Gravel bike section

[Hugh Januss]

Yeah...they wouldn't have drawn any attention if they were in CA, so don't judge all of us. There are still some places in the US where being gay in public might get you beaten up or killed.

I will note that this year, the anti-European attitude was in full display online. I engaged in a bit, in that I was happy a WT pro didn't come here and take an easy victory (which I feared might happen, with Mohoric attending...even though I love Mohoric), but evidently, it was a bit more virulent than that, and I regret that some people are that xenophobic. My pleasure was in the course defying some European fans insistence that WT riders would come destroy the field. I have submitted in the past that US gravel races are not like what I have seen as far as gravel races in Europe. Mohoric confirmed this as well. It's a different ballgame, as they say here, and the guys making a living off of doing it here, deserve more respect than they receive from some cycling fans in Europe.

None of that justifies xenophobia.

Dude an ex-WT pro outsprinted another ex-WT pro for the win. As to whether Euro-gravel or Yank-gravel is more legit, lets just say they are different. Watching Mohoric descending near the end of the WC was terrifying from where I was on the couch.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Dude an ex-WT pro outsprinted another ex-WT pro for the win. As to whether Euro-gravel or Yank-gravel is more legit, lets just say they are different. Watching Mohoric descending near the end of the WC was terrifying from where I was on the couch.

But both of those ex WT riders were specifically preparing for that race, and didn't just parachute in thinking they would wipe the course up. (Like Mohoric or Warbasse or others who have done so in the past) Lachlan has been riding it since 2019. Also, Lachlan isn't a typical WT pro...which is why he left WT racing. If you don't want to respect that US gravel is in many cases, a bit of a different sport, then that is your opinion. Like I said, I think those guys deserve more resect than they get, but you do you.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Dude an ex-WT pro outsprinted another ex-WT pro for the win. As to whether Euro-gravel or Yank-gravel is more legit, lets just say they are different. Watching Mohoric descending near the end of the WC was terrifying from where I was on the couch.

Funny though, I just went on a ride with a friend who did this year's Unbound 200 on a tandem with his wife. I asked him about the gravel, and he said it was probably tough gravel for a roadie, but that we regularly ride stuff that is much chunkier and tougher. Of course, he is the head coach for our HS mountain bike team, and loves hand built trails over groomed stuff...he's also a beast. Still, he was not intemidated at all by the roads used this year.

 

[jono]

Funny though, I just went on a ride with a friend who did this year's Unbound 200 on a tandem with his wife. I asked him about the gravel, and he said it was probably tough gravel for a roadie, but that we regularly ride stuff that is much chunkier and tougher. Of course, he is the head coach for our HS mountain bike team, and loves hand built trails over groomed stuff...he's also a beast. Still, he was not intemidated at all by the roads used this year.

I listened to a few podcasts post-Unbound with riders, all of whom said that the conditions this year were really fast. Some had done some pre-riding earlier in spring and were expecting more mud and worse gravel, but conditions on the day were not difficult, which resulted in what we saw: a race that played out like a road classic.

 

[Hugh Januss]

But both of those ex WT riders were specifically preparing for that race, and didn't just parachute in thinking they would wipe the course up. (Like Mohoric or Warbasse or others who have done so in the past) Lachlan has been riding it since 2019. Also, Lachlan isn't a typical WT pro...which is why he left WT racing. If you don't want to respect that US gravel is in many cases, a bit of a different sport, then that is your opinion. Like I said, I think those guys deserve more resect than they get, but you do you.

In my post that you quoted (but maybe didn't really read?) I said " As to whether Euro-gravel or Yank-gravel is more legit, lets just say they are different." So, I'm not respecting that they are different? My point was that the line between WT pro and "pure gravel racer" is probably pretty thin and shaky, and a lot of the top US gravel racers were WT pros. As short a time as gravel racing has been around everybody has come from somewhere, road racing, mtb racing, or trying to make a living racing cross anywhere else but Belgium.

 

[iBanesto]