I hear you on the egalitarian mass start and I have some thoughts. As the pointy end becomes more pointy, what if the pro men started like three hours after everyone else?
I see the problem of them blasting through slower riders but I also see the opportunity for these less experienced riders to actually experience the pro's riding. What if these elite men all rode with a friendly bell that let folks know they were coming?
Ideally, the pro men would finish somewhere in the middle of the bell curve of participants. I think the after party would be a lot better too. Thoughts?
Hey Marshall, it’s been awhile! I think raceday logistics might make a 3hr staggered start difficult, but I’m no promoter. Epic Rides used to run pro men & women on their own day so as not to get mixed up with the amateur categories. That was a pretty good approach.
And yes, they all should have bells on their bikes!!
Agreed. Completely. I’ve done a thousand races on mixed surfaces, but only a few that are gravel races.
I did my first marathon this fall and I immediately recognized the vibe. I have no idea who won the TC marathon and don’t really care. It felt like gravel; the six hour finisher was getting far more support on course than the front pack. It was a party celebrating everyone dumb enough to take on the course.
Good stuff. Did a gravel race this weekend that checks most of those boxes… except it had three laps of a 14-mile loop. But I’ll give the organizer some grace. The race was on a military training camp and at the last minute the course had to be changed to accommodate some heavy artillery exercises. We could hear them during the race.
This is fab, thanks Spensah!
I hear you on the egalitarian mass start and I have some thoughts. As the pointy end becomes more pointy, what if the pro men started like three hours after everyone else?
I see the problem of them blasting through slower riders but I also see the opportunity for these less experienced riders to actually experience the pro's riding. What if these elite men all rode with a friendly bell that let folks know they were coming?
Ideally, the pro men would finish somewhere in the middle of the bell curve of participants. I think the after party would be a lot better too. Thoughts?
Hey Marshall, it’s been awhile! I think raceday logistics might make a 3hr staggered start difficult, but I’m no promoter. Epic Rides used to run pro men & women on their own day so as not to get mixed up with the amateur categories. That was a pretty good approach.
And yes, they all should have bells on their bikes!!
Agreed. Completely. I’ve done a thousand races on mixed surfaces, but only a few that are gravel races.
I did my first marathon this fall and I immediately recognized the vibe. I have no idea who won the TC marathon and don’t really care. It felt like gravel; the six hour finisher was getting far more support on course than the front pack. It was a party celebrating everyone dumb enough to take on the course.
Good post Spencer. Agree.
Good stuff. Did a gravel race this weekend that checks most of those boxes… except it had three laps of a 14-mile loop. But I’ll give the organizer some grace. The race was on a military training camp and at the last minute the course had to be changed to accommodate some heavy artillery exercises. We could hear them during the race.