Lucy Gadd journal #04: a road racer’s foray into the world of gravel

Our 2024 journal contributor Lucy Gadd began 2024 as an independent rider with Le Col Race Team after a rollercoaster 2023, but, after a promising season start, joined UCI Continental squad Pro-Noctis – 200 Degrees Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting in the Spring. In her latest journal entry, Lucy reflects on her initial experiences with gravel racing with mixed feelings.

I’d like to preface this journal entry by emphasising that I am a gravel fanatic and love everything the discipline has to offer. Riding without cars, being within nature, long days spent exploring. I have just competed in my second gravel race, and I’m wondering whether gravel really is the next big thing, or not (at least for me).

It seems gravel is becoming the popular place to be now, so the motivation to give it a go has been high for me throughout the year

I am very lucky to live in the New Forest where we have miles of incredible fire road tracks to ride on. I have also had the fun-looking gravel social life plastered over my social media feeds throughout the season from various lovely-looking places around the world. It seems gravel is becoming the popular place to be now, so the motivation to give it a go has been high for me throughout the year.

Let’s wind it back a bit to understand my position. I started cycling on the velodrome when I was 10 years old. This transitioned to racing cyclo-cross in the U14 and U16 categories on a Sunday morning. I started racing on the road as a 15-year-old and this discipline remains the only one that I have done consistently throughout my cycling ‘career’. I have done my fair share of time trials and bought my gravel bike when I was at university in 2021. I have had a lot of experiences in different environments and know the sorts of events I enjoy.

The brutality and picturesque quietness of gravel leaves a lasting memory

Gravel riding has certainly become my happy place over the past few years. I love the freedom of adventuring off the beaten track and the relaxed nature. A core memory was a ride on the Isle of Wight last year. We caught the early morning ferry, explored the best of the gravel over the extremely hilly terrain, stopped off at a lovely cafe in the sunshine, and got the ferry back home. Whilst it is also enjoyable to do this sort of day trip on the road bike, the brutality and picturesque quietness of gravel leaves a lasting memory.

The only downside to riding off road, in my opinion, is the muckiness. Even on a summer’s day, you’ll likely find some mud to swamp through, and you’ll be drinking from dusty bidons which is rather unpleasant.

So, having seen the gravel racing scene grow over the past couple of years, it was inevitable that I give it a go. A mix between cyclo-cross and road racing does sound like proper hard-core fun.

Something I have noticed about the gravel scene is that, often, ‘races’ aren’t actually races. They are gravel events (like a sportive) that some participants turn up to race at. I participated in the Dirty Reiver earlier this year which was my first taste of a gravel event. Technically not a race, but it was clear on the start line who was not just there to participate. Bidons filled with gel, skinsuits on despite the freezing temperatures, and a very hot start.

This is probably a good point to mention that most of these events are mass starts, meaning everyone is set off together. Me being me, I had to get involved in the competitiveness. I got into a group of men who were riding quite happily together, and then an hour in I realised how hard I was riding just to stay in that group and soon blew up spectacularly. I then struggled round the next 90-ish km. It was a very good lesson to learn – manage your effort. But at least it wasn’t a race…

Having experienced the Dirty Reiver, I signed up for the first of two UCI Gravel World Series races in the UK, the Gralloch.

Turns out the group fighting for a top 10 position (and therefore world championship qualification) finished a matter of seconds in front of me

The Gralloch – Scotland

I certainly threw myself in at the deep end with my first experience of gravel racing being one of the most hotly contested UCI Gravel World Series races on the calendar. I had a puncture in the first 10 minutes and dropped my chain twice in the first hour. I essentially spent four hours doing a solo TT on rocky terrain to finish 14^th. Turns out the group fighting for a top 10 position (and therefore world championship qualification) finished a matter of seconds in front of me. I remember finishing this race absolutely exhausted. It was so draining and a real mental fight.

Graean Cymru – Wales

More recently I competed in the new gravel race in North Wales. It was the final qualifier event for the world championships, so I expected a strong field. However, to my genuine surprise, there were only 10 women on the start line and most of us were seasoned roadies. I did not go into this race with any expectations or motivation to compete – I just wanted to have a better time than at the Gralloch. To this end, I had just returned from the south of France having spent a week exploring and riding myself into a box, and I camped the night before in a muddy field. Déjà vu, I dropped my chain 10 minutes into the race before we’d even made it to the gravel. And so, I spent the next four hours towing various age-group men around two laps of a muddy, hilly, foggy course. I proceeded to drive five hours home in monsoon rain and pitch black on a busy motorway which wasn’t much fun either.

As you can probably tell from both my roundups, I am yet to experience the fun and social side of gravel racing that you see all over social media. My experiences of gravel racing so far haven’t been the best. Drive five to eight hours each way, pay approximately £85 to enter, buy parking on top of that, have mechanicals in the first 10 minutes and solo TT my way around a route that I didn’t have to plan.

I appreciate it’s a lot about luck in gravel with punctures and mechanicals. I need to give it more than two chances to work out. But my initial opinion is that it is brutal and so different to any racing I have done before. Unfortunately, it is also very expensive.

I believe my perceived enjoyment probably boils down to that element of controllability. TTs are my favourite discipline, as I know what I put into a TT I will get out of it. With gravel, there are so many different variables that can affect your experience. Perhaps I haven’t been doing the appropriate events – the UCI Gravel World Series is pretty big, right? There are so many gravel events out there that I’d love to try.

I love the idea of travelling to amazing places and racing with friends, but I could just ride with friends in amazing places and have the time and energy to look around and enjoy the scenery

I will continue to enjoy my gravel riding, and we will have to see if I make an appearance at another gravel event next year. I love the idea of travelling to amazing places and racing with friends, but I could just ride with friends in amazing places and have the time and energy to look around and enjoy the scenery. I certainly won’t be putting all my eggs into the gravel basket just yet.

One thing I must do is source a chain catcher…!