John Borstelmann’s win at 2019 Gravel World’s
Mat Stephens and Spencer Seggebruch finish 1-2 at the 2020 Texas Chainring Massacre
***
Gravel racing is funny. Especially in 2020. It is serious but not serious. “Pro” but not professional. Some like to race at the front, like a road race. (But not an actual road race because we don’t like road racing anymore – that’s why we’re doing gravel, eh?)
A gravel race is a bike race for some, but an adventure for many. An event to finish, a physical and mental challenge, a tale of suffering and (hopefully) triumph). Who cares what place they get? I know they don’t.
But for some, it is still a race. We are competitive, after all. We like to race and go hard, to suffer and make each other crack. To push ourselves to the limit, explode, and still have 40 miles to go.
Gravel racing is going to be different this year, to me. Because I’ve never done it before. I had done a few local events, but nothing serious; nothing with 3000 people on the start line.
This year I’ll be enjoying for all angles: the racer who gets dirt in his teeth and dust in his lungs, the spectator who watches his teammates attack and counterattack like they’re racing a one-hour crit, and the writer who attempts to summarize 5+ hours of suffering just a few hundred words.
“Gravel Power Analysis” articles will appear on velonews.com, but the real stories can be found here – stories of bonking, slipping, sliding, bouncing, crashing, eating, celebrating, cracking, and everything in between.
Stay tuned for a little write-up about our 2020 season opener: the Texas Chainring Massacre.