Now, it will never go away completely, but it will not be as big as it is now in the future. Maybe even in the very near future.
I have noted on social media some chatter regarding soft turn-outs for some 2025 gravel events. I have seen one event cancel due to a lack of interest. And I have also noted a different sentiment arising in the gravel cycling ranks which may point to a larger issue going on in the segment.
N.Y. Roll and I had quite a text message chat the other day concerning this very subject. He is of the mind that gravel cycling has reached a point where it is essentially road cycling in all but the surface used. Anything that was part of the early gravel scene has been swallowed up by tech, attitude, and professional cycling's demands.
I, on the other hand, feel this has something to do with how people are reacting to the current political climate, economic situations, and the over-saturated gravel market. It has become exhausting emotionally for many to the point which some are saying they would rather just ride locally for fun.
And, of course, it is entirely possible that it could be elements of both our positions, or that neither of us are right! I still think there is something to it when you see one promoter saying registration numbers are off by around 50% this year compared to 2022. Something is definitely going on, and promoters are starting to see the downtrend.
Maybe it is just a dip, and when things settle down, we will see a resurgence of gravel cycling's popularity. While this is possible, I don't quite see it this way, not unless some changes are made. Several factors are in play, one being the trend for younger people to not be out cycling at the levels we were used to seeing years ago. As gravel cyclists "age out", the new, young gravel cyclists are not filling in the void left, as much as we'd hope. I think this, at any rate, is partially why things are in decline, as far as participation numbers go.
I said it a few years back - we were at "peak gravel", and I feel we are just past that peak now. We'll see where things go from here. Tomorrow I will have a post up which will point to an example of how the future for gravel cycling could be different, both in terms of events, and in other ways.
5 comments:
Small group gravel is a thing here, haven't heard of anyone
going to a big event. Small group road riding and small group gravel
overlap a lot. There is formal club, that generates some of the small group
riders then add some social media for the rest of the riders.
Big club road events have rebounded a bit from the low of the pandemic era,
but those only draw people in less than 2 hours travel time, the bulk
less than an hour travel time.
I haven’t seen a big gravel explosion Here in Spain. At least in my area. Some specific gravel bikes, but most people use their mtb. Some events. I took part on one last year, 100km, where except my Jones, no more mtb, only gravel bikes. No more than 60 people, 97% on the “racing side”. And I think this is part of the thing. They sell gravel only as a competitive option. All the bikes are almost the same, different stickers but same costly aero frases. Carbon Carbon Carbon. So is too expensive for Spain. Now you need one more expensive bike? I don’t know.
I don't know that gravel cycling is declining so much as gravel racing is declining... in my opinion that's due to the fact that nobody got into gravel to RACE it. As you pointed out in today's blog post a lot of gravel events are starting to become somewhat cookie cutter events based on road racing type events but early adopters of gravel left that scene because of that scene. Adventure over suffering, great roads with views, old bridges, lots of dirt rather than trying to one up the other guy for who has the most elevation gain in their event... in short gravel events need to stop measuring "manhood" and go back to providing an experience rather than a race. As you've written about previously I also think increasing your numbers as the only metric of a successful event is a death sentence, only a couple of the "big" gravel events come to my mind as examples of a big event keeping it feeling small, quality over quantity.
On the flip side participants are partly to blame, we demand more and more and more... better SAG stops, better swag, more support. Race director burnout is a real thing and that part of gravel is 100% on the participant. The decline of big gravel may just lead to the resurgence of what gravel was a mere 10 years ago and I for one would welcome that change.
@Rydn9ers - Thanks for those comments.
I was most struck by what you brought up concerning racer's demands vs RD efforts to produce an event for all. Here's something I think a LOT of race director''s are missing. An event you put on is what YOU want it to be, NOT what anyone who may come to an event wants.
In other words, any event director needs to understand what sort of experience THEY want to provide, and have the bandwidth to pull off. Anything coming from the outside (rider demands, pressures from potential sponsors) has to be secondary, or not even considered.
This is called "curating an experience within your means" and if any event does this and finds an audience, ( not every idea will be successful for an event), then you have a "successful event". However; using the profit based, social media driven, "traditional race format" approach usually means you, as the event director, end up becoming a "people pleaser" and there is where things get upside down.
Amen, Rob. Well said.
Post a Comment