 kilos and nothing moves it just ceases and a pain stick from Walmart is your best like most high performance tool at that point literally a pain stick is that is the most high Performance Tool in that moment um I love it it's just a should show my best Lu at on and thanks very much for taking the time to sh thank you so if you like this video you should definitely check out this video because I know you're going to love it and don't forget to subscribe to the channel

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How does Matt Beers train for Unbound Gravel?+

Matt Beers trains for Unbound with back-to-back weeks of 30 to 35 hours under coach John Wakefield, based out of a camp in Tucson alongside Keegan Swenson. Sessions combine metabolic intervals at 3.8 to 4.2 watts per kilogram early in the ride with full-gas three to five minute efforts at the very end to simulate late-race fatigue.

Why do gravel riders do such high training volume before Unbound?+

The extreme volume is less about building raw fitness and more about rehearsing fuelling and hydration strategies for a race lasting over ten hours. Matt Beers explains that riders experience predictable energy slumps around hour four and again near hour six, and repeated long training days teach the body to manage those dips effectively.

How many hours a week does Keegan Swenson train before Unbound?+

According to Matt Beers, both he and Keegan Swenson logged consecutive training weeks of 30 to 35 hours in the lead-up to Unbound Gravel. This block was completed at a training camp in Tucson and was programmed by their coach John Wakefield.

How do you fuel for a 10 hour gravel race like Unbound?+

Matt Beers stresses that fuelling for a race of this length must be practised repeatedly in training, not improvised on race day. Long training blocks of 30-plus hour weeks are used specifically to rehearse nutrition and hydration timing, helping riders push through the energy dips that reliably appear around hours four and six.

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Key Takeaways

Matt and Keegan are logging 30-35 hour training weeks with metabolic intervals at 3.8-4.2 watts/kg to teach the body to buffer lactic acid and manage extreme fatigue

Unbound preparation is less about raw fitness and more about learning fueling protocols and managing energy across 10+ hours—there's a predictable energy crash around hour 4, another around hour 6, then a zombie state after that

The sub-maximum fatigue test (110% FTP for 3 minutes) is a reliable early-warning system for overtraining; if you can't hold it, your body is telling you to back off

Gravel offers a viable alternative career path for strong cyclists who lack the bunch-handling skills or early specialisation needed to succeed in WorldTour road racing

Attention to detail—tire testing, setup optimization, mud mitigation strategies—gives full-time gravel racers a measurable edge over part-time competitors, even elite ones

A pain stick from Walmart is legitimately your most high-performance tool when dealing with the mud at Unbound; silicone sprays and fancy coatings make almost no difference

Expert Quotes

"If you are a little bit behind in the beginning you're going to go through a pretty bad like in the middle you're gonna it's going to be a rough time. Around hour four you hit the slump then you get out of it and you actually feel really good and then like hour six another little slump, and then after that you're just so screwed it just—your body doesn't even know and you don't feel tired anymore. It's weird."

"I only started racing professionally at around 22, 23, and before that I did Motocross until 19. I think it's kind of helped being now that I'm 30—I'm only like under a decade in the sport where some of these guys have been racing since they were eight years old. So to me I'm still hungry and I'm still motivated."

"That pain stick from Walmart is your best, like most high performance tool at that point. Literally a pain stick is the most high performance tool in that moment."

KEY QUOTES

“I think last week we did like 35 hours and then this week is going to be like 30 hours um yeah a few eight nine hour rides clocking massive clocking CES off yeah in the desert so it's been cool.”
Matt Beers — Three-time Cape Epic winner and professional gravel cyclist

“I more do it to actually figure out how to fuel and how much water you need to consume it's it's not really the physical like you know you just got to raise 10 hours I don't think you can be too prepared for that um but yeah just figure out how to fuel and manage your the valys and and uh the highs and lows when you go through an 9 hour ride I think it's quite important just to know that you're going to you'll be fine.”
Matt Beers — Three-time Cape Epic winner and professional gravel cyclist

“The protocol is to it's basically 110 to 100% of your FTP so for me it's at 510 three minutes God that's absolutely brutal so you know pretty quick if you if you're on a good day or not.”
Matt Beers — Three-time Cape Epic winner and professional gravel cyclist

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How does Matt Beers train for Unbound Gravel?+

Why do gravel riders do such high training volume before Unbound?+

How many hours a week does Keegan Swenson train before Unbound?+

How do you fuel for a 10 hour gravel race like Unbound?+

BEERS & KEEGAN SWENSON'S INSANE UNBOUND PREPARATION | MATT BEERS

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

Training Camp Volume With Keegan

Gravel's Logistics and Community

Friendly Rivalry and Marginal Gains

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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BEERS & KEEGAN SWENSON'S INSANE UNBOUND PREPARATION | MATT BEERS

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

Training Camp Volume With Keegan

Gravel's Logistics and Community

Friendly Rivalry and Marginal Gains

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

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BEERS & KEEGAN SWENSON'S INSANE UNBOUND PREPARATION | MATT BEERS

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

1.Training Camp Volume With Keegan

2.Gravel's Logistics and Community

3.Friendly Rivalry and Marginal Gains

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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BEERS & KEEGAN SWENSON'S INSANE UNBOUND PREPARATION | MATT BEERS

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

1.Training Camp Volume With Keegan

2.Gravel's Logistics and Community

3.Friendly Rivalry and Marginal Gains

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

HOW THIS SIMPLE TRAINING PLAN WON ME UNBOUND (2024) | ROSA KLÖSER

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WANT THIS APPLIED TO YOUR TRAINING?

Training Camp Volume With Keegan

Gravel's Logistics and Community

Friendly Rivalry and Marginal Gains

Training Camp Volume With Keegan

Gravel's Logistics and Community

Friendly Rivalry and Marginal Gains