Big Sugar is a good bike race.
It’s punchy, it’s selective, and the descents are technical enough to make a difference. While the gravel is gnarly and flats are a regular occurrence, this is overall a great course for racing.
Hats off to PAS Racing. The week after winning Rainbows in Australia, Tobias Kongstad backs it up with a win in Bentonville. I’d love to see that team race together more often. In the women’s race, Stella Hobbs pulled off a surprise solo win.
Mechanicals and chaos define racing.
“It’s nice to see that mechanicals and chaos can still define the race even if tech gets better.” - Logan Jones-Wilkins
This weekend served as a reminder that shit happens and sometimes your biggest problem is keeping air in the tyres.
Specialized win, again.
Keegan and Sofia take home the LTGP title, and with it, a collective $100,000.
While Sofia seemed to be in control all day, Keegan suffered an untimely flat that saw him on the back foot. It was the ride of the day to come back and win the overall by a single point.
Interestingly, neither of the other two Specialized boys were at the race to help him. It does make one question how much the team prioritised winning the overall title.
Either way, there’s no questioning which brand won gravel this year.
Everyone is tired.
The athletes, the brands, even the mass participation riders. The energy felt lower, the expo quieter, and the media attention more scarce.
It’s the time of year. I feel the Sugars are a month too late and most people are hanging on. It’s not helped that conversations revolved more around 2027 than this weekend.
Rider safety!!
In the first 20km, there were sections where oncoming vehicles passed extremely close to the peloton. When a bunch this size is racing at speed, the yellow line rule isn’t enough protection. One poorly timed crash could be catastrophic.
Credit where it’s due: it was a clear improvement on last year, and the marshalling was very good overall. But one oncoming car is one too many. Full road closures, or rolling closures, must be the standard.
It’s hard, and it’s expensive, but safety cannot be compromised.
Bentonville…
Bentonville is a beautiful yet bizarre place. Walmart money has brought major investment, and it shows.
It’s extremely clean, it’s walkable, and it’s safe - you can leave your bike outside without locking it. There are hundreds of miles of purpose-built trails, and I can guarantee future champions will be born here.
However, it’s weirdly too perfect. It’s the most bubble of a town that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve lived in Girona.
Can we all hang out more often?
The non-ironically named ‘Gravel Rave’ is the end-of-season party where everyone lets their hair down. It’s the final time we all see each other before disappearing off to our respective corners of the world until Sea Otter.
It’s rare that the whole community is in one place with no agenda other than relaxing and having fun. We should do it more often.
More teams are coming to play in 2027.
Not all contracts have been signed, and for many, the rider-brand dance is still taking place. However, if the rumour mill is to be believed, there’s a smattering of new teams entering the gravel scene next year.
What remains to be seen is how teams are set up. In my opinion, the whole point of a team is to work together towards a single collective goal. Specialized has shown the power of that.
The Grand Prix isn’t a gravel series.
Just a reminder that the LTGP is just as much a MTB series as a gravel series. It will always favour a rider with an MTB background.
While that’s completely fine, it’s strange to me how we all talk about the Grand Prix as a gravel series when 50% of the races aren’t on a gravel bike.
For the first time in memory, the world’s most dominant gravel racer was not in the Grand Prix.
I think many of us expected the Gravel Earth Series to compete with the LTGP. Instead, the GES lost momentum in 2026.
What’s next, Life Time?
It seems there will be more money on the line in 2027, a different Wildcard system, and an extra race.
The LTGP is a good series that has plenty of potential. From adding a leaders jersey, to better fan-activations, and calendar expansion. There are plenty of ideas, many of which don’t cost money at all. I hope some of the low hanging fruit starts to be picked.
Whatever happens, the LTGP has done a lot for American racing and will continue to do so.
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