UK Gravel Championships an' stuff.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Sep in Suffolk.

https://kingscupgravel.com/

[RIP]

"While the King’s Cup is a gravel focussed event, MTBers are more than welcome"

"If you are looking to dip your toe into the world of gravel .... this event is an ideal taster of what you’ve been missing [sic(*)]"

(*) no, not "sick". I'm led to believe that is a young person's term denoting "spiffing". As an old person, I might use it in a "ridden too hard after a Spar visit" situation.

[TheBrownDog]

Sooooooooooooooooooo ...... who decided this was the UK Gravel Championships, then?

There was a news piece on cyclist.co.uk last week about it, and I did wonder how a private organisation can claim a "championship". Then I thought, actually, I don't don't really give a monkey's.

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/8542/uk- ... mpionships

Because then I remembered that the Brompton World Championship was born of a silly idea that started in kind of the same way. So why not?

I don't have a gravel bike and I don't want one, but as much as I find the wankoffery about the marketing of it all pretty galling, particularly the bikepacking aspect of it, overall if it's getting more folk on bikes, then that'll do, pig, that'll do.

[Bearlegged]

I hope they do try to make it "official", if only to see what ridiculous criteria and rules the UCI will then need to come up with as to what is defined as "gravel".

[Dave Barter]

These UK gravel champs don’t ride very far do they?

[sean_iow]

This mischievous part of me hopes a top mtb xc racer turns up and wins, thus the first UK Gravel Championship would be won on a mountain bike a marketing disaster.... or a chance to sell mountain bikes to all the gravel riders.

Wasn't there an issue with the fat bike championships before? With 2 events claiming to be the championships? I may have imagined this

[TheBrownDog]

Absolutely.

Gravel racers deserve legitimacy and I'm sure the UCI is the place to get it with some help with their usual simple, straightforward regulations about what does or does not constitute a gravel bike, and, equally importantly, a gravel race. It will need some sort of algorithm to determine if the route ridden is sufficiently gravelly - average size of dirt bits, slipperiness when wet etc, I'm sure there will be more.

I've just emailed them to offer my services. I've no bloody idea about bike racing in any discipline, so I reckon I'm well qualified to run this show.

[Alpinum]

Wasn't there an issue with the fat bike championships before? With 2 events claiming to be the championships? I may have imagined this

I think there was. Can't remember the other event, but one claimed being a world championship in Colorado iirc.

[Bearbonesnorm]

We did hold the 'Tussock Racing World Champonships' at BearStock ... weirdly no one else seemed to mind that.

[Cheeky Monkey]

Weird.

I wonder whether there are "thousands" or whether they *hope* there'll be.

Hard to turn your nose up at a muck-about on bikes and some beer and tunes in a field though

[fatbikephil]

https://www.pnwcomponents.com/pages/go- ... 5T1.Q75tTq
Get rad on your gravel bikes
Actually quite impressed a US company has used a UK rider and location for its marketing (rather than yet another bloody achingly beautiful Colorado trail / scene). Most of its a bit naff but it does feature wheelies which are the coolest trick out

[Dave Barter]

Seeing as we’re so judgemental maybe we should kick off the UK Gavel championship?

[RIP]

Seeing as we’re so judgemental maybe we should kick off the UK Gavel championship?

Very good in the time allowed

[Jurassic]

People's Front of Judea.......

[mattpage]

Essentially Golazo organise this and they are a big international company and one that have been pushing the UCI to recognise gravel as separate cycling format.

They are the company that organise the Gran Fondo World Series/Championship and that is run through the UCI. They also run big UCI cyclo-cross events, so definitely a pretty safe bet. They are also organising the Raiders stage race up in Scotland.

Currently British Cycling don't recognise gravel, nor the UCI so it's not really official.

I was looking into being a round of the world series but decided against it.

[Alpinum]

People's Front of Judea.......

If that's 'us' (as in BB users, no matter what their opinion is on championships being called out by some party), then

Essentially Golazo organise this and they are a big international company and one that have been pushing the UCI to recognise gravel as separate cycling format

is Judean People's Front?

[Jurassic]

People's Front of Judea.......

If that's 'us' (as in BB users, no matter what their opinion is on championships being called out by some party), then

Essentially Golazo organise this and they are a big international company and one that have been pushing the UCI to recognise gravel as separate cycling format

is Judean People's Front?

[slarge]

Well I’m all for this. More people on bikes, more races, more fun. Cycling is a niche already - we can’t have too many sub-niches.

[sean_iow]

Cycling is a niche already - we can’t have too many sub-niches.

I'm holding out for the uk singlespeed gravel championships

[slarge]

Cycling is a niche already - we can’t have too many sub-niches.

I'm holding out for the uk singlespeed gravel championships

UK or IoW? You'd do alright if there was an IoW SS championship.

[substandard]

Cycling is a niche already - we can’t have too many sub-niches.

I'm holding out for the uk singlespeed gravel championships

On a course made entirely of type 1 - 1 gear , 1 type of gravel and all that