Gravel World Champs: Tech, bikes and beer
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- čas přidán 17. 10. 2022
- Last weekend's inaugural edition of the UCI Gravel World Championships held in Vincenza, Italy, has caused more than a little hub-hub of conversation amongst the cycling community. And for many reasons. Questions were many, was it even "real" gravel? Should there be a Gravel World Champs? Is it fair that World Tour and Pro Team professionals are allowed to rock up and take part when they've not even had to qualify for the event by doing even one gravel race? These were just a few of the jumping-off points to more minute details and controversies that some saw of the new discipline the UCI has taken under its wing.
But as always, one of the major geeky talking points was gear. The riders' tech got picked to pieces, dissected and scrutinized; it was a race that was always going to have the nerds amongst us intreated. And especially so when the eventual winner of the men's elite race came home on a recently released road bike that has seen action this year at the Tour de France. On the flip side, the women's elite winner rode to victory on a "race" gravel bike.
In this video, we focus on what the men's peloton tackled on the 180km of Italian bridleways, farm tracks, tow paths and gravel roads. And as you'd expect at an event with everyone from the sport's biggest names lining up against others who have taken a few days' holiday from their full-time jobs, the bikes were a mixture of full-on sponsor correct to full-on functional. In between those two extremes were the fancy, fruity and custom wonders.
Please fear not; a second video is on its way, where I delve into what the Women's peloton was aboard. - Sport
Watched the race on the UCI live CZcams feed. Looked more like the world bike path championships than gravel. They need to toughen it up a bunch. Route should be 80-90% gravel and lots more climbing. Should be challenging enough surface that road bikes don't work.
Not really about percentages. GranGarda was last month in northern Italy. Had more tarmac than this race. Also had a hell of a lot more technical off-road. The amount of tarmac in this race wasn't the problem. It was that the "gravel" was grandma's park path. A proper gravel championship needs some water crossing, needs some chunder, some rooted sections.
I think it could be a good feature of gravel as a pro sport that the race calendar covers a broad spectrum of conditions. Having people ride down a straight road for 8h isnt going to be a great spectator sport anyway.
@@tflspitfire Gravel is inherently non-spectator. Its a participation sport, before all. Either way, a range is fine, but not for the ultimate race of the season. Lets be real. From allowing roadies to qual without having to have raced any of the gravel events, to putting the same roadies on the front of the start in a race that was designed to favor roadies to begin with, and also arranged in a way that all big moves occurred on the first (and only climb); this race was designed for the Euro roadies to win. Its the only race anyone in Europe probably watched and it was tailor made for Euro spectators. And there was no way the roadie teams would have let their guys compete in a real gravel race anyways
@@cjohnson3836Yes this looked like a slightly modified road race. regardless what you think about that, the UCI and other actors (even in the US) will want to find a way to make money/finance bigger races. Bigger teams would let their riders participate in US races, if the money was in it. (see MVDP and others racing Mtb)
To me it sounds a bit silly that the sport is now only supposed to be raced by US semi pros in the way it has developed so far. road racing is decades old. why not let gravel develop a bit more as well? If it remains this popular, gravel wont remain underground and grassroots anyway.
Furthermore, just like the tour de france rules dont prohibit you from doing your own thing, events like this dont take anything away from unbound etc.
@@tflspitfire Larger US races already make money and have payouts. That's not an issue here. To me, it sounds insulting that a bunch of Euros can take what is largely an organically developed US sport, slap their "world" governing body onto it, and claim it as their own while not even having the decency to hold their inaugural championship in the freaking country that perfected it thus far. You sit here and clammer on about allowing the sport to evolve, as thought that too isn't a direct insult to the work loads of people over here have already put in to making the sport work, to building up to something already successful. Successful enough that it was deemed enough of a market (or threat) to Euros to begin with. Its growing just fine this way, thanks, no one here needs your help. We now see what UCI is (in)capable of.
Go Amani! The future is bright
Top work as ever Dave......you must be the rider's favourite interviewer by far - they are always super relaxed and happy when you talk to them.
I maintain that if we want it to be in the spirit of gravel there should be a mandatory beer every ten miles.
UCI Gravel Worlds course designed by hardcore roadies who've only ridden gravel theoretically. Congrats UCI for designing the lamest gravel race we've ever seen.
UCI clearly built this race around enticing some the big hitting road pros to attend,they knew were selling out to achieve this.
Factor bike from the dudes from Kenya is wonderful as well 😻🚴💨💨💨!!!
Shoddy good to see you back! Perfect video!!
great report from the official world "cycle path" championships
Bravo Shoddy... Wow was an international meeting of grind..
Lachland was on Terrino Zero, not Dry. I think.
fantastic!
Terreno Dry's must be selling out all over the internet.
Mbogi Amani
I thought the race was fun to watch. The video coverage was subpar, probably do to the course, but the filming crews need to get it sorted before it will be the quality of road race coverage.
"it didn't feel like a gravel race". Because it wasn't.
I forgot all about 'the spirit of gravel' (whatever that means) when I was enjoying watching the WorldTour riders surgically rip this interesting course to shreds on their road bikes.
@@seanmccuen6970 Too bad it wasn't an interesting course (who considers pancake flat champagne gravel interesting?!). Yeah lets hope the next XC world champs is around a flat pump track and the next Tour de France is 21 stages of flat time trials.
@@lenolenoleno it was interesting in that the surfaces were constantly changing (and a bike in full pavement mode would be outgunned). if you were looking for big climbs, 'chunky gravel' and dodging cow shit I could see how you'd be dissapointed.
Can I take my home brewed motorized bike to this type of stuff with cold beer? Screaming you got this peleton! As I ghost peddle while sipping on a cold snack! That's the dream. Even though my bike isn't worth the socks they got on their feet....but it's the dream my guy
Regardless of the course, the WT guys would have still dominated.
The UCI was losing $ on the gravel racing circuit, this was their attempt to put their foot in the door
The sound is terribl , up and down in volume the whole time
Call it the all road worlds and not the gravel 😢, UCI should leave gravel alone
It's a bike you ride. Sometimes race and sometimes go touring with. It's just a bike. There is nothing special about it. Chill.
I don't see the UCI improving gravel racing.
Hopefully the UCI picks up on the fact that having the women ride a different course and length this year was a mistake and find it in their hearts (pocketbooks) to amend this next year. The reason most people stopped, or never got into road bikes is the chauvinistic, toxic masculinity that the UCI have represented for too long.
I sincerely hope that they are listening to the feedback from this year's race and actually design a gravel race next year where both the men and women ride the same route.