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news
strade bianche 201712.jpgEroica founder discussing launch of pro gravel race series with UCI
The founder of the Eroica series of retro sportives, which led to the creation of modern-day classic race Strade Bianche, is in talks with the UCI about creating a professional gravel race series.
Italian news agency Adnkronos reports that Giancarlo Brocci, who launched the first edition of the Erioca in the Tuscan town of Gaiole in Chianti in 1997, met this week with UCU president David Lappartient to discuss the idea.
Also present at the meeting, at world cycling’s governing body’s headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, were representatives of 16 Swiss ski resorts who are looking for new event opportunities given the crisis they face from receding levels of snow.
“Lappartient said he was very interested,” Bocci said afterwards, “and is setting up a discussion group to evaluate the details of the proposal.
“In fact, the route to professional cycling’s Erioca began today.”
According to Adnkronos, Brocci put forward the idea of an alternative calendar, “perhaps on unknown roads, not just the usual classic climbs which everyone knows.
“Besides, even the major classics are looking for new routes.”
Further outlining the proposal, he said he was thinking about races beyond 00 kilometres in distance, “maybe with the start at night and on bikes without climbing gears to show who really makes the difference on ascents.
“Computers and radios would be banned, riders would stop to refuel, and it would be forbidden for riders to have less than 6 per cent body fat,” he continued.
Bocci said that cycling is “a sport in a technical crisis and its particpants are distanced from the people, they no longer know how to enthuse the crowds.
He added that technology had made cycling “boring,” with races “predictable”,” killing the “poetry” of the sport.
“Fans can’t become passionate about athletes who are often too thin, almost malnourished,” he added.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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13 comments
For Christ's sake don't let the UCI rulemakers in. Before you know it they'll regulate every single aspect and then some.
Why not keep it simple: anything goes, provided the bike is 100% human propelled and the rider is self-supporting, no caravan with new wheelsets, frames, technicians etc. If someone wants to do it on a fixie, let them, want to trash your Bianchi Oltre Xr4, have a go, think a MTB will do the trick, help yourself.
The sport is desperate for something new. The old Tour format with a bunch of people pedalling away for weeks on end in a format that is at best confusing and at worst totally off-putting isn't bringing any new sponsors or viewers.
However, gravel riding, while it's new and interesting and has the potential to bring in new/ different sponsors, it's almost impossible to televise in any meaningful fashion. There's no 'bunch' of riders, potentially no fixed route (if you're trying to follow something like GBDuro) and that means you can't showcase it. So you need some rules and some way of framing the event to create a narrative, a story that you can package and sell to the public and the sponsors.
I don't agree with everything suggested, like restricted gears - watching a rider walking up a gravel hill isn't exactly riveting TV. If I wanted to watch riders walking up a hill I'd stand on Winnats Pass next time they run a Sportive up there.
But yeah, for better or worse, it needs some sort of structure and it needs international recognition and marketing so it's the UCI or nothing. The other option of course is that it could be left to a bunch of people watching dots on a computer which isn't going to get in sponsors, new viewers or new cash!
So basically just like road riding before WW2 then
I am for it, like a kind of super spring classics, and I guess it shows how genres are edgy, then become a thing, then become boring (eg MTB XC, TdF 90% of the time etc) Restricting gears seems a bit stupid though if you want a form of the sport that can inspire us mortals to ride.
Not o sure about the body fat thing but other wise, a sound idea. Not having radios is probably the best thing but I would have to think that phones would also be included. Gears? huh! So what? It's meant to be hard.
The thing I hate about this whole idea is all of the regulations. That's one of the great things about what gravel races are now is that they are largely unregulated. If you can ride it, bring it. Mountain bikes, CX bikes, road bikes... they are all there, not just gravel bikes.
Limiting the gears you can use is just a gateway to more frame size regulations, approved frames, forks, can you or can't you use aero bars. The same BS the UCI has introduced into everything else.
As for the other stuff, I'm all for no radios, no support vehicles, etc., but the "no computers" thing is going a bit far. Being self supported should also mean self navigated, riders need to at least be allowed GPS tracking.
As one constantly irritated by the inadequate gearing on most bikes forbidding climbing gears sounds like a terrible idea to me.
I was going to make a snide comment about the only sport which involves travelling "00 kilometres" being darts, but probably even they walk a kilometre back and forth between the board and the oche.
Jolly glad he's thinking about races longer than 00 km. All those less than that are disappointing viewing. The man's a visionary.
have you not heard of the races where they pedal backwards down the mountain?
This sounded good right up until the bit where they want to ban fit people and modern bikes.
Banning people with less than 6% body fat is not banning fit people, you lunatic.
Depending on the person, it potentially is. I've been under 6% and perfectly fit, mind you that was 20+ years ago, but you can be ~5% and fit. Gravel should be inclusive, not exclusive, and just about everything about what he's suggesting makes me hate the idea.
Ok, fair enough, I read it as him saying anyone with body fat above 6% was unfit, but maybe I'm misreading.