Originally Posted by
Sierra_rider
I like competitive racing, but do like nice people and a fun atmosphere...I hope it strikes the right balance. That's part of the reason that I've really enjoyed XC racing, the actual racing is very serious, but the people involved are generally nice people. I generally try to be helpful and courteous to newer riders in that discipline, partly because I don't want to be a crappy person, but also because I realize that it's shrinking as a sport. My limited experience with gravel is that it definitely has a "party" vibe that XC lacks. Although most of us XC racers are nice folks, it is a rather "business like" atmosphere in comparison.
My experiences with gravel events have been that there are a few folks who are there to race competitively, but a large majority are there for the experience of the event, and to just do as well as they are able to on that day. After the finish line has been crossed, who crossed before who doesn't matter. Everyone has their tale of how the day went for them - the good parts and the struggles. To me, that's where the "spirit of gravel" lives. The difference with XC racing is that everyone is there to race. It doesn't mean they all have a shot at winning, but they're trying to beat as many people as they can. The multitude of categories gives more riders a chance at being competitive. Same is true of road/crit/CX racing.
There was a recent article in Cycling Weekly where the author advocated for making gravel racing more competitive by similarly chopping it up into multiple smaller groups. I strongly disagree with going that route. IMO, making it more competitive would make events less attractive to a lot of people. I put road and XC racing behind me, intentionally. These days, I'm much more interested in sharing the experience with friends - old or new - than I am in feeling the compulsion to beat the guy next to me into the last corner so I can cross the line first. As far as I can tell from my experiences, there are a lot of folks who feel similarly. If you want to race, go for it, but don't **** up a good, fun event by making everyone be a racer.