A loss of community, two-tier finances, and a tactical conundrum – Are professional teams reshaping the gravel scene?

Gravel seems to have been at a crossroads since its inception, in an ironic nod to the Flint Hills of Kansas that catapulted the discipline into the collective consciousness. Aero bars being banned at Unbound Gravel several years ago now caused quite a stir, but in reality this did little to affect the actual nature of the racing. It remained a privateer model; pros and amateurs racing the same course at the same time, with a spirit of self-sufficiency and community uplift that in no small part made the sport phenomenally popular in a relatively short space of time.

Now, though, with a slightly forlorn predictability, the gravel scene is increasingly professional, with a growing gulf not just between the pros and the amateurs paying their entry fees to participate, but between professional riders backed by big-budget teams and individual privateer athletes.