The year 2020, was a year of cancelled and postponed races. Many of the races we all trained and planned for either did now happen or were postponed only to be cancelled later. One race that organizers were able to pull off in 2020 after a six month delay, was the “Gravel Nationals” hosted by the city of Lawrence, Kansas and presented by United States Endurance Cycling.
Gravel Nationals and the Stars and Bars Jersey hanging on the wall at MMC are the focus of this month’s Jersey Trivia. As many of you know, Gravel Racing or Gravel Grinding has become the fastest growing segment of the cycling world. Races like our own, Chino Grinder, the Dirty Kanza, Gravel Worlds and many more have become big attractions to thousands of gravel riding enthusiasts. Whether it be the 200 plus miles of Dirty Kanza or the 100 miles of the Gravel Nationals, riding and racing on gravel and dirt roads has become more and more popular.
A big part of that popularity is the adventure aspect of gravel riding/racing. Much like mountain biking, gravel race courses differ a great deal from one race to another. The Chino Grinder includes very rugged rocky roads. The Dirty Kanza includes muddy, rutted cow pasture roads. The Gravel Worlds includes deep gravel and unending hills. Gravel Nationals is different in that it is very much like a road race on gravel. The entirety of the 100 mile course is on well maintained gravel roads in the greater Lawrence area. That basically means it is “fast and furious”. To be competitive, you must ride in a peloton with other riders. You must take advantage of the draft and you must work together. All good fun and exciting, but a bit different than the “solo” aspect of many gravel race adventures.
If you would like to compete for the stars and stripes jersey and ride some terrific gravel roads with a bunch of fast guys and gals, head for Lawrence, Kansas this October for the next edition of Gravel Nationals. It’s a great race and Lawrence is a terrific host town, “Go Jayhawks.”
