 |
| Image credit: Wally Kilburg |
Today I am going to dive into the subject of media coverage of gravel events. As my long-time disclaimer above indicates, this is my opinion. But first, I want to get into the most recent incident of interference of media in a cycling event on gravel. This was an incident where no one was injured, thankfully, and one of the affected riders, the leader at the time, won the event. So the rider's final placing was not negatively affected. However; things could have very easily gone the wrong way.
You may have already seen the evidence posted on Instagram or Facebook. It happened last weekend at Mid-South. There were two riders affected in the women's Pro field who were off the front slightly from a larger chase group. From the video I saw, the two leaders, Paige Onweller and Sofia Gomez Villifane, were about to enter a 90° left hand turn when a side-by-side ATV came up from behind them at a higher rate of speed than the two riders. The ATV split the two riders, nearly hitting Villifane, and then over correcting and almost hitting Onweller. Audio from the clip revealed a bit of angry and fearful yelling from one of the riders.
From another social media post by @ministerofgravel on Instagram, commenters identified the offending ATV as being driven by people from Orange Seal (or the vehicle was sponsored by the brand) , UPDATED 3/17/26: According to a source close to Orange Seal, it was not their ATV which was involved in this incident. Apologies to Orange Seal for any confusion regarding their involvement in this incident. a brand which sells tubeless sealant products. Commenters also pointed to this same ATV causing issues the day previous during Mid-South's running event and on the course for the cycling event elsewhere on Saturday. These accusations are not verified, as far as I can find, but these comments are noteworthy and interesting in light of the video evidence from the near-miss of the two Pro women riders.
 |
| A still from the video posted on Instagram. (Image credit @colinsigers) |
This unfortunate incident is not alone in cycling. I read about near-misses and collisions between media motos and Pro road racers every single year. Team cars are also involved in many incidents and seem to be a year after year issue within Pro cycling.
So, why do event organizers allow these vehicles and the people who drive them out on courses. Drivers which endanger riders and often interfere with the racing action, at the least, and cause injury and death at the worst?
Well, it has something to do with money, doesn't it? We have to have media coverage and team support during events or..... Or what? We cannot race? This seems out of whack to me. Riders are human beings. We should be willing to sacrifice convenience and marketing opportunities to provide these riders - professionals or not - with conditions on course not being affected by cars, motorcycles, or ATV's.
Specifically to gravel events, I would posit that there be no vehicles on course besides the race director's vehicle. None. Zero. Observers should be stationed at critical points to make sure the riders are safe, not cheating,and to quickly address emergency situations. Media can be parked along side the road with cameras and can be allowed to travel to different points along the course, if possible, along roads/trails not on course. If this is not possible for media. too bad. Really. The whole media coverage of gravel events during the race is unnecessary.
 |
| Mid-South's statement regarding the incident. (Click to embiggen) |
The other point I'd like to make concerning this would be environmental. Gravel often times equals dust. Vehicles kick up a ton of dust when going down gravel roads. Obvious, right? Most people do not want to breath the particulate matter from gravel dust, do they? I would suggest they do not. Especially Pro athletes who train diligently to squeeze out every ounce of effort during a race. Certainly they do not like to breath in dust, do they? And besides, it makes it harder to see. Right?
So, again, why do we put cars, trucks, ATV's and motos on courses with riders? All riders deserve good air, not dust-filled air from course vehicles. It's bad enough at times just being around other riders and dealing with the dust coming off the bicycles. Do we really need to add to this?
And while we're at it, can we quit spewing champagne in rider's eyes the second they cross the finish line? Let those guys and gals do that on the podium. They earned the right.
There has to be a better way. Gravel event directors should be searching for solutions, not waiting, hoping everything will work out because "this is how races are produced". Even sponsors should want this. I mean, look at the ATV which interfered with the two women riders at Mid-South. I'm sure that is PR that the company who was responsible for the incident would rather not have out there. Maybe doing the same thing over and over again is not the best plan.
I also will say this to close out my thoughts. Many of you may not know I used to put on a gravel event because the last time I did so was seven years ago. But I understand the challenges behind the scenes and I know what racing on gravel roads is like from both sides - as an event director and a participant - so I feel as though my opinions are not just random ranting. I just honestly don't understand why we think gravel racing has to be the way it is, because it clearly doesn't work like it should on this level as seen at Mid-South and other events on gravel. The default event production methods are not the only way to do events on gravel. Events on gravel do not have to be live streamed. We went many years without live streamed gravel events and the segment grew and got along without it just fine.
And I get it. Money talks. My ideas are probably not going to see the light of day at any "big time" gravel event. But I'm not going to sit here and let it go either. That's my take. Hopefully for the riders the event directors will find better ways to do things in the future for the good of all riders on gravel.
3 comments:
$0.02, you summarized it, money talks. The money the Saturday riders put into the pro event on Friday with their entry fees. Big event trying to promote a personal touch is like Mc Donald's saying they donate to a charity with every Happy Meal purchase. It is calculated and pre-planned and cookie cutter.
If people want this to stop, then as a collective we need to stop going to large events, or even better yet, change gravel again. Do people say hey I do not like racing and start going to gravel rides during the week and do gravel trip bike-cations?
Personally I am into the whole tailwind ride to a bar and have some wings and have Morgan pick me up on a Saturday thing. I go out ride some roads I would never see, and I have a lone time.
Maybe the best advice came from the 1960's, Timothy Leary, "Tune in, and dropout." All I see is drama on gravel racing, and I over it, i see very little positive, and I see a lot of selfish behavior.
In the end it is a hobby that people are trying to force other people to pay for so they can extend their childhood. At some point we need to grow up and stop putting such a high emphasis on sports as a a culture.
Well said, Brother. There is no excuse for that sort of thing, regardless of the size or stature of the event. I guarantee that BS is absolutely not the reason any rider chooses to train for, pay for and participate in a gravel event.
Well said! I'll add that I've also seen some related chatter about the fairness of drafting opportunities created by these off road media vehicles.
As you've noted here before. It seems nowadays the post event narrative always revolves around what did or (more often) did not go right for the pro field during the event. Almost no discussion in the media about the adventures had by regular cycling folk.
Gravel used to be the antidote to road racing. It is strange to see these once grass roots gravel events try to become like the Tour de France (professionalism, big money, tv coverage, elaborate finish lines, team tactics, chasing tiny marginal gains in aerodynamics).
Unfortunately, this seems like a lose/lose situation for riders like SGV. Putting media vehicles on the course but her at risk. But her ability to earn a living as a gravel racer requires eyeballs and clicks. Hopefully they can find a safer way to get eyeballs and clicks. But without them she can't earn a living.
Post a Comment