Gravel Racing Leads the Charge in Elevating Women's Cycling
UNBOUND Gravel marks the start of a highly anticipated gravel season and, as always, promises great head-to-head racing across every category.
Possibly the most unpredictable and exciting competition of the weekend will be the professional women's race, thanks to an incredibly deep field of riders with diverse backgrounds and strengths.
It's also not just the professional women's field that has seen explosive growth in recent years. Across the board, more women are joining the gravel community thanks to better support and attention from the bike industry, race directors, media, and, simply, the welcoming community that we call gravel.
Former professional road racer and current gravel specialist Amy Charity breaks down the state of women's cycling and why gravel is leading the charge in getting more women involved at every level.
By Amy Charity
Gravel Is Changing Women's Cycling
The emergence of the gravel riding phenomenon in the North American cycling scene has fundamentally shifted the state of women's cycling, propelling it to the front and center of importance and relevance in the cycling industry.
In addition to the welcoming culture of gravel riding, many brands, media outlets, and event organizers have either played a role in this critical shift or are quickly realizing the importance of focusing on women's gravel.
While women's cycling in general still faces many challenges before it is on equal footing with men's cycling, women's gravel racing is leading the charge and setting an example for how it can be done.
A More Welcoming Start Line
Gravel appeals to an incredibly broad spectrum of athletes, from recreational cyclists to current professional mountain bikers, road racers, and triathletes.
The welcoming culture of gravel riding has broken down many barriers to cycling, and this change has opened the floodgates to women who are willing to give the discipline a shot.
The intimidation factor is low. Women can line up with their friends, their spouse, their kids... or not. It's completely up to them.
By contrast, signing up for a road race often means understanding your racing category, buying a license, and lining up with a relatively small group of women in that category, not necessarily with your friends or family.
Industry Support Is Growing
Cycling brands are also beginning to pour more resources into creating products for women and ensuring women are represented by their brands.
Brands are finding value in highlighting women as ambassadors, and they are hiring women to make decisions within their organizations. Women are noticing and purchasing products that work well for them and enhance the overall gravel riding experience.
Women's Racing Is Getting More Visibility
The fundamental shift toward prioritizing women in gravel cycling can also be seen when scrolling through race results and cycling news stories.
Historically, it was often challenging to find women's results from events. Those stories came out later or were buried beneath the men's results.
With gravel events, women's results are increasingly front and center, and women's stories are making the front page of cycling news.
Race Organizers Are Creating More Opportunities
Many gravel events across the country are following suit and finding creative solutions to increase representation in their events.
From guaranteed entries and equal prize money to opportunities to invite a friend for free, event organizers are finding ways to ensure that women feel welcome.
The fact that many gravel events around the country are run by women, including Kristi Mohn, Michelle Duffy, Rebecca Rusch, Jessica Cerra, Whitney Allison, Amanda Nauman, and myself, is also a key factor in this shift toward greater parity in cycling.
Progress You Can See on the Start Line
The result of the concerted efforts by brands, media, and race promoters, coupled with the inclusive nature of gravel riding, is real progress.
Cycling remains a male-dominated sport with much of the status quo steeped in tradition. However, investment in women's gravel cycling has substantially increased the number of women participating in the discipline.
The single start line, typical at many gravel events, is the visual representation of what gravel cycling is all about. Women line up next to men, representing all ages, abilities, and riding backgrounds, with an equal opportunity to hammer at the front or enjoy the ride at a more modest pace.
A Deep Women's Field at UNBOUND Gravel
The start list for UNBOUND Gravel underscores the strength of women's gravel racing, with large field sizes and riders coming from a wide range of competitive backgrounds.
The professional women's field in the 200-mile race, for example, will feature some of the top cyclists across multiple disciplines.
Top contenders for the podium include Kaysee Armstrong from mountain bike racing; Whitney Allison, Jessica Cerra, Lauren De Crescenzo, Flavia Oliveira, Olivia Dillon, Hannah Shell, Andrea Dvorak, Alison Tetrick, and Amy Charity from road cycling backgrounds; Tiffany Cromwell and Shayna Powless from the current professional road peloton; Heather Jackson from triathlon; and gravel racers Amity Rockwell and Kae Takeshita.
The depth of the field is impressive, and we can't wait to see how the race unfolds.
