Completely agree.
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No, thats masters racing!
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Isnât that true of a lot of cycling, especially road racing? Usually there is a lot of nothing happening and only in some key decisive moments the race actually is interesting. Another extreme example would be an hour record attempt: extremely boring to watch in the foreground, but super amazing if you know the sport. (The pacing skills just blow my mind.)
The proper response is:
Great. Iâm just going to sit on your wheels and do as little work as possible unless another group catches up to us, then Iâm going with them.
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This is probably going to be an obscure reference to most but all this reminds me of the Battle of Agincourt and how the use of the longbow put an end to the era of chivalry.
So many similarities between medieval warfare and gravel racing - mud, dust, peasants and yeomen vs European nobility, new weapons, victors negating centuriesâ old code of honour, itâs basically the same thing.
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Same probability of a French win 
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Interesting video from Dylan. Lots of attacks. It sounds like Roberge just didnât attack or try to go with any of the many failed attacks until the end. Sounds like better tactics than Boswell!
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Every tactic that doesnât result in victory seems bad in hind sight. Has non stop attacking like Boswellâs ever actually worked?
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On paysonâs latest podcast, he has an interview with a couple of the dutch guys after gravel locos. Clearly, heâs not a fan of Adam. Doesnât call him out by name, but near the end of the podcast he makes a comment along the lines of âat least there is only one guy like that who isnât doing it the right wayâ. I canât remember the exact quote, but it was clear that he was referring to adam and calling him out for not doing things the way Payson (and others) would like. For whatever reasons, it seems like a number of these guys just arenât fans of adam on a personal level and are going to take their digs when they see a chance. Seems like childish behavior if itâs based on skipping aid stations and not taking pulls, maybe just an example of the kind of petty click-ish behavior that seems way too common in the cycling community. The whole thing sounds like middle school personality dynamics fueled by social media.
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Iâm kinda surprised this is a thread. The US-based gravel pro community is like a bizarre mix of professional cycling and social media influencers. A mix which for me is a huge turn-off 
and path to significant disinterest. Am I alone here?
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Payson was also one of the lead singers when there was the kerfuffle about Adam and the hydration pack.
I for one think the pack thing makes complete sense, why on earth wait for someone that didnât carry their water. He also canât be condemned for his racing âtacticsâ, but he also canât be surprised that he is not liked when he races so ânegativelyâ.
As others have said, if Payson, or Ian, or whoever donât want him sitting on the back there are things they can do to change it. When Adam is strong enough to keep riding back and then sitting in he has to expect to be unpopular.
Itâs the same as negative racing in road racing, it really freaking sucks to watch, but the only people that can do anything about it are the ones in the group.
The one thing Payson didnât cover in the interview w Jasper and Ivar was the footage of him in Call of a Lifetime saying that Keegan was the strongest guy that day and that there were a lot of freeloaders in that group. He specifically said something like, Ivar is a nice guy but he wasnât the strongest in the group. I was hoping Ivar would call him on that little quote, if for no other reason than to have a laugh.
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If you look at European road racing, itâs usually the well timed late attack that wins. Rarely does the long range attack work. Non stop attacking probably just wears you out.
And Iâm pretty sure Payson (Is he racing this weekend?) will be wearing a pack at Unbound like everyone else instead of stopping at the water Oasis stops.
If a stop isnât a legit checkpoint that requires stopping then there is no obligation to stop anywhere.
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This is where gravel/road racing is somewhat unique in professional sports. In what other professional sport can you stay with the leaders whilst conserving ~30% less energy? That is a significant advantage over 5, 6, 7 hours+ of racing. Obviously the steeper the gradients the less the energy saving, but you get the point.
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Doesnât hanging out in the draft save fuel for auto racing? Team speed skating uses drafting as well, iirc.
Running, XC skiing, sailingâŚbasically evry sport that has a drafting element in it.
For me itâs bigger surprise that people are still talking about this.
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Really? I wouldnât have thought youâd be moving fast enough
Kipchoge used drafting to break the 2 hour marathon barrier.
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