Gravel Racing Has a Safety Problem

The solution isn’t straightforward, but we need to start making things better.

On Saturday in Vermont, Richard Wanstall died while riding in the Rasputitsa gravel race. It’s unspeakably tragic. The 54-year-old from Massachusetts leaves behind four children, according to Bicycling.

I’ve thought a lot about this incident in the days since I saw the news. It is time to start a real conversation about safety in gravel races.

I am not writing specifically about Wanstall’s death at Rasputitsa. I wasn’t there. I don’t have any further details beyond what you, the reader, can glean from news reports. This isn’t about that specific tragedy, and it is not about any specific event.

While I’m not the world’s most experienced gravel racer, I have done a lot of races — most of the big ones, such as Unbound, Mid South, Barry Roubaix, Rebecca’s Private Idaho, and Belgian Waffle Ride. I’ve also raced some smaller, local events, which lend a unique perspective too.

Without fail, at essentially every gravel event I’ve raced, I’ve witnessed or experienced a moment where I was genuinely concerned about safety. Based on how things have evolved over the last 5-10 years with more capable bikes, larger fields, and more competitive riders, I’ve seen things get progressively less safe at most of the gravel events I’ve ridden.

So how do we start making things better? The way forward is complex, and it demands a holistic approach.

How Riders Can Make Gravel Races Safer

On any given day, in a race or not, when we get on our bikes, we make decisions that impact our safety. Some decisions make us safer, others make us less safe. Some decisions are calculated, others are spontaneous. Humans are fallible. Just like any of you, I’ve certainly had my moments where I took unnecessary risks on a bike.

In the context of a gravel race, these decisions are more fraught. There’s the extrinsic motivation of a good result. We’re often making decisions under duress — that’s the whole point of a bike race, right? It’s hectic.

However, there are a few basic rules we can make for ourselves that will improve our odds in the long run, even if there’s still a chance something will go rubber-side up.

1. Don’t cross the center line on a road, ever. If you’ve done a USAC road race, you’ll know this is grounds for immediate disqualification (provided a moto referee sees you). Harsh, right? Well, it’s for our own good. Say what you will about roadie culture, but there is very little tolerance for violations of the yellow line rule. If a dirt road doesn’t have a centerline, pretend it does. Imagine you’re driving a car. Would you be all the way over on the left of a blind corner?

2. Don’t run unprotected intersections. If there are volunteers or authorities present to hold traffic, that’s wonderful. But a stop sign is a stop sign. Communicate with your group to coordinate a stop, so you can all get home safely.

3. Remember what is at stake. If you’re actually in the running to win a gravel race, you probably aren’t reading this, or you shouldn’t take advice from me. If you’re like me, hoping to crack the top-100, consider the reward that a race result can offer. Now how does that reward stack up with the risks you’re willing to take in the race?

How Race Organizers Can Make Gravel Races Safer

I have never promoted a bike race, so I don’t want to speak out of turn. This all comes from a participant’s perspective. Some promoters are way better at prioritizing safety than others. Maybe the comments section will help us unpack some of my ideas, but here goes nothing.

1. Find ways to split up the bunch early. The gravel races that feel safest to me typically have early climbs so that we don’t have a field of 100+ riders taking up the entire road. Local terrain doesn’t always allow for this, but it’s worth considering.

2. Incorporate safety vehicles strategically. The front group usually has a lead car, which can significantly improve safety by alerting other motorists to the oncoming race. My group, on the other hand, perhaps five or 10 minutes behind the front, might be at the greatest risk. Chase groups might not always need a lead car, but perhaps they should have one to shepherd them through particularly hazardous sections. Depending on the course layout, these vehicles could circulate and cover multiple groups for a key section.

3. Call the cops. No, really, maybe it’s time for some races to start spending money on professionals who can help make a race course safer. The lack of official sanctioning and rules relating to course security has turbocharged many gravel races because they can be more affordable to organize. Again, back to my point about the “yellow-line” rule, there are good reasons why USAC (for example) requires rolling course closures with police support.

4. Adapt the race route. Some events run the same course every year. That might be fine, but if there are dangers like two-way race traffic, overlapping fields, busy highways, or unnecessary bottlenecks, change can be a good thing.

Conclusion

Just to reiterate, I only intend to start the conversation in a proactive way. It’s not about any specific race. It’s also not about last weekend’s tragedy, although that provoked me to think more deeply on the topic. Bike racing is dangerous. I don’t know about you, but that’s partly why I enjoy it. Unfortunately, people will die in races from time to time, and it is always tragic.

It would be a mistake, though, to assume that we cannot do anything to make things better. With the way the sport has grown and evolved in just a few years, I don’t think we should wait any longer to find solutions to this problem.