Road vs gravel: What pedal to use and why
Choosing the correct pedal is essential to performance and safety.
In just a few years, gravel cycling has gone from a fringe pursuit to the hot style of riding and racing, with current and former WorldTour professional jumping in the mix. Gravel cycling has many attractions: escaping traffic, noise, and congestion – whether rolling solo, riding with friends, or racing with competitors. At VeloNews, we cover all the major events and many of the small, quirky ones, bringing you the inside stories from the riders at the front and the back of the back. We also test a wide variety of gear, often in races like Unbound Gravel or The Mid South, and give you our unvarnished feedback here.
Choosing the correct pedal is essential to performance and safety.
The 2023 edition of the Oklahoma gravel festival delivered a veritable smorgasbord of bike riding, racing, running, partying, and overall good vibes
De Crescenzo repeats after 2022; McElveen adds 2023 to his 2019, '20 wins in Oklahoma.
It's not just a bike race. It's a vibe.
Ahead of her first Life Time Grand Prix, the 22-year-old feels calm, confident, and stoked.
A special edition of the weekly roundup of what's happening in the off-road.
Anna Yamauchi and Alexis Skarda stage a smart race for second and third.
The singletrack-heavy course ended with a decisive move in a sand pit near the finish.
A deep field of pros will race a rowdy and raucous 122 miles at the inaugural event.
The event will take place in Flanders on October 1, one week before the UCI Gravel World Championships.
A weekly roundup of what's happening in the off-road.
Construction is underway on the Amani House, which will serve as a training facility and performance center for aspiring East African cyclists.
Women will start 15 minutes before everyone else at the NorCal race on Saturday; they'll also have their own portapotties at the start.
The second event in the off-road Grasshopper Adventure Series was like a "five hour cyclocross race," said race organizer Miguel Crawford.
The American brand’s open secret gravel bike becomes official, and it's got a flavor all its own.
A weekly roundup of events, initiatives, and activities related to off-road riding.
A Wednesday roundup of events, initiatives, and activities related to off-road riding.
Christopher Blevins and Anna Yamauchi take top honors after riding through kiddie pools, private ranches, and someone's living room
The family of late professional cyclist Moriah Wilson will host a cycling-centric fundraiser this spring in Vermont.
Takeaways from my first mountain bike race, The Gobbler 6/3, near Atlanta.
Guest columnist Helena Gilbert-Snyder takes us inside a new initiative at the Grasshopper Adventure Series.
Niky Taylor and Maude Farrell competed the women's podium, while Christopher Blevins and Tyler Williams were 2-3 for the men.
From California to Michigan to Finland, you won't miss the Flint Hills one bit.
Expect nothing but fireworks and fun from the first Grasshopper Adventure Series event of the season.
The US-based triathlete has signed with Canyon Bicycles to take on the Life Time Grand Prix series.
How one cyclist is creating a resources for dirt-curious Portland riders.
Why the never-ever mountain biker is going all in with the Life Time Grand Prix.
The new rider support program will marry performance training and marketing to help cultivate professional riders.
San Francisco bay area cyclist Nehemiah Brown wants to see more cyclists of color on gravel at at events. This is how he's trying to help.
Co2uT, Telluride Gravel Race, Ned Gravel, and FoCo Fondo make up the four-race series.
The 110-mile gravel race will be held September 30 in Trinidad, Colorado.
For 2023, the US national mountain bike champ has planned a dual gravel and cross-country schedule very similar to last year's.
Wertz will ride for the family-run custom bike brand at events like the Life Time Grand Prix, BWR, and the Grasshopper Adventure Series, as well as adventures beyond the race circuit.
3T takes the aero gravel concept to the extremes.
I predict good things on the horizon for gravel in 2023.
So far, it's been mostly positive reactions from the riders who will be affected by the changes.
The men's and women's elite fields will start 10 minutes ahead of all other racers, and they're not allowed to use aero bars.
From staying in the group to wearing the right gloves, pro Hannah Otto offers up some ways to win at gravel.
The series will feature 17 qualifier races for the second UCI Gravel World Championships, which will be held October 7-8 in Veneto, Italy.
The bikes, people, and events that lit up gravel in 2022.
Michelin star chef Matthew Accarrino talks about the parallels — and complements — between riding a bike and running a restaurant.
Four-time US national 'cross champ talks race commentary, and the challenges facing CX in the wake of huge growth of gravel.
Returning champs Haley Smith and Keegan Swenson join a roster of newcomers and 2022 series veterans.
'We believe that a gravel championship should have a certain standard of both quality and distance of real hardpack dirt roads,' says race organizer Maarten Patteeuw.
Roanoke, Virginia joins the lineup of whimsical pocket-sized gravel centric guidebooks, bringing the total lineup to seven.
This discipline isn't what it used to be, nor what I expected it to be. I got lost, but now I am found.
The five-day stage race that debuted in Tanzania last year will return in 2023 as two 425km stages with a mandatory 12-hour stop in between.
Registration for the UCI Gravel World Series race in Arkansas opens on December 8; UCI gravel worlds returns to Italy on September 30, 2023.
After five years with the US squad, Newsom is choosing to race closer to home and her family.
Ridley's new Grifn falls into the do-it-all camp, but is it really an N+1 killer?
The governing body will launch a gravel national championship in 2023, followed by a junior and collegiate gravel series in 2024.
Girona-based promoter Klassmark will oversee the series, which will unify 6-8 international gravel races under one umbrella.
With the UCI-sanctioned gravel worlds slated for Flanders in 2024, it might be too close to home for Van Aert to avoid.
A chance encounter with an old story I wrote about the Spirit World 100 reminds me that gravel is just the medium — the spirit is how we ride it
Significant changes include the addition of a seventh race, race fees paid for all selected athletes, and more doping controls.
Interview explores Boswell's struggles within the UK team, and his transition to gravel racing: 'In gravel I'm self-dependent.'
The gravel event founded by Ted and Laura King saw three successful editions
The six-event series will feature two timed races in Sweden and Finland, as well as social non-competitive rides of varying distances
A Texas judge denies motions by lawyers representing Kaitlin Armstrong to suppress evidence in the case.
The 31-year-old has twice won Gravel Worlds and is known for dropping the competition on fast, rolling roads. He's also a veteran of Latin American stage racing.
Retired Spanish star eyes dipping his toes into the booming gravel scene as well as acting as a liaison between staffers and riders at Movistar.
A Texas court began proceedings last month and a judge is expected to decide on an important question on evidence.
The friends, separated by 27 years, on their history and the playful rivalry at last weekend's Arizona gravel race
Guest contributor Molly Lofton takes us inside the irreverent Stillwater, Oklahoma event
The former professional road racer has found new inspiration in racing on the American off-road, as well as helping others get to the start line
The Hagens Berman Axeon rider took on Big Sugar Gravel aboard BMC's new race-oriented gravel bike.
Just a year after transitioning from World Cup XCO to endurance racing, Cole Paton finished fourth overall in the Life Time Grand Prix series
Grant is retiring at the end of the season, after a nearly 10-year career in which she was a five-time marathon MTB national champion and two-time winner of the Leadville 100
The 19-year-old from California had an offer from a Spanish development team but chose Mazda Lauf Factory gravel for 2023
Submissions will be accepted November 1 through November 30 and are open to the public
The recently-retired Irish WorldTour pro is going all in on gravel.
Technical wear with a more laidback styling and gravel specific features.
The Oregon carbon bike manufacturer's first gravel bike attempts to strike a balance between shredding singletrack and winning races
New rubber for every terrain you tackle.
Many riders said that gravel's season finale was the most full-gas race of all
At Big Sugar Gravel, we took a look at the Grand Prix series winner's gravel bike
A serendipitous end of the season saw women at the front of the race riding on each other's wheels
The new gravel race rig is aero and fast but more importantly, really fun to ride
The finale to a season full of challenges on and off the bike ended with everyone together at a brewery that felt like "a big house party, with friends left, right, center"
'Obviously my big issue is that every time there’s a descent I’m dropping the wheel and I have to sprint for 5km just to get back to the group,' Irish rider says after fifth in Big Sugar Gravel.