The Future of Gravel Racing

Racing
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One way that USAC has mitigated the possibility of rider/vehicle interactions is to avoid overly complex terrain where rides might take one of many lines on a technical selection. The course has been designed to minimize potential hazards, such as overly technical descents or areas with poor visibility, without compromising the competitive spirit of the race.

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According to the tech guide for the 2024 event, the center line rule “stipulates that riders must stay on their side of the road, delineated by the centerline (or virtual centerline/center of road), throughout the race. Crossing the centerline, whether for overtaking or any other reason, is prohibited.”

I suppose it has to be this way and is probably not much of an issue when most or all of the roads look like this:

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I think the GPS tracking is an interesting feature, it’s opt-in and not mandatory and I’m not clear if it’s free or what the cost will be. Also not clear how well it’s going to work or if there’s any prior history showing good effectiveness.

I’m hopeful I’ll never have to do a USAC gravel event.

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The rolling enclosure for the first 15 miles for all categories is sweet. I doubt all races/events could pull that off but it’s a good idea.

Rolling enclosure and a > 4 minute climb in the first 15 miles. That sounds like a good time.

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I was riding in a fast group (probably 3rd group) at the FOCO Fondo this year. Double Dog route which was 62 miles. We crossed a couple of paved highways on our route. We did an okay job of slowing down and being safe, shouting out obstacles to riders behind, etc. However, on one crossing the guy who was pulling didn’t slow much and a pickup going 60mph came flying past. Fortunately, his brakes worked, though his back wheel got a foot off the ground and he nearly went over the bars. Felt very sketchy at the time.

Then in the last couple of miles we joined with the 30 mile and 12 mile family route. It was chaos as our group or 15 was jockeying for position before the final sprint while passing folks going 10mph or less.

Overall, I had a blast, but there were definitely dangers.