My alarm went off at 5.am, an hour usually reserved for darkness, but with the all-night sun in Iceland this time of year, the distant Volcano of Hekla – my challenge for the day – could already be seen through the windows of my cabin.
Dressed, and bike packed in the car, we set off for the 20-minute drive to the start of The Rift gravel race, to be ready for a bleary-eyed 6:30.am start.
When I arrived, I put my best mechanic skills to hand, double checking my pressure, my bolts and managing those last-minute tune-ups between sips of coffee. A quick roll to the start line and I was ready.
A few familiar faces greeted me, but at this point, with the open nature of gravel, you don’t really know who will be there, who you are racing against and what the tactics could be before the gun. The colours of Enough Cycling Team, The Cafe du Cyclist team and the Mazda Lauf team peppered the startline creating a pattern, one I couldn’t quite fit into. Right, there were some teams here. I took a pause, and made a plan, knowing it would be me, and other individuals racing against groups that were focused on a single outcome.
I’ve always felt the term ‘gravel Pioneers’ was truly apt for the first wave of gravel surfers. When you think of a pioneer you think of a dreamer, equipped with just their tools, navigation, dreams, optimism, bound to the wild, to find gold or reward in places others overlooked. Sure, gravel has been going for a while, but riders making a living full-time in gravel is a more recent thing. These pioneers have forged the paths and tracks towards which many of us have followed since. The gold rush is upon us, and it is a race to find the winning streaks.
Yet the change is afoot. There is absolutely room to call the top-tier riders in gravel professionals now. The trucks, campers, and support crews (in the USA), they’re seriously impressive.
This is all fine to me. In fact, it was always inevitable once the cycling industry cottoned onto the fact that a whole new genre of bike was becoming the latest must-have craze. It doesn’t change the experience of anybody racing gravel at their own speed, but it certainly has made the speed at the front get a lot faster. But what’s next? Is the next evolution in a more professional and more invested sport a turn to teams? I’d argue yes, in fact it’s already happening.
At kilometre 15 of the Rift, I noticed the teamwork. The Rift is sponsored by Lauf cycles, and their team Mazda Lauf with five…
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