Gravel races now take place 11 months of the calendar year, with the 2024 season beginning just weeks after the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships in early October.
After a quiet November, events are beginning to open registration for 2024. Riders are confirming endorsements and decide on their race calendars and travel schedules. What used to be a casual approach to the alternative appointment book for off-road competitions and adventures has become a more structured and serious business. Growth is good, right?
At Cyclingnews, we decided it was time to reflect on 2023 and highlight some of the revelations of the burgeoning discipline of gravel and in an era where the sport is rapidly evolving on an international level there were plenty of those.
Topics that stood out ranged from the changing nature of race starts to increasingly rich prize purses, shifting equipment trends and what did, and even didn’t, happen at the UCI World Championships.
Changes in gravel currency
There are still gravel events where the winners take great pride in earning sweaters, belt buckles, swashbuckling swords and themed trophies, but cash is king, especially for privateers.
Grinding out a living on gravel got a boost in 2022 when the Life Time Grand Prix took shape and the invitation-only field of athletes competed across six designated off-road US races for top 10 men and top 10 women to divvy up a $250,000 prize purse.
The series of gravel and mountain bike races gained broad appeal, with riders and fans, and hit the repeat button in 2023 as an earning opportunity. Plus, a new Life Time perk covered event registration fees for all invited series riders.
A year ago Monuments of Cycling, which hosts Belgian Waffle Ride events, paid out $32,000 to the top 10, five women and five men, with the lowest cumulative times for the four-race Quadrupel Crown of Gravel Series. This year the series expanded to seven races across North America, but the overall prize purse dipped to $25,000. All seven events had separate prize purses, ranging from $3,000 to $10,000, with BWR Mexico paying the highest amount.
Other notable cash payouts this year go to SBT GRVL, with $22,000 for top 5 men and women pros fastest on the Black Course. And to encourage greater participation from women, Stetina’s Paydirt shifted all of its $5,000 prize purse and now only the…
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