Ahhhhhh … the UCI, right on brand 
7 Likes
I’m still hopeful for actual, watchable live coverage… But I see the penalty seconds for whining about aero bars is probably not needed now 
It’s going to be on GCN+, so presumably covered by Eurosport, which should mean a much, much higher level of coverage than the typical US Gravel Races.
It might also be one reason for such a non-climby course.
I also see the Hour Record is going to be on GCN too.
Both seem open to all markets (at least this year) which would be a pleasant surprise.
1 Like
It doesn’t work that way. Though they have the same nationality, they don’t ride as a team. Van der Poel will have more support from his belgian teammate Gianni Vermeersch.
My friend “Tessa Neefjes” is racing and from what I’ve heard her say after exploring the course the last 80km of the women’s route is pretty much pavement and NO gravel. (I don’t know if men’s course is the same).
UCI is just trying to ride the hype a little, how can you take a world championship seriously if it’s got a “non-gravel” finale.
2 Likes
Anyone know what hotel Mvdp is staying in? Asking for some teens…
13 Likes
I think it is way too early for anyone to be taking any kind of a victory lap re: the impact and future of this race, positive or negative.
4K riders last year across all distances. Don’t have the % breakdown by distance, but assume $175 average entry fee. That is $700K in registration fees.
I’m not saying that entry fees make up the biggest chunk of their income, but it definitely is a significant chunk of revenue.
Yeah, that’s the difference between something like World Cup’s or World Tour racing. Pinnacle racing people want to watch, and participation based events.
Ironman have made the best of both world’s, but it’s taken an awful long time as the coverage was always poor and the best triathletes were racing shorter distances. They didn’t even have to deal with cell coverage/access issues.
Unbound etc could better sell their elite race as a product by doing the 1hr package with the guy with the famous voice.
The one VERY obvious coverage obstacle I hadn’t considered until watching Unbound in 2021 is that any vehicle traveling on a dry gravel road kicks up a lot of dust, thereby obstructing the camera view. I wonder if Eurosport will go full helicopter coverage? Is that even a possibility?
I’m interested in how all this plays out.
1 Like
Sounds like there is some room for improvement but I’m going to give it a watch, see how it goes before having a strong opinion.
Road world champs is often a weird race - with national teams and no race radios for one race of the season- but still makes pretty good TV.
I think it is interesting how many people who are passionate about grass roots “spirit of gravel” type events are willing to gatekeep the sport and just basically shit on anyone who doesn’t fit their vision of the discipline. Never heard organizers in any other part of the sport publicly disparage other promoter’s events or people who attend their own event.
The way I see it, UCI is recognizing that gravel racing is popular and producing events in that meet their vision of what that looks like. An event planned with tv coverage in mind and an international audience likely looks different than a local race made by/for the participants. I haven’t heard anyone say that UCI events are the only valid gravel events. If you aren’t into it, don’t race or watch the races. Not sure that I see the downside of more races happening.
3 Likes
An interesting point about this race: It actually was supposed to be in the US and was going to be in right here in Truckee, CA. I’m not sure what happened to change it, but they had the course sorted and everything, then the plan changed and it moved back to Europe.
Sure I would have loved to have had it in my backyard, and yes, the women’s race seems too short, but I think the course looks really good. Looking forward to this one as the athletes showing up is giving this a late season “all-stars” feel.
7 Likes
I’m basically just thinking out loud at this point …
Please note my position on gravel for the record: if road riding in America was safer and/or road racing was easier (or even possible) to organize there would likely never be such a thing as “gravel”. Gravel riding/racing grew out of necessity here … and also an abundance of gravel roads. Me, personally - I’d likely never ride gravel races if there were as many, abundant road races (non-crits) as there were gravel races. I’m not against the UCI race … I’m kinda of just like: why would you do it with all these amazing road race opportunities in Europe? It really, mostly behaves just like road racing.
With all of that being said…. another thing I’m curious about with the top tier pros getting involved in this race: what is the crashing going to be like when the road is actually moving underneath you? This is a group of athletes who crash with regularity at the highest levels of skill (see: Julian Alaphilippe; Primoz Roglic, Geraint Thomas) when the road is grippy - due to the proximity and aggression with which they ride. It could behave like a wet Paris Roubaix even if the road is “dry” — AND, if I know these Euro pros (and I sort of do, but mostly don’t) they are going to try and ride on as narrow tires as possible. Bad idea.
The wet Paris Roubaix was absolute carnage last year,
All of this makes me think that the real roadie stars aren’t going to cut it loose … falling on gravel sucks much more than tarmac.
Am I thinking about this wrong?
[quote=“batwood14, post:36, topic:76589”]
and also an abundance of gravel roads….[/quote]
The abundance of gravel roads in Europe is staggering. Many would argue that the playground for gravel is huge in Europe and as we watch the gravel racing scene evolve, it will develop into something far greater (participation, course variety, competitiveness, etc) than what North America started.
I think you’re making a really big assumption here that road pros from Europe don’t know what they’re getting into. For starters, many of the marquee names that are racing have serious CX and MTB chops. But also, these are people that have been riding roads and paths and cobbles in Europe since childhood - they have an experience of cycling on all surfaces that far exceeds the imagination. They know exactly what it means to ride, race, and crash on gravel.
And as far as tires go…Matthew Bird is racing for Australia and recently posted on CyclingTips’ article that he’s racing on 40mm tires.
5 Likes
I’m going half glass full here 
This is definitely worth a watch.
Yes, the courses should be of equal length. That was a huge error by the UCI.
My first prediction. In years to come, many will look back on some of these ‘spirit of gravel’ comments in much amusement.
It’s actually relatively simple IMO.
Is gravel a bike race? Yes.
Are professionals racing it? Yes.
Are the best bike racers on Earth racing it? They are now.
Does that endanger the existences of earlier events? No.
Does that destroy the ‘spirit of gravel’. I don’t know what this is…
I am a little surprised that more of the current ‘gravel stars’ didn’t enter this. Purely for fun. White roads, Italy. Come on… I guess they are just waiting to see how it pans out. Plus, it would be very expensive for US based athletes. I suspect that many of them will have far less chance of winning the UCI event going forward. If that even matters to them. The long term plans sound quite interesting. The UCI have already scheduled a few years of gravel world’s, moving it around the world. The Australian event sounds interesting already. That is vastly better than any world championship stuck in the same location.
The amusing bit. If MVDP wins this, will he enter the Aussie event? Will he even be able to enter the country? Will he provide his own door men?
I can already see some quality jail meme’s in the future.
Race prediction.
It probably ends in a sprint. MVDP is likely the favorite, but he is not in prime condition. Riders have to finish on the same bike. Limited support. Punctures could decide the race. Apart from that, I have zero idea what is going to happen. That in my book makes it a must watch.
Supposedly, it’s on GCN+ and the UCI’s YouTube channel.
4 Likes
Sofia’s IG story today has a little blip (and a bleep) on the spirit of gravel 
1 Like
Just checked out the women’s field.
48 riders.
That’s very disappointing. Early days I guess. If PFP wins she’ll have so many world championship jerseys it’ll be verging on ridiculous…
3 Likes
Lol … I mention pros from Europe and you cite a rider from Australia 
I wish I could make this point more clearly but I’m obviously falling short, so I’ll pose it in the form of a question: if Euros can ride and race the road readily, why would they ever swarm to gravel? It’s the same thing on a crappy surface!
I mean, all of a sudden the UCI sponsors a race and all the Europeans decide to race on dirt roads when pristine tarmac races in abundance are available to them?
This isn’t an argument I’m making, just a statement of reality. Amateur road racing in America is, largely, dead. It’s REALLY hard to find road races here … this board has several threads dedicated to searching them out.
I’m glad Europe is a gravel playground, I didn’t know that.
I’m going to guess they’re able to attract a higher caliber of riders considering most are based in Europe?
4 Likes
Some pics of the area and course…
Looks lovely.
No power meter on MVDP’s bike.
Is that ‘spirit of gravel’ compliant?
4 Likes