{"id":1956060,"date":"2026-05-26T16:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1956060"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:45:00","slug":"a-loss-of-community-two-tier-finances-and-a-tactical-conundrum-are-professional-teams-reshaping-the-gravel-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1956060","title":{"rendered":"A loss of community, two-tier finances, and a tactical conundrum \u2013 Are professional teams reshaping the gravel scene?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AoC98XPq7GnHiDY5MFBCXZ-2048-80.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><article class=\"page-content-onecol flex-1\nnews-article article\n\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"widget-area-group widget-area-group-2col flex flex-wrap box-border\">\n<div id=\"widgetArea16\" class=\"widget-area basis-full md:basis-2\/3 widget-area-g-md-vp-2-3 widget-area-g-lg-vp-2-3 widget-area-g-xl-vp-2-3 page-widget-area-16\">\n<div data-widget-type=\"hero\" id=\"hero\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-hero widget-hero widget-hero-hero widget-hero widget-hero-fter-news\">\n<div class=\"clear-both widget-header\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"news-article\">\n<header data-component-name=\"Article:Hero\">\n<div class=\"kiosq-metered-message-content\">\n<p id=\"kiosq-metered-message\" class=\"kiosq-metered-message\">\n<\/div>\n<nav class=\"breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\">\n<ol>\n<li>\nPro Cycling\n<\/li>\n<li>\nRacing\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<h1>A loss of community, two-tier finances, and a tactical conundrum \u2013 Are professional teams reshaping the gravel scene?<\/h1>\n<div class=\"kiosq-member-label\" data-component-name=\"Article:Hero:KiosqPaywallLabels\">\n<span class=\"kiosq-member-label-text\"><br \/>\nMEMBER EXCLUSIVE<br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kiosq-metered-message-content\">\n<p id=\"kiosq-metered-message\" class=\"kiosq-metered-message\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"byline-social\">\n<div class=\"byline font-ui-heading text-[12px]\">\nFeatures<\/p>\n<div>\n<span><br \/>\nBy<br \/>\nWill Jones <\/span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\npublished<br \/>\n<time data-component-name=\"UI:DateTime\" datetime=\"2026-05-26T16:45:00Z\" class=\"relative-date\"><br \/>\n26 May 2026<br \/>\n<\/time><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"strapline\">In gravel, teams, privateers, collectives, and cabals all race the same course, but how are fully-integrated teams with big budgets going to impact cycling\u2019s most popular discipline?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"text-gray-700mx-auto mb-4 flex items-center justify-start mx-0 my-5 p-0\" id=\"affiliate-disclaimer\" data-component-name=\"AffiliateDisclaimer\" data-hawk-message=\"Affiliate disclaimer removed because hawk deemed there are no affiliate links on this page\">\n<p class=\"text-[var(--affiliate-disclaimer--text-color,inherit))] mb-2 text-[length:var(--affiliate-disclaimer--font-size,0.75rem)] leading-[18px] md:text-[13px] [&amp;&gt;a]:text-inherit [&amp;&gt;a]:underline\">\nWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here\u2019s how it works.\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"contentparsed\" id=\"content\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-contentparsed widget-content widget-contentparsed-content widget-content-parsed widget-content-parsed-content_document \">\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<section class=\"content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"box less-space hero-image-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"mb-0\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AoC98XPq7GnHiDY5MFBCXZ.jpg\" alt=\"European gravel champion Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt gets off his bike after winning 2026 The Traka 360 \" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full object-center\" data-component-name=\"Image\"><figcaption class=\"font-article-copy text-[var(--image--text--color)] font-article-copy mt-2\"> <span class=\"caption-text font-article-copy\">European gravel champion Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt gets off his bike after winning 2026 The Traka 360<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"credit font-article-copy\">(Image credit: The Traka)<\/span><br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"text-copy bodyCopy auto paywall-locker\">\n<div data-analytics-id=\"utility-bar\" id=\"utility-bar\" class=\"font-ui-heading flex justify-between items-center py-2 border-t border-b border-gray-300 border-solid mb-5 mx-auto\" data-component-name=\"UtilityBar\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"utility-bar\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-2 text-[#333] subcontainer\">\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<div data-component-name=\"Social:Dropdown\" role=\"menu\" id=\"utilitybar__dropdown--share\" aria-labelledby=\"utilitybar__button--share\" class=\"absolute left-0 top-full w-44 bg-white rounded-md shadow-md border border-neutral-200 z-[9996] list-none m-0 py-2 px-3 border-solid\">\n<ul class=\"!m-0\">\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Facebook<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>X<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Pinterest<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Email<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-share-this-article\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nShare this article\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<p>    <span class=\"ml-1 inline-flex h-5 px-2 shrink-0 items-center justify-center self-center overflow-hidden whitespace-nowrap rounded-[10px] bg-primary-500 text-[11px] leading-none font-ui-heading font-semibold text-white\">0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-join-the-conversation\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nJoin the conversation\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex gap-2 text-[#333] subcontainer\">\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<p>Follow us<\/p>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-add-us-as-a-preferred-source-on-google\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nAdd us as a preferred source on Google\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-subscribe-to-our-newsletter\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nSubscribe to our newsletter\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"elk-b1d5b652-20df-438a-9d28-654ed083eb7a\">Gravel seems to have been at a crossroads since its inception, in an ironic nod to the Flint Hills of Kansas that catapulted the discipline into the collective consciousness. Aero bars being banned at Unbound Gravel several years ago now caused quite a stir, but in reality this did little to affect the actual nature of the racing. It remained a privateer model; pros and amateurs racing the same course at the same time, with a spirit of self-sufficiency and community uplift that in no small part made the sport phenomenally popular in a relatively short space of time.<\/p>\n<p>Now, though, with a slightly forlorn predictability, the gravel scene is increasingly professional, with a growing gulf not just between the pros and the amateurs paying their entry fees to participate, but between professional riders backed by big-budget teams and individual privateer athletes.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"><\/a><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"><\/aside>\n<p id=\"elk-b1d5b652-20df-438a-9d28-654ed083eb7a-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">While in Girona for The Traka recently, I took some time to speak to riders about what they think of the rise of gravel teams, and what it all means for the future of the sport, and the future of the &#8216;spirit of gravel&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-1b395ab6-2e19-4daf-acea-4fd4b6beed3a\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"privateers-collectives-cabals-and-full-on-teams-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Privateers, collectives, cabals, and full-on teams<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-5f18c0b9-7e47-49da-b70f-1fe0030aa4b5\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">If you scroll through the results of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Traka races, you\u2019ll see the number of athletes not affiliated with at least a small collective of other riders is very small. In the men\u2019s 360, there are perhaps three or four in the top 40, and it\u2019s similar in the women\u2019s event.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Rosa Kl\u00f6ser bucks this trend, officially classing herself as a privateer off-road, and even going so far as to have \u2018PRIVATEER\u2019 written down the side of her back pocket on her skinsuit. This belies the fact that she is also a fully paid rider on the well-resourced Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto Women&#8217;s WorldTour team, exhibiting great form early in the season by a long solo breakaway at Paris-Roubaix before turning her focus to the world of gravel for Traka, Unbound, and the Life Time Grand Prix.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Many of these teams, the likes of PAS Racing and the Castelli Spirit of Gravel cabal, run as hybrids, with riders racing in the same jersey but operating to a greater or lesser extent as privateers, engaging their own bike and equipment sponsors.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">There are some outfits, however, like the Ribble Outliers, who were set up with a different ethos. Their rider Harry Tanfield explained the differences to me.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It&#8217;s not like the Factor teams, which have the same sponsors; they&#8217;re kind of more individual riders. We\u2019re all friends. We look after each other and are always together in the house. It\u2019s just that road team element culture is more what we have that others don\u2019t, but we\u2019re also from the road background.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-54b29f20-b89a-4052-9f00-3311fc51a660\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/WSyrVMCEp4bhvdDQP25EwJ.jpg\" alt=\"Haley Smith takes a pit stop with the Factor team during 2026 The Traka 360, where she finished fifth\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Haley Smith takes a pit stop with the Factor team during 2026 The Traka 360, where she finished fifth <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-a241332c-23f8-420a-aaf9-9b2e29b636a4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When we first started, no one really knew what was happening, and it was just a group of individuals all together. It wasn&#8217;t until we did a few races together that we kind of worked our way through it, how you know things can work together as a group, mainly off the bike rather than on the bike. Making sure you&#8217;re not going to have six people all trying to cook their own dinners and stuff like that there, which in some gravel teams will happen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The need for course support is also a clear benefit of being part of a team. Riders like Dylan Johnson have tried to do it alone, Tanfield mentioned, but even he is now part of a Felt team.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think support in the races is so important. It depends how hot it is and where it is, but if you&#8217;re a privateer and doing a seven-hour race and you&#8217;ve got to start with four litres [of water] on you instead of two, it&#8217;s a big disadvantage,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Sophie Wright, also of Ribble Outliers, was keen to point out the advantages that being a privateer can still offer.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you&#8217;re good enough to be able to pick and choose your own sponsors, you can build a complete package around you. And if, providing you get a decent salary, you can then say \u2018OK, I&#8217;m gonna pay this mechanic&#8230; I&#8217;m gonna pay for a soigneur, and I&#8217;m going to pay for a mechanic. Done\u2019, then that person can drive you, and that person can go to the supermarket.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-da039bbd-cf5c-4914-90f2-fc1a5ec84c0c\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/HQiPZKmuQ3ofBVesDLK2RP.jpg\" alt=\"Specialized Off-road riders talk after going one-three at The Traka 360, winner Mads W&amp;amp;uuml;rtz Schmidt (left) and Matt Beers (centre)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360 l @ Oriol Gozalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-f83d16bf-615f-4720-854c-68b8916a8ec4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Later, I sat down with last year&#8217;s men\u2019s Traka 360 winner, and co-manager of PAS Racing, Tobias Kongstad. He was keen to stress that &#8211; despite a hugely dominant performance in the 360 last year for men and women &#8211; PAS Racing is a step below the likes of Specialized Off-Road, the six-rider team that features two-time Traka 200 winner Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Right now in gravel racing there is, as you mention, three different ways you can do it. There is the full-on team, as you might see from Specialized or Canyon, where everyone gets a fixed salary from the team, and there is a team manager saying how to do the things,&#8221; Kongstad said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Then there&#8217;s us: We are doing everything together. We have mechanics, chefs together. We are sharing the same clothing, but we are not sharing the same bikes.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Two years ago, when you look at a privateer&#8217;s programme, I think they\u2019re struggling a lot because maybe you can earn a little bit more as a privateer, but at the end of the day doing Life Time Grand Prix you do seven trips to the USA, and some of the places like Nebraska, Iowa, they\u2019re not the centre of the world. So I think being together and being able to travel together, I think it\u2019s pretty nice that we\u2019re racing the same days\u2026 and we don\u2019t need to think about pleasing seven sponsors and think about housing and a kitchen, because in the USA that\u2019s a big task.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-749ec533-5715-45f5-8564-394f58f435a1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"team-tactics-don-t-exist-yet-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Team tactics don\u2019t exist \u2013 yet<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-4e13280d-c444-419f-856f-ef3a86cec589\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">If you watch a livestream of a gravel race as a road cycling fan, you might assume that seeing a handful of PAS riders clad in their trademark brown skinsuits would mean we would see road-like team tactics: breakaways, blocking, chasing as a collective endeavour. but this seems like it\u2019s not possible yet, both from a sponsorship point of view but also due to the dynamics and difficulties of the racing.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;There I think it&#8217;ll be a little bit tricky because, from the team side &#8211; and I can talk as a manager or sports director or whatever &#8211; I cannot say to Karolina [Migo\u0144] that she shouldn&#8217;t take a pull if her teammate is in the front, because then Karolina\u2019s bike sponsor will be like &#8216;hey, why didn\u2019t you do it?&#8217;,&#8221; Kongstad explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;So I think until now what we have been doing is that you don&#8217;t race for each other, but we also don\u2019t race against each other. In gravel racing you can have all the team tactics you want, but at the end of the day it&#8217;s tough to race\u2026 if you\u2019re a good bike rider you\u2019ll be in the top five or ten.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Migo\u0144, Unbound Gravel 200 winner in 2025, and Traka 360 winner in 2024 and 2025, is more unequivocal.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cWe don\u2019t disrupt the race\u2026 we don\u2019t talk before the race and say \u2018Oh I will race for you\u2019, we just see during the race what\u2019s going on and we adjust.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">After the Traka 360 and 200 had concluded, I sat down at a caf\u00e9 with Piotr Havik of Castelli SOG (that\u2019s Spirit of Gravel, if you hadn\u2019t worked that out for yourself). As a former privateer, he shares the concerns of many as to what dedicated teams mean for the sport, though stressed that for the time being the issues haven\u2019t come to pass.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;At this point I didn\u2019t have the feeling like, OK, now the whole race got screwed because we have eight riders from one team all in the front and they are blocking like they are fucking up the race; that didn\u2019t happen yet, but the bigger the teams are, the more riders from one team are in there, the more they can play those nasty tactics.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Tanfield put it with equal frankness: &#8220;There&#8217;s only a certain amount of races where you can really work together well as a team. If you\u2019re following a wheel in front, you&#8217;re following a wheel in front.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cFor guys like us, we&#8217;re trying to scrape into that top end. We&#8217;re not Matt Beers or Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt who can just turn up and wipe the floor\u2026 we\u2019re trying to do as little as possible in the groups to try to help ourselves as a team to get the best result, rather than controlling the race.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-3be781b5-743b-4c27-8ef7-833bf4ec0cfd\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/qF447xh63VEQSuNha55Ya9.jpg\" alt=\"PAS Racing teammates Karolina Migo&amp;amp;#324; and Tobias Kongstad won elite divisions of 2025 The Traka 360\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">PAS Racing teammates Karolina Migo\u0144 and Tobias Kongstad won elite divisions of 2025 The Traka 360 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @GravelEarthSeries | @thetraka | @ogonzalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-b8ec54fc-ab3f-4d80-9b1e-6b20818e6d69\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-benefits-are-outside-the-race-course-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The benefits are outside the race course<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-be16d365-2106-4690-a5c0-64157e39560b\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The traditional benefits of riding in a team \u2013 whatever &#8216;team&#8217; means in this context \u2013 drafting, chasing, dedicated leadership simply don\u2019t seem to be possible in the chaos and sheer physical effort of racing over 300 kilometres of off-road, which begs the question as to why so many riders are turning away from the privateer life to join organised outfits.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The reason, primarily, is that while the racing remains almost entirely an individual endeavour, a team affords the riders a degree of mental space that the privateer life simply cannot accommodate.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cThe advantage, and the reason why I really like to be part of a team, is because it&#8217;s just less stress,&#8221; Wright surmised. &#8220;Like, if I was a privateer, for example &#8211; I did the UCI World Series in Monaco last week, and that wasn&#8217;t a team-supported race, but I thought &#8216;I want to do it anyway, so I&#8217;m going to self-support it,&#8217; and my dad flew out to help me in the feed zones, drive me over there, blah, blah, blah\u2026 But I just found it much more stressful.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I had to organise the feed zones, I had to do all the shopping, accommodation, clean my bike, do the chain, communicate with some of my friends who are doing the race and ask if they can help me in the feed zone because I wanted two feed zones per lap, and I was like \u2018stuff being a privateer!'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">More than that, more than physically or mentally taking a load off, the collective race lifestyle is just far more sociable. Wright told me straight that the team life is &#8220;just a lot less lonely&#8221; and this is mirrored by Migo\u0144.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It\u2019s also nice to not be alone during the races&#8230;even like being in a new place on the other side of the world, you are not alone there, it helps a lot mentally.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">M\u00e9rida Miller, also of the Castelli SOG crew, is effusive in her praise for the support the team brings to her riding.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think we both just loved the general \u2018vibes\u2019. But that&#8217;s truly what it is, right? So, even just having a WhatsApp group where people are just sharing stupid memes about shit, or like cheering each other on whatever, it feels like you&#8217;re part of something. And also what I love about the SOG crew is that it really is celebrating all the different types of riders.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Even my coach this year was like \u2013 it&#8217;s my second year racing \u2013 \u2018wow, I&#8217;ve really seen a difference in you\u2019. I could show you our WhatsApp group, but it&#8217;s like, so wholesome, right? So it&#8217;s like, we&#8217;re cheering each other on, we&#8217;re checking in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">There is, of course, a financial aspect to it too. Being a privateer means your costs are shouldered by you alone, whereas a collective setup allows the sharing of resources.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you\u2019re fully privateer, it\u2019s super nice that you have all the freedom, but then what comes on top of that you have to think about every single part yourself, from your brake pads to your chain to your mechanics, travelling, feeding, and then it costs a lot of money,&#8221; Havik said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When I was a privateer, I had a guy following me, which was luckily a videographer but also he knows how to give bottles. Every day he\u2019s there, you have to pay him, and that\u2019s a big investment for a privateer. Basically a person like this can do it for three or four riders and with Castelli SOG you find a nice mid-ground where you can still do things and decide things yourself like the programme, the equipment, but there are people around you who can support you where needed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Havik also went on to outline the drawbacks of being on bigger, more professionalised teams. PAS Racing wasn\u2019t explicitly outlined, but between them and Specialized Off-road, they are the most well-oiled and well-resourced outfits in the field.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;A lot of times, in most teams, they lean into the extreme professional side or try to be as professional as possible, but then a lot of times you have a lack of resources. They want to act as one of the big teams, but then it creates pressure because okay, you expect a lot from us, but the environment is not there like with UAE [Team Emirates-XRG].&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">As money continues to pour into gravel, the resource grows. However, the ability for the bigger teams to spend big and invest in big results also increases. Migo\u0144, for example, was a software engineer alongside her gravel racing until 2026, something that clearly didn\u2019t hold her back.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Though she was marred at the Traka by a crash with an age-grouper from a different race in the 360, she had come to the race off the back of an altitude camp in Colombia, something that\u2019s extremely common in the WorldTour but almost unheard of in gravel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-2f22f85c-066e-4b82-9e11-0c745318a82a\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/UyzzxsiipWSVotnPYkPeZF.jpg\" alt=\"Romain Bardet (Factor Racing) started out his European season at Santa Vall, coming second overall in the Gravel Earth Series opener for 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Romain Bardet (Factor Racing &#8211; RCC) started his European season at Santa Vall, coming second overall in the Gravel Earth Series opener for 2026 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @GravelEarthSeries | @SantaVall | @Roger Salanova)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-5a621ccd-68c6-4ebe-bcd1-617ca8bcee5e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"uci-points-and-the-road-gravel-continuum-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">UCI points and the road-gravel continuum<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e4d808ff-a355-4588-8174-24e4b3d3b14b\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">So fresh is the discipline, and sprung up as it has from a disparate series of grassroots events free from the UCI umbrella, it is unusual compared to most other performance cycling disciplines insofar as the UCI-sanctioned races under the UCI Gravel World Series aren\u2019t the pinnacle. They do, however, offer UCI points, giving pro road teams a carrot to bump up their team rankings alongside the road season.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">You would think that there would be a reluctance from the gravel pros to see WorldTour roadies mixing it up in the gravel ranks, but I was surprised to find the reception was warm, partially because it would offer further legitimacy to the discipline, but also because the days of recently retired road riders rocking up to gravel events to farm podium spots are very much over.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;The gravel specialists, a lot of them are more focused on Gravel Earth series and other races, so they are not only focused on UCI [points], but they still do a lot of UCI racing. I think for the sport it will be good. Also, road professionals show up, and like Tim Wellens said in Marly Grav when he won there, \u2018fuck, this was not an easy win,&#8221; Havik explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Let them come and experience, and also show the high level we have in gravel already. We are also professionals, and it doesn\u2019t mean that because we are not wearing a WorldTour kit that we don\u2019t know how to ride our bikes and how to push watts.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Though we are probably a way off having truly merged disciplines \u2013 even if riders like Rosa Kl\u00f6ser are showing that you can do both at the highest level of the sport \u2013 that&#8217;s something that former road pros like Sophie Wright would welcome.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It would be sick to go back to a WorldTour team, but have a primary focus on gravel, and then dip in and out of road races,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You can race Strade Bianche, Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, blah blah, and then you can come and do Traka [like Kl\u00f6ser]. For me, that&#8217;s actually an ideal package personally, so I&#8217;m not really opposed to it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-06ceb212-2c7e-4902-baa2-2d55da2a39e2\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/WxbVWvKGoC9iu8dAoRgxSW.jpg\" alt=\"Lachlan Morton, Alex Howes, and Peter Stetina at Unbound Gravel 200\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Lachlan Morton, Alex Howes, and Peter Stetina at Unbound Gravel 200 in 2019 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: Wil Matthews)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-a552c942-c311-4f52-8730-8431120a6042\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"professionalism-community-and-the-spirit-of-gravel-without-irony-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Professionalism, community, and the \u2018Spirit of Gravel\u2019 without irony<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e4347f9b-351d-402d-b6b3-382a5f1e5a86\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Teams undoubtedly make riders\u2019 lives easier, but is there an underlying cost to the community as a whole that comes with this growing professionalism? The phrase \u2018spirit of gravel\u2019 has been used so often that it&#8217;s become a bit of a clich\u00e9, but there is a real meaning to it.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Nathan Haas has seen cycling through the lens of the WorldTour and professional gravel, and though he has stepped back from the Castelli SOG crew in some aspects, he\u2019s well placed to outline the reasons for its formation as a counterpoint to traditional teams.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I sat down with Steve Smith &#8211; one of the owners of Castelli &#8211; we\u2019d just finished Iceland Rift, and it sort of begged the question: \u2018what&#8217;s the direction of this sport?\u2019 We were trying to zoom out and see in a glass ball,&#8221; Haas said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;We\u2019ve both been around cycling for long enough to have seen what happened to mountain biking, during the NORBA series when mountain biking was like at its peak and in many ways it exploded. We&#8217;ve seen cyclo-cross. We&#8217;ve seen the fixie scene. There\u2019s a lot of times where sport has actually come in and out of fashion and grown. This is gravel cycling\u2019s first foray.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;What does SOG represent? Trying to protect the very essence of what gravel is and personally what I feel it should be. It&#8217;s the last discipline in cycling that an athlete can still come with their bike bag to an event and still potentially win it without the need for being in a team that&#8217;s based around tactics and supporting a specific rider or having the need to have the mechanics, the soigneurs, all the feeders to be competitive.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">It would be very easy to paint this as all a bit &#8216;back in my day&#8230;&#8217; from Haas, but there isn\u2019t a hint of bitterness, or even misty-eyed nostalgia. Gravel seems to cause riders who have a certain level of experience to see how the sport has changed to speak with passion about the heart of the sport that you simply never see on the road.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Haas, again, dived deeper into the value that community adds to the sport.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I was starting to feel in many ways that the sport was beginning to drift away from what I loved about it\u2026 Some people might call me stuck in the past with this, but I&#8217;m not scared to share my feeling on it because there&#8217;s something beautiful about gravel,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;And what we&#8217;re slowly starting to see with all of these tents, there&#8217;s an unequal playing field in the sport now. Riders don&#8217;t even have to come to pick up their numbers anymore; they&#8217;re staying at home off their legs. They&#8217;re having a massage. That&#8217;s an advantage to the rider who&#8217;s trying to win, but is that actually an advantage to the <em>sport<\/em> where we don&#8217;t have TV coverage? We don&#8217;t have non-endemic sponsors. It&#8217;s basically 99 per cent sponsored and supported by the bike industry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The start and finish area of The Traka is a world away from the pits of a WorldTour race where the riders are hidden away in their buses, doing media interviews out of obligation, staying away from the public gaze as much as possible. In Girona you could rub shoulders with people who have just come top-10 in the biggest gravel race in Europe, and that\u2019s something gravel could lose as the team aspect grows.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When they&#8217;re not turning up to speak to people or to integrate, there&#8217;s a loss there, right?&#8221; Haas said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;We&#8217;re slowly losing this community feel where riders who are sponsored by different brands were still all travelling together, were the life of the party, forming this community sense that anyone could come up and talk and feel part of something and share the experience of being on the same track as the pros. We&#8217;re going to lose that because they&#8217;re now sticking to their team houses. They&#8217;re staying far away from everybody. They&#8217;re not interacting.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;You can&#8217;t just say you&#8217;re for community; you have to be for community.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"instagram-embed kiosq-b\" id=\"elk-DXgiiB2jSDZ\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-version=\"6\">\n<p>A post shared by M\u00e9rida Miller (@mercatmiller)<\/p>\n<p>A photo posted by on <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><a id=\"elk-7e1ad762-d53f-4677-99c9-c26fc39c166e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"team-riders-are-more-than-just-results-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Team riders are more than just results<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e0ac3fe8-63a6-480d-bc73-928ee50e4a62\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">This, I think, is the crux of it: the lack of TV coverage. While the Traka and Unbound may have livestreams, you simply can\u2019t consume the races in the same way as you can with the WorldTour. This means that, aside from a news article on the pages of <em>Cyclingnews<\/em>, the vast majority of the media consumed around the races is on social media. It\u2019s about building narratives, storytelling, and having riders that are more compelling offerings than simply what they bring to the results sheet.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Haas, again, outlined to me that the riders selected for the SOG cabal are chosen based not only on their riding prowess, but also on how they conduct themselves, and hope that\u2019s of benefit to the team beyond podium positions.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you&#8217;re only focused on somebody winning a race, you&#8217;re casting a very small net because how many people really resonate with actually coming to Traka it to win? People want to do their best, and we love that, right? But think about the 95% of people that&#8217;s not even in their wheelhouse. It might not even be part of their personality traits to be that competitive, but it doesn&#8217;t mean that these races and events aren&#8217;t for them.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Is it more important how you won, or how you experienced the event? By the very definition everyone who is paid to ride their bikes in gravel, their job is to make people resonate with the brands that they work with, so if you don\u2019t have a strong personality, or [aren&#8217;t] a strong storyteller or strong communicator, or even just somebody who\u2019s really inspiring for their own reasons, if you&#8217;re only focused on somebody winning a race, you&#8217;re casting a very small net.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-fe4bb5dd-3566-48f0-8e12-3422e1ebb0d6\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/G255dMx57ouPMku4RYgcrU.jpg\" alt=\"Medals for finishing The Traka 360\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360 l @ Oriol Gonzalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-ea01b1c0-95ca-4df4-91da-ba4ad37a170c\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"protect-the-individual-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Protect the individual<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-c0d058f0-b1c6-400f-93c0-d47b91a8207e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Gravel will undoubtedly continue to professionalise. That\u2019s the inevitable march of progress, but I was curious to see if there was anything that could be done to moderate the growing dominance of teams, particularly from the organisational standpoint. Havik had a few ideas.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;One thing for sure that\u2019s important is that privateers always should get their space at the start line,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What can happen is that if you only have 200 spots for the pro field, and the teams already know ahead of time which riders they are sending, they can start asking for start tickets in November when some privateers are still figuring things out.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;No wheel swapping between riders; that\u2019s a very important one because a privateer cannot do it. Maybe a few more rules can be allowed so riders don\u2019t wait for each other, and then maybe at a certain point you say OK, for some races there\u2019s a maximum number of riders you can select because now, at the moment, it\u2019s endless. If you show up with 20 riders from one team you can do it. It\u2019s lucky there\u2019s no team out there who can pay 20 riders, but that\u2019s only a question of time and money before something like that shows up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">It does seem that some races have already cottoned on to this and are implementing measures to ensure fair competition for all, too, as Haas pointed out to me.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;You have the Belgian Waffle Ride series, where as soon as there&#8217;s a lead group in the race, they have motorbikes behind that, and they give everyone gels and bidons, for if you can&#8217;t afford to bring over a staff of three or four or five and have three or four or five vehicles that are stationed all across the trail, giving out bidons, spare wheels, etc.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">At this point Ben Perry, who rode to fourth in the Traka 360, walked past the deck chair I was slumped in and stopped for a chat with Haas and me before allowing me to take his bike away for some photos, a neat encapsulation of gravel&#8217;s community feel that many feel needs protecting as the sport inevitably marches onwards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"kiosq-app-paywall-js\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"this-will-be-used-for-mpu-2\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"slice-container-authorBio-uagnoCQN5fE7QbZmRTE3cQ\" class=\"slice-container slice-author-bio authorBio-uagnoCQN5fE7QbZmRTE3cQ slice-container-authorBio\">\n<div class=\"author author__default-layout author--separator author--collapsible\" data-hydrate=\"true\">\n<div class=\"author__header\">\n<div class=\"author__avatar-block\">\n<figure class=\"image-wrapped__wrapper\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"false\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapped__widthsetter\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapped__aspect-padding\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rcdGNkZsAp22gXEbfMFpjU.jpg\" alt=\"Will Jones\" class=\"author__avatar image-wrapped__image image__image\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__heading\">\n<div class=\"author__name\">Will Jones<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__social\">\n<nav class=\"button-social-group author__social-buttons\" aria-labelledby=\"button-social-group- author__social-buttons\">\n<div id=\"button-social-group- author__social-buttons\">Social Links Navigation<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"button-social__icon\"><\/span><span class=\"button-social__icon button-social__icon-email\"><\/span><\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__role\">Senior Tech Writer<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__bio-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"author__biography\">\n<p>Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He\u2019s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He\u2019s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn\u2019t ever ride indoors he\u2019s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div id=\"viafoura-comments\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"relative max-w-[1070px] viafoura-twig-component mt-6 mx-4 lg:mx-0\" data-component-name=\"Viafoura:Comments\" data-nosnippet data-community-guidelines-text=\"&lt;p class=&apos;vfcustom-community-guidelines&apos;&gt;Please follow our &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/about\/#section-community-guidelines&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;community guidelines&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-join-the-conversation-text=\"Join the Conversation\">\n<div class=\"relative h-[--truncate-height] sm:h-[--truncate-desktop-height] overflow-hidden transition-[height] duration-150\" data-test-id=\"container\" data-component-name=\"Util:Truncate\" id=\"viafoura-comments-container\">\n<div class=\"relative z-10 viafoura rounded-[var(--comment-widget-border-radius,0)]\" id=\"viafoura-comment-wrapper\" data-test-id=\"content\">\n<div class=\"viafoura\">\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute bg-gradient-to-t from-[--truncate-gradient-color,white] from-50% h-28 z-20 w-full bottom-0 flex items-end justify-center px-0 rounded-none\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full flex items-center justify-center z-50 bg-white\/90 border-1 rounded-b-[var(--comment-widget-border-radius,0)]\">\n<div class=\"p-2 text-center\">\n<p class=\"mb-3 !text-lg\">You must confirm your public display name before commenting<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3 !text-sm\">Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"mx-2 my-5 sm:mx-0\">\n<aside class=\"w-full\" data-nosnippet data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-river-stacked\">\n<div data-recirc-id=\"article-river-stacked-adviser:hybrid\">\n<div class=\"text-white py-4 px-3 mb-4 bg-[#333] uppercase font-bold custom-header-styles\">Read more<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 mt-4 mb-5\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/PUqEpX63dGaZQzqKtBHkBG.jpg\" alt=\"Geerike Schreurs lined up at Santa Vall 2026 as the new teammate on Specialized Off-road alongside eventual winner Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;For better or worse, teams are here&#8217; &#8211; The rosters in 2026 as riders join forces for off-road alliances as the next evolution of gravel and endurance MTB racing takes shape<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/3omQQdn7pnJDCQB4NrziNV.jpg\" alt=\"TROYES, FRANCE - JULY 07: (L-R) Tim Wellens of Belgium, Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia - Yellow Leader Jersey, Marc Soler of Spain and UAE Team Emirates, Egan Bernal of Colombia and Team INEOS Grenadiers and Hugo Houle of Canada and Team Israel - Premier Tech compete passing through a gravel strokes sector during the 111th Tour de France 2024, Stage 9 a 199km stage from Troyes to Troyes \/ #UCIWT \/ on July 07, 2024 in Troyes, France. (Photo by Bernard Papon - Pool\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;Fantastic entertainment&#8217; or &#8216;slapstick comedy&#8217;? How gravel has infiltrated WorldTour racing, and what the pros really think of it<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2byiEwgZAC7MEpQwXfAGYW.jpg\" alt=\"The field setting out at The Traka 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;Not the gravel of old&#8217; \u2013 Safety, rules and fairness talk flares in aftermath of The Traka <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/8CWUjSKh4Vw326Uddnb65d.jpg\" alt=\"Traka\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Cycling Tech &amp; Components<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Six tech trends from The Traka and what it means for Unbound Gravel<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/FsaUjsFhXwmpoGMefiQfJX.jpg\" alt=\"Geerike Schreurs (Specialized Off-road) rides in front of two male riders at this year&amp;#039;s Traka 360 \" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;Let us have our race&#8217; &#8211; Geerike Schreurs and Lauren De Crescenzo share stories from The Traka 360 as pro women &#8216;navigate around all the chaos of the amateurs&#8217;<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/HgHzGXUVXmFcxV9edtD8En.jpg\" alt=\"Mattia Gaffuri of Italy and Team Picnic PostNL and Liam Slock of Belgium and Team Lotto Intermarche compete in the breakaway during stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Four WorldTour teams without a win in 2026 as rankings show super-teams soaring but some big hitters struggling<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/8MsDaNHbjaSvZpTZSBHPg8.jpg\" alt=\"Tadej Poga\u010dar surrounded by sports stars from soccer, american football, tennis, F1, ice hockey and basketball \" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">A billion-dollar business soon to be a relic? What pro cycling can learn from the blueprints of F1 and soccer<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/kC4PYzosFngPHxz4iZiGs6.png\" alt=\"Julia Borgstrom riding for AG Insurance Soudal during the 2025 season, with contract imagery alongside her.\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">No team, no salary, no bike \u2013 The reality for cycling&#8217;s &#8216;free agents&#8217; who find themselves without a contract but still want to race<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/cMN2PW8UR8zRDm4M4FwR8T.jpg\" alt=\"Tadej Poga\u010dar surrounded by athletes from various other sports\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">An illogical calendar, &#8216;crazy&#8217; attitudes towards safety, and an outdated relationship with its fans \u2013 What needs to change for cycling to catch up with other sports?<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/hmVvtUw2FZURZUz77U4cFY.png\" alt=\"Elite women at 2025 Lauf Gravel Worlds perform for global audience as broadcasters capture the moves at the front of the race\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">How to watch gravel races around the world &#8211; A guide to livestreams and free broadcasts for the biggest events including The Traka, Unbound Gravel and more<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/RwzmAx5hHT6BiQqZUVka7A.jpg\" alt=\"Tudor Pro Cycling, Dan Bigham, and Remco Evenepoel \" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Are scientists now more important than star riders? Inside pro cycling&#8217;s race for scientific innovation<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/6Pfg7mNKJZ4YphGdLDzfYh.jpg\" alt=\"Jake Richards in the Little 500\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">\u2018Unbound 200 being my first gravel race seems a bit unhinged\u2019 \u2013 Special ed teacher Jake Richards on his path from Little 500 to Life Time Grand Prix<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"w-full\" data-nosnippet data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-river-stacked\">\n<div data-recirc-id=\"article-river-stacked-solr:latest-category\">\n<div class=\"text-white py-4 px-3 mb-4 bg-[#333] uppercase font-bold custom-header-styles\">Latest in Racing<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 mt-4 mb-5\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SmPncL5HKkvSwxtV6rFpeG.jpg\" alt=\"Jonas Vingegaard celebrates alone at the finish line\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Giro d&#8217;Italia stage 16: Jonas Vingegaard crushes climb to Car\u00ec to win his fourth stage<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/J7pPd8GqwGwGxdt9wLao6n.png\" alt=\"Photo of Jhonatan Narvaez attacking the breakaway during a stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia, overlaid with Cyclingnews column graphics and a smiling photo of Hannah Walker\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Why I will always love opportunistic breakaway wins, our special guest in Pisa, and more from my second week at the Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/dPaC8XNF5xY9Px4UtdYesU.jpg\" alt=\"Marlen Reusser back in the pink jersey after stage 4 of the 2025 Giro d&amp;#039;Italia Women\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Marlen Reusser makes comeback from spinal fracture and targets GC at Giro d&#8217;Italia Women<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/9TSMJCJtWbm6jURjeKi9kV.jpg\" alt=\"GANDIA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 12: Pauliena Rooijakkers of Netherlands and UAE Team ADQ prior to the 10th Setmana Ciclista - Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana 2026, Stage 1 a 121km stage from Gandia to Gandia on February 12, 2026 in Gandia, Spain. (Photo by Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Women&#8217;s Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Pauliena Rooijakkers announces pregnancy, plans to return to racing<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/xE7D8uExHzeNVCupaD3ur5.jpg\" alt=\"Luke Fetzer wins USA Crits finale\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">USA Crits: Marlies Mejias and Luke Fetzer win finale at WSCC Gears &amp; Guitars Criterium<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SLSE5gtyfmaoAmZS86JLcC.jpg\" alt=\"Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Pink Leader Jersey reacts after the 109th Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;The Giro is not over&#8217; &#8211; Jonas Vingegaard cautious but in control as he looks to secure Giro d&#8217;Italia maglia rosa in Rome<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/o6dv8RuVy9HRvjLwJF7rQe.jpg\" alt=\"Per Strand Hagenes of Norway and Team Visma | Lease a Bike celebrates at finish line as race winner during the 9th Antwerp Port Epic\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Antwerp Port Epic: Per Strand Hagenes surges to victory from late breakaway group<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YZnkKwAoZaTeMSP5eSd2JM.jpg\" alt=\"Pro cyclist Gery Celia of the FDJ United Suez team arriving at the finishing line in first place during the first round of the French Women&amp;#039;s cycling cup at Grand Prix de Chamb\u00e9ry\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Women&#8217;s Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">\u2018Capable of shaping our sport for many years to come\u2019 &#8211; Emerging superstar C\u00e9lia Gery extends contract with FDJ United-SUEZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S2JHuL5SdPRDaD6cW5QmmU.jpg\" alt=\"Enrico Zanoncello of Italy and Team Bardiani CSF 7 Saber prior to the 109th Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026, Stage 4 a 138km stage from Catanzaro to Cosenza\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;I\u2019m really sorry about what happened&#8217; &#8211; Expulsion and fine for sprinter Enrico Zanoncello after headbutt in Giro d\u2019Italia stage 15 finale<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/3f6pMebcUe9UtwUHYpd48V.jpg\" alt=\"Britain&amp;#039;s Evie Richards competes in the Women&amp;#039;s elite Cross-country Olympic race as part of the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Crans-Montana on September 13, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI \/ AFP via Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Women&#8217;s Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;That crash scared me&#8217; \u2013 Evie Richards resting up after hard fall at Nov\u00e9 M\u011bsto Mountain Bike World Cup<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/7uxWAxu3AtTKcaFXQ5YQnn.jpg\" alt=\"LAGUNAS DE NEILA, SPAIN - MAY 24: Usoa Ostolaza of Spain and Team Laboral Kutxa - Fundacion Euskadi crosses the finish line during the 11th Vuelta a Burgos Feminas 2026, Stage 4 a 120km stage from Gumiel de Mercado to Lagunas de Neila 1868m \/ #UCIWWT \/ on May 24, 2026 in Lagunas de Neila, Spain. (Photo by Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Usoa Ostolaza climbs onto Vuelta a Burgos F\u00e9minas podium with comeback ride up Lagunas de Neila climb<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Mdvg2kNvVM3W8LVaTV5hhf.jpg\" alt=\"A solo move by 2025 Unbound Gravel 200 winner Karolina Migo\u0144 is captured by Life Time cameras from an off-road motor vehicle\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Minimum maintenance roads, &#8216;gut kick&#8217; climbs, oil rigs and open range cattle \u2013 A detailed look at what the Unbound Gravel 200 course has in store<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"w-full\" data-nosnippet data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-river-stacked\">\n<div data-recirc-id=\"article-river-stacked-solr:latest-articletype\">\n<div class=\"text-white py-4 px-3 mb-4 bg-[#333] uppercase font-bold custom-header-styles\">Latest in Features<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 mt-4 mb-5\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/J7pPd8GqwGwGxdt9wLao6n.png\" alt=\"Photo of Jhonatan Narvaez attacking the breakaway during a stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia, overlaid with Cyclingnews column graphics and a smiling photo of Hannah Walker\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Why I will always love opportunistic breakaway wins, our special guest in Pisa, and more from my second week at the Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/e45kAHkWRez7pKszJPrK6i.jpg\" alt=\"The pack rides during the 14th stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026 - Tour of Italy cycling race between Aosta and Pila (Gressan), Italy, on May 23, 2026.\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">The last chance \u2013 What to expect from the third week of the 2026 Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Mdvg2kNvVM3W8LVaTV5hhf.jpg\" alt=\"A solo move by 2025 Unbound Gravel 200 winner Karolina Migo\u0144 is captured by Life Time cameras from an off-road motor vehicle\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Minimum maintenance roads, &#8216;gut kick&#8217; climbs, oil rigs and open range cattle \u2013 A detailed look at what the Unbound Gravel 200 course has in store<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/4EDRXEFaFMEqfYThfTjoRU.jpg\" alt=\"Team Visma Lease a Bike Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wearing the best climber&amp;#039;s blue jersey (Maglia Azzura) arrives at the presentation before the 11th stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026 - Tour of Italy cycling race between Porcari and Chiavari, Italy, on May 20, 2026. (Photo by Luca Bettini \/ AFP)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Jonas Vingegaard may not be destroying the field at this Giro d&#8217;Italia, but that doesn&#8217;t mean he&#8217;s any less likely to win it<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/5YeMxtZbaunL8YAM3KCtXU.png\" alt=\"Elisa Longo Borghini celebrates winning the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia Women\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;A really uncertain moment for me&#8217; \u2013 After spring goals were sunk by illness, can Elisa Longo Borghini float back to the top at the Giro d&#8217;Italia Women?<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/96tTgJdZFXeAGXcp8H5bga.jpg\" alt=\"A real and fake bike pedal, with Matthew Loveridge pointing at them\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Cycling Tech &amp; Components<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Misspelt brands, dubious deals, and no safety guarantees in sight \u2013 Welcome to the Wild West of AliExpress bike parts<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/55Ti4KtshUcajw2ZJxYmie.jpg\" alt=\"INEOS Grenadiers Italian rider Filippo Ganna (front) and XDS Astana Team Italian rider Alberto Bettiol ride during their breakaway during the 8th stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026 - Tour of Italy cycling race between Chieti and Fermo, central Italy on May 16, 2026. (Photo by Luca Bettini \/ AFP)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;We can do crazy things now&#8217; \u2013 Alberto Bettiol and XDS Astana earn freedom to experiment after non-stop success in first week of Giro d&#8217;Italia <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/uNLvjiuzCbYzTxG9HnitUE.png\" alt=\"Image of a child holding a sign at the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia, overlaid with a photo of Hannah Walker \" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Inside my life as a TV reporter at the Giro d&#8217;Italia \u2013 Live interviews, wholesome Italian lunches, and viral football skills<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/wXbEZgBsEcMPpLTwoucxD4.jpg\" alt=\"Giulio Ciccone of Italy and Team Lidl - Trek attacks in the breakaway during the 109th Giro d&amp;amp;apos;Italia 2026, Stage 9\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">The perfect time to be a breakaway specialist? \u2013 What to expect from the second week of the 2026 Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/yDiAPUJpNxsNSkUrNMs8NH.jpg\" alt=\"Giro d&amp;#039;Italia analysis\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">The power of pink, the bruised Italians, and the assassin with a conscience \u2013 Philippa York&#8217;s Giro d&#8217;Italia analysis<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Q4hdqsxDQ5TsTMDqMCGqzb.jpg\" alt=\"CORNO ALLE SCALE, ITALY - MAY 17: (L-R) Stage winner Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Blue Mountain Jersey and Felix Gall of Austria and Team Decathlon CMA CGM during the 109th Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026, Stage 9 a 184km stage from Cervia to Corno alle Scale 1469m \/ #UCIWT \/ on May 17, 2026 in Corno alle Scale, Italy. (Photo by Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Jonas Vingegaard a clear level above in pursuit of &#8216;a complete career&#8217; at Giro d&#8217;Italia, and the fight for the podium is making his job easier \u2013 GC analysis<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/c2Q4DtcQb2LZWwiaddiCfT.png\" alt=\"Jonas Vingegaard Blockhaus Giro d&amp;#039;Italia\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Reliving the Giro d&#8217;Italia&#8217;s first GC battle on the Blockhaus &#8211; Gallery<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"related-articles-block\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"ads\" id=\"ads-middle-1\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-ads widget-ads-middle-1 widget-ads-ads-middle-1 widget-no-data widget-ads-flexi_ads_middle1\">\n<div id=\"bdx_flexi_ads_middle1\" data-type=\"ads\" data-ads-type=\"bordeaux\" class=\"flexi_ads_middle1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"widgetArea17\" class=\"widget-area md:basis-1\/3 widget-area-g-md-vp-1-3 widget-area-g-lg-vp-1-3 widget-area-g-xl-vp-1-3 page-widget-area-17\">\n<div data-widget-type=\"empty\" id=\"sidebar\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-empty widget-sidebar widget-empty-sidebar widget-no-data widget-empty\">\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"empty\" id=\"sidebar-top\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-empty widget-sidebar-top widget-empty-sidebar-top ad-unit widget-no-data widget-empty\">\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"contentparsed\" id=\"follow-us-on-google-news\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-contentparsed widget-follow-us-on-google-news widget-contentparsed-follow-us-on-google-news widget-content-parsed widget-content-parsed-curated \">\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"empty\" id=\"sidebar-popular-top\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-empty widget-sidebar-popular-top widget-empty-sidebar-popular-top ad-unit widget-no-data widget-empty\">\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"dynamic\" id=\"popular-data\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-dynamic widget-popular-data widget-dynamic-popular-data widget-dynamic-fter-popular-box\">\n<div class=\"clear-both widget-header\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wdn-fte-pb pos-relative space-t20\n\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-popularBox\" class=\"slice-container popular-box-slice popularBox slice-container-popularBox\">\n<section data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"popular-box\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__label\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__label__tab popular-box__label__tab--active\" role=\"heading\">LATEST ARTICLES<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ol class=\"popular-box__articles-list popular-box__articles-list--active\">\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__image-wrapper\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/GzjTG59QJh5ErFMw2yWKK5.png\" alt=\"VOGHERA, ITALY - MAY 24: Giulio Pellizzari of Italy and Team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe prior to the 109th Giro d&apos;Italia 2026, Stage 15 a 157km stage from Voghera to Milan \/ #UCIWT \/ on May 24, 2026 in Voghera, Italy. (Photo by Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)\" class=\"popular-box__article-list__image image__image\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">1<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">Giulio Pellizzari dropped by his own team, finishes 18 minutes down as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe lose numerical advantage in fight for Giro d&#8217;Italia podium<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">2<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">Giro d&#8217;Italia stage 16: Jonas Vingegaard crushes climb to Car\u00ec to win his fourth stage<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">3<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">Why I will always love opportunistic breakaway wins, our special guest in Pisa, and more from my second week at the Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">4<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">Who will step up to challenge defending champions Karolina Migo\u0144 and Cameron Jones? \u2013 Analysing the Unbound 200 contenders <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">5<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">37,000m of elevation gain in two weeks \u2013 How super talent Paul Seixas is ramping up his training ahead of highly anticipated Tour de France debut<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"empty\" id=\"sidebar-popular-bottom\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-empty widget-sidebar-popular-bottom widget-empty-sidebar-popular-bottom ad-unit widget-no-data widget-empty\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"page-content-onecol flex-1\nnews-article article\n\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"widget-area-group widget-area-group-2col flex flex-wrap box-border\">\n<div id=\"widgetArea16\" class=\"widget-area basis-full md:basis-2\/3 widget-area-g-md-vp-2-3 widget-area-g-lg-vp-2-3 widget-area-g-xl-vp-2-3 page-widget-area-16\">\n<div data-widget-type=\"hero\" id=\"hero\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-hero widget-hero widget-hero-hero widget-hero widget-hero-fter-news\">\n<div class=\"clear-both widget-header\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"news-article\">\n<header data-component-name=\"Article:Hero\">\n<div class=\"kiosq-metered-message-content\">\n<p id=\"kiosq-metered-message\" class=\"kiosq-metered-message\">\n<\/div>\n<nav class=\"breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\">\n<ol>\n<li>\nPro Cycling\n<\/li>\n<li>\nRacing\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<h1>A loss of community, two-tier finances, and a tactical conundrum \u2013 Are professional teams reshaping the gravel scene?<\/h1>\n<div class=\"kiosq-member-label\" data-component-name=\"Article:Hero:KiosqPaywallLabels\">\n<span class=\"kiosq-member-label-text\"><br \/>\nMEMBER EXCLUSIVE<br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kiosq-metered-message-content\">\n<p id=\"kiosq-metered-message\" class=\"kiosq-metered-message\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"byline-social\">\n<div class=\"byline font-ui-heading text-[12px]\">\nFeatures<\/p>\n<div>\n<span><br \/>\nBy<br \/>\nWill Jones <\/span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\npublished<br \/>\n<time data-component-name=\"UI:DateTime\" datetime=\"2026-05-26T16:45:00Z\" class=\"relative-date\"><br \/>\n26 May 2026<br \/>\n<\/time><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"strapline\">In gravel, teams, privateers, collectives, and cabals all race the same course, but how are fully-integrated teams with big budgets going to impact cycling\u2019s most popular discipline?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"text-gray-700mx-auto mb-4 flex items-center justify-start mx-0 my-5 p-0\" id=\"affiliate-disclaimer\" data-component-name=\"AffiliateDisclaimer\" data-hawk-message=\"Affiliate disclaimer removed because hawk deemed there are no affiliate links on this page\">\n<p class=\"text-[var(--affiliate-disclaimer--text-color,inherit))] mb-2 text-[length:var(--affiliate-disclaimer--font-size,0.75rem)] leading-[18px] md:text-[13px] [&amp;&gt;a]:text-inherit [&amp;&gt;a]:underline\">\nWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here\u2019s how it works.\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"contentparsed\" id=\"content\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-contentparsed widget-content widget-contentparsed-content widget-content-parsed widget-content-parsed-content_document \">\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<section class=\"content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"box less-space hero-image-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"mb-0\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AoC98XPq7GnHiDY5MFBCXZ.jpg\" alt=\"European gravel champion Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt gets off his bike after winning 2026 The Traka 360 \" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full object-center\" data-component-name=\"Image\"><figcaption class=\"font-article-copy text-[var(--image--text--color)] font-article-copy mt-2\"> <span class=\"caption-text font-article-copy\">European gravel champion Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt gets off his bike after winning 2026 The Traka 360<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"credit font-article-copy\">(Image credit: The Traka)<\/span><br \/>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"text-copy bodyCopy auto paywall-locker\">\n<div data-analytics-id=\"utility-bar\" id=\"utility-bar\" class=\"font-ui-heading flex justify-between items-center py-2 border-t border-b border-gray-300 border-solid mb-5 mx-auto\" data-component-name=\"UtilityBar\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"utility-bar\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-2 text-[#333] subcontainer\">\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<div data-component-name=\"Social:Dropdown\" role=\"menu\" id=\"utilitybar__dropdown--share\" aria-labelledby=\"utilitybar__button--share\" class=\"absolute left-0 top-full w-44 bg-white rounded-md shadow-md border border-neutral-200 z-[9996] list-none m-0 py-2 px-3 border-solid\">\n<ul class=\"!m-0\">\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Facebook<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>X<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Pinterest<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Email<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-share-this-article\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nShare this article\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<p>    <span class=\"ml-1 inline-flex h-5 px-2 shrink-0 items-center justify-center self-center overflow-hidden whitespace-nowrap rounded-[10px] bg-primary-500 text-[11px] leading-none font-ui-heading font-semibold text-white\">0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-join-the-conversation\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nJoin the conversation\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex gap-2 text-[#333] subcontainer\">\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<p>Follow us<\/p>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-add-us-as-a-preferred-source-on-google\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nAdd us as a preferred source on Google\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-subscribe-to-our-newsletter\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nSubscribe to our newsletter\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"elk-b1d5b652-20df-438a-9d28-654ed083eb7a\">Gravel seems to have been at a crossroads since its inception, in an ironic nod to the Flint Hills of Kansas that catapulted the discipline into the collective consciousness. Aero bars being banned at Unbound Gravel several years ago now caused quite a stir, but in reality this did little to affect the actual nature of the racing. It remained a privateer model; pros and amateurs racing the same course at the same time, with a spirit of self-sufficiency and community uplift that in no small part made the sport phenomenally popular in a relatively short space of time.<\/p>\n<p>Now, though, with a slightly forlorn predictability, the gravel scene is increasingly professional, with a growing gulf not just between the pros and the amateurs paying their entry fees to participate, but between professional riders backed by big-budget teams and individual privateer athletes.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"><\/a><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"><\/aside>\n<p id=\"elk-b1d5b652-20df-438a-9d28-654ed083eb7a-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">While in Girona for The Traka recently, I took some time to speak to riders about what they think of the rise of gravel teams, and what it all means for the future of the sport, and the future of the &#8216;spirit of gravel&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-1b395ab6-2e19-4daf-acea-4fd4b6beed3a\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"privateers-collectives-cabals-and-full-on-teams-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Privateers, collectives, cabals, and full-on teams<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-5f18c0b9-7e47-49da-b70f-1fe0030aa4b5\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">If you scroll through the results of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Traka races, you\u2019ll see the number of athletes not affiliated with at least a small collective of other riders is very small. In the men\u2019s 360, there are perhaps three or four in the top 40, and it\u2019s similar in the women\u2019s event.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Rosa Kl\u00f6ser bucks this trend, officially classing herself as a privateer off-road, and even going so far as to have \u2018PRIVATEER\u2019 written down the side of her back pocket on her skinsuit. This belies the fact that she is also a fully paid rider on the well-resourced Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto Women&#8217;s WorldTour team, exhibiting great form early in the season by a long solo breakaway at Paris-Roubaix before turning her focus to the world of gravel for Traka, Unbound, and the Life Time Grand Prix.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Many of these teams, the likes of PAS Racing and the Castelli Spirit of Gravel cabal, run as hybrids, with riders racing in the same jersey but operating to a greater or lesser extent as privateers, engaging their own bike and equipment sponsors.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">There are some outfits, however, like the Ribble Outliers, who were set up with a different ethos. Their rider Harry Tanfield explained the differences to me.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It&#8217;s not like the Factor teams, which have the same sponsors; they&#8217;re kind of more individual riders. We\u2019re all friends. We look after each other and are always together in the house. It\u2019s just that road team element culture is more what we have that others don\u2019t, but we\u2019re also from the road background.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-54b29f20-b89a-4052-9f00-3311fc51a660\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/WSyrVMCEp4bhvdDQP25EwJ.jpg\" alt=\"Haley Smith takes a pit stop with the Factor team during 2026 The Traka 360, where she finished fifth\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Haley Smith takes a pit stop with the Factor team during 2026 The Traka 360, where she finished fifth <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-a241332c-23f8-420a-aaf9-9b2e29b636a4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When we first started, no one really knew what was happening, and it was just a group of individuals all together. It wasn&#8217;t until we did a few races together that we kind of worked our way through it, how you know things can work together as a group, mainly off the bike rather than on the bike. Making sure you&#8217;re not going to have six people all trying to cook their own dinners and stuff like that there, which in some gravel teams will happen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The need for course support is also a clear benefit of being part of a team. Riders like Dylan Johnson have tried to do it alone, Tanfield mentioned, but even he is now part of a Felt team.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think support in the races is so important. It depends how hot it is and where it is, but if you&#8217;re a privateer and doing a seven-hour race and you&#8217;ve got to start with four litres [of water] on you instead of two, it&#8217;s a big disadvantage,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Sophie Wright, also of Ribble Outliers, was keen to point out the advantages that being a privateer can still offer.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you&#8217;re good enough to be able to pick and choose your own sponsors, you can build a complete package around you. And if, providing you get a decent salary, you can then say \u2018OK, I&#8217;m gonna pay this mechanic&#8230; I&#8217;m gonna pay for a soigneur, and I&#8217;m going to pay for a mechanic. Done\u2019, then that person can drive you, and that person can go to the supermarket.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-da039bbd-cf5c-4914-90f2-fc1a5ec84c0c\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/HQiPZKmuQ3ofBVesDLK2RP.jpg\" alt=\"Specialized Off-road riders talk after going one-three at The Traka 360, winner Mads W&amp;amp;uuml;rtz Schmidt (left) and Matt Beers (centre)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360 l @ Oriol Gozalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-f83d16bf-615f-4720-854c-68b8916a8ec4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Later, I sat down with last year&#8217;s men\u2019s Traka 360 winner, and co-manager of PAS Racing, Tobias Kongstad. He was keen to stress that &#8211; despite a hugely dominant performance in the 360 last year for men and women &#8211; PAS Racing is a step below the likes of Specialized Off-Road, the six-rider team that features two-time Traka 200 winner Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Right now in gravel racing there is, as you mention, three different ways you can do it. There is the full-on team, as you might see from Specialized or Canyon, where everyone gets a fixed salary from the team, and there is a team manager saying how to do the things,&#8221; Kongstad said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Then there&#8217;s us: We are doing everything together. We have mechanics, chefs together. We are sharing the same clothing, but we are not sharing the same bikes.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Two years ago, when you look at a privateer&#8217;s programme, I think they\u2019re struggling a lot because maybe you can earn a little bit more as a privateer, but at the end of the day doing Life Time Grand Prix you do seven trips to the USA, and some of the places like Nebraska, Iowa, they\u2019re not the centre of the world. So I think being together and being able to travel together, I think it\u2019s pretty nice that we\u2019re racing the same days\u2026 and we don\u2019t need to think about pleasing seven sponsors and think about housing and a kitchen, because in the USA that\u2019s a big task.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-749ec533-5715-45f5-8564-394f58f435a1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"team-tactics-don-t-exist-yet-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Team tactics don\u2019t exist \u2013 yet<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-4e13280d-c444-419f-856f-ef3a86cec589\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">If you watch a livestream of a gravel race as a road cycling fan, you might assume that seeing a handful of PAS riders clad in their trademark brown skinsuits would mean we would see road-like team tactics: breakaways, blocking, chasing as a collective endeavour. but this seems like it\u2019s not possible yet, both from a sponsorship point of view but also due to the dynamics and difficulties of the racing.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;There I think it&#8217;ll be a little bit tricky because, from the team side &#8211; and I can talk as a manager or sports director or whatever &#8211; I cannot say to Karolina [Migo\u0144] that she shouldn&#8217;t take a pull if her teammate is in the front, because then Karolina\u2019s bike sponsor will be like &#8216;hey, why didn\u2019t you do it?&#8217;,&#8221; Kongstad explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;So I think until now what we have been doing is that you don&#8217;t race for each other, but we also don\u2019t race against each other. In gravel racing you can have all the team tactics you want, but at the end of the day it&#8217;s tough to race\u2026 if you\u2019re a good bike rider you\u2019ll be in the top five or ten.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Migo\u0144, Unbound Gravel 200 winner in 2025, and Traka 360 winner in 2024 and 2025, is more unequivocal.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cWe don\u2019t disrupt the race\u2026 we don\u2019t talk before the race and say \u2018Oh I will race for you\u2019, we just see during the race what\u2019s going on and we adjust.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">After the Traka 360 and 200 had concluded, I sat down at a caf\u00e9 with Piotr Havik of Castelli SOG (that\u2019s Spirit of Gravel, if you hadn\u2019t worked that out for yourself). As a former privateer, he shares the concerns of many as to what dedicated teams mean for the sport, though stressed that for the time being the issues haven\u2019t come to pass.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;At this point I didn\u2019t have the feeling like, OK, now the whole race got screwed because we have eight riders from one team all in the front and they are blocking like they are fucking up the race; that didn\u2019t happen yet, but the bigger the teams are, the more riders from one team are in there, the more they can play those nasty tactics.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Tanfield put it with equal frankness: &#8220;There&#8217;s only a certain amount of races where you can really work together well as a team. If you\u2019re following a wheel in front, you&#8217;re following a wheel in front.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cFor guys like us, we&#8217;re trying to scrape into that top end. We&#8217;re not Matt Beers or Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt who can just turn up and wipe the floor\u2026 we\u2019re trying to do as little as possible in the groups to try to help ourselves as a team to get the best result, rather than controlling the race.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-3be781b5-743b-4c27-8ef7-833bf4ec0cfd\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/qF447xh63VEQSuNha55Ya9.jpg\" alt=\"PAS Racing teammates Karolina Migo&amp;amp;#324; and Tobias Kongstad won elite divisions of 2025 The Traka 360\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">PAS Racing teammates Karolina Migo\u0144 and Tobias Kongstad won elite divisions of 2025 The Traka 360 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @GravelEarthSeries | @thetraka | @ogonzalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-b8ec54fc-ab3f-4d80-9b1e-6b20818e6d69\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-benefits-are-outside-the-race-course-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The benefits are outside the race course<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-be16d365-2106-4690-a5c0-64157e39560b\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The traditional benefits of riding in a team \u2013 whatever &#8216;team&#8217; means in this context \u2013 drafting, chasing, dedicated leadership simply don\u2019t seem to be possible in the chaos and sheer physical effort of racing over 300 kilometres of off-road, which begs the question as to why so many riders are turning away from the privateer life to join organised outfits.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The reason, primarily, is that while the racing remains almost entirely an individual endeavour, a team affords the riders a degree of mental space that the privateer life simply cannot accommodate.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cThe advantage, and the reason why I really like to be part of a team, is because it&#8217;s just less stress,&#8221; Wright surmised. &#8220;Like, if I was a privateer, for example &#8211; I did the UCI World Series in Monaco last week, and that wasn&#8217;t a team-supported race, but I thought &#8216;I want to do it anyway, so I&#8217;m going to self-support it,&#8217; and my dad flew out to help me in the feed zones, drive me over there, blah, blah, blah\u2026 But I just found it much more stressful.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I had to organise the feed zones, I had to do all the shopping, accommodation, clean my bike, do the chain, communicate with some of my friends who are doing the race and ask if they can help me in the feed zone because I wanted two feed zones per lap, and I was like \u2018stuff being a privateer!'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">More than that, more than physically or mentally taking a load off, the collective race lifestyle is just far more sociable. Wright told me straight that the team life is &#8220;just a lot less lonely&#8221; and this is mirrored by Migo\u0144.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It\u2019s also nice to not be alone during the races&#8230;even like being in a new place on the other side of the world, you are not alone there, it helps a lot mentally.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">M\u00e9rida Miller, also of the Castelli SOG crew, is effusive in her praise for the support the team brings to her riding.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think we both just loved the general \u2018vibes\u2019. But that&#8217;s truly what it is, right? So, even just having a WhatsApp group where people are just sharing stupid memes about shit, or like cheering each other on whatever, it feels like you&#8217;re part of something. And also what I love about the SOG crew is that it really is celebrating all the different types of riders.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Even my coach this year was like \u2013 it&#8217;s my second year racing \u2013 \u2018wow, I&#8217;ve really seen a difference in you\u2019. I could show you our WhatsApp group, but it&#8217;s like, so wholesome, right? So it&#8217;s like, we&#8217;re cheering each other on, we&#8217;re checking in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">There is, of course, a financial aspect to it too. Being a privateer means your costs are shouldered by you alone, whereas a collective setup allows the sharing of resources.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you\u2019re fully privateer, it\u2019s super nice that you have all the freedom, but then what comes on top of that you have to think about every single part yourself, from your brake pads to your chain to your mechanics, travelling, feeding, and then it costs a lot of money,&#8221; Havik said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When I was a privateer, I had a guy following me, which was luckily a videographer but also he knows how to give bottles. Every day he\u2019s there, you have to pay him, and that\u2019s a big investment for a privateer. Basically a person like this can do it for three or four riders and with Castelli SOG you find a nice mid-ground where you can still do things and decide things yourself like the programme, the equipment, but there are people around you who can support you where needed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Havik also went on to outline the drawbacks of being on bigger, more professionalised teams. PAS Racing wasn\u2019t explicitly outlined, but between them and Specialized Off-road, they are the most well-oiled and well-resourced outfits in the field.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;A lot of times, in most teams, they lean into the extreme professional side or try to be as professional as possible, but then a lot of times you have a lack of resources. They want to act as one of the big teams, but then it creates pressure because okay, you expect a lot from us, but the environment is not there like with UAE [Team Emirates-XRG].&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">As money continues to pour into gravel, the resource grows. However, the ability for the bigger teams to spend big and invest in big results also increases. Migo\u0144, for example, was a software engineer alongside her gravel racing until 2026, something that clearly didn\u2019t hold her back.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Though she was marred at the Traka by a crash with an age-grouper from a different race in the 360, she had come to the race off the back of an altitude camp in Colombia, something that\u2019s extremely common in the WorldTour but almost unheard of in gravel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-2f22f85c-066e-4b82-9e11-0c745318a82a\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/UyzzxsiipWSVotnPYkPeZF.jpg\" alt=\"Romain Bardet (Factor Racing) started out his European season at Santa Vall, coming second overall in the Gravel Earth Series opener for 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Romain Bardet (Factor Racing &#8211; RCC) started his European season at Santa Vall, coming second overall in the Gravel Earth Series opener for 2026 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @GravelEarthSeries | @SantaVall | @Roger Salanova)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-5a621ccd-68c6-4ebe-bcd1-617ca8bcee5e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"uci-points-and-the-road-gravel-continuum-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">UCI points and the road-gravel continuum<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e4d808ff-a355-4588-8174-24e4b3d3b14b\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">So fresh is the discipline, and sprung up as it has from a disparate series of grassroots events free from the UCI umbrella, it is unusual compared to most other performance cycling disciplines insofar as the UCI-sanctioned races under the UCI Gravel World Series aren\u2019t the pinnacle. They do, however, offer UCI points, giving pro road teams a carrot to bump up their team rankings alongside the road season.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">You would think that there would be a reluctance from the gravel pros to see WorldTour roadies mixing it up in the gravel ranks, but I was surprised to find the reception was warm, partially because it would offer further legitimacy to the discipline, but also because the days of recently retired road riders rocking up to gravel events to farm podium spots are very much over.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;The gravel specialists, a lot of them are more focused on Gravel Earth series and other races, so they are not only focused on UCI [points], but they still do a lot of UCI racing. I think for the sport it will be good. Also, road professionals show up, and like Tim Wellens said in Marly Grav when he won there, \u2018fuck, this was not an easy win,&#8221; Havik explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Let them come and experience, and also show the high level we have in gravel already. We are also professionals, and it doesn\u2019t mean that because we are not wearing a WorldTour kit that we don\u2019t know how to ride our bikes and how to push watts.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Though we are probably a way off having truly merged disciplines \u2013 even if riders like Rosa Kl\u00f6ser are showing that you can do both at the highest level of the sport \u2013 that&#8217;s something that former road pros like Sophie Wright would welcome.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It would be sick to go back to a WorldTour team, but have a primary focus on gravel, and then dip in and out of road races,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You can race Strade Bianche, Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, blah blah, and then you can come and do Traka [like Kl\u00f6ser]. For me, that&#8217;s actually an ideal package personally, so I&#8217;m not really opposed to it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-06ceb212-2c7e-4902-baa2-2d55da2a39e2\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/WxbVWvKGoC9iu8dAoRgxSW.jpg\" alt=\"Lachlan Morton, Alex Howes, and Peter Stetina at Unbound Gravel 200\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Lachlan Morton, Alex Howes, and Peter Stetina at Unbound Gravel 200 in 2019 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: Wil Matthews)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-a552c942-c311-4f52-8730-8431120a6042\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"professionalism-community-and-the-spirit-of-gravel-without-irony-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Professionalism, community, and the \u2018Spirit of Gravel\u2019 without irony<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e4347f9b-351d-402d-b6b3-382a5f1e5a86\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Teams undoubtedly make riders\u2019 lives easier, but is there an underlying cost to the community as a whole that comes with this growing professionalism? The phrase \u2018spirit of gravel\u2019 has been used so often that it&#8217;s become a bit of a clich\u00e9, but there is a real meaning to it.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Nathan Haas has seen cycling through the lens of the WorldTour and professional gravel, and though he has stepped back from the Castelli SOG crew in some aspects, he\u2019s well placed to outline the reasons for its formation as a counterpoint to traditional teams.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I sat down with Steve Smith &#8211; one of the owners of Castelli &#8211; we\u2019d just finished Iceland Rift, and it sort of begged the question: \u2018what&#8217;s the direction of this sport?\u2019 We were trying to zoom out and see in a glass ball,&#8221; Haas said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;We\u2019ve both been around cycling for long enough to have seen what happened to mountain biking, during the NORBA series when mountain biking was like at its peak and in many ways it exploded. We&#8217;ve seen cyclo-cross. We&#8217;ve seen the fixie scene. There\u2019s a lot of times where sport has actually come in and out of fashion and grown. This is gravel cycling\u2019s first foray.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;What does SOG represent? Trying to protect the very essence of what gravel is and personally what I feel it should be. It&#8217;s the last discipline in cycling that an athlete can still come with their bike bag to an event and still potentially win it without the need for being in a team that&#8217;s based around tactics and supporting a specific rider or having the need to have the mechanics, the soigneurs, all the feeders to be competitive.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">It would be very easy to paint this as all a bit &#8216;back in my day&#8230;&#8217; from Haas, but there isn\u2019t a hint of bitterness, or even misty-eyed nostalgia. Gravel seems to cause riders who have a certain level of experience to see how the sport has changed to speak with passion about the heart of the sport that you simply never see on the road.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Haas, again, dived deeper into the value that community adds to the sport.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I was starting to feel in many ways that the sport was beginning to drift away from what I loved about it\u2026 Some people might call me stuck in the past with this, but I&#8217;m not scared to share my feeling on it because there&#8217;s something beautiful about gravel,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;And what we&#8217;re slowly starting to see with all of these tents, there&#8217;s an unequal playing field in the sport now. Riders don&#8217;t even have to come to pick up their numbers anymore; they&#8217;re staying at home off their legs. They&#8217;re having a massage. That&#8217;s an advantage to the rider who&#8217;s trying to win, but is that actually an advantage to the <em>sport<\/em> where we don&#8217;t have TV coverage? We don&#8217;t have non-endemic sponsors. It&#8217;s basically 99 per cent sponsored and supported by the bike industry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The start and finish area of The Traka is a world away from the pits of a WorldTour race where the riders are hidden away in their buses, doing media interviews out of obligation, staying away from the public gaze as much as possible. In Girona you could rub shoulders with people who have just come top-10 in the biggest gravel race in Europe, and that\u2019s something gravel could lose as the team aspect grows.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When they&#8217;re not turning up to speak to people or to integrate, there&#8217;s a loss there, right?&#8221; Haas said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;We&#8217;re slowly losing this community feel where riders who are sponsored by different brands were still all travelling together, were the life of the party, forming this community sense that anyone could come up and talk and feel part of something and share the experience of being on the same track as the pros. We&#8217;re going to lose that because they&#8217;re now sticking to their team houses. They&#8217;re staying far away from everybody. They&#8217;re not interacting.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;You can&#8217;t just say you&#8217;re for community; you have to be for community.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"instagram-embed kiosq-b\" id=\"elk-DXgiiB2jSDZ\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-version=\"6\">\n<p>A post shared by M\u00e9rida Miller (@mercatmiller)<\/p>\n<p>A photo posted by on <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><a id=\"elk-7e1ad762-d53f-4677-99c9-c26fc39c166e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"team-riders-are-more-than-just-results-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Team riders are more than just results<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e0ac3fe8-63a6-480d-bc73-928ee50e4a62\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">This, I think, is the crux of it: the lack of TV coverage. While the Traka and Unbound may have livestreams, you simply can\u2019t consume the races in the same way as you can with the WorldTour. This means that, aside from a news article on the pages of <em>Cyclingnews<\/em>, the vast majority of the media consumed around the races is on social media. It\u2019s about building narratives, storytelling, and having riders that are more compelling offerings than simply what they bring to the results sheet.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Haas, again, outlined to me that the riders selected for the SOG cabal are chosen based not only on their riding prowess, but also on how they conduct themselves, and hope that\u2019s of benefit to the team beyond podium positions.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you&#8217;re only focused on somebody winning a race, you&#8217;re casting a very small net because how many people really resonate with actually coming to Traka it to win? People want to do their best, and we love that, right? But think about the 95% of people that&#8217;s not even in their wheelhouse. It might not even be part of their personality traits to be that competitive, but it doesn&#8217;t mean that these races and events aren&#8217;t for them.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Is it more important how you won, or how you experienced the event? By the very definition everyone who is paid to ride their bikes in gravel, their job is to make people resonate with the brands that they work with, so if you don\u2019t have a strong personality, or [aren&#8217;t] a strong storyteller or strong communicator, or even just somebody who\u2019s really inspiring for their own reasons, if you&#8217;re only focused on somebody winning a race, you&#8217;re casting a very small net.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-fe4bb5dd-3566-48f0-8e12-3422e1ebb0d6\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/G255dMx57ouPMku4RYgcrU.jpg\" alt=\"Medals for finishing The Traka 360\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360 l @ Oriol Gonzalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-ea01b1c0-95ca-4df4-91da-ba4ad37a170c\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"protect-the-individual-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Protect the individual<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-c0d058f0-b1c6-400f-93c0-d47b91a8207e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Gravel will undoubtedly continue to professionalise. That\u2019s the inevitable march of progress, but I was curious to see if there was anything that could be done to moderate the growing dominance of teams, particularly from the organisational standpoint. Havik had a few ideas.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;One thing for sure that\u2019s important is that privateers always should get their space at the start line,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What can happen is that if you only have 200 spots for the pro field, and the teams already know ahead of time which riders they are sending, they can start asking for start tickets in November when some privateers are still figuring things out.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;No wheel swapping between riders; that\u2019s a very important one because a privateer cannot do it. Maybe a few more rules can be allowed so riders don\u2019t wait for each other, and then maybe at a certain point you say OK, for some races there\u2019s a maximum number of riders you can select because now, at the moment, it\u2019s endless. If you show up with 20 riders from one team you can do it. It\u2019s lucky there\u2019s no team out there who can pay 20 riders, but that\u2019s only a question of time and money before something like that shows up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">It does seem that some races have already cottoned on to this and are implementing measures to ensure fair competition for all, too, as Haas pointed out to me.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;You have the Belgian Waffle Ride series, where as soon as there&#8217;s a lead group in the race, they have motorbikes behind that, and they give everyone gels and bidons, for if you can&#8217;t afford to bring over a staff of three or four or five and have three or four or five vehicles that are stationed all across the trail, giving out bidons, spare wheels, etc.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">At this point Ben Perry, who rode to fourth in the Traka 360, walked past the deck chair I was slumped in and stopped for a chat with Haas and me before allowing me to take his bike away for some photos, a neat encapsulation of gravel&#8217;s community feel that many feel needs protecting as the sport inevitably marches onwards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"kiosq-app-paywall-js\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"this-will-be-used-for-mpu-2\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"slice-container-authorBio-uagnoCQN5fE7QbZmRTE3cQ\" class=\"slice-container slice-author-bio authorBio-uagnoCQN5fE7QbZmRTE3cQ slice-container-authorBio\">\n<div class=\"author author__default-layout author--separator author--collapsible\" data-hydrate=\"true\">\n<div class=\"author__header\">\n<div class=\"author__avatar-block\">\n<figure class=\"image-wrapped__wrapper\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"false\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapped__widthsetter\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapped__aspect-padding\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rcdGNkZsAp22gXEbfMFpjU.jpg\" alt=\"Will Jones\" class=\"author__avatar image-wrapped__image image__image\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__heading\">\n<div class=\"author__name\">Will Jones<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__social\">\n<nav class=\"button-social-group author__social-buttons\" aria-labelledby=\"button-social-group- author__social-buttons\">\n<div id=\"button-social-group- author__social-buttons\">Social Links Navigation<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"button-social__icon\"><\/span><span class=\"button-social__icon button-social__icon-email\"><\/span><\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__role\">Senior Tech Writer<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__bio-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"author__biography\">\n<p>Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He\u2019s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He\u2019s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn\u2019t ever ride indoors he\u2019s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div id=\"viafoura-comments\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"relative max-w-[1070px] viafoura-twig-component mt-6 mx-4 lg:mx-0\" data-component-name=\"Viafoura:Comments\" data-nosnippet data-community-guidelines-text=\"&lt;p class=&apos;vfcustom-community-guidelines&apos;&gt;Please follow our &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/about\/#section-community-guidelines&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;community guidelines&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/p&gt;\" data-join-the-conversation-text=\"Join the Conversation\">\n<div class=\"relative h-[--truncate-height] sm:h-[--truncate-desktop-height] overflow-hidden transition-[height] duration-150\" data-test-id=\"container\" data-component-name=\"Util:Truncate\" id=\"viafoura-comments-container\">\n<div class=\"relative z-10 viafoura rounded-[var(--comment-widget-border-radius,0)]\" id=\"viafoura-comment-wrapper\" data-test-id=\"content\">\n<div class=\"viafoura\">\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute bg-gradient-to-t from-[--truncate-gradient-color,white] from-50% h-28 z-20 w-full bottom-0 flex items-end justify-center px-0 rounded-none\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full flex items-center justify-center z-50 bg-white\/90 border-1 rounded-b-[var(--comment-widget-border-radius,0)]\">\n<div class=\"p-2 text-center\">\n<p class=\"mb-3 !text-lg\">You must confirm your public display name before commenting<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3 !text-sm\">Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"mx-2 my-5 sm:mx-0\">\n<aside class=\"w-full\" data-nosnippet data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-river-stacked\">\n<div data-recirc-id=\"article-river-stacked-adviser:hybrid\">\n<div class=\"text-white py-4 px-3 mb-4 bg-[#333] uppercase font-bold custom-header-styles\">Read more<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 mt-4 mb-5\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/PUqEpX63dGaZQzqKtBHkBG.jpg\" alt=\"Geerike Schreurs lined up at Santa Vall 2026 as the new teammate on Specialized Off-road alongside eventual winner Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;For better or worse, teams are here&#8217; &#8211; The rosters in 2026 as riders join forces for off-road alliances as the next evolution of gravel and endurance MTB racing takes shape<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/3omQQdn7pnJDCQB4NrziNV.jpg\" alt=\"TROYES, FRANCE - JULY 07: (L-R) Tim Wellens of Belgium, Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia - Yellow Leader Jersey, Marc Soler of Spain and UAE Team Emirates, Egan Bernal of Colombia and Team INEOS Grenadiers and Hugo Houle of Canada and Team Israel - Premier Tech compete passing through a gravel strokes sector during the 111th Tour de France 2024, Stage 9 a 199km stage from Troyes to Troyes \/ #UCIWT \/ on July 07, 2024 in Troyes, France. (Photo by Bernard Papon - Pool\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;Fantastic entertainment&#8217; or &#8216;slapstick comedy&#8217;? How gravel has infiltrated WorldTour racing, and what the pros really think of it<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2byiEwgZAC7MEpQwXfAGYW.jpg\" alt=\"The field setting out at The Traka 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;Not the gravel of old&#8217; \u2013 Safety, rules and fairness talk flares in aftermath of The Traka <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/8CWUjSKh4Vw326Uddnb65d.jpg\" alt=\"Traka\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Cycling Tech &amp; Components<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Six tech trends from The Traka and what it means for Unbound Gravel<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/FsaUjsFhXwmpoGMefiQfJX.jpg\" alt=\"Geerike Schreurs (Specialized Off-road) rides in front of two male riders at this year&amp;#039;s Traka 360 \" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;Let us have our race&#8217; &#8211; Geerike Schreurs and Lauren De Crescenzo share stories from The Traka 360 as pro women &#8216;navigate around all the chaos of the amateurs&#8217;<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/HgHzGXUVXmFcxV9edtD8En.jpg\" alt=\"Mattia Gaffuri of Italy and Team Picnic PostNL and Liam Slock of Belgium and Team Lotto Intermarche compete in the breakaway during stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Four WorldTour teams without a win in 2026 as rankings show super-teams soaring but some big hitters struggling<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/8MsDaNHbjaSvZpTZSBHPg8.jpg\" alt=\"Tadej Poga\u010dar surrounded by sports stars from soccer, american football, tennis, F1, ice hockey and basketball \" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">A billion-dollar business soon to be a relic? What pro cycling can learn from the blueprints of F1 and soccer<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/kC4PYzosFngPHxz4iZiGs6.png\" alt=\"Julia Borgstrom riding for AG Insurance Soudal during the 2025 season, with contract imagery alongside her.\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">No team, no salary, no bike \u2013 The reality for cycling&#8217;s &#8216;free agents&#8217; who find themselves without a contract but still want to race<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/cMN2PW8UR8zRDm4M4FwR8T.jpg\" alt=\"Tadej Poga\u010dar surrounded by athletes from various other sports\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">An illogical calendar, &#8216;crazy&#8217; attitudes towards safety, and an outdated relationship with its fans \u2013 What needs to change for cycling to catch up with other sports?<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/hmVvtUw2FZURZUz77U4cFY.png\" alt=\"Elite women at 2025 Lauf Gravel Worlds perform for global audience as broadcasters capture the moves at the front of the race\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">How to watch gravel races around the world &#8211; A guide to livestreams and free broadcasts for the biggest events including The Traka, Unbound Gravel and more<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/RwzmAx5hHT6BiQqZUVka7A.jpg\" alt=\"Tudor Pro Cycling, Dan Bigham, and Remco Evenepoel \" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Are scientists now more important than star riders? Inside pro cycling&#8217;s race for scientific innovation<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/6Pfg7mNKJZ4YphGdLDzfYh.jpg\" alt=\"Jake Richards in the Little 500\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">\u2018Unbound 200 being my first gravel race seems a bit unhinged\u2019 \u2013 Special ed teacher Jake Richards on his path from Little 500 to Life Time Grand Prix<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"w-full\" data-nosnippet data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-river-stacked\">\n<div data-recirc-id=\"article-river-stacked-solr:latest-category\">\n<div class=\"text-white py-4 px-3 mb-4 bg-[#333] uppercase font-bold custom-header-styles\">Latest in Racing<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 mt-4 mb-5\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SmPncL5HKkvSwxtV6rFpeG.jpg\" alt=\"Jonas Vingegaard celebrates alone at the finish line\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Giro d&#8217;Italia stage 16: Jonas Vingegaard crushes climb to Car\u00ec to win his fourth stage<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/J7pPd8GqwGwGxdt9wLao6n.png\" alt=\"Photo of Jhonatan Narvaez attacking the breakaway during a stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia, overlaid with Cyclingnews column graphics and a smiling photo of Hannah Walker\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Why I will always love opportunistic breakaway wins, our special guest in Pisa, and more from my second week at the Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/dPaC8XNF5xY9Px4UtdYesU.jpg\" alt=\"Marlen Reusser back in the pink jersey after stage 4 of the 2025 Giro d&amp;#039;Italia Women\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Marlen Reusser makes comeback from spinal fracture and targets GC at Giro d&#8217;Italia Women<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/9TSMJCJtWbm6jURjeKi9kV.jpg\" alt=\"GANDIA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 12: Pauliena Rooijakkers of Netherlands and UAE Team ADQ prior to the 10th Setmana Ciclista - Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana 2026, Stage 1 a 121km stage from Gandia to Gandia on February 12, 2026 in Gandia, Spain. (Photo by Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Women&#8217;s Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Pauliena Rooijakkers announces pregnancy, plans to return to racing<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/xE7D8uExHzeNVCupaD3ur5.jpg\" alt=\"Luke Fetzer wins USA Crits finale\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">USA Crits: Marlies Mejias and Luke Fetzer win finale at WSCC Gears &amp; Guitars Criterium<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/SLSE5gtyfmaoAmZS86JLcC.jpg\" alt=\"Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Pink Leader Jersey reacts after the 109th Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;The Giro is not over&#8217; &#8211; Jonas Vingegaard cautious but in control as he looks to secure Giro d&#8217;Italia maglia rosa in Rome<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/o6dv8RuVy9HRvjLwJF7rQe.jpg\" alt=\"Per Strand Hagenes of Norway and Team Visma | Lease a Bike celebrates at finish line as race winner during the 9th Antwerp Port Epic\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Antwerp Port Epic: Per Strand Hagenes surges to victory from late breakaway group<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YZnkKwAoZaTeMSP5eSd2JM.jpg\" alt=\"Pro cyclist Gery Celia of the FDJ United Suez team arriving at the finishing line in first place during the first round of the French Women&amp;#039;s cycling cup at Grand Prix de Chamb\u00e9ry\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Women&#8217;s Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">\u2018Capable of shaping our sport for many years to come\u2019 &#8211; Emerging superstar C\u00e9lia Gery extends contract with FDJ United-SUEZ<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/S2JHuL5SdPRDaD6cW5QmmU.jpg\" alt=\"Enrico Zanoncello of Italy and Team Bardiani CSF 7 Saber prior to the 109th Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026, Stage 4 a 138km stage from Catanzaro to Cosenza\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;I\u2019m really sorry about what happened&#8217; &#8211; Expulsion and fine for sprinter Enrico Zanoncello after headbutt in Giro d\u2019Italia stage 15 finale<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/3f6pMebcUe9UtwUHYpd48V.jpg\" alt=\"Britain&amp;#039;s Evie Richards competes in the Women&amp;#039;s elite Cross-country Olympic race as part of the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Crans-Montana on September 13, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI \/ AFP via Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Women&#8217;s Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;That crash scared me&#8217; \u2013 Evie Richards resting up after hard fall at Nov\u00e9 M\u011bsto Mountain Bike World Cup<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/7uxWAxu3AtTKcaFXQ5YQnn.jpg\" alt=\"LAGUNAS DE NEILA, SPAIN - MAY 24: Usoa Ostolaza of Spain and Team Laboral Kutxa - Fundacion Euskadi crosses the finish line during the 11th Vuelta a Burgos Feminas 2026, Stage 4 a 120km stage from Gumiel de Mercado to Lagunas de Neila 1868m \/ #UCIWWT \/ on May 24, 2026 in Lagunas de Neila, Spain. (Photo by Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Usoa Ostolaza climbs onto Vuelta a Burgos F\u00e9minas podium with comeback ride up Lagunas de Neila climb<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Mdvg2kNvVM3W8LVaTV5hhf.jpg\" alt=\"A solo move by 2025 Unbound Gravel 200 winner Karolina Migo\u0144 is captured by Life Time cameras from an off-road motor vehicle\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Minimum maintenance roads, &#8216;gut kick&#8217; climbs, oil rigs and open range cattle \u2013 A detailed look at what the Unbound Gravel 200 course has in store<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"w-full\" data-nosnippet data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-river-stacked\">\n<div data-recirc-id=\"article-river-stacked-solr:latest-articletype\">\n<div class=\"text-white py-4 px-3 mb-4 bg-[#333] uppercase font-bold custom-header-styles\">Latest in Features<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 mt-4 mb-5\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/J7pPd8GqwGwGxdt9wLao6n.png\" alt=\"Photo of Jhonatan Narvaez attacking the breakaway during a stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia, overlaid with Cyclingnews column graphics and a smiling photo of Hannah Walker\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Why I will always love opportunistic breakaway wins, our special guest in Pisa, and more from my second week at the Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/e45kAHkWRez7pKszJPrK6i.jpg\" alt=\"The pack rides during the 14th stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026 - Tour of Italy cycling race between Aosta and Pila (Gressan), Italy, on May 23, 2026.\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">The last chance \u2013 What to expect from the third week of the 2026 Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Mdvg2kNvVM3W8LVaTV5hhf.jpg\" alt=\"A solo move by 2025 Unbound Gravel 200 winner Karolina Migo\u0144 is captured by Life Time cameras from an off-road motor vehicle\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Minimum maintenance roads, &#8216;gut kick&#8217; climbs, oil rigs and open range cattle \u2013 A detailed look at what the Unbound Gravel 200 course has in store<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/4EDRXEFaFMEqfYThfTjoRU.jpg\" alt=\"Team Visma Lease a Bike Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wearing the best climber&amp;#039;s blue jersey (Maglia Azzura) arrives at the presentation before the 11th stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026 - Tour of Italy cycling race between Porcari and Chiavari, Italy, on May 20, 2026. (Photo by Luca Bettini \/ AFP)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Jonas Vingegaard may not be destroying the field at this Giro d&#8217;Italia, but that doesn&#8217;t mean he&#8217;s any less likely to win it<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/5YeMxtZbaunL8YAM3KCtXU.png\" alt=\"Elisa Longo Borghini celebrates winning the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia Women\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;A really uncertain moment for me&#8217; \u2013 After spring goals were sunk by illness, can Elisa Longo Borghini float back to the top at the Giro d&#8217;Italia Women?<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/96tTgJdZFXeAGXcp8H5bga.jpg\" alt=\"A real and fake bike pedal, with Matthew Loveridge pointing at them\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Cycling Tech &amp; Components<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Misspelt brands, dubious deals, and no safety guarantees in sight \u2013 Welcome to the Wild West of AliExpress bike parts<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/55Ti4KtshUcajw2ZJxYmie.jpg\" alt=\"INEOS Grenadiers Italian rider Filippo Ganna (front) and XDS Astana Team Italian rider Alberto Bettiol ride during their breakaway during the 8th stage of the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026 - Tour of Italy cycling race between Chieti and Fermo, central Italy on May 16, 2026. (Photo by Luca Bettini \/ AFP)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">&#8216;We can do crazy things now&#8217; \u2013 Alberto Bettiol and XDS Astana earn freedom to experiment after non-stop success in first week of Giro d&#8217;Italia <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/uNLvjiuzCbYzTxG9HnitUE.png\" alt=\"Image of a child holding a sign at the Giro d&amp;#039;Italia, overlaid with a photo of Hannah Walker \" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Inside my life as a TV reporter at the Giro d&#8217;Italia \u2013 Live interviews, wholesome Italian lunches, and viral football skills<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/wXbEZgBsEcMPpLTwoucxD4.jpg\" alt=\"Giulio Ciccone of Italy and Team Lidl - Trek attacks in the breakaway during the 109th Giro d&amp;amp;apos;Italia 2026, Stage 9\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Racing<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">The perfect time to be a breakaway specialist? \u2013 What to expect from the second week of the 2026 Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/yDiAPUJpNxsNSkUrNMs8NH.jpg\" alt=\"Giro d&amp;#039;Italia analysis\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">The power of pink, the bruised Italians, and the assassin with a conscience \u2013 Philippa York&#8217;s Giro d&#8217;Italia analysis<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Q4hdqsxDQ5TsTMDqMCGqzb.jpg\" alt=\"CORNO ALLE SCALE, ITALY - MAY 17: (L-R) Stage winner Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Blue Mountain Jersey and Felix Gall of Austria and Team Decathlon CMA CGM during the 109th Giro d&amp;#039;Italia 2026, Stage 9 a 184km stage from Cervia to Corno alle Scale 1469m \/ #UCIWT \/ on May 17, 2026 in Corno alle Scale, Italy. (Photo by Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Teams &amp; Riders<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Jonas Vingegaard a clear level above in pursuit of &#8216;a complete career&#8217; at Giro d&#8217;Italia, and the fight for the podium is making his job easier \u2013 GC analysis<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"aspect-[--img-listing-aspect-ratio,16\/9] relative mb-3.5\">\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/c2Q4DtcQb2LZWwiaddiCfT.png\" alt=\"Jonas Vingegaard Blockhaus Giro d&amp;#039;Italia\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] object-cover w-full h-full\"><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                <span class=\"custom-subheading-styles\">Pro Cycling<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"text-base text-black font-bold mx-0 my-2.5 p-0 block custom-text-styles\">Reliving the Giro d&#8217;Italia&#8217;s first GC battle on the Blockhaus &#8211; Gallery<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"related-articles-block\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"ads\" id=\"ads-middle-1\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-ads widget-ads-middle-1 widget-ads-ads-middle-1 widget-no-data widget-ads-flexi_ads_middle1\">\n<div id=\"bdx_flexi_ads_middle1\" data-type=\"ads\" data-ads-type=\"bordeaux\" class=\"flexi_ads_middle1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"widgetArea17\" class=\"widget-area md:basis-1\/3 widget-area-g-md-vp-1-3 widget-area-g-lg-vp-1-3 widget-area-g-xl-vp-1-3 page-widget-area-17\">\n<div data-widget-type=\"empty\" id=\"sidebar\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-empty widget-sidebar widget-empty-sidebar widget-no-data widget-empty\">\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"empty\" id=\"sidebar-top\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-empty widget-sidebar-top widget-empty-sidebar-top ad-unit widget-no-data widget-empty\">\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"contentparsed\" id=\"follow-us-on-google-news\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-contentparsed widget-follow-us-on-google-news widget-contentparsed-follow-us-on-google-news widget-content-parsed widget-content-parsed-curated \">\n<div class=\"wcp-item-content\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"empty\" id=\"sidebar-popular-top\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-empty widget-sidebar-popular-top widget-empty-sidebar-popular-top ad-unit widget-no-data widget-empty\">\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"dynamic\" id=\"popular-data\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-dynamic widget-popular-data widget-dynamic-popular-data widget-dynamic-fter-popular-box\">\n<div class=\"clear-both widget-header\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wdn-fte-pb pos-relative space-t20\n\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-popularBox\" class=\"slice-container popular-box-slice popularBox slice-container-popularBox\">\n<section data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"popular-box\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__label\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__label__tab popular-box__label__tab--active\" role=\"heading\">LATEST ARTICLES<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ol class=\"popular-box__articles-list popular-box__articles-list--active\">\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__image-wrapper\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/GzjTG59QJh5ErFMw2yWKK5.png\" alt=\"VOGHERA, ITALY - MAY 24: Giulio Pellizzari of Italy and Team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe prior to the 109th Giro d&apos;Italia 2026, Stage 15 a 157km stage from Voghera to Milan \/ #UCIWT \/ on May 24, 2026 in Voghera, Italy. (Photo by Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)\" class=\"popular-box__article-list__image image__image\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">1<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">Giulio Pellizzari dropped by his own team, finishes 18 minutes down as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe lose numerical advantage in fight for Giro d&#8217;Italia podium<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">2<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">Giro d&#8217;Italia stage 16: Jonas Vingegaard crushes climb to Car\u00ec to win his fourth stage<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">3<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">Why I will always love opportunistic breakaway wins, our special guest in Pisa, and more from my second week at the Giro d&#8217;Italia<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">4<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">Who will step up to challenge defending champions Karolina Migo\u0144 and Cameron Jones? \u2013 Analysing the Unbound 200 contenders <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-box__article-list\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__container\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__content\">\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__number-text\">5<\/div>\n<div class=\"popular-box__article-list__heading\">37,000m of elevation gain in two weeks \u2013 How super talent Paul Seixas is ramping up his training ahead of highly anticipated Tour de France debut<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-widget-type=\"empty\" id=\"sidebar-popular-bottom\" class=\"clear-both widget widget-empty widget-sidebar-popular-bottom widget-empty-sidebar-popular-bottom ad-unit widget-no-data widget-empty\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"news-article\">\n<header data-component-name=\"Article:Hero\">\n<div class=\"kiosq-metered-message-content\">\n<p id=\"kiosq-metered-message\" class=\"kiosq-metered-message\">\n<\/div>\n<nav class=\"breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\">\n<ol>\n<li>\nPro Cycling\n<\/li>\n<li>\nRacing\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<h1>A loss of community, two-tier finances, and a tactical conundrum \u2013 Are professional teams reshaping the gravel scene?<\/h1>\n<div class=\"kiosq-member-label\" data-component-name=\"Article:Hero:KiosqPaywallLabels\">\n<span class=\"kiosq-member-label-text\"><br \/>\nMEMBER EXCLUSIVE<br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kiosq-metered-message-content\">\n<p id=\"kiosq-metered-message\" class=\"kiosq-metered-message\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"byline-social\">\n<div class=\"byline font-ui-heading text-[12px]\">\nFeatures<\/p>\n<div>\n<span><br \/>\nBy<br \/>\nWill Jones <\/span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\npublished<br \/>\n<time data-component-name=\"UI:DateTime\" datetime=\"2026-05-26T16:45:00Z\" class=\"relative-date\"><br \/>\n26 May 2026<br \/>\n<\/time><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"strapline\">In gravel, teams, privateers, collectives, and cabals all race the same course, but how are fully-integrated teams with big budgets going to impact cycling\u2019s most popular discipline?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"text-gray-700mx-auto mb-4 flex items-center justify-start mx-0 my-5 p-0\" id=\"affiliate-disclaimer\" data-component-name=\"AffiliateDisclaimer\" data-hawk-message=\"Affiliate disclaimer removed because hawk deemed there are no affiliate links on this page\">\n<p class=\"text-[var(--affiliate-disclaimer--text-color,inherit))] mb-2 text-[length:var(--affiliate-disclaimer--font-size,0.75rem)] leading-[18px] md:text-[13px] [&amp;&gt;a]:text-inherit [&amp;&gt;a]:underline\">\nWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here\u2019s how it works.\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"text-copy bodyCopy auto paywall-locker\">\n<div data-analytics-id=\"utility-bar\" id=\"utility-bar\" class=\"font-ui-heading flex justify-between items-center py-2 border-t border-b border-gray-300 border-solid mb-5 mx-auto\" data-component-name=\"UtilityBar\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"utility-bar\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-2 text-[#333] subcontainer\">\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<div data-component-name=\"Social:Dropdown\" role=\"menu\" id=\"utilitybar__dropdown--share\" aria-labelledby=\"utilitybar__button--share\" class=\"absolute left-0 top-full w-44 bg-white rounded-md shadow-md border border-neutral-200 z-[9996] list-none m-0 py-2 px-3 border-solid\">\n<ul class=\"!m-0\">\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Facebook<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>X<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Pinterest<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"!p-0 !m-0 list-none border-b border-gray-200 border-solid\">\n<p>Email<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-share-this-article\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nShare this article\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<p>    <span class=\"ml-1 inline-flex h-5 px-2 shrink-0 items-center justify-center self-center overflow-hidden whitespace-nowrap rounded-[10px] bg-primary-500 text-[11px] leading-none font-ui-heading font-semibold text-white\">0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-join-the-conversation\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nJoin the conversation\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex gap-2 text-[#333] subcontainer\">\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<p>Follow us<\/p>\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-add-us-as-a-preferred-source-on-google\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nAdd us as a preferred source on Google\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relative tooltip-container\" role=\"tooltip\">\n<div class=\"font-ui-heading max-sm:hidden tooltip absolute left-1\/2 bg-gray-900 text-white text-xs leading-none px-3 py-1.5 rounded-md z-[10001] whitespace-nowrap\" id=\"tooltip-subscribe-to-our-newsletter\" role=\"tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\nSubscribe to our newsletter\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"elk-b1d5b652-20df-438a-9d28-654ed083eb7a\">Gravel seems to have been at a crossroads since its inception, in an ironic nod to the Flint Hills of Kansas that catapulted the discipline into the collective consciousness. Aero bars being banned at Unbound Gravel several years ago now caused quite a stir, but in reality this did little to affect the actual nature of the racing. It remained a privateer model; pros and amateurs racing the same course at the same time, with a spirit of self-sufficiency and community uplift that in no small part made the sport phenomenally popular in a relatively short space of time.<\/p>\n<p>Now, though, with a slightly forlorn predictability, the gravel scene is increasingly professional, with a growing gulf not just between the pros and the amateurs paying their entry fees to participate, but between professional riders backed by big-budget teams and individual privateer athletes.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"><\/a><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"><\/aside>\n<p id=\"elk-b1d5b652-20df-438a-9d28-654ed083eb7a-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">While in Girona for The Traka recently, I took some time to speak to riders about what they think of the rise of gravel teams, and what it all means for the future of the sport, and the future of the &#8216;spirit of gravel&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-1b395ab6-2e19-4daf-acea-4fd4b6beed3a\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"privateers-collectives-cabals-and-full-on-teams-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Privateers, collectives, cabals, and full-on teams<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-5f18c0b9-7e47-49da-b70f-1fe0030aa4b5\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">If you scroll through the results of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Traka races, you\u2019ll see the number of athletes not affiliated with at least a small collective of other riders is very small. In the men\u2019s 360, there are perhaps three or four in the top 40, and it\u2019s similar in the women\u2019s event.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Rosa Kl\u00f6ser bucks this trend, officially classing herself as a privateer off-road, and even going so far as to have \u2018PRIVATEER\u2019 written down the side of her back pocket on her skinsuit. This belies the fact that she is also a fully paid rider on the well-resourced Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto Women&#8217;s WorldTour team, exhibiting great form early in the season by a long solo breakaway at Paris-Roubaix before turning her focus to the world of gravel for Traka, Unbound, and the Life Time Grand Prix.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Many of these teams, the likes of PAS Racing and the Castelli Spirit of Gravel cabal, run as hybrids, with riders racing in the same jersey but operating to a greater or lesser extent as privateers, engaging their own bike and equipment sponsors.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">There are some outfits, however, like the Ribble Outliers, who were set up with a different ethos. Their rider Harry Tanfield explained the differences to me.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It&#8217;s not like the Factor teams, which have the same sponsors; they&#8217;re kind of more individual riders. We\u2019re all friends. We look after each other and are always together in the house. It\u2019s just that road team element culture is more what we have that others don\u2019t, but we\u2019re also from the road background.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-54b29f20-b89a-4052-9f00-3311fc51a660\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/WSyrVMCEp4bhvdDQP25EwJ.jpg\" alt=\"Haley Smith takes a pit stop with the Factor team during 2026 The Traka 360, where she finished fifth\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Haley Smith takes a pit stop with the Factor team during 2026 The Traka 360, where she finished fifth <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-a241332c-23f8-420a-aaf9-9b2e29b636a4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When we first started, no one really knew what was happening, and it was just a group of individuals all together. It wasn&#8217;t until we did a few races together that we kind of worked our way through it, how you know things can work together as a group, mainly off the bike rather than on the bike. Making sure you&#8217;re not going to have six people all trying to cook their own dinners and stuff like that there, which in some gravel teams will happen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The need for course support is also a clear benefit of being part of a team. Riders like Dylan Johnson have tried to do it alone, Tanfield mentioned, but even he is now part of a Felt team.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think support in the races is so important. It depends how hot it is and where it is, but if you&#8217;re a privateer and doing a seven-hour race and you&#8217;ve got to start with four litres [of water] on you instead of two, it&#8217;s a big disadvantage,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Sophie Wright, also of Ribble Outliers, was keen to point out the advantages that being a privateer can still offer.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you&#8217;re good enough to be able to pick and choose your own sponsors, you can build a complete package around you. And if, providing you get a decent salary, you can then say \u2018OK, I&#8217;m gonna pay this mechanic&#8230; I&#8217;m gonna pay for a soigneur, and I&#8217;m going to pay for a mechanic. Done\u2019, then that person can drive you, and that person can go to the supermarket.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-da039bbd-cf5c-4914-90f2-fc1a5ec84c0c\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/HQiPZKmuQ3ofBVesDLK2RP.jpg\" alt=\"Specialized Off-road riders talk after going one-three at The Traka 360, winner Mads W&amp;amp;uuml;rtz Schmidt (left) and Matt Beers (centre)\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360 l @ Oriol Gozalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-f83d16bf-615f-4720-854c-68b8916a8ec4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Later, I sat down with last year&#8217;s men\u2019s Traka 360 winner, and co-manager of PAS Racing, Tobias Kongstad. He was keen to stress that &#8211; despite a hugely dominant performance in the 360 last year for men and women &#8211; PAS Racing is a step below the likes of Specialized Off-Road, the six-rider team that features two-time Traka 200 winner Sofia Gomez Villafa\u00f1e.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Right now in gravel racing there is, as you mention, three different ways you can do it. There is the full-on team, as you might see from Specialized or Canyon, where everyone gets a fixed salary from the team, and there is a team manager saying how to do the things,&#8221; Kongstad said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Then there&#8217;s us: We are doing everything together. We have mechanics, chefs together. We are sharing the same clothing, but we are not sharing the same bikes.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Two years ago, when you look at a privateer&#8217;s programme, I think they\u2019re struggling a lot because maybe you can earn a little bit more as a privateer, but at the end of the day doing Life Time Grand Prix you do seven trips to the USA, and some of the places like Nebraska, Iowa, they\u2019re not the centre of the world. So I think being together and being able to travel together, I think it\u2019s pretty nice that we\u2019re racing the same days\u2026 and we don\u2019t need to think about pleasing seven sponsors and think about housing and a kitchen, because in the USA that\u2019s a big task.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-749ec533-5715-45f5-8564-394f58f435a1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"team-tactics-don-t-exist-yet-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Team tactics don\u2019t exist \u2013 yet<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-4e13280d-c444-419f-856f-ef3a86cec589\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">If you watch a livestream of a gravel race as a road cycling fan, you might assume that seeing a handful of PAS riders clad in their trademark brown skinsuits would mean we would see road-like team tactics: breakaways, blocking, chasing as a collective endeavour. but this seems like it\u2019s not possible yet, both from a sponsorship point of view but also due to the dynamics and difficulties of the racing.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;There I think it&#8217;ll be a little bit tricky because, from the team side &#8211; and I can talk as a manager or sports director or whatever &#8211; I cannot say to Karolina [Migo\u0144] that she shouldn&#8217;t take a pull if her teammate is in the front, because then Karolina\u2019s bike sponsor will be like &#8216;hey, why didn\u2019t you do it?&#8217;,&#8221; Kongstad explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;So I think until now what we have been doing is that you don&#8217;t race for each other, but we also don\u2019t race against each other. In gravel racing you can have all the team tactics you want, but at the end of the day it&#8217;s tough to race\u2026 if you\u2019re a good bike rider you\u2019ll be in the top five or ten.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Migo\u0144, Unbound Gravel 200 winner in 2025, and Traka 360 winner in 2024 and 2025, is more unequivocal.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cWe don\u2019t disrupt the race\u2026 we don\u2019t talk before the race and say \u2018Oh I will race for you\u2019, we just see during the race what\u2019s going on and we adjust.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">After the Traka 360 and 200 had concluded, I sat down at a caf\u00e9 with Piotr Havik of Castelli SOG (that\u2019s Spirit of Gravel, if you hadn\u2019t worked that out for yourself). As a former privateer, he shares the concerns of many as to what dedicated teams mean for the sport, though stressed that for the time being the issues haven\u2019t come to pass.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;At this point I didn\u2019t have the feeling like, OK, now the whole race got screwed because we have eight riders from one team all in the front and they are blocking like they are fucking up the race; that didn\u2019t happen yet, but the bigger the teams are, the more riders from one team are in there, the more they can play those nasty tactics.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Tanfield put it with equal frankness: &#8220;There&#8217;s only a certain amount of races where you can really work together well as a team. If you\u2019re following a wheel in front, you&#8217;re following a wheel in front.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cFor guys like us, we&#8217;re trying to scrape into that top end. We&#8217;re not Matt Beers or Mads W\u00fcrtz Schmidt who can just turn up and wipe the floor\u2026 we\u2019re trying to do as little as possible in the groups to try to help ourselves as a team to get the best result, rather than controlling the race.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-3be781b5-743b-4c27-8ef7-833bf4ec0cfd\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/qF447xh63VEQSuNha55Ya9.jpg\" alt=\"PAS Racing teammates Karolina Migo&amp;amp;#324; and Tobias Kongstad won elite divisions of 2025 The Traka 360\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">PAS Racing teammates Karolina Migo\u0144 and Tobias Kongstad won elite divisions of 2025 The Traka 360 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @GravelEarthSeries | @thetraka | @ogonzalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-b8ec54fc-ab3f-4d80-9b1e-6b20818e6d69\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-benefits-are-outside-the-race-course-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The benefits are outside the race course<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-be16d365-2106-4690-a5c0-64157e39560b\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The traditional benefits of riding in a team \u2013 whatever &#8216;team&#8217; means in this context \u2013 drafting, chasing, dedicated leadership simply don\u2019t seem to be possible in the chaos and sheer physical effort of racing over 300 kilometres of off-road, which begs the question as to why so many riders are turning away from the privateer life to join organised outfits.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The reason, primarily, is that while the racing remains almost entirely an individual endeavour, a team affords the riders a degree of mental space that the privateer life simply cannot accommodate.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cThe advantage, and the reason why I really like to be part of a team, is because it&#8217;s just less stress,&#8221; Wright surmised. &#8220;Like, if I was a privateer, for example &#8211; I did the UCI World Series in Monaco last week, and that wasn&#8217;t a team-supported race, but I thought &#8216;I want to do it anyway, so I&#8217;m going to self-support it,&#8217; and my dad flew out to help me in the feed zones, drive me over there, blah, blah, blah\u2026 But I just found it much more stressful.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I had to organise the feed zones, I had to do all the shopping, accommodation, clean my bike, do the chain, communicate with some of my friends who are doing the race and ask if they can help me in the feed zone because I wanted two feed zones per lap, and I was like \u2018stuff being a privateer!'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">More than that, more than physically or mentally taking a load off, the collective race lifestyle is just far more sociable. Wright told me straight that the team life is &#8220;just a lot less lonely&#8221; and this is mirrored by Migo\u0144.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It\u2019s also nice to not be alone during the races&#8230;even like being in a new place on the other side of the world, you are not alone there, it helps a lot mentally.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">M\u00e9rida Miller, also of the Castelli SOG crew, is effusive in her praise for the support the team brings to her riding.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think we both just loved the general \u2018vibes\u2019. But that&#8217;s truly what it is, right? So, even just having a WhatsApp group where people are just sharing stupid memes about shit, or like cheering each other on whatever, it feels like you&#8217;re part of something. And also what I love about the SOG crew is that it really is celebrating all the different types of riders.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Even my coach this year was like \u2013 it&#8217;s my second year racing \u2013 \u2018wow, I&#8217;ve really seen a difference in you\u2019. I could show you our WhatsApp group, but it&#8217;s like, so wholesome, right? So it&#8217;s like, we&#8217;re cheering each other on, we&#8217;re checking in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">There is, of course, a financial aspect to it too. Being a privateer means your costs are shouldered by you alone, whereas a collective setup allows the sharing of resources.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you\u2019re fully privateer, it\u2019s super nice that you have all the freedom, but then what comes on top of that you have to think about every single part yourself, from your brake pads to your chain to your mechanics, travelling, feeding, and then it costs a lot of money,&#8221; Havik said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When I was a privateer, I had a guy following me, which was luckily a videographer but also he knows how to give bottles. Every day he\u2019s there, you have to pay him, and that\u2019s a big investment for a privateer. Basically a person like this can do it for three or four riders and with Castelli SOG you find a nice mid-ground where you can still do things and decide things yourself like the programme, the equipment, but there are people around you who can support you where needed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Havik also went on to outline the drawbacks of being on bigger, more professionalised teams. PAS Racing wasn\u2019t explicitly outlined, but between them and Specialized Off-road, they are the most well-oiled and well-resourced outfits in the field.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;A lot of times, in most teams, they lean into the extreme professional side or try to be as professional as possible, but then a lot of times you have a lack of resources. They want to act as one of the big teams, but then it creates pressure because okay, you expect a lot from us, but the environment is not there like with UAE [Team Emirates-XRG].&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">As money continues to pour into gravel, the resource grows. However, the ability for the bigger teams to spend big and invest in big results also increases. Migo\u0144, for example, was a software engineer alongside her gravel racing until 2026, something that clearly didn\u2019t hold her back.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Though she was marred at the Traka by a crash with an age-grouper from a different race in the 360, she had come to the race off the back of an altitude camp in Colombia, something that\u2019s extremely common in the WorldTour but almost unheard of in gravel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-2f22f85c-066e-4b82-9e11-0c745318a82a\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/UyzzxsiipWSVotnPYkPeZF.jpg\" alt=\"Romain Bardet (Factor Racing) started out his European season at Santa Vall, coming second overall in the Gravel Earth Series opener for 2026\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Romain Bardet (Factor Racing &#8211; RCC) started his European season at Santa Vall, coming second overall in the Gravel Earth Series opener for 2026 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @GravelEarthSeries | @SantaVall | @Roger Salanova)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-5a621ccd-68c6-4ebe-bcd1-617ca8bcee5e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"uci-points-and-the-road-gravel-continuum-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">UCI points and the road-gravel continuum<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e4d808ff-a355-4588-8174-24e4b3d3b14b\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">So fresh is the discipline, and sprung up as it has from a disparate series of grassroots events free from the UCI umbrella, it is unusual compared to most other performance cycling disciplines insofar as the UCI-sanctioned races under the UCI Gravel World Series aren\u2019t the pinnacle. They do, however, offer UCI points, giving pro road teams a carrot to bump up their team rankings alongside the road season.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">You would think that there would be a reluctance from the gravel pros to see WorldTour roadies mixing it up in the gravel ranks, but I was surprised to find the reception was warm, partially because it would offer further legitimacy to the discipline, but also because the days of recently retired road riders rocking up to gravel events to farm podium spots are very much over.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;The gravel specialists, a lot of them are more focused on Gravel Earth series and other races, so they are not only focused on UCI [points], but they still do a lot of UCI racing. I think for the sport it will be good. Also, road professionals show up, and like Tim Wellens said in Marly Grav when he won there, \u2018fuck, this was not an easy win,&#8221; Havik explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Let them come and experience, and also show the high level we have in gravel already. We are also professionals, and it doesn\u2019t mean that because we are not wearing a WorldTour kit that we don\u2019t know how to ride our bikes and how to push watts.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Though we are probably a way off having truly merged disciplines \u2013 even if riders like Rosa Kl\u00f6ser are showing that you can do both at the highest level of the sport \u2013 that&#8217;s something that former road pros like Sophie Wright would welcome.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It would be sick to go back to a WorldTour team, but have a primary focus on gravel, and then dip in and out of road races,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You can race Strade Bianche, Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, blah blah, and then you can come and do Traka [like Kl\u00f6ser]. For me, that&#8217;s actually an ideal package personally, so I&#8217;m not really opposed to it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-06ceb212-2c7e-4902-baa2-2d55da2a39e2\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/WxbVWvKGoC9iu8dAoRgxSW.jpg\" alt=\"Lachlan Morton, Alex Howes, and Peter Stetina at Unbound Gravel 200\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Lachlan Morton, Alex Howes, and Peter Stetina at Unbound Gravel 200 in 2019 <\/span><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: Wil Matthews)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-a552c942-c311-4f52-8730-8431120a6042\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"professionalism-community-and-the-spirit-of-gravel-without-irony-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Professionalism, community, and the \u2018Spirit of Gravel\u2019 without irony<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e4347f9b-351d-402d-b6b3-382a5f1e5a86\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Teams undoubtedly make riders\u2019 lives easier, but is there an underlying cost to the community as a whole that comes with this growing professionalism? The phrase \u2018spirit of gravel\u2019 has been used so often that it&#8217;s become a bit of a clich\u00e9, but there is a real meaning to it.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Nathan Haas has seen cycling through the lens of the WorldTour and professional gravel, and though he has stepped back from the Castelli SOG crew in some aspects, he\u2019s well placed to outline the reasons for its formation as a counterpoint to traditional teams.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I sat down with Steve Smith &#8211; one of the owners of Castelli &#8211; we\u2019d just finished Iceland Rift, and it sort of begged the question: \u2018what&#8217;s the direction of this sport?\u2019 We were trying to zoom out and see in a glass ball,&#8221; Haas said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;We\u2019ve both been around cycling for long enough to have seen what happened to mountain biking, during the NORBA series when mountain biking was like at its peak and in many ways it exploded. We&#8217;ve seen cyclo-cross. We&#8217;ve seen the fixie scene. There\u2019s a lot of times where sport has actually come in and out of fashion and grown. This is gravel cycling\u2019s first foray.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;What does SOG represent? Trying to protect the very essence of what gravel is and personally what I feel it should be. It&#8217;s the last discipline in cycling that an athlete can still come with their bike bag to an event and still potentially win it without the need for being in a team that&#8217;s based around tactics and supporting a specific rider or having the need to have the mechanics, the soigneurs, all the feeders to be competitive.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">It would be very easy to paint this as all a bit &#8216;back in my day&#8230;&#8217; from Haas, but there isn\u2019t a hint of bitterness, or even misty-eyed nostalgia. Gravel seems to cause riders who have a certain level of experience to see how the sport has changed to speak with passion about the heart of the sport that you simply never see on the road.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Haas, again, dived deeper into the value that community adds to the sport.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I was starting to feel in many ways that the sport was beginning to drift away from what I loved about it\u2026 Some people might call me stuck in the past with this, but I&#8217;m not scared to share my feeling on it because there&#8217;s something beautiful about gravel,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;And what we&#8217;re slowly starting to see with all of these tents, there&#8217;s an unequal playing field in the sport now. Riders don&#8217;t even have to come to pick up their numbers anymore; they&#8217;re staying at home off their legs. They&#8217;re having a massage. That&#8217;s an advantage to the rider who&#8217;s trying to win, but is that actually an advantage to the <em>sport<\/em> where we don&#8217;t have TV coverage? We don&#8217;t have non-endemic sponsors. It&#8217;s basically 99 per cent sponsored and supported by the bike industry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The start and finish area of The Traka is a world away from the pits of a WorldTour race where the riders are hidden away in their buses, doing media interviews out of obligation, staying away from the public gaze as much as possible. In Girona you could rub shoulders with people who have just come top-10 in the biggest gravel race in Europe, and that\u2019s something gravel could lose as the team aspect grows.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;When they&#8217;re not turning up to speak to people or to integrate, there&#8217;s a loss there, right?&#8221; Haas said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;We&#8217;re slowly losing this community feel where riders who are sponsored by different brands were still all travelling together, were the life of the party, forming this community sense that anyone could come up and talk and feel part of something and share the experience of being on the same track as the pros. We&#8217;re going to lose that because they&#8217;re now sticking to their team houses. They&#8217;re staying far away from everybody. They&#8217;re not interacting.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;You can&#8217;t just say you&#8217;re for community; you have to be for community.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"instagram-embed kiosq-b\" id=\"elk-DXgiiB2jSDZ\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-version=\"6\">\n<p>A post shared by M\u00e9rida Miller (@mercatmiller)<\/p>\n<p>A photo posted by on <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><a id=\"elk-7e1ad762-d53f-4677-99c9-c26fc39c166e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"team-riders-are-more-than-just-results-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Team riders are more than just results<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-e0ac3fe8-63a6-480d-bc73-928ee50e4a62\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">This, I think, is the crux of it: the lack of TV coverage. While the Traka and Unbound may have livestreams, you simply can\u2019t consume the races in the same way as you can with the WorldTour. This means that, aside from a news article on the pages of <em>Cyclingnews<\/em>, the vast majority of the media consumed around the races is on social media. It\u2019s about building narratives, storytelling, and having riders that are more compelling offerings than simply what they bring to the results sheet.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Haas, again, outlined to me that the riders selected for the SOG cabal are chosen based not only on their riding prowess, but also on how they conduct themselves, and hope that\u2019s of benefit to the team beyond podium positions.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;If you&#8217;re only focused on somebody winning a race, you&#8217;re casting a very small net because how many people really resonate with actually coming to Traka it to win? People want to do their best, and we love that, right? But think about the 95% of people that&#8217;s not even in their wheelhouse. It might not even be part of their personality traits to be that competitive, but it doesn&#8217;t mean that these races and events aren&#8217;t for them.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Is it more important how you won, or how you experienced the event? By the very definition everyone who is paid to ride their bikes in gravel, their job is to make people resonate with the brands that they work with, so if you don\u2019t have a strong personality, or [aren&#8217;t] a strong storyteller or strong communicator, or even just somebody who\u2019s really inspiring for their own reasons, if you&#8217;re only focused on somebody winning a race, you&#8217;re casting a very small net.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure full-width-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check id=\"elk-fe4bb5dd-3566-48f0-8e12-3422e1ebb0d6\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/G255dMx57ouPMku4RYgcrU.jpg\" alt=\"Medals for finishing The Traka 360\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] full-width\">\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\" full-width-layout\"><span class=\"credit\">(Image credit: @ Gravel Earth Series l @ The Traka 360 l @ Oriol Gonzalvo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a id=\"elk-ea01b1c0-95ca-4df4-91da-ba4ad37a170c\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"protect-the-individual-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Protect the individual<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-c0d058f0-b1c6-400f-93c0-d47b91a8207e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Gravel will undoubtedly continue to professionalise. That\u2019s the inevitable march of progress, but I was curious to see if there was anything that could be done to moderate the growing dominance of teams, particularly from the organisational standpoint. Havik had a few ideas.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;One thing for sure that\u2019s important is that privateers always should get their space at the start line,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What can happen is that if you only have 200 spots for the pro field, and the teams already know ahead of time which riders they are sending, they can start asking for start tickets in November when some privateers are still figuring things out.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;No wheel swapping between riders; that\u2019s a very important one because a privateer cannot do it. Maybe a few more rules can be allowed so riders don\u2019t wait for each other, and then maybe at a certain point you say OK, for some races there\u2019s a maximum number of riders you can select because now, at the moment, it\u2019s endless. If you show up with 20 riders from one team you can do it. It\u2019s lucky there\u2019s no team out there who can pay 20 riders, but that\u2019s only a question of time and money before something like that shows up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">It does seem that some races have already cottoned on to this and are implementing measures to ensure fair competition for all, too, as Haas pointed out to me.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;You have the Belgian Waffle Ride series, where as soon as there&#8217;s a lead group in the race, they have motorbikes behind that, and they give everyone gels and bidons, for if you can&#8217;t afford to bring over a staff of three or four or five and have three or four or five vehicles that are stationed all across the trail, giving out bidons, spare wheels, etc.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">At this point Ben Perry, who rode to fourth in the Traka 360, walked past the deck chair I was slumped in and stopped for a chat with Haas and me before allowing me to take his bike away for some photos, a neat encapsulation of gravel&#8217;s community feel that many feel needs protecting as the sport inevitably marches onwards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/a-loss-of-community-two-tier-finances-and-a-tactical-conundrum-are-professional-teams-reshaping-the-gravel-scene\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/AoC98XPq7GnHiDY5MFBCXZ-2048-80.jpg&#8221;] Pro Cycling Racing A loss of community, two-tier finances, and a tactical conundrum \u2013 Are professional teams reshaping the gravel scene? MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Features By Will Jones published 26 May 2026 In gravel, teams, privateers, collectives, and cabals all race the same course, but how are fully-integrated teams with big budgets going [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,68],"class_list":["post-1956060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-cyclingnews-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1956060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956060\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1956060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1956060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1956060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}