Gravel race
PHIL PATERSON, 41, LONDON
“The biggest challenge was technical. Next time, I’d practise using my rear brake more so the front wheel doesn’t skid”
I got my first gravel bike during lockdown and loved getting out of London onto trails in Hertfordshire and the Surrey Hills. I’m a triathlete so my fitness is good, but my first gravel race was at the 2023 British Championships [the King’s Cup in Sussex], so I went in at the deep end. In the elite event, people like Alex Dowsett are riding.
I entered the age group event and was astonished at the pace. The course is four 15km laps, and it’s non-stop. At times, we were hammering 35-40kph. For the first 10 minutes, my average heart rate was 162bpm: far too high to sustain through the race.
Doing a recce is always helpful. There were a lot of twisty, technical sections, so I watched videos and looked at satellite images.
The biggest challenge on the day was technical. In training, I’d learnt how to unclip and put a foot down on a corner. But next time I’d practise using my rear brake more so the front wheel doesn’t skid. On a climb, it’s my instinct to get out of the saddle, but off-road your back wheel jumps, so you need to train with powerful seated accelerations. Also, I’d often brake before the corner, coast around it and then accelerate out. It felt like hard interval training. It’s better to carry that speed around the corner.
I suggest practising on sand, even if it’s just doing figure of eight movements. In sand sections, I’d almost stop and wiggle through it, but you need good momentum, and I soon learned to find a good line where other riders had packed down the sand.
In gravel races, you can’t take your hands off the bars to unwrap an energy bar or grab a bottle so easily. A lot of people used a Camelbak as you can just suck the straw. Keeping food in a handy toptube bag is also a good idea.
But my best advice is to learn quickly during the race. My first lap was sheer terror, at an average speed of 31kph and a 158bpm average heart rate. By the last lap, I’d found my rhythm, was coming out of corners at speed and riding at a tempo pace. I finished with a big smile on my face.