I competed within the first-ever 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships in Veneto, Italy. Again then, I wasn’t racing as a privateer, I used to be a part of a staff, which helped ease the logistical burden of racing in Europe.
They dealt with the necessities – journey planning, bike transport, and in-race assist – so I may concentrate on what I do greatest, racing my bike.
Trying again, I want we may obtain related help from the Nationwide Federation. It’s robust while you’re anticipated to compete on the world stage, however you don’t have the backing to make it possible. Albeit missing funds in an Olympic yr, I want USA Biking may do extra to assist athletes, particularly those that don’t have groups to deal with the logistics.
The racing itself at Worlds was additionally a unique expertise. It’s not just like the gravel racing I really like right here within the US, the place large open roads allow you to journey solo for miles. As an alternative, the course was tight, with slender bike paths and fixed turns. I’ve seen footage from this yr’s course in Belgium, and it’s extra of the identical, which doesn’t swimsuit my strengths or the model of racing I thrive in.
Why I turned down UCI Gravel Worlds
After taking my third win over the weekend at The Rad Dust Fest in Trinidad, CO, the fifth and penultimate cease of the Life Time Grand Prix (LTGP), I discover myself reflecting on a call I didn’t make frivolously – turning down my choice for the UCI Gravel World Championships. Initially, I assumed I may fly to Belgium the day after The Rad, Sunday at midday, to reach on the Brussels airport the subsequent morning. However once I sat right down to map out the logistics, the journey shortly turned a nightmare, and in the end, it didn’t make sense, financially or in any other case.
The hurdles grew overwhelming with out assist from USA Biking and restricted coordination among the many different girls chosen. I’d be pressured to navigate this journey basically solo. No mechanic. No one on the bottom. Nothing that may permit me to carry out at my greatest. And that’s simply the beginning.
Being an unbiased athlete signifies that races have to make monetary sense. After I appeared on the numbers, UCI Worlds turned much less interesting. The price of journey, lodging, bike transport, and the extra bills of managing my logistics in a point-to-point race shortly grew. With out staff assist, an precise shot on the rainbow jersey appears slim.
Alternatively, the Life Time Grand Prix collection gives substantial monetary incentives that may maintain my racing profession. By attaining max collection factors at The Rad Dust Fest, I’ve climbed to eleventh within the standings. With one race left, Large Sugar in Bentonville, Arkansas, the highest 10 remains to be inside attain, which suggests a share in a $300,000 prize purse. Final yr, I completed second total at Large Sugar behind this yr’s Tour de France Femmes winner Kasia Niewiadoma, once more snagging most collection factors. A very good outcome at Large Sugar may result in a giant payday. And naturally, the ‘Gravel Rave’ afterward is epic!
Racing as a privateer has taught me so much about self-reliance in addition to the bounds of self-reliance. As a lot as I’ve realized about taking good care of my very own gear – between establishing tubeless tyres, waxing chains, utilizing a derailleur alignment software, reserving lodges nicely upfront, the checklist goes on. It’s nonetheless not my sturdy swimsuit. A number of of my experiences as a privateer – Leadville MTB 100, SBT GRVL – all made me rethink my readiness to go to Belgium with out a devoted mechanic or assist employees. Small points a staff handles with ease can shortly grow to be race-ending with out that assist. Racing with out assist appears like enjoying with fireplace.
Gravel World Championships, Gravel Worlds and US Gravel
Let’s discuss concerning the discrepancy in race size between women and men at UCI Gravel World Championships, which is about 134km (81 miles) for girls versus 181km (112.5 miles) for males. I perceive the argument that completely different distances could make the competitors extra equitable, permitting girls to race simply as exhausting and keep the identical depth as the lads over a shorter distance.
Nonetheless, I consider within the spirit of gravel, the place inclusivity and equality are on the core. Gravel is about everybody, no matter gender, racing the identical course underneath the identical circumstances. True equality means women and men ought to race the identical distance as a result of that’s the essence of gravel, with everybody competing on equal phrases, pushing themselves and one another.
At US Gravel Nationals, each men and women raced 211.4km (131.4 miles). And on the unique Gravel Worlds, which stays in Lincoln, Nebraska, the women and men each raced 244.6km (152 miles). That race had over 3,048 metres (10,000 toes) of climbing, and each races had dwell streaming for equal race protection.
US Gravel Nationals supplied a $40,000 prize purse, an enormous incentive for racers. There was a complete prize purse of $30,000, shared equally between elite men and women, on the Worlds occasion in Nebraska.
Rethinking the Gravel Nationals Prize Purse
As a lot as I really like gravel racing within the US, I consider there’s a greater technique to allocate assets to assist American riders internationally. I can’t assist however assume that the $40,000 that was break up evenly among the many elite divisions at Nationals may have been spent extra strategically. The primary-place prize of $10,000 for the highest lady, and the identical for the highest man, is substantial, however within the broader image, it feels extreme when our Nationwide Federation struggles to fund riders at UCI Gravel World Championships.
With these monetary struggles in thoughts, what if, as an alternative of providing such a excessive payout, the prize for first place was scaled again to $2,000, with the descending prize cash adjusted accordingly? That may nonetheless supply a terrific reward for home competitors whereas releasing up funds that could possibly be used to assist Group USA once we compete in Europe. With that cash, USA Biking may present riders with a primary degree of assist – a mechanic, a soigneur, assist with transportation, and perhaps even a spot to remain. It wouldn’t should be extravagant, simply sufficient to make sure we are able to carry out at our greatest with out bearing the complete monetary burden.
The Greater Image
This choice wasn’t nearly one race; it was concerning the greater image. Racing within the US, particularly with the Life Time Grand Prix, permits me to proceed constructing my profession. Financially, logistically, and competitively, it makes extra sense to remain targeted on the alternatives right here. Gravel is rising quickly within the US, and I need to be a part of that progress, to push myself in occasions that problem me whereas making it sustainable.
I really like representing my nation and searching ahead, I hope it makes extra sense logistically and financially to compete at a UCI World Championships. However for now, I’ll concentrate on the place the assist and the competitors align with my profession objectives. Proper right here, within the good ol’ USA.
