@@LordVarkson You can successfully ride much rougher surfaces on a road bike than many imagine . But is it the fastest? It's about what's fast, rather than what's possible.
Clearly you “can” ride almost anything on a road bike. The point is, what is efficient and comfortable and safe. There is a rough gravel road near my house that links to some good road riding. I’ve blown out multiple road tires on it, never a gravel tire.
I loved the course, I felt like it was a good representation of cycling in Belgium - cobbles, mud, narrow roads, technical corners... it was a like a hybrid of a one day cobbled classic with CX and gravel sectors. It's something unique that can't be replicated anywhere else, and it was damn hard! Coming from Australia, it was very different to the gravel courses we have, and I expect it would very different in the US and other countries, but that's what makes each place worth travelling to - to experience something different that represents that region.
I also loved the course. To me, the number one test is: was it fun? That course was a blast. It would have benefitted from some climbing and some technical single track, but lacking that certainly didn't ruin it. Compared to the US National Championship course, Belgium was heaven. We just had miles of straight, relatively flat, not-even-chunky gravel roads. So boring. It was a road race on a crappy road.
Did the gravel worlds, am from Canada - it was amazing! So stimulating, lots of gravel and tons of skill required. Honestly, it was a 4+hr cross race. Had it rained, would have been soooo hard - much like a wet cross race. So much fun!
It was … and don’t forget the atmosphere when you entered Leuven. Always have a laugh with those keyboard warriors at home when they are giving their opinions about something where they actually don’t know anything about as they weren’t there. I was in Italy last year and did my home country race this year and both were awesome 🙌🏻 and much more offroad/gravel as most think, but that’s something you can only discuss with people who were there too.
I also rode the Gravel Worlds on Sunday. Probably the best day I ever experienced on a bicycle, the atmosphere was unreal. The course was narrow, fast, you always had to pick a smart line and the change in surface was challenging on the equipment. The Start and a section in the forest was really muddy, so full slicks would slide too much, but proper tread pattern would be unnecessary on the fast gravel and cobbles. It was a very good mix between the UCI races here in Belgium/Germany/Netherlands. My friends who supported me also loved every minute.
It's ironic how things have evolved from "the spirit of gravel" to the snobbery about "true gravel", people don't seem to be able to just enjoy a good race on it's own anymore.
Because the world champs didn't involve many American athletes, the course was very different from an American style course: shorter, flatter, and there was plenty of pavement/rather comfortable conditions and wide trails. So it's just very different and many of the best American athletes (Swenson for example) didn't make it over there because of the issues with cost and no budget from cycling orgs. Feels like early days in gravel. Need better funding and races outside of Europe.
MVDP is definitely a worthy rider of carrying the gravel rainbow jersey. Strong mtb rider back in 2019, definitely the best cyclocross rider so he is definitely more than skilled enough for any gravel course out there. Then combine that with being the strongest puncheur in the world and he is the perfect gravel world champ
For defining gravel so eloquently (I legit cackled for a solid 30 seconds) and for Dan always providing us with dad-joke level humor. Keep it coming! Love you guys 🖖🏻 Tuesdays are a highlight. My husband and I love watching your show together. While foam rolling, of course 😏
You were off with your statement that Lachlan Morton road at Unbound was way off!! Lachlan ran a Vittoria Mezcal 2.1 tire up front and a Terreano Dry in 47mm in the rear!
Scandinavia would be the obviously choice for a top notch course for the World Championships. The only issue is that autumn is a little earlier than in Continental Europe, and whilst you might get perfect weather (as I had on my 163km gravel ride on Sunday - 13c, fully sunny after a light frost), you might also not. What sets Sweden, Finland and to a slightly lesser extent Norway apart is that the gravel road networks are so extensive that you could run a 180km race and do less than 10km on tarmac. In Småland (Southern Sweden), the elevation gain is significant, with endless little 'bergs' and relentless undulation, cornering and other challenges. The gravel is generally extremely smooth, but it isn't always. Either way, delighted that the Gravel World Champs is growing year on year and I hope to be in Nice next year age grouping 😁
Gravel worlds in Smaland is a brilliant idea. I was exploring the region last year by car and you are right about the endless hilly gravel network. It was also tremendous fun driving gravel roads with the car, although my wife nearly murdered me because i demonstrated a scandinavian flick.😂 Greetings from Germany
I have also ridden some gravel in Småland, but using Strava to plan routes is terrible. I kept running into dead ends, or single track (and I mean NOT for gravel bikes) or property barriers and the like and even though there is the law on ones side when crossing such things, as a foreigner it feels really uncomfortable. In Skåne some owners are now putting up signs telling gravel riders not to cross their properties and this is sometimes accompanied by a ferocious dog! 😂 Anyway, gravel worlds in Småland 100% yes!!
@@headofmyself5663 Haha! Who can blame you for having a little fun in the car?! We had retired pro Alex Dowsett here in May (check out his UA-cam channel for the videos) and he was blown away by the quality of the riding here. It is, as you say, just endless. Forest, lake, pretty red farm houses, quaint meadows, repeat.
@@mikhailway I'm sorry that you've had issues with the route planning. I make a real effort to explore my area, and use Plotaroute for the mapping. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than Strava. But I still have to check Google maps, satellite imaging, Google Street view and Lantmateriet to ensure the route is good. It sounds like in Skåne that there is developing resentment towards us cyclists. That's really unfortunate as we don't damage the tracks at all and bring money to the area. I'm in Kalmar Län, and there are so few people here that no one minds cyclists.
It was cool seeing the Belgium gravel course. One fun thing about “gravel riding” is that it is really different depending on what region you are in & gravel riding in one spot of the world is different than another. Take the New England area gravel. It’s pretty much 90s XC rooty rocky riding. Then you have Kansas just big wide open roads. The Belgium course looked like a really good mixed terrain ride & it will be cool to see where they hold it next year
Having completed it as well, I can echo Sy's comment as one of the best experience I had on a bike. The course was actually everything you should expect from a gravel race, with mixed terrains and conditions. Despite the pain of the effort, I had loads of fun on the bike. I have however watched the TV coverage back when I got back home and it looked rather dull (even though it wasn;t) which might explain some of the neagative comments.
I appreciate the differences between the style of American and European gravel. It creates an environment for individuals to excel in different skills for their preferred type of riding. Coming from a mountain biking background; I will contend that American gravel racing needs a higher degree of technicality in the courses instead of promulgating the endurance flavor by comparison. American gravel is NASCAR to European gravel’s F1.
You nailed it. The big American races (especially in the Midwest) tend to reward riders with strong endurance especially coupled with heat/wind/mud. Different skillsets.
When I turned on the Gravel World Champs’ this year my first thought was “that’s what i do”. I don’t have any cobbles round here. But the rest of it was so familiar, bits of road, tracks through woods, bits of single track etc. I realise that doesn’t necessarily make it a great race course. But i think it really helps promote the sport. Surely almost everyone watching must have thought “i could do that near where i live”.
A glockenspiel has metal keys and a shorter range. A xylophone is made out of wood, rosewood in particular for the nice ones. A marimba is made of wood, but has a significantly lower range than a xylophone; the key width also changes whereas on a xylophone they are uniform.
I agree with everything Si said, it definitely was a “gravel” race, I rode on the Saturday in the 70-74 age group, also for team GB, it was a great event and I loved it.
@@gcn I road to in the 60-64. Brilliant event, course, crowds and a true test of fitness and bike skills. Hardest day ever on my bike in 30 years of riding and racing,
To answer Si’s query about the Franken bike, the main difference between xylophones and glockenspiels that xylophones uses wooden bars where glockenspiels use metal bars. So, it was a glockenspiel on the franken bike
Spoke with Si at the start pens. Got a picture with him. Told him my wife likes him better than me🤣 … and I don’t blame her. He was so friendly, interested and genuine. Legend 👍
Was going to comment this exact thing. It was a big deal that he won with such big tyres. Dylan J did a whole vid with a similar setup. A quick glance at any photo of lachy from the race shows obvious beasts of tyres…nowhere near 38mm skinnies
I’m going to chime in on the debate on whether the UCI gravel championship should be included in the gravel conversation. I live in the USA and ride gravel here regularly. I also competed in the 2023 UCI gravel championship in Italy. Yes, there is a big difference in US gravel scene and European gravel scene. In the midwestern USA where I live, there are wide roads, few road intersections and large, loose rocks everywhere. Gravel riding here demands larger volume tires. 40mm tires are too small and you’ll destroy a wheel if you aren’t careful. What I experienced in Italy, and what I’ve seen from other gravelly events in Europe, the gravel seems much more tame and there are more unpaved trails through the woods, and MANY turns. It’s an entirely different style of racing than we have in the USA. In the USA, a race like Unbound or Big Sugar is more of a TT where you are just putting out power the whole time with fewer high wattage surges. In Europe the racing was on narrow roads and constantly surging due to all of the turns, and the road surface was constantly changing. In the USA, you’re mostly on gravel with a few tarmac connectors. It seems to me that the Europe gravel scene would be better classified as a multi-surface race whereas US is more dedicatedly gravel. For people like me (not at the pointy end of the pro race field) it means that in the USA I’m running 50mm XC tires most of the time, where as in Europe I was perfect on 42mm semi-slick tires. If the UCI plans on hosting gravel championships in Europe indefinitely, then I think they are doing just fine, because they are utilizing what is available in Europe. It just vastly different than what the USA offers.
I watched with envy from home in Colorado. I’ve ridden Unbound 100, Steamboat 100 & 60, Finland 100. ALL have different surfaces! Hats (Helmets?) off to the Belgians! That GRAVEL course looked HellaFun! Gefeliciteerd! Goed gedaan!
It was torture at times! lots of cornering, cobble, CX ruts, singletrack, forest trails. Amazing and very tough. 30km/h avg for me. Sprint finish for a nothing place! :) Bucket list experience, loved it. One of the few Ireland entries ☘
From what I can tell, it didn’t look like Unbound so everyone is losing their minds, especially in America. Ultimately, there was plenty of mud, gravel, rutted farm roads etc and the term ‘gravel’ is still very much a wide one… as referenced by Si, several BWR ‘gravel’ events are made up of huge amounts of actual paved/tarmac public roads, with the general public driving up and down them! People have to bear in mind that as a World level UCI event there are a lot of considerations - there were fans all round the course, huge amounts in some areas, you don’t get that at American gravel events so the organisers don’t need to take that into account. There is no way any World Tour team is going to let their riders race on open roads with people driving about, so it has to be in an area that allows for properly closed roads etc. The UCI broadcast most of the race live as well, which has its own complexities. Also despite not all being on actual gravel, no-one could say it was an easy course… it was full gas with loads of punchy climbs and some deep ruts etc. I’m a fan of American gravel events, but not everything has to be the same, and I do hope that the format changes and develops year on year and we do get more courses resembling the best US gravel events too. The most important thing is the quality of rider and that was comfortably the highest calibre field ever to start a Gravel race.
Absolutely great course. So interesting and technical. Farm track, crit race style tarmac, forest gravel, urban alleys, rocky single track, cobbles and repeat like 180 times. The Belgiums did an amazing job. Rarely 200m before a change in direction or terrain.
They won't be saying "it's not a proper gravel course" in 2026 when the event is in Nannup Western Australia. That is a PROPER course. The Seven gravel race is one tough event.
This year was another UCI Bike Path World Championship. Two ideal candidates for a WC course in the US are Big Sugar in Arkansas and Cascadia Super Gravel in Washington state. Both are plenty gravelly at around 160 KM with plenty of climbing and technical bits.
Waiting for the usual know nothing armchair comments. Disappointed not to have seen that old chestnut "bikepath world championships" yet - I'm sure some numpty will add it. Having ridden the trails around the course for the last 30yrs (from steel hardtail with bar ends in the '90s to my current 2X DI2 Trek Checkpoint) I was disappointed that some of my favourite trails weren't included. But the course was, as Si rightly states, a really great mix of off road surfaces, and was challenging too. Several sectors included in the course I deliberately avoid usually (e.g. that cobbled sector near the lake after Halle bos and before Alsemburg). And of course the race was run in brilliant sunshine after a largely dry week. Had Belgium served up its usual October weather the course would have ridden very differently! My only other disappointment was the TV coverage and the lack of anything for the first part especially as the Halle loop even went past the gates of the St Peters-Lieuw Heliport!
That bike bus looks fun 23:10 there are some tunnels you can bike through.. The Tyne Tunnel is superbly beautiful and the Clyde Tunnel has a bike only area on one side and pedestrian on the other with cars above in a different tunnel
"Fear is lucrative. Fear is big business." There's a reason the automotive and insurance industries are often behind the lobbying for helmet laws. It would be awesome to see an in-depth GCN video on this topic.
From Canada but live in Europe now. Have used Zwift from the start but my favourite trick is to bring my power pedals when I travel for work to places it’s impossible to ride outdoors. I secretly change out the pedals on the hotel bike and use my iPad for zwifting
Si, what you did at the gravel world championships was super impressive, regardless of gravel / not-gravel. I thought the racing was good, it looked beautiful and the MVDP watt bomb final attack was just unbelievable. I think it's great to have a world championships where anyone can qualify and race. Great event.
Sadly for the ladies, no control entering Halle, our daughter paid the price. Thank you Lotte Kopecky for talking about this incident in your post race interview. The riders put a lot of faith and trust in the organizers, thanks to the spectators that helped. ua-cam.com/video/-2WCYSR9pwY/v-deo.html
I am old enough to remember that is where ALL bike lights went, often with a contact dynamo that would destroy the sidewall in about a week. The lights had about three lumens
at 22:20 Cycle Bus: To get to the bus terminal you are required to use a mish-mash of a spider's web formed on LSD of shared footpaths. Alternatively, ride in the traffic of Blackwall Lane or Bugsbys Way. In 2022 I cycled to an event at the O2, it was a good HiiT session of VO2 Max efforts to save me from the traffic!
The course was incredibly intense, particularly the first 50K. Narrow, constantly changing surface, corners, punchy hills, fast descents.One of the better, harder and extremely well organized. People also don't take into account the weather. It was dry for a couple of days and warm both saturday and sunday. Reverse that and less ten half of te field would finish the course.
I was there. Rode half thr course prior to the race on Saturday and Sunday. It was well worth the title gravel. Far amount of muddy single track and rough ish gravel.
Eh, from what I saw the course was ok. Not to say that it wasnt hard due to lack of gravel or hard terrain. Si's comment about an unbound style race would be amazing to see! I hope someday that happens. As long as there keeps being a gravel world champs I will be happy. Just getting out there to ride makes a day better no matter the surface.
Mike in Calgary for the hack - kudos to this individual for caring about lower positioned lights on paths to not blind other pathway users, whom are by and large fellow cycling or running commuters. The space race of more lumens has been one of the banes of commuting on paths, some of the new lights are excessively bright, and their users have no idea to not point them up like high beams (presumably you'd rather see the path rather than freezing oncoming riders to blind zombies).
A bike mechanic and outfitter for several elite Unbound riders tells me that 10-15 years ago top riders usually went with 35 mm tires for the race. Then they went to 38, then 43 and wider, usually with better outcomes. So Lachlan's 38s buck the trend and his success surprised some.
The more places the Gravel World Champs go, the better. I'd love to see the Gravel World Championships here in Australia. Gravel racing is booming and we have some great courses close to the big cities. A particularly Aussie feature that we could throw in the mix is descending on heavily rutted 4WD tracks. Nice and "technical" for the gravel purists (i.e. scary as hell).
I'm on team hot dip all the way, on all my bikes. Yes, there is an investment in money and time, but once you have your hot dip session set up in your garage, its super easy. I admit that I don't do full strip/clean between every dip, just don't need it but I do also have an ultrasonic cleaner to make it easier.
The Gravel Champs was a real mixed bag and a step on the right direction, but to find true gravel seems to be a challenge. I feel the course was not suited to such a huge field and also the real gravel riders had to be ranked against the road guys, so that system needs to be looked at. We need a more fair system in my opinion that favours the riders of that discipline. Otherwise a great turnout from fans so that was a successful for the UCI. I think taking this to the US or Australia and even South Africa would yield a more gravel infrastructure course than what we’ve seen thus far.
With the millions of gravel bikes being sold, I doubt anyone in the cycling industry would want to see 'true gravel' restricted to a few faraway places like Kansas or the Australian outback. So I don't see why muddy farm tracks or forest paths can't be considered gravel, especially since that is what the vast majority of people are going to be riding their gravel bikes on.
I think overall percentage of unpaved roads would be an easy way to determine it. I would think a "gravel" world championship should have at least 50% of the race on unpaved roads, with at least half of them (>25%) on rougher and rockier unpaved roads.
Fair point about the footage of the gravel worlds that we saw was the easy to film sections but I’m still not convinced. I’m sure the course was challenging and I’m sure the racing was intense but it just looked like some blokes riding through a local city park. I didn’t feel any different than multi-use path in my local downtown.
While I am not in the seemingly anti-UCI camp and thoroughly enjoyed watching the race, I understand entirely what you are saying… the course was very uninspiring, visually. Holding it in a city environment does allow easy access for the thousands of spectators though and the atmosphere looked fantastic. The next few Gravel Worlds are to be held in France, Australia and Spain I believe… they should be able to provide a bit more actual gravel and a more rural look to the course.
Gravel worlds seemed like a great course, and well thought out and planned. Also a special shoutout for the camera work, I was impressed by the motos on some of those bits of single track! But, and there’s always a but, why did coverage start so late! It’s no secret, people want to watch gravel races, and it’s not like road where the first 50km is pretty pointless!
As always, great watching you fine gents. We look forward to it each week, while foam rolling, of course, as you do. I have to say, though, you both seemed pretty revved up for today's show. Extra long coffee conversation? Also, Dan, please don't ever stop serving up dad-level jokes. They make my day.
Even though it was a fun race, it wasn't much more than a road race with some off-road through hardened mud paths. There weren't many gravel stones at all. I enjoyed it and Laurens Ten Dam as the national coach hosting a bbq, racing himself but deciding to drop out to watch the rest in the bar is definetly the right spirit
No, like they said - you don’t have to be on a mountain to ride a mountain bike, you don’t literally have to be on gravel to ride a gravel bike. People need to just stop being pedantic bell ends about it.
Hi Si, I also was lucky enough to ride the World Gravel Champs, in to proper old mans group 60-64. Despite being brought off after 2 miles by a Dutch guy I remounted and finished. I was a crazy and amazing day. The best day and hardest day on my bike in the 32 years since I started cycling, The course was awsome, especially the Leuven finishing circuit. What made the circuit so hard was all the mirco efforts out of all the corners, especially on the road sections.
Spot on mate, Unbound chewed up the Bahrain team, they literally gave up less than half way and confirmed the Unbound chunk was too tough for the "road boys".
@@jonoharper4729 They didn't give up, they just rode reckless on the descents and smashed there wheels up. It is too tough for ''road boys'' with ''road mentality and risk taking''
I looked up the course and it was 54% unpaved. 41% paved and 5% unknown. (will to Ride with GPS). It seems that if we had a road race that was only 54% road all the roadies would go off saying it is not a road race. When folks get upset it is because of the extremely loose definition of what defines the gravel race. When I think of road race, I think it is all on a road. When a gravel race, it will be all gravel, When mountain race it is on a mountain. I'm speaking about racing definitions not what you "could" do with a bike. I can understand why many may be upset. To defend the race based on average speed, or we need camera motorcycles to be on the course is just a bad idea. I couldn't find any information on what defines a gravel race course vs. a road course. That would be extremely helpful to set boundaries and expectations.
I watched the race live and thought it was great. I also agree that the race should come to the US soon, as we do have a big history in this type of racing (gravel). ps, I am from the USA.
Let's not forget that the Belgian Gravel Worlds would've looked much different in typical Belgian rain. In the end I think UCI gravel worlds should be of a different type every year. Some with more climbing (Alps?), some with more gravel (like the Gralloch in Scotland) and some in a city with lots of parks (I suggest Milton Keynes - we have loads of parks and weird bike paths and also some parking garage spirals for a KOM :-)
In a post-race interview Lotte Kopecky said her back was aching in the last part of the race, and she supposed it was caused by all the bumps. That seems to be one argument confirming the off-road character of the Worlds Gravel.
I thought your dialogue about tyres as defining "gravel" was pretty spot on. There's a range for sure, but if the fast guys are on 25mm or 28mm slicks then I'd have a hard time thinking that the surfaces are rough enough for it not to be just a road race. Of course, people can ride whatever they like, but it's what's fast that is some sort of indicator. For me, gravel starts at around 38mm or 40mm. If you're able to win with less tyre than that, is it really "gravel" (i.e not just another road race). On the other hand, if you need suspension to be fast, then it's likely MTB. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter much.
Si, I'll take your word for it that there was more gravel / offroad to the course than what we saw on the highlight reel. I don't even care what anyone wants to consider "gravel" enough. I do, seriously, have a question and concern about the course. It appeared there were several stretches where the surface consisted of two concrete tracks, each about a foot wide, separated by weeds or dirt or whatever. Those stretches would seem to eliminate any chance of racing or even passing, thus making the race a bit boring for viewers, and they seem to add unnecessary danger without an offsetting benefit. What did you think when you were riding those stretches?
100% up for lunchtime Zwift rides with Dan. Having been on Zwift a couple of times in the last couple of years when he has been on there. One post ankle injury where he claimed to be riding with a beer, as it was Boxing Day 🤣
On riding through tunnels, it’s clear Si is not a regular visitor to, or rider in, London. No way I’d want to battle a-hole London drivers through a narrow tunnel, for 1.5kms, breathing in all the trapped car fumes, just because getting on a bus is a pain and not genuinely ‘cycly’. If that’s a word. The Blackwall/Silvertown tunnel and area around it, are most definitely not the charming roads, paths and lanes of Bristol/Bath, so any help avoiding being squished should be welcomed.
Anyone who claims you need tread to ride off-road never bothered trying to ride off-road with road tires or worn out XC mtb tires. You don't need tread to roll fast in a straight line or even climb some fairly steep hills. Before gravel prominent I've ridden my road bike with 23mm tires on proper single track trail. Grip wasn't an issue unless you tried cornering too hard. On gravel tread often doesn't help much on loose marbley gravel anyway since the rocks just move out from under your tires anyway.
The tunnel bus isnt the first instance of this happening. You can already get the a bus across Dartford tunnel. You stand at a weird bus shelter and use the phone. A man in a van then arrives to take you and your bike across. Its kind of strange but makes a good snack stop and is always something different. We sometimes use this on our Thames gravel route (thats UK gravel with lots of corners, not Emporias long dull straights) and so far the drivers have all been awesome and up for a chat as we get taken across the Thames.
Wouldn't it be nice if the gravel rainbow stripes inspire MVDP to show up at the start line next to Lachlan Morton at UNBOUND or one of the other Life Time Grand Prix gravel races in 2025? Perhaps The Rad? Or maybe get the two of them to do a 500km cafe ride together? Dare to dream!
re: Gravel Worlds. This seems to me like a UCI power grab. We don't have "cobble bikes" but there are plenty of very famous races on cobbles. They have cobbled sections interspersed with tarmac roads. We call these road races and riders generally ride road bikes with wider tires. The Gravel Worlds are tarmac roads with some gravel/dirt segments interspersed. Why is this not a road race? Is it really different than Strade? or the Belgian/French cobble races? Riders typically ride road bikes with wider tires. Why? Because there is so much paved road these are faster. These races are at the intersection of road and light off road. In the US (and esp. the Life time GP races) races are at the intersection of gravel and mountain biking. Check out the winning bikes in these races (drop bar mountain bikes on MTB tires). They typically have very little paved road - and yes Si, there are sections of gravel road without turns in Kansas. They are hard riding. Maybe you should try Unbound or Leadville and compare that to the gravel world races. Maybe Leadville should be next year's Gravel world champs course. I think Keegan would win - again!
re Madlener: 2 thoughts: 1) i think it fair to say most of the noise about helmets is inconsistent. As in the chances of getting a serious head while walking or being in a car at +40mph is similar but no 1 has ever mentioned helmets in this context. 2) ebikers increase the average speed of ALL cyclists even if not individual 1s - has this made cycling, walking etc more dangerous? when will see ebike regulations being enforced?
25:10 Great hack, but this bike doesn't even have rim brakes, Si 😂 A lot of bikes with drum/roller brakes or disc brakes have mudguard mounts, there's two such bikes in my shed
I’ve been following gravel for a number of years and looking to get into it, and do some Fondos/Sportives next year. Any chance the GCN team could do a vid comparing the benefits/negatives between steel/carbon/alu bikes and perhaps another suggesting some of the new Gravel sportives to consider across the UK and EU?
As someone who lives in a country where helmets are already mandatory (New Zealand) the rates of cycling here are atrocious. I would prefer to have more people cycling, full stop, if not needing a helmet helped with that, i would 100% support it. In the city I live in the number of people who cycle to work is less than 1% (i am one of the lucky??? few). More cycling is more cycling, and the health benefits of exercise far outweigh the risks from not wearing a helmet.
#CaptionCompetition Just this week, the GCN boys noted that a different bodily byproduct we used to think of as a bothersome waste product is actually “…a very useful fuel.” Jordi and ‘a Cofidis rider’: “Mmmm, yeah, all in on new ideas.” Jasper: “Say what now?”
I have named my favorite local (Sandhurst UK) 'gravel ride'... Urban Safari... it's got the works and starts by passing through the Swinley Forest sandy MTB trails in Berkshire and onwards across Bracknell on cycle paths with underpass street art before bridleways and Bray lake gravel to Windsor and then back via a flat gravel path along the Thames flood relief to Maidenhead then Cookham, a knarly MTB descent and a tunnel in Bisham follow .. on to Twyford across fields and then back to base on bridleways and a road section. This is a typical English 100km gravel route, has everything including spiral 'climbs' up bridges over the main roads. Aim should to be to get from point A to point A with 100km in between with as few tarmac roads as possible.😂
The new type of bikes will be called 'Urban' and everyone will race Gravel bikes in the Urban World Championships and everyone will race Urban bikes in the Gravel World Championships. . Buy some plastic animals, elephants, giraffe's, place them along the route and put the route in Strava, the 'Urban Safar featuring wildlife'.
The main difference between euro and us is the length of time it takes, seems pretty clear to me since grav worlds took less than half of the time of unbound
I think the biggest difference between American gravel and European gravel racing, is the distances and the elements. Unbound for example, is during one of the hottest times of the year, while the UCI Gravel championship is in October. MVP won going faster than Lachlan Morton at Unbound, but for only half the time. Can he do that for double the time?
This year's course definitely looked better than the last but I would like to see Northern America given a chance to host the gravel worlds sometime soon.
It was a great race, and an exciting event for spectators, but I feel this new category of racing, a blend of CX, Cobbles, and Road, deserves a new name: HYBRID CROSS.
Thanks
Thank you so much! Dan
Gravel to me is anything unreasonable on a road bike but does not need a mountain bike.
You can stretch that pretty far. See the classic Jobst Brandt rides up through the mountains.
@@LordVarkson You can successfully ride much rougher surfaces on a road bike than many imagine . But is it the fastest? It's about what's fast, rather than what's possible.
Its like the zone 3 of cycling. Totally overrated by some while almost entirely unnecessary. 😂
Clearly you “can” ride almost anything on a road bike. The point is, what is efficient and comfortable and safe.
There is a rough gravel road near my house that links to some good road riding. I’ve blown out multiple road tires on it, never a gravel tire.
I guess it all hinges on how you define u reasonable. 🤪👍
I loved the course, I felt like it was a good representation of cycling in Belgium - cobbles, mud, narrow roads, technical corners... it was a like a hybrid of a one day cobbled classic with CX and gravel sectors. It's something unique that can't be replicated anywhere else, and it was damn hard!
Coming from Australia, it was very different to the gravel courses we have, and I expect it would very different in the US and other countries, but that's what makes each place worth travelling to - to experience something different that represents that region.
I also loved the course. To me, the number one test is: was it fun? That course was a blast. It would have benefitted from some climbing and some technical single track, but lacking that certainly didn't ruin it. Compared to the US National Championship course, Belgium was heaven. We just had miles of straight, relatively flat, not-even-chunky gravel roads. So boring. It was a road race on a crappy road.
Did the gravel worlds, am from Canada - it was amazing! So stimulating, lots of gravel and tons of skill required. Honestly, it was a 4+hr cross race. Had it rained, would have been soooo hard - much like a wet cross race. So much fun!
It was … and don’t forget the atmosphere when you entered Leuven.
Always have a laugh with those keyboard warriors at home when they are giving their opinions about something where they actually don’t know anything about as they weren’t there. I was in Italy last year and did my home country race this year and both were awesome 🙌🏻 and much more offroad/gravel as most think, but that’s something you can only discuss with people who were there too.
I also rode the Gravel Worlds on Sunday. Probably the best day I ever experienced on a bicycle, the atmosphere was unreal. The course was narrow, fast, you always had to pick a smart line and the change in surface was challenging on the equipment. The Start and a section in the forest was really muddy, so full slicks would slide too much, but proper tread pattern would be unnecessary on the fast gravel and cobbles.
It was a very good mix between the UCI races here in Belgium/Germany/Netherlands. My friends who supported me also loved every minute.
It's ironic how things have evolved from "the spirit of gravel" to the snobbery about "true gravel", people don't seem to be able to just enjoy a good race on it's own anymore.
Amen
Because the world champs didn't involve many American athletes, the course was very different from an American style course: shorter, flatter, and there was plenty of pavement/rather comfortable conditions and wide trails.
So it's just very different and many of the best American athletes (Swenson for example) didn't make it over there because of the issues with cost and no budget from cycling orgs.
Feels like early days in gravel. Need better funding and races outside of Europe.
I enjoyed the race, and am also enjoying the dialogue about the course. That's cycling.
This is so true!
Amen!
MVDP is definitely a worthy rider of carrying the gravel rainbow jersey. Strong mtb rider back in 2019, definitely the best cyclocross rider so he is definitely more than skilled enough for any gravel course out there. Then combine that with being the strongest puncheur in the world and he is the perfect gravel world champ
Yes, the course was pretty much perfect for him.
For defining gravel so eloquently (I legit cackled for a solid 30 seconds) and for Dan always providing us with dad-joke level humor. Keep it coming! Love you guys 🖖🏻 Tuesdays are a highlight. My husband and I love watching your show together. While foam rolling, of course 😏
That's so kind, thank you Brook. Feeling the pressure to keep the dad jokes going now! Dan
You were off with your statement that Lachlan Morton road at Unbound was way off!! Lachlan ran a Vittoria Mezcal 2.1 tire up front and a Terreano Dry in 47mm in the rear!
Grasping at straws in order to try to prove a loosely put together argument… for the sake of entertainment
Bad editing. Got MVPs tires mixed in and said 2x. Misspoke
Scandinavia would be the obviously choice for a top notch course for the World Championships. The only issue is that autumn is a little earlier than in Continental Europe, and whilst you might get perfect weather (as I had on my 163km gravel ride on Sunday - 13c, fully sunny after a light frost), you might also not.
What sets Sweden, Finland and to a slightly lesser extent Norway apart is that the gravel road networks are so extensive that you could run a 180km race and do less than 10km on tarmac. In Småland (Southern Sweden), the elevation gain is significant, with endless little 'bergs' and relentless undulation, cornering and other challenges. The gravel is generally extremely smooth, but it isn't always.
Either way, delighted that the Gravel World Champs is growing year on year and I hope to be in Nice next year age grouping 😁
Gravel worlds in Smaland is a brilliant idea. I was exploring the region last year by car and you are right about the endless hilly gravel network. It was also tremendous fun driving gravel roads with the car, although my wife nearly murdered me because i demonstrated a scandinavian flick.😂 Greetings from Germany
I have also ridden some gravel in Småland, but using Strava to plan routes is terrible. I kept running into dead ends, or single track (and I mean NOT for gravel bikes) or property barriers and the like and even though there is the law on ones side when crossing such things, as a foreigner it feels really uncomfortable. In Skåne some owners are now putting up signs telling gravel riders not to cross their properties and this is sometimes accompanied by a ferocious dog! 😂 Anyway, gravel worlds in Småland 100% yes!!
@@headofmyself5663 Haha! Who can blame you for having a little fun in the car?!
We had retired pro Alex Dowsett here in May (check out his UA-cam channel for the videos) and he was blown away by the quality of the riding here. It is, as you say, just endless. Forest, lake, pretty red farm houses, quaint meadows, repeat.
@@mikhailway I'm sorry that you've had issues with the route planning. I make a real effort to explore my area, and use Plotaroute for the mapping. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than Strava. But I still have to check Google maps, satellite imaging, Google Street view and Lantmateriet to ensure the route is good.
It sounds like in Skåne that there is developing resentment towards us cyclists. That's really unfortunate as we don't damage the tracks at all and bring money to the area. I'm in Kalmar Län, and there are so few people here that no one minds cyclists.
Jonathan, we tried with GGG for 2028 but the Saudis, somehow, got it
It was cool seeing the Belgium gravel course.
One fun thing about “gravel riding” is that it is really different depending on what region you are in & gravel riding in one spot of the world is different than another. Take the New England area gravel. It’s pretty much 90s XC rooty rocky riding. Then you have Kansas just big wide open roads.
The Belgium course looked like a really good mixed terrain ride & it will be cool to see where they hold it next year
You have to admit, you would love to see Matthieu van der Poel at Unbound.
I don't think he'll do it in his prime. Not enough upside there.
Having completed it as well, I can echo Sy's comment as one of the best experience I had on a bike. The course was actually everything you should expect from a gravel race, with mixed terrains and conditions. Despite the pain of the effort, I had loads of fun on the bike. I have however watched the TV coverage back when I got back home and it looked rather dull (even though it wasn;t) which might explain some of the neagative comments.
I appreciate the differences between the style of American and European gravel. It creates an environment for individuals to excel in different skills for their preferred type of riding. Coming from a mountain biking background; I will contend that American gravel racing needs a higher degree of technicality in the courses instead of promulgating the endurance flavor by comparison. American gravel is NASCAR to European gravel’s F1.
They don't want it too technical as it might not attract the top road pros - and they need them to 'sell' the event.
@@Andy_ATByou mean Van Deer Poel and Vos..?
@@annkatrinpedersen5751 It is Van Dear Poel ok Annkatrin
@@annkatrinpedersen5751not them, both cx world champion en mvp won multiple mtb worldcups. More the less sklilled pros
You nailed it. The big American races (especially in the Midwest) tend to reward riders with strong endurance especially coupled with heat/wind/mud. Different skillsets.
When I turned on the Gravel World Champs’ this year my first thought was “that’s what i do”. I don’t have any cobbles round here. But the rest of it was so familiar, bits of road, tracks through woods, bits of single track etc. I realise that doesn’t necessarily make it a great race course. But i think it really helps promote the sport. Surely almost everyone watching must have thought “i could do that near where i live”.
💯
Exactly well put !
A glockenspiel has metal keys and a shorter range. A xylophone is made out of wood, rosewood in particular for the nice ones. A marimba is made of wood, but has a significantly lower range than a xylophone; the key width also changes whereas on a xylophone they are uniform.
I agree with everything Si said, it definitely was a “gravel” race, I rode on the Saturday in the 70-74 age group, also for team GB, it was a great event and I loved it.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
@@gcn I road to in the 60-64. Brilliant event, course, crowds and a true test of fitness and bike skills. Hardest day ever on my bike in 30 years of riding and racing,
To answer Si’s query about the Franken bike, the main difference between xylophones and glockenspiels that xylophones uses wooden bars where glockenspiels use metal bars. So, it was a glockenspiel on the franken bike
Spoke with Si at the start pens. Got a picture with him. Told him my wife likes him better than me🤣 … and I don’t blame her. He was so friendly, interested and genuine. Legend 👍
You two are such a joy to watch together! 🙏
Lachlan had 2.1" mountain bike tires for Unbound, not 38mm.
Actually, Si said it right. Lachlan used 38mm. At least every post about his winning is saying the same
@@Kadkine Incorrect. 2.1" in front, 40-something in back because there was less clearance.
And he wasn't the only one on mtb tires, see Keegan Swenson, Dylan Johnson, etc.
@@stephenauckly yeah, didn’t say anything about others choices nor which is fastest. But you were correct with the front tyre👍
Was going to comment this exact thing. It was a big deal that he won with such big tyres. Dylan J did a whole vid with a similar setup. A quick glance at any photo of lachy from the race shows obvious beasts of tyres…nowhere near 38mm skinnies
Lach is a local for us in Port Mac but what a legend and remains a truly great guy 🎉
I’m going to chime in on the debate on whether the UCI gravel championship should be included in the gravel conversation. I live in the USA and ride gravel here regularly. I also competed in the 2023 UCI gravel championship in Italy. Yes, there is a big difference in US gravel scene and European gravel scene. In the midwestern USA where I live, there are wide roads, few road intersections and large, loose rocks everywhere. Gravel riding here demands larger volume tires. 40mm tires are too small and you’ll destroy a wheel if you aren’t careful. What I experienced in Italy, and what I’ve seen from other gravelly events in Europe, the gravel seems much more tame and there are more unpaved trails through the woods, and MANY turns. It’s an entirely different style of racing than we have in the USA. In the USA, a race like Unbound or Big Sugar is more of a TT where you are just putting out power the whole time with fewer high wattage surges. In Europe the racing was on narrow roads and constantly surging due to all of the turns, and the road surface was constantly changing. In the USA, you’re mostly on gravel with a few tarmac connectors. It seems to me that the Europe gravel scene would be better classified as a multi-surface race whereas US is more dedicatedly gravel. For people like me (not at the pointy end of the pro race field) it means that in the USA I’m running 50mm XC tires most of the time, where as in Europe I was perfect on 42mm semi-slick tires. If the UCI plans on hosting gravel championships in Europe indefinitely, then I think they are doing just fine, because they are utilizing what is available in Europe. It just vastly different than what the USA offers.
I watched with envy from home in Colorado. I’ve ridden Unbound 100, Steamboat 100 & 60, Finland 100. ALL have different surfaces! Hats (Helmets?) off to the Belgians! That GRAVEL course looked HellaFun! Gefeliciteerd! Goed gedaan!
Now that’s the spirit of gravel right there!
It was torture at times! lots of cornering, cobble, CX ruts, singletrack, forest trails. Amazing and very tough. 30km/h avg for me. Sprint finish for a nothing place! :) Bucket list experience, loved it. One of the few Ireland entries ☘
From what I can tell, it didn’t look like Unbound so everyone is losing their minds, especially in America.
Ultimately, there was plenty of mud, gravel, rutted farm roads etc and the term ‘gravel’ is still very much a wide one… as referenced by Si, several BWR ‘gravel’ events are made up of huge amounts of actual paved/tarmac public roads, with the general public driving up and down them!
People have to bear in mind that as a World level UCI event there are a lot of considerations - there were fans all round the course, huge amounts in some areas, you don’t get that at American gravel events so the organisers don’t need to take that into account. There is no way any World Tour team is going to let their riders race on open roads with people driving about, so it has to be in an area that allows for properly closed roads etc. The UCI broadcast most of the race live as well, which has its own complexities. Also despite not all being on actual gravel, no-one could say it was an easy course… it was full gas with loads of punchy climbs and some deep ruts etc.
I’m a fan of American gravel events, but not everything has to be the same, and I do hope that the format changes and develops year on year and we do get more courses resembling the best US gravel events too. The most important thing is the quality of rider and that was comfortably the highest calibre field ever to start a Gravel race.
Absolutely great course. So interesting and technical. Farm track, crit race style tarmac, forest gravel, urban alleys, rocky single track, cobbles and repeat like 180 times. The Belgiums did an amazing job. Rarely 200m before a change in direction or terrain.
They won't be saying "it's not a proper gravel course" in 2026 when the event is in Nannup Western Australia. That is a PROPER course. The Seven gravel race is one tough event.
Yes PROPER gravel and CLIMBING. Caught to see international reactions 😂
@@peterarmstrong6138 Ha ha yes - first experience of pea gravel will be fun to watch
UCI gravel worlds: 👍or 👎? What did you think about the gravel course on Saturday? 🚵♂
about as bad as the Belgium team
More of a road race. Come on over to America to see who the best is
This year was another UCI Bike Path World Championship. Two ideal candidates for a WC course in the US are Big Sugar in Arkansas and Cascadia Super Gravel in Washington state. Both are plenty gravelly at around 160 KM with plenty of climbing and technical bits.
@@timtaylor9590Unbound is a bad course though and that is coming from someone living in the US right now.
Waiting for the usual know nothing armchair comments. Disappointed not to have seen that old chestnut "bikepath world championships" yet - I'm sure some numpty will add it.
Having ridden the trails around the course for the last 30yrs (from steel hardtail with bar ends in the '90s to my current 2X DI2 Trek Checkpoint) I was disappointed that some of my favourite trails weren't included. But the course was, as Si rightly states, a really great mix of off road surfaces, and was challenging too. Several sectors included in the course I deliberately avoid usually (e.g. that cobbled sector near the lake after Halle bos and before Alsemburg). And of course the race was run in brilliant sunshine after a largely dry week. Had Belgium served up its usual October weather the course would have ridden very differently!
My only other disappointment was the TV coverage and the lack of anything for the first part especially as the Halle loop even went past the gates of the St Peters-Lieuw Heliport!
Multi surface racing made for a great spectacle, the format produced an exciting race from the start to the finish.
That bike bus looks fun 23:10 there are some tunnels you can bike through.. The Tyne Tunnel is superbly beautiful and the Clyde Tunnel has a bike only area on one side and pedestrian on the other with cars above in a different tunnel
And the most important thing is that it's free!
6:40 Lachlan Morton also ran a 2.1” Terreno Dry on the front and a Vittoria Mezcal MTB tire on the rear 👀
I don’t know why no one is talking about this, but he was running wayyyy wider tires than they said in this show
"Fear is lucrative. Fear is big business." There's a reason the automotive and insurance industries are often behind the lobbying for helmet laws.
It would be awesome to see an in-depth GCN video on this topic.
From Canada but live in Europe now. Have used Zwift from the start but my favourite trick is to bring my power pedals when I travel for work to places it’s impossible to ride outdoors. I secretly change out the pedals on the hotel bike and use my iPad for zwifting
😂 No way, me too. I travel with a 15mm spanner, an 8mm hex and my Wahoo pwrs. Sorted!
Si, what you did at the gravel world championships was super impressive, regardless of gravel / not-gravel. I thought the racing was good, it looked beautiful and the MVDP watt bomb final attack was just unbelievable. I think it's great to have a world championships where anyone can qualify and race. Great event.
Sadly for the ladies, no control entering Halle, our daughter paid the price. Thank you Lotte Kopecky for talking about this incident in your post race interview. The riders put a lot of faith and trust in the organizers, thanks to the spectators that helped. ua-cam.com/video/-2WCYSR9pwY/v-deo.html
I am old enough to remember that is where ALL bike lights went, often with a contact dynamo that would destroy the sidewall in about a week. The lights had about three lumens
Sounds like that's the real challenge!
They looked like a cannon mounted on the front of one's bike!
at 22:20 Cycle Bus: To get to the bus terminal you are required to use a mish-mash of a spider's web formed on LSD of shared footpaths. Alternatively, ride in the traffic of Blackwall Lane or Bugsbys Way. In 2022 I cycled to an event at the O2, it was a good HiiT session of VO2 Max efforts to save me from the traffic!
What most people mean when that say "that wasn't proper gravel": that wasn't Unbound
The course was incredibly intense, particularly the first 50K. Narrow, constantly changing surface, corners, punchy hills, fast descents.One of the better, harder and extremely well organized.
People also don't take into account the weather. It was dry for a couple of days and warm both saturday and sunday. Reverse that and less ten half of te field would finish the course.
I was there. Rode half thr course prior to the race on Saturday and Sunday. It was well worth the title gravel. Far amount of muddy single track and rough ish gravel.
Gravel, road, CX, XC. None of these names matter! What I saw on the TV was nothing but pure, unadulterated, bike racing at its best. No name required.
Eh, from what I saw the course was ok. Not to say that it wasnt hard due to lack of gravel or hard terrain. Si's comment about an unbound style race would be amazing to see! I hope someday that happens. As long as there keeps being a gravel world champs I will be happy. Just getting out there to ride makes a day better no matter the surface.
I loved the course, it had a bit of everything. Cobbles were indeed absolutely brutal !!! It’s due to be held in Nice next year.
Mike in Calgary for the hack - kudos to this individual for caring about lower positioned lights on paths to not blind other pathway users, whom are by and large fellow cycling or running commuters. The space race of more lumens has been one of the banes of commuting on paths, some of the new lights are excessively bright, and their users have no idea to not point them up like high beams (presumably you'd rather see the path rather than freezing oncoming riders to blind zombies).
A bike mechanic and outfitter for several elite Unbound riders tells me that 10-15 years ago top riders usually went with 35 mm tires for the race. Then they went to 38, then 43 and wider, usually with better outcomes. So Lachlan's 38s buck the trend and his success surprised some.
Ah the iconic GCN twins are back. It must be Tuesday.
The more places the Gravel World Champs go, the better. I'd love to see the Gravel World Championships here in Australia. Gravel racing is booming and we have some great courses close to the big cities. A particularly Aussie feature that we could throw in the mix is descending on heavily rutted 4WD tracks. Nice and "technical" for the gravel purists (i.e. scary as hell).
#CaptionCompetition Bear Grylls just missed the podium and came in 4th 😂😂😂
I'm on team hot dip all the way, on all my bikes. Yes, there is an investment in money and time, but once you have your hot dip session set up in your garage, its super easy. I admit that I don't do full strip/clean between every dip, just don't need it but I do also have an ultrasonic cleaner to make it easier.
The Gravel Champs was a real mixed bag and a step on the right direction, but to find true gravel seems to be a challenge. I feel the course was not suited to such a huge field and also the real gravel riders had to be ranked against the road guys, so that system needs to be looked at. We need a more fair system in my opinion that favours the riders of that discipline. Otherwise a great turnout from fans so that was a successful for the UCI. I think taking this to the US or Australia and even South Africa would yield a more gravel infrastructure course than what we’ve seen thus far.
With the millions of gravel bikes being sold, I doubt anyone in the cycling industry would want to see 'true gravel' restricted to a few faraway places like Kansas or the Australian outback. So I don't see why muddy farm tracks or forest paths can't be considered gravel, especially since that is what the vast majority of people are going to be riding their gravel bikes on.
I think overall percentage of unpaved roads would be an easy way to determine it.
I would think a "gravel" world championship should have at least 50% of the race on unpaved roads, with at least half of them (>25%) on rougher and rockier unpaved roads.
The legend M.Vos for a gravel had 33mm cyclocross tires and with special effects. that was ia good choice.
Fair point about the footage of the gravel worlds that we saw was the easy to film sections but I’m still not convinced. I’m sure the course was challenging and I’m sure the racing was intense but it just looked like some blokes riding through a local city park. I didn’t feel any different than multi-use path in my local downtown.
While I am not in the seemingly anti-UCI camp and thoroughly enjoyed watching the race, I understand entirely what you are saying… the course was very uninspiring, visually. Holding it in a city environment does allow easy access for the thousands of spectators though and the atmosphere looked fantastic. The next few Gravel Worlds are to be held in France, Australia and Spain I believe… they should be able to provide a bit more actual gravel and a more rural look to the course.
Gravel worlds seemed like a great course, and well thought out and planned. Also a special shoutout for the camera work, I was impressed by the motos on some of those bits of single track!
But, and there’s always a but, why did coverage start so late! It’s no secret, people want to watch gravel races, and it’s not like road where the first 50km is pretty pointless!
As always, great watching you fine gents. We look forward to it each week, while foam rolling, of course, as you do. I have to say, though, you both seemed pretty revved up for today's show. Extra long coffee conversation? Also, Dan, please don't ever stop serving up dad-level jokes. They make my day.
Even though it was a fun race, it wasn't much more than a road race with some off-road through hardened mud paths. There weren't many gravel stones at all. I enjoyed it and Laurens Ten Dam as the national coach hosting a bbq, racing himself but deciding to drop out to watch the rest in the bar is definetly the right spirit
The trouble with Gravel racing is the term "gravel". Can we just call them "allroad" or "paved/unpaved" bikes, then people can't moan!
No, like they said - you don’t have to be on a mountain to ride a mountain bike, you don’t literally have to be on gravel to ride a gravel bike. People need to just stop being pedantic bell ends about it.
Hi Si, I also was lucky enough to ride the World Gravel Champs, in to proper old mans group 60-64. Despite being brought off after 2 miles by a Dutch guy I remounted and finished. I was a crazy and amazing day. The best day and hardest day on my bike in the 32 years since I started cycling, The course was awsome, especially the Leuven finishing circuit. What made the circuit so hard was all the mirco efforts out of all the corners, especially on the road sections.
I think we can just reffer to Matej Mohoric's reactions after riding part of Unbound. US gravel is just, different.
Spot on mate, Unbound chewed up the Bahrain team, they literally gave up less than half way and confirmed the Unbound chunk was too tough for the "road boys".
Unbound isn’t typical of US gravel either though, or is it?
@@jonoharper4729 They didn't give up, they just rode reckless on the descents and smashed there wheels up. It is too tough for ''road boys'' with ''road mentality and risk taking''
@@jonoharper4729wrong, too tough for the gear they were using. Admittedly a mistake on the part of the team for not scouting in advance.
i think reefer is the word you're looking for😂
I looked up the course and it was 54% unpaved. 41% paved and 5% unknown. (will to Ride with GPS). It seems that if we had a road race that was only 54% road all the roadies would go off saying it is not a road race. When folks get upset it is because of the extremely loose definition of what defines the gravel race. When I think of road race, I think it is all on a road. When a gravel race, it will be all gravel, When mountain race it is on a mountain. I'm speaking about racing definitions not what you "could" do with a bike.
I can understand why many may be upset. To defend the race based on average speed, or we need camera motorcycles to be on the course is just a bad idea. I couldn't find any information on what defines a gravel race course vs. a road course. That would be extremely helpful to set boundaries and expectations.
I did it and wished you well Si .it was Brilliant , Brutal & Beautiful.. and Worthy of it’s title
Caption contest: Cracking some cold nones with the boys after finishing a new episode of Dan's journey back to health and fitness
Caption:: podium winners show the benefits of 'draughting' 😊
I watched the race live and thought it was great. I also agree that the race should come to the US soon, as we do have a big history in this type of racing (gravel). ps, I am from the USA.
Let's not forget that the Belgian Gravel Worlds would've looked much different in typical Belgian rain.
In the end I think UCI gravel worlds should be of a different type every year. Some with more climbing (Alps?), some with more gravel (like the Gralloch in Scotland) and some in a city with lots of parks (I suggest Milton Keynes - we have loads of parks and weird bike paths and also some parking garage spirals for a KOM :-)
37:04 😂 Dan’s smirk says it all 😏
I like the idea of moving gravel championships around to highlight different places and types of riders
In a post-race interview Lotte Kopecky said her back was aching in the last part of the race, and she supposed it was caused by all the bumps. That seems to be one argument confirming the off-road character of the Worlds Gravel.
I thought your dialogue about tyres as defining "gravel" was pretty spot on. There's a range for sure, but if the fast guys are on 25mm or 28mm slicks then I'd have a hard time thinking that the surfaces are rough enough for it not to be just a road race. Of course, people can ride whatever they like, but it's what's fast that is some sort of indicator. For me, gravel starts at around 38mm or 40mm. If you're able to win with less tyre than that, is it really "gravel" (i.e not just another road race). On the other hand, if you need suspension to be fast, then it's likely MTB. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter much.
And in this case, nobody was riding tyres anywhere near that narrow. Slick some may have been... but VdP was on 38s
Si,
I'll take your word for it that there was more gravel / offroad to the course than what we saw on the highlight reel. I don't even care what anyone wants to consider "gravel" enough. I do, seriously, have a question and concern about the course. It appeared there were several stretches where the surface consisted of two concrete tracks, each about a foot wide, separated by weeds or dirt or whatever. Those stretches would seem to eliminate any chance of racing or even passing, thus making the race a bit boring for viewers, and they seem to add unnecessary danger without an offsetting benefit. What did you think when you were riding those stretches?
As Ted King posted, these were the bike path world championships. Coming from him, that says a lot.
X100
Urban World Championships.
@@ebikescrapper3925 you are a true genius
@adamgriss2025 Where did Ted finish?
ted who
100% up for lunchtime Zwift rides with Dan. Having been on Zwift a couple of times in the last couple of years when he has been on there. One post ankle injury where he claimed to be riding with a beer, as it was Boxing Day 🤣
I had nothing against the UCI Gravel course, but I do believe the finish of the Parijs-Tours, held on the same day, had a more authentic gravel feel.
When is Ollie's Bassano ride going to be released? I thought it was coming out last weekend, can't wait to see it.
On riding through tunnels, it’s clear Si is not a regular visitor to, or rider in, London. No way I’d want to battle a-hole London drivers through a narrow tunnel, for 1.5kms, breathing in all the trapped car fumes, just because getting on a bus is a pain and not genuinely ‘cycly’. If that’s a word. The Blackwall/Silvertown tunnel and area around it, are most definitely not the charming roads, paths and lanes of Bristol/Bath, so any help avoiding being squished should be welcomed.
Anyone who claims you need tread to ride off-road never bothered trying to ride off-road with road tires or worn out XC mtb tires. You don't need tread to roll fast in a straight line or even climb some fairly steep hills. Before gravel prominent I've ridden my road bike with 23mm tires on proper single track trail. Grip wasn't an issue unless you tried cornering too hard. On gravel tread often doesn't help much on loose marbley gravel anyway since the rocks just move out from under your tires anyway.
The tunnel bus isnt the first instance of this happening. You can already get the a bus across Dartford tunnel. You stand at a weird bus shelter and use the phone. A man in a van then arrives to take you and your bike across. Its kind of strange but makes a good snack stop and is always something different. We sometimes use this on our Thames gravel route (thats UK gravel with lots of corners, not Emporias long dull straights) and so far the drivers have all been awesome and up for a chat as we get taken across the Thames.
Should gravel races be required to have “manufactured “ gravel sections? Similar to cycle cross races have stairs, barriers, side hill, etc.
That's a good point. Perhaps they don't 'have' to have it, but having it could be interesting for making more technical tracks. 🤔
Wouldn't it be nice if the gravel rainbow stripes inspire MVDP to show up at the start line next to Lachlan Morton at UNBOUND or one of the other Life Time Grand Prix gravel races in 2025? Perhaps The Rad? Or maybe get the two of them to do a 500km cafe ride together? Dare to dream!
Dreaming big doesn't cost a thing!
re: Gravel Worlds. This seems to me like a UCI power grab. We don't have "cobble bikes" but there are plenty of very famous races on cobbles. They have cobbled sections interspersed with tarmac roads. We call these road races and riders generally ride road bikes with wider tires. The Gravel Worlds are tarmac roads with some gravel/dirt segments interspersed. Why is this not a road race? Is it really different than Strade? or the Belgian/French cobble races? Riders typically ride road bikes with wider tires. Why? Because there is so much paved road these are faster. These races are at the intersection of road and light off road. In the US (and esp. the Life time GP races) races are at the intersection of gravel and mountain biking. Check out the winning bikes in these races (drop bar mountain bikes on MTB tires). They typically have very little paved road - and yes Si, there are sections of gravel road without turns in Kansas. They are hard riding. Maybe you should try Unbound or Leadville and compare that to the gravel world races. Maybe Leadville should be next year's Gravel world champs course. I think Keegan would win - again!
Thanks Dan , Si , and crew .
Thank you
re Madlener: 2 thoughts: 1) i think it fair to say most of the noise about helmets is inconsistent. As in the chances of getting a serious head while walking or being in a car at +40mph is similar but no 1 has ever mentioned helmets in this context. 2) ebikers increase the average speed of ALL cyclists even if not individual 1s - has this made cycling, walking etc more dangerous? when will see ebike regulations being enforced?
Cykel light allways been mounted on the fork before disk or rim break feeded by a dynamo
The Gralloch is the type of Gravel Race I love and looking forward to next year
25:10 Great hack, but this bike doesn't even have rim brakes, Si 😂
A lot of bikes with drum/roller brakes or disc brakes have mudguard mounts, there's two such bikes in my shed
I’ve been following gravel for a number of years and looking to get into it, and do some Fondos/Sportives next year. Any chance the GCN team could do a vid comparing the benefits/negatives between steel/carbon/alu bikes and perhaps another suggesting some of the new Gravel sportives to consider across the UK and EU?
As someone who lives in a country where helmets are already mandatory (New Zealand) the rates of cycling here are atrocious. I would prefer to have more people cycling, full stop, if not needing a helmet helped with that, i would 100% support it. In the city I live in the number of people who cycle to work is less than 1% (i am one of the lucky??? few). More cycling is more cycling, and the health benefits of exercise far outweigh the risks from not wearing a helmet.
#CaptionCompetition Just this week, the GCN boys noted that a different bodily byproduct we used to think of as a bothersome waste product is actually “…a very useful fuel.” Jordi and ‘a Cofidis rider’: “Mmmm, yeah, all in on new ideas.” Jasper: “Say what now?”
Couldn’t watch the world gravel race but I agree with Dan. Why hasn’t that race been held in the U.S.?
Si! FYI Xylophones have wooden chimes Glockenspiels have metal ones! You’re welcome!
Great commentary on gravel racing
I have named my favorite local (Sandhurst UK) 'gravel ride'... Urban Safari... it's got the works and starts by passing through the Swinley Forest sandy MTB trails in Berkshire and onwards across Bracknell on cycle paths with underpass street art before bridleways and Bray lake gravel to Windsor and then back via a flat gravel path along the Thames flood relief to Maidenhead then Cookham, a knarly MTB descent and a tunnel in Bisham follow .. on to Twyford across fields and then back to base on bridleways and a road section. This is a typical English 100km gravel route, has everything including spiral 'climbs' up bridges over the main roads. Aim should to be to get from point A to point A with 100km in between with as few tarmac roads as possible.😂
The new type of bikes will be called 'Urban' and everyone will race Gravel bikes in the Urban World Championships and everyone will race Urban bikes in the Gravel World Championships. . Buy some plastic animals, elephants, giraffe's, place them along the route and put the route in Strava, the 'Urban Safar featuring wildlife'.
The main difference between euro and us is the length of time it takes, seems pretty clear to me since grav worlds took less than half of the time of unbound
I think the biggest difference between American gravel and European gravel racing, is the distances and the elements. Unbound for example, is during one of the hottest times of the year, while the UCI Gravel championship is in October. MVP won going faster than Lachlan Morton at Unbound, but for only half the time. Can he do that for double the time?
Dan's weekly Zwift Club ride: "Lunchtime Beers with Dan." Count me in!
This year's course definitely looked better than the last but I would like to see Northern America given a chance to host the gravel worlds sometime soon.
It was a great race, and an exciting event for spectators, but I feel this new category of racing, a blend of CX, Cobbles, and Road, deserves a new name: HYBRID CROSS.
28:59 Xylophones have wooden bars (xylo = wood in ancient Greek)
That WC course looked fun
I like Dan’s definition of accepting any substance on the continuum from boulders to mud as gravel😂