Perhaps on a professional level. What about amateur racing? (I don't know the answer, but am wondering if you have any numbers, any evidence to support your assertion?)


You've raised this issue before, and many of your fellow posters pointed out that your sense of this is unrealistic. (e.g., an adolescent doesn't need a $7k bike to start road racing.)


I don't know what percentage of people in the US have easy access to gravel roads, and I'm guessing that you don't know, either. I do know (as does anyone else who is even casually interested in cycling) that gravel riding and racing is a growing segment, that the bikes (entry level and higher) are not any less expensive than road bikes (which contradicts your claim about entry costs being prohibitive), and that MTB and BMX riding both became popular even though most people probably have to travel further to access appropriate trails than they do to access gravel roads.

Here are some stats to support my comments. They are behind a paywall, but you can easily see the summaries.