Gravel world champs, anyone watch?

Was going to try and catch some of it but the feeds appeared to be geo restricted so gave up. Saw the result and was not surprised.

I don’t know, I guess the best riders should be able to compete but maybe it would be nice to have qualifying events or greater entry criteria. I don’t really like that riders can just turn up and ride at pretty much their sponsors request, having shown little prior interest in the discipline. The UCI don’t appear to have done much to support the gravel specialists from what I gather about the gridding.

What channel is it on?

I might give it a watch.

I watched via GCN, but there are usually other options available.

Another example of why cycling's World Championships are flawed; one off races to decide a champion isn't always the best way to decide the season's best rider. The newer disciplines should go down the motorsport championship route - and make it a proper season long world championship...

Saying that, the world's best female cyclist won the race, so it's not as if we saw a 'fluke' result. And in the men's, that finish has got a certain Dutchman's name all over it.....

Just a reminder for those who think ‘gravel racing’ is a ‘new discipline’ from the people who invented it (and mountain biking too 😉)

Gravel biking

I see there is a bit of controversy with the race already. Roadies and mtbrs getting to start at the front of the peloton because of accumulated uci points in respective fields whereas the gravel specialists haven't accrued any and are at the back.

https://mobile.twitter.com/nicholasroche/status/1578639260676415488

Have enjoyed watching it so far - i guess critics will say its not particularly technical but it reminds me a lot of the gravel riding i do - piecing together different off road sections whether it paths, gravel roads, singletrack etc in between road bits.

I see gravel as different things to different people. I feel like you might as well just give rainbow stripes to whoever wins Paris Roubaix or Strada Bianche if this is UCI gravel.

Mvdp using a road bike apparently.
Obviously defining the difference would be hard, but if a road bike is the best choice, then it shouldn’t be a gravel race.
Just as an Xc race is unworthy of the name if (rules on equipment aside) someone believes a gravel or cx bike would be better.

I've not watched it but my mate thinks the womens winner was on a road bike too.

It all depends on what the definition of gravel racing is really, as the commentators said, the course has be be designed to induce racing and not just become a slog in groups of 1 or 2 over 200k or so.

The so called gravel experts and probably more suited to a tougher terrain, but as said above the route used is much like what a lot of people consider gravel riding to be.

Also the use of road bikes doesn't really matter, they all had gravel type tyres on, although I saw that Oss had a 32mm Roubaix Pro on the rear and a Pathfinder on the front, but tyre choice was as ever influenced by the weather, if it was wet there would've been a whole lot more tread on show.

WRT to who can enter and where they are gridded, there's nothing stopping Gravel "Pros" from entering UCI ranked races to collect points, there's a load of C1 & C2 UCI CX in the states, plus the Gravel world series, or even lower ranked road races.

World champs are always a one off in cycling, World Cups are the season long points accumulators.

Mvdp using a road bike apparently.
Obviously defining the difference would be hard, but if a road bike is the best choice, then it shouldn’t be a gravel race.

I bet MvDP could beat you round a world cup XC course in his roadbike!!

If you use a road bike for gravel and not a gravel bike for gravel then there's a heck of a lot of questions to be asked.

It's like that South African DH where everyone rides an enduro bike because it's too flat and pedally being the world champs, EVERYONE would have a grumble about it.

Having said all that, I don't know the answer.

I bet MvDP could beat you round a world cup XC course in his roadbike!!

He could probably do it on a BMX too 😉🤣

If you use a road bike for gravel and not a gravel bike for gravel then there’s a heck of a lot of questions to be asked.

Maybe for you and I but I am pretty sure Vermeesch and MVdP etc are pretty handy on a bike. A gravel bike is pretty much just a roadbike with wider tyres, if you can fit the wider tyres in a road bike crack on.

I'd have to agree with the bike choice being an issue. Given how conservative the UCI have been in the past regarding bikes(especially CX)I was surprised road bikes were permitted.

I believe a load of gravel racers have gave it a miss as there is a much more lucrative race in a couple of weeks and I'd imagine the road bikers field was diminished with il Lombardia yesterday.

I see gravel as different things to different people. I feel like you might as well just give rainbow stripes to whoever wins Paris Roubaix or Strada Bianche if this is UCI gravel.

100% this and the only reason they are not riding across fields, over mountains, riding rooty woods is £££ they simply can't televise it and sell the rights. Having it on tarmac, smooth towpath a very short cut grass means they can get all of it in the TV.
It's not gravel racing when it can be ridden on a road bike with 30mm slicks and fitness is all you need, no technical riding skills on a skinny tyre.
The most technical bit I saw was when two women riders went off course at a turn and ended going down a steep slope. Both fell off. Thankfully uninjured but hardly showcasing the skills needed to ride even the mildest XC trails in the UK say.
It all comes down to ££ in the end

Is gravel rooty single-track though? Dirty Kanza just looks like a big long fire road. I have no problem with the course as long as they change it up regularly

Is gravel rooty single-track though?

it's everything, what it isn't is smooth groomed routes and tarmac

it’s everything

Apart from that thing you don't want it to be!

It was more like a BWR race I thought. Which they themselves classify as ‘unroad’ rather than ‘gravel’.
Vegan Cyclist has raced a few on a road bike so it’s nothing new.

As a gravel grinder fan- I didn’t like it at all.

They should have sent them round the Dirty Reiver course 💪🏻

The Saint Piran rider Jacob Vaughan rode a Diverge Comp Carbon though which made me happy 🤣

I watched the men's race, it was as dull as ****! But not sure if that was entirely due to the course, the women's race looked a lot better

I’ve not watched it but my mate thinks the womens winner was on a road bike too.

she was in a gravel bike. Apparently the idea of running the event came from BMC as a way of promoting their gravel bikes.

I bet MvDP could beat you round a world cup XC course in his roadbike!!

He could beat me on one of those novelty things with 6 inch plastic wheels, even if he hadn’t slept a wink because some teenagers were knocking on his hotel door.
But that’s not the point.
It’s if he looked at a WC XC course and decided an CX bike would help him beat Schurter, Pidcock et al then I would have complaints about the course.
Here he has looked at the gravel course and decided to ride a road bike.

I feel like you might as well just give rainbow stripes to whoever wins Paris Roubaix or Strada Bianche if this is UCI gravel.

+1

There's some incredible terrain in Europe for a gravel worlds and they came up with a flat course that can be won on a road bike. Great..

Isn't the big open gravel roads the way the Americans have been doing it for years? Not because it was cool but because it's what they have?

My 2015 Ritchey Logic road bike was advertised as being good for gravel roads as it could take upto 28mm tyres.

I think here in the UK, gravel is anything other than national roads and dedicated mountain bike trails. Even then blue type trails are excellent on a modern cross/gravel bike.

It'd be hard to do a one off race that would encompass all the different types of 'gravel' routes you can encounter. So yeah, a series of races would be a better representation of what gravel riding is and can be.

so who won ?

Gianni Vermeersch

The lack of radios and team mates seemed to really hinder any chase after 2 went up the road and then the course wasn't tough enough to split the chasing bunch so the likes of MvDP clearly didn't want to drag 40-50 riders to the finish

Did anyone watch the Cyclo-cross race in Waterloo US yesterday? It was bone dry, actually dusty. You could argue that it's hardly cross racing without any mud. Again, it makes sense as a series as I'm sure other races will make up for the mud.

Cheers.

Isn’t the big open gravel roads the way the Americans have been doing it for years? Not because it was cool but because it’s what they have?

Perhaps that's what they were going for. I wasn't hoping for something like 'UK gravel' which is just riding drop bar bikes on basic XC terrain for the hell of it, but more of the Strada Bianche or Paris Roubaix setting. Dirty Reiver or Unbound 200 have that. What the GWs had was great for spectators but just looked like the sort of thing you'd piece together for a local ride exploring some Sustrans paths ..which to be fair is also what a lot of gravel riding is even if it's not the most scenically-inspiring riding. And Paris-Roubaix might not impress much as a setting at first, it's the history and atmosphere that makes it alongside the craziness of the pave.
I just didn't see it becoming something you'd go and ride as a sportive or as a destination. But I suppose neither would I travel to ride Nove Mesto etc despite those courses doing what they're supposed to do. So I do get why the Gravel Worlds were what they were.

The Gravel Worlds could be the most intersting race of the year for me. It could be a course that mixes road and off-road in a way that really pushes bike and tyre choice and favours a road rider and a mountain biker equally. Imagine the most unpredictable race on a course where a top road pro and one of the best of the XCO racers ended up on the finish straight for the sprint.

Imagine the most unpredictable race on a course where a top road pro and one of the best of the XCO racers ended up on the finish straight for the sprint.

Piddcock and MvDP already do that but the other way round.
The women's race was won by Ferrand-Prevot

The front 2 both had a background in cyclocross, so it is not like you can say you had a pure track/road focused powerhouse win.
If you go for a more technical course, MvdP, Pidcock and guys with cyclocross background, but race on the road would still have a benefit due to the length and power requirements of this type of race.

The womens race is a bit different in the crossover between XC and road, and race lengths.

While it was not the most interesting race from a technical point of view, it was designed for TV, spectators and money in getting a city to apply for advertising purposes, but overall it was not bad.

The course looked like a compressed 3 day tour for retirees on eBikes.
....and when the GCN commentators started talking about how tricky it was to ride because of lack of grip...."it's like riding on marbles"
I had to switch it off.

A gravel bike is pretty much just a roadbike with wider tyres, if you can fit the wider tyres in a road bike crack on.

That's the thing, there are all sort of variants of gravel bikes (slacker, loads of mounts, more upright geo etc,.) so maybe that is the confusion for some posters here as they don't realise that one type of gravel bike, a gravel race bike, is very similar to a road bike. And now that road bikes are available with clearance for 32c tyres it would be hard to tell the difference between a road bike with 32c tyres and a gravel bike with 38c tyres.

Looking at the course I would just ride a road bike as the riders were riding at 30mph on tarmac so any slight advantages from a road bike will be greater that and disadvantages of the gravel parts

@elbows

This is the bicycle-industrial complex. Capitalism demands money must be made. Industry invests in big showpiece to persuade people to consume. Experts make a big deal out of it. Gravel rebranded as difficult/worthy/valuable (see "you can get just as good a work out on an electric motorbike" for more details). People with money are convinced happiness is reframing their personal narrative around said industry-led vogue. People buy things. Profits are made. Jobs exist. All is well. Repeat.

😉

and I can switch it off 😉

Even though I've been bitten by the marketing (or fun of riding) and been gravel riding in Veneto, done a gravel TransAlp etc.

The women’s race was won by Ferrand-Prevot

The front 2 both had a background in cyclocross, so it is not like you can say you had a pure track/road focused powerhouse win.

Agreed it wasn't a pure road event and some bike handling skills are an advantage.. still. I just hope it evolves into what it could be.

That’s the thing, there are all sort of variants of gravel bikes (slacker, loads of mounts, more upright geo etc,.) so maybe that is the confusion for some posters here as they don’t realise that one type of gravel bike, a gravel race bike, is very similar to a road bike. And now that road bikes are available with clearance for 32c tyres it would be hard to tell the difference between a road bike with 32c tyres and a gravel bike with 38c tyres.

Looking at the course I would just ride a road bike as the riders were riding at 30mph on tarmac so any slight advantages from a road bike will be greater that and disadvantages of the gravel parts

Paris-Roubaix is brutal and it's won on 28mm tyres, I've tried to ride pave in N France at full effort on both 25mm tyres and 650 x 42mm and in both cases it finished me off within a few km. And it beats you up even worse when you slow down. Gravel race bikes for the top racers will always be thinner tyred and more road-race like than anything I could handle. What I'm getting at is that the gravel race bike format reflects on gravel racing that is very close to road riding and the US gravel race style which is where the format started. That's fine, no problem with the worlds course reflecting that.
But it's all a bit like the early days of MTB that started off with some promise yet the road and race culture influenced it so much in the NORBA years that it took ages for the bikes to develop past that head-down racer mentality and for courses to push both bike and rider to where XCO is now. It feels like gravel racing could cut that timeline down a bit and push riders and bike design, but I wouldn't expect the UCI to do that in one go or make a step change with the first gravel worlds event. I think they could have gone a bit further than they did though (I also recognise all this is about what I think gravel could be, not what gravel racing currently is - who am I to say).

I will backtrack on my earlier remarks somewhat and ask, what truly is the difference between a road and gravel bike these days?
I've been out of the road world for some years now. My most recent road bike had discs but was very much a winter/audaxer style rather than race bike. I think discs were banned at the time. A road club I rode with occasionally found the discs quite funny.

Especially in the sense of a 60-70kg pro rider who would happily risk thousands of pounds worth of kit if they thought it would give an advantage.

I will backtrack on my earlier remarks somewhat and ask, what truly is the difference between a road and gravel bike these days?

A gravel race bike, not very much other than a bit more clearance
A gravel back packing type bike, more mounts for stuff, higher stack, slacker geometry, more clearance
A gravel 'rowdy' type bike, more relaxed head angle, longer toptube/shorter stem, even more clearance

what truly is the difference between a road and gravel bike these days?

'Gravel race' bike is easier to define because we/brands can look at current race formats and terrain and what racers pick for them (back to my point that racing and it's importance in marketing holds back the development of this category, if you see the scope of all-road bikes as more than US county roads or the gravel worlds).
So what is the difference between a road and gravel bike these days, perhaps only clearance for about 10mm larger tyre size and a very fine tune to the geometry.

Part of the issue is marketing and SEO etc meaning the industry is calling all kinds of all-road / all-terrain drop bar bikes 'gravel' bikes. If gravel is just that ie US county roads and Strada Bianche type surfaces, then it's easy.

Every marketing department must be crying right now. For years they have been telling us we need a gravel bike as well as a road / Audax / CX / XC / Trail / Enduro / DH bike... and then we've just been shown that the best gravel bike in the world is a road bike.

When you look at how slow the roadie world has been to adopt improvements in technology, it’s hardly surprising they default to what they’ve been riding all year.

For me as an overweight normal human being, the opposite is true and a gravel bike actually makes the best road bike 99% of the time.

Most of them clearly feel the trade off of being slower on the road sections outweighs being faster on the rough sections of these type of races at the moment.
Which is probably the best explanation of why it wasn’t a very good gravel course.
A road bike and tyres in the low 30mm’s should be the ‘risky’ option for this to really be “gravel” and not an oddball one day road race.

There shouldn’t be rules but the course itself should mean people end up settling on everything from a hard tail to a road bike in order to tackle it. That’s one of the attractions- no one bike should be perfect everywhere but on balance a light, drop barred bike with ~40mm tyres should make the most sense.

Most of them clearly feel the trade off of being slower on the road sections outweighs being faster on the rough sections of these type of races at the moment.

It might be that they just want to keep their position the same as they have been riding.

we’ve just been shown that the best gravel bike in the world is a road bike.

(Possibly) the fastest, but not necessarily the best. The bike that wins the TdF isn’t that much use to anyone but pro-cyclists, for example.
If I snap my frame or forks or bend my rims when I’m out ‘gravel riding’ I don’t have a sponsor to instantly replace them for me. I want something a little tougher even if it means I’m a bit slower (not that anyone could measure the difference between ‘fast’ me and slow me). I also want to be able to fit guards, bottle cages and possibly a rack if circumstances require it. I want clearance for 40 mm tyres with fenders as a minimum. None of these things would have occurred to the winner of the gravel WC.
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