Privateer Diaries: Tom Couzens at Gritfest

By Tom Couzens

Gritfest is a unique, multi-day, enduro-style gravel race. Covering 127km over the course of three days, with over 3,000m of climbing, the race includes six timed stages, with one optional prologue on the Friday night.

There is a huge variety of stages to suit different riders, ranging from 10 minutes to 30 minutes in length, with some focused on clocking up metres of climbing and others being predominantly downhill, while still others involve a little more rolling.

Each stage offers a unique challenge with the opportunity to win prizes, as well the race for the overall title, which is awarded to the rider with the least amount of elapsed time over the time segments.

Between each segment you have the opportunity to refuel and spin the legs out, to recover as fast as possible, ready for the next stage. The break also provides a great opportunity to catch up with fellow racers and friends.

Going into this year’s race as a defending champion meant quite a bit of pressure to try and regain my title. When every second counts, due to the time trial nature of the event, preparation is key, and in the weeks leading up to the race I focused on a lot of VO2 max and sweet spot efforts, to try and replicate the efforts I would be making in the race, whilst also focusing on the repeatability of these efforts, to ensure I wouldn’t fade on day two.

I actually had the same setup as last year, riding the Ribble Gravel SL, although this year I was riding SRAM rather than Shimano. This allowed me to run a slightly bigger, 44 vs 40 tooth chainring, which enabled me to keep the pressure on the pedals, even at higher speeds.

The 12-speed setup also made for a slightly larger range of gears, so I was equipped for the super steep climb on the second stage but also the fast downhill final stage.

One thing I did, which many others did not, was take a hydration bladder on my back. The advantage this presented was less weight on your bike and zero risk of a bottle falling out of a bottle cage over the loose terrain.

I used a Restrap Race Hydration Vest, capable of fitting in a two-litre bladder, and with the humidity over the weekend, this made sure I was really able to keep on top of my hydration levels. I also used it as a place to keep all of my tools.

Another big thing was my camping setup. It sounds minor but a good night’s sleep can make all the difference, and with the race being in the middle of Wales, 10km or so from the nearest town, you need to be self-sufficient.

This year’s race was pretty wet but I had upgraded my setup to a TentBox, and being off the ground meant I did not have to deal with any of the dampness. It was an overall improved setup, with a comfy, built-in foam mattress inside, versus last year’s inflatable mattress.

The fact that racing is so focused on repeatability of efforts means taking in the correct nutrition is key, and although last year’s race was still a success I was able to dial mine in this year, which I think helped to improve my performance.

The biggest difference was moving from energy bars to energy gels and energy chews, for slightly faster acting carbohydrates, as well as the added bonus of electrolytes. I used the chews to fuel between the stages, with the energy gels being my go-to as an added boost at the start of each stage, alternating between caffeine and non-caffeine options.

One of the biggest differences in my setup this year has been my kit. Last year, riding for Ribble, we were supplied with a racing and training kit, but this year I was able to choose my own. Sportful was the obvious choice. Both the quality and design of their kits really stands out to me, so far I’ve been super impressed.

For me, the piece of kit that has stood out the most has been the Supergiara Bib Shorts, with a cargo pocket on one leg where I store my nutrition that is super easy to access on the go, along with a mesh pocket in the rear where I store any tools that don’t fit into my hydration vest. This makes them the all-round perfect choice for gravel riding and racing.

Add the matching Breakout Supergiara Jersey, and you have the best gravel setup you could possibly want. The jersey has five rear pockets, which when coupled with the mesh pockets of the shorts, will fit all the extra equipment you need for gravel riding and racing.

In the past, one thing I have really struggled with when it comes to gravel riding is the vibrations through the bars, but ever since switching to the TC Gloves, I have not had any problems. Personally, I would never do a gravel race without gloves, because of the risk of coming off. They add that extra layer to protect your hands, if anything was to happen.

I’ve already touched upon the fact that the Supergiara range allows me to fit in an unbelievable amount of equipment, thanks to all the storage pockets, so I thought I would give you a rundown of things I take on every single gravel ride:

Tyre plugs
Tyre levers
CO2 canisters
CO2 sealant canister
Pump valve extender
Valve core remover
Spare inner tubes
Inner tube patches
Aqua Pro Jacket
Fiandre Arm Warmers
Veloforte energy bars, gels and energy chews
Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM V2

I talked earlier about how Gritfest is a six stage, enduro-style event, with the winner having the shortest elapsed time over the stages; each year the stages are different, but this is a rundown of this year’s stages:

Stage 1 was sponsored by Sportful and was a 9.1km stage, with 191m of climbing and 253m of descending. This stage, I put quite a lot of time into second place and pushed the pace hard from the start.

With plenty of flowing, twisty forest gravel tracks, including a few muddy patches that meant my cyclocross skills came into play and a really fast descent into the finish over the last kilometre, it was a pretty exhilarating stage that turned out to be one of my favourites.

The QUOC Shoes Escape was this year's second stage. Starting off with a super steep, narrow climb, the stage subsequently plummeted pretty much all the way to the finish, before a final climb.

I went super hard on the steep section of the climb, as I knew that this was where the time would be made over the 7.9km stage. The 260m of descending were so fast that not much time was able to be made, but going hard enough on the starting climb meant I was able to capture the stage win.

The third stage of this year's event was the longest of the weekend. At 13.6km, with 386m of climbing and 280m of descending, it was by far the hardest stage to get right. Go off too hard, and you would suffer in the second half, but go off too slow and you would risk your opponents gaining too much time.

I’ve been riding for the past year completely off feel, with no heart rate monitor or power meter, and I think that has massively helped me to understand my body and the effort it’s able to put out.

Going for a negative split, a faster second half than the first, worked extremely well for me, and I finished third on the stage, only a handful of seconds behind the duo in front of me. After lots of stretching and carbo loading, along with a good night’s sleep, it was time to get ready for the fourth stage.

The Tailfin Twister is what greeted us. It was only 6km long, with a brief climb to warm the legs up before a rollercoaster descent to the finish, so I was able to empty the tank from the start, as I knew this is where the time would be made. My calculations proved to be correct and this tactic paid off, so that, wearing the Sportful leader’s jersey, I managed to pull off the win to start the day on a high.

With a stage win already under my belt and the leader's jersey still on my shoulders, the final two stages were all about defence. A lot can go wrong when racing gravel, and with lots of tricky descents filled with sharp rocks, I did take things a little steadier.

The fifth stage was a rolling 10km route, starting and finishing at the same point. With plenty of kickers, I found this the hardest of all the stages to pace correctly. Soon after I set off, a group formed behind that I could see slowly closing the gap all stage long. My efforts from the previous day's stages could be felt in the legs, and although I did lose a little time, I still had a comfortable lead going into the final stage.

With 190m of descending and only 69m of climbing over the course of 6.7km, the Lauf Seigla stage was certainly a fast one. So much descending meant that not much time could be made or lost, so I was confident that I would be able to hold onto the jersey.

I went into the stage with a similar mindset to the fifth stage. The rider second in the overall standing caught me around halfway through the stage and went past at speed. I wasn’t prepared to push the limits quite so much, so I watched him fly away through the corners and over the rough gravel terrain.

As the stage neared its end there was a small, punchy climb where I was able to open up the gas, to ensure the gap didn’t get too big, and in doing so I managed to secure the overall win in addition to the three stage wins I had picked up along the way.

To anyone who has been eyeing up Gritfest over the past few years, I can highly recommend this race!