Gravel racing has reached a terribly confusing point. A discipline that was born in the US out of a desire for more relaxed, community-led, welcoming race scene has been turned on its head in recent years – largely due to the involvement of cycling’s governing body, the UCI, two years ago. Now with a UCI-run World Championships and World Series, has gravel racing lost its way? Where does it fit within the wider sport? Can it continue to be further professionalised and still preserve its heritage?
The Gravel World Championships which were held in Leuven last weekend unfortunately does not help us answer any of these questions. In fact, it raises even more perplexity about what the real purpose of this competition really is. Marianne Vos took victory in the women’s race while Mathieu van der Poel won rainbows in the men’s event, both riders who have barely raced gravel in their careers, and not once this season leading up to the World Championships.
Marianne Vos wins the elite women’s race at the Gravel World Championships (Image: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)
These two athletes are incredibly decorated road professionals, Vos with three world titles on the road already and Van der Poel with one. They are exactly the two riders you’d expect to see at the front of WorldTour one-day races – in fact, the top-10 in both the men’s and women’s races at the Gravel Worlds were all contracted to professional road teams. With this in mind – and the fact a large portion of the route at the Gravel Worlds was on asphalt – what really makes the race any different to a road race with some gravel sectors, like Tro Bro Leon or Strade Bianche? The level of riders at the top is the same and the parcours aren’t dissimilar, what is it that gives the Gravel Worlds a sense of unique identity?
The fact seasoned gravel professionals, namely Keegan Swenson on the men’s side and Sofia Gomez Villafane opted not to travel to Europe to race the Worlds also somewhat lessens the impact of the race. Swenson has dominated the Lifetime Grand Prix – the landmark gravel series in the US – in recent seasons, winning it three times. He also secured fifth in the Gravel World Championships last season. Villafane similarly won the overall Lifetime title this season for the second year in a row. To many US-based gravel riders, the LifeTime GP series is a more legitimate representation of the best gravel riders in the world – it takes place in the…