10/05/2024
“Gravel biking—bike racing on off-road paths—is having a moment. By popular demand Strava, an exercise app, added an option to log gravel-biking journeys in 2022; activity shot up in 2023. Advocates say that gravel is a less intimidating prospect than road cycling, partly because it has a more adventurous spirit and welcoming culture. The Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s governing body, has taken notice. It now organises a world championship for the sport. The third edition takes place in Leuven in Belgium this weekend.
Elite competitors are split between established road racers, such as Mathieu van der Poel and Marianne Vos, two Dutch superstars, and gravel specialists, such as Ted King, an American, and Tiffany Cromwell, an Australian. Last year two road racers—Slovenia’s Matej Mohoric and Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma—took the honours. But as the discipline matures and more gravel-specific skills emerge, roadies will probably find it harder to keep pace.”
-The Economist
This Sunday, the Gravel World Championship will take