Do gravel race participants care about "lining up with the pros"?

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

The older I get the more I avoid mass participation events and big crowds of people.

Give me the GPS file. I'll stash some water and M&Ms in the woods somewhere and ride it with a small group of friends, thanks.

I can't decide if I would like riding one of these events or not, but I don't enjoy big groups on the road. Except PBP, that's a lot of fun.

I have looked for the gps files for some of the Central PA gravel events. Either I know the roads better than the organizers, or the routes are too far away. I'm occasionally tempted to go find the Keystone Gravel routes though.

[spoonrobot]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

Lifetime Grand Prix and other national level gravel events are comparable to the Tour of Gila or Redlands - not local yokel weekly crits and road races.

My local crit costs the same $35 it did in 2013 but the field is 1/2 the size. Not sure entry fees are a relevant part of what is holding events back.

Wanted to append this too.



After looking at data all morning I'm wondering if Gravel is a giant black hole sucking all the people interested in participating in bicycle racing past the singularity or if it's the last gasp before supernova occurs that destroys the industry.

This probably needs a new thread but the question is now - ignoring Gravel - is there a part of the USA where road racing or MTB or CX is growing?

[GregL]

Local data point:

- Pre-registration for Saturday's road circuit race on a private auto racetrack (with cash prizes): 45.

- Pre-registration for Sunday's gravel race (merchandise prizes): 124.

Entry fees are very close ($60 for the road race, $55 for the gravel).

Greg

[skouri1]

my buddy was talking about this.
my opinion. Separate category. Pro. and or Pro 1, maybe.
I think if you have been a EURO pro it is almost a separate category.
I think gravel races should be raced, but I am actually not a big fan of euro pros taking a victory lap on the gravel circuit because they can't retire.

[spoonrobot]

Ivar Slik caused some consternation with his win at Unbound a couple years ago but then not much else happened wrt Europros. Matej Mohorič on the start list this year so we'll see how that goes.

[EB]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

is there a part of the USA where road racing or MTB or CX is growing?

NICA? 35% growth rate between 2018 and 2022. Unsure on specific regions.

https://nationalmtb.org/nica-stories...untain-biking/

(Caveat: Can't find any data from 2023).

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

This probably needs a new thread but the question is now - ignoring Gravel - is there a part of the USA where road racing or MTB or CX is growing?

Not that I'm aware of.

We've already gone past peak road/crit racing, past peak CX racing, and soon we'll be at peak gravel racing/fondo type events. But it all comes in cycles - NICA racing is booming and as those kids grow up they will be looking for more XC/MTB events and I think we'll see a boom in that in the next 5-10 years.

[spoonrobot]

Originally Posted by EB

NICA? 35% growth rate between 2018 and 2022. Unsure on specific regions.

https://nationalmtb.org/nica-stories...untain-biking/

(Caveat: Can't find any data from 2023).

Good suggestion, I always forget about this since their events are separate. This is driving growth even locally as our bigger gravel and endurance MTB races have added junior categories the last 1-2 years. I'll have to look and see what data I can get. Thanks.