Not a meaningless win in my opinion. If sucking wheel all day for the win/podium in any specific category or age group makes it meaningless, probably over 3/4 of the results on a given day are meaningless. Unless you are fighting for men’s overall, a key strategy in gravel racing is to latch on to the fastest wheel/group you can hold and typically that that group is driven by folks in a faster category. I know it’s not the same thing and I don’t like the specific practice of seeding a “pacer”, but the dynamics are not that different than organizing one or more teammates around a rider for the win. Whether team dynamics are appropriate for gravel racing is a whole different discussion, but they are within the rules and I only see that increasing.
Right… much more controversial when big prize money and a world record is on the line. And are you say in 13-18 year old girls aren’t getting killed by males in their own race?
Hang on - junior girls racing is different.
A few years ago when my daughter was racing junior road races in my area there were never enough girls to warrant a seperate race : small circuits would have made a delayed start too dangerous and there wasn’t enough time to run a completely seperate race. I hope there are more girls racing now, and I realise that if organisers had put on a seperate race it could have driven participation up, but that’s how it was and I suspect things haven’t changed.
Anyway, all that meant that the girls were mixed in with 13-17 year old boys. Significantly stronger. The girls race was basically just seeing who could stay with the boys group the longest, before getting dropped and doggedly trudging round until they were pulled.
Any junior girl that races in mixed fields is not having an easy time, and has my full respect and admiration for sticking with it. Saying that someone hasn’t won in the right way in that context doesn’t seem quite right. Having said that, I think there is a difference between making the best of a situation and actively trying to exploit it by team tactics, but as said above, that’s a whole different discussion.
It’s all events going forward. But it only mitigates the issue, doesn’t solve it. They aren’t putting huge gaps between the fields, so the field still ends up mixed (especially for the longer events). I think the biggest benefit is that it helps the start dynamics. Besides the safety issue at the start, it stops the dynamic of some of the women getting a serious ride with the pro men. While everyone had the same opportunity to latch on, most could not and the dynamic basically ripped the entire women’s field apart right from the start.
I understand the frustration to a degree, but the whole “rules that aren’t really rules…” and such is funny in the broader picture of gravel racing.
When it comes to a national level event in particular, people aiming for top steps need to consider ALL the written rules and all that aren’t. Choose or skip any and all tactics along with equipment choices and then run your race.
Some of these post race analyses seem like sour grapes to me (ex: hydration pack vs water stops issue in other races) where people aren’t happy that someone else chose to ride their race differently. In this instance, if the other rider without the dedicated domestique had latched onto other faster riders for any or all portions of their race, would that be a problem too?
Yeah, I think this is where categorized road racing can be a really bad experience and shouldn’t be emulated. In road racing, once you are dropped, the “mentality” is that your race is done. Just not a good experience and almost all beginners are going to be there (and many quit before they can be competitive). This is where mass start gravel (and fondos) really shine in my opinion. You may not get the result you want, but you often don’t even know where you stand during the race. And if you get dropped for one group, there is often another group coming from behind you can jump into. You naturally end up with folks of your same ability, regardless of gender and age.
I didn’t even know junior girls gravel racing was a thing…
This is very different than your example. In your example, the 13-17 boys were racing their own race. What is happening in gravel is that adults go to the race not to race, but to create a draft for their daughter.
Would you have entered a road race for the soul purpose of providing a draft for your daughter? You would have likely done this many times with her on training rides so she knows your riding characteristics. Further you would know her strengths and weaknesses and can speed up and slow down based on those. What if she drops a chain? Well you stop of course and wait for her to fix it before proceeding.
Why not just make that the competition? Father/daughter team time trial gravel race. Sounds pretty fun actually.
It hardly is because girls are sick of feeling like they need a male escort to win. Most girls are one and done.
The answers here are not going to be super satisfying. Is it kind of lame for them to do that? Yes, it is. Was it lame when a woman won Unbound being pulled around by her husband the whole time? Yes, it was. But it is what it is in gravel. If that bothers you enough, have your kids race mtb’s in a NICA like setting. It will all be on them at that point.
The 13-18 girls would get crushed by the males if the males were racing at their own pace. These Dads come for the sole purpose of pulling their daughter. A practice they have trained for. The Dad goes the speed the girl is comfortable with. Much faster than she could go on her own, but much slower than the Dad would keep if he was racing on his own.
Yeah, this is just racing… if there isn’t a rule banning it, it’s allowed. And if there is a rule, get as close to breaking it without breaking it. Some people want to win and won’t “feel shame” holding that #1 medal.
Who said the parents don’t ride? There are some strong independent girls that want to achieve things without the relying on a male to give them an upper hand against other girls. I am guessing you aren’t raising one.
It sounds like your primary beef is that it’s a parent doing this? Would it be different if it was a strong teammate (or multiple teammates) doing the pacing? Again, I personally don’t care for the practice, but the outcome is no different than if a team is doing the same thing as the parent (which is controversial in itself, but certainly within the rules).
There’s a significant difference between domestique dad who’s going to adjust his pace and not drop you vs other random faster riders who are racing and looking to drop you.
As others have said there’s not a whole lot that can be done other than having a separate women’s race.
I seriously doubt the small number of girls competing in gravel cycling is because the sport is perceived as unfair. It’s a niche sport that is not geared towards children. Compare participation numbers to any of the major team sport or even other endurance sports (ex. swimming, track). Cycling is just not as popular a sport among children, probably because it is not tied to school participation.
School MTB teams have become a huge thing here (central TX) in the last decade. It’s great to see. I assume it’s even bigger in places like Colorado.
- Not sure I agree, but let’s just say so for now.
If the non-lead rider in the case above had latched onto the one with the daddy-tractor… would that be a problem?
Basically, this is some fine hair splitting. If issues like this are worth addressing, they deserve attention set towards race directors and governing bodies. Setting split start times/groups is the basic way to address it and it’s a known choice that is employed in other racing.
Whether that’s “best” or appropriate for gravel racing at any/all levels is beyond my pay grade.
Very true. You also see teams in certain parts o Northern California. My point is that compared to other mass participation sports (ex. cross country running, track, swimming) cycling is still relatively niche.