Does Gravel Attract Moaners Or Was UNBOUND Too Tough? | GCN Show Ep. 543



First the ‘official’ UCI Gravel World Championships was too easy, now the ‘unofficial’ world champs at UNBOUND Gravel was too tough! So, how much gravel is just right, Goldilocks? Are the complaints about UNBOUND’s peanut butter mud justified or does gravel riding just attract the biggest moaners? Si and Hank discuss this plus loads more on this week’s GCN Show!

00:00 Intro
00:45 This week in cycling
01:26 Does gravel attract moaners?
07:11 Hack/Bodge
15:07 Cycling Shorts
24:18 GCN Newsletter competition
25:18 Global Bike Festival
26:23 Caption Competition
27:57 Comment of the Week
31:40 Coming up on GCN

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37 thoughts on “Does Gravel Attract Moaners Or Was UNBOUND Too Tough? | GCN Show Ep. 543”

  1. Having binge watched the unchained series I am really confused as to why they didn't cover Pogačar falling and Vingegaard waiting. After an almighty battle for 18 days, with the result still in the balance, to show you want to win the right way felt like a great message for new fans of the sport. They literally cover the descent and cut around it?!?! Am I the only one who thought this?

    Reply
  2. Are you inviting us to moan about UNBOUND? Great, this is my chance. Gravel racing is a case of "group think" propelled to completely stupid extremes. Over 35 years of bike racing I'm plenty nuts myself, but racing beyond ones physical capabilities, on purpose, repeatedly, is self destructive. Ok, out of all the "racers" there may be 5% who have the physical capability to race 200 miles in the mud and gravel. But what is going through the minds of the other 95%? Even with the largest race promoter in the US sponsoring and promoting these events, it's still no excuse for subjecting oneself to participating in them. Ahhh, that felt good.

    Reply
  3. I am the unofficial youngest finisher of the Unbound 200. I completed it at 15 years of age and received my Gravel Grail (5 completions) at age 21 (would've been 20, but COVID…). I went to Unbound with my dad in 2014 to watch my older brother compete. That year was muddy, nasty, and cold. My brother is one of the hardest people I know and he dropped out, dad and I driving the jeep to go find him on course. The nastiness of the 2014 race drew me and dad to join my brother in 2015. The race is supposed to be hard and nasty. These races aren't meant to be easy. They test your skill, perseverance, and adaptability. No one complains about the Mid South being muddy.

    Edit: I haven't checked if I'm still the youngest finisher, but the official guy is Henry Nelson (fast guy with a phenomenal attitude btw) who completed it at age 16 when they lowered the age minimum to 16. When I entered at 15, the minimum age was 18. Race organizers found out because I was racing at age "18" three years in a row.

    Reply
  4. Completely disagree with your take on Unbound. Those guys trained to ride their bikes. Not walk them through the mud. Plus there is a safety factor to consider. Having riders trample into each other isn’t a safe race environment.

    Reply
  5. Mud is not gravel. A very wet, rutted and muddy gravel road is welcome, but not deep muddy earth without the gravel base. "Peanut butter mud" belongs in the realm of cyclocross and XC.

    Reply
  6. Don't think this is Hank's best venue, too distracting. He's great on other videos, just not the best choice for this type of commentator role. No disrespect intended.

    Reply
  7. Surely it is time to consider belt drives and internal gear boxes, in those conditions they would surely have higher drive train efficiency as well as a lower risk of mechanicals.

    Reply
  8. Gravel racing rule: If a section of single track is too muddy to ride, competitors need to wait for the gravel truck to show up and deposit enough gravel to make it rideable.

    Reply

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