Safety First: USA Cycling Tightens Protocols at Gravel National Championships

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As gravel racing continues to grow in popularity among both professional cyclists and amateurs alike, the stakes have never been higher for ensuring the safety of participants.

In fact, as the discipline expands with both prize money and prestige on the line, one of the very things that contributed to its meteoric rise — a lack of official sanctioning and regulation — could also contribute to its potential downfall.

Read also: Gravel’s Safety Problem Isn’t Going Away

Enter USA Cycling.

While USAC, as the governing body is known, has tended to hover on the periphery of gravel racing with organizers like Life Time and Belgian Waffle Ride taking center stage, it hopes to set a safety standard for the discipline with its protocols at this weekend’s Gravel National Championships in Gering, Nebraska.

Last year’s inaugural ‘gravel nats’ received mostly positive feedback from participants, namely around its respect of some of gravel’s unwritten rules: equal distances for men and women of the same category and mass starts for all categories but elites.

The event also instituted protocols not seen at other gravel races, like a rolling enclosure for the entire elite race, as well as enforcement of a ‘no drafting’ policy between the men and women in those races.

This year, says race technical director Todd Hageman, “we’re taking it up a notch up from last year in terms of safety on the road.”

‘Safety components, not road components’

According to Hageman, who has worked as a consultant to domestic and international races for over a decade, USAC is leveraging both new technologies and well-established practices to make this year’s gravel national championships even safer than before.

As someone who races gravel himself, Hageman knows that the governing body has gotten flak from gravel enthusiasts who fear that it will quash the discipline’s good vibes.

However, when it comes to gravel nats, Hageman is confident that USAC is bringing forth the best of its resources and experience, not simply making rules just to make rules.

“For those who say, ‘so you’re making this into a road race?’ I say, ‘no, this is for safety,’” Hageman says. “We’re bringing in safety components not road components.”

The nature of gravel racing, with its mix of terrain and sometimes remote locations, presents unique challenges that require a different approach than traditional road or mountain bike races. However, USAC isn’t shying away from gravel racing’s nuances.

Here are some of the ways it plans to ensure safety at this year’s national championship.

Tackling Line of Sight Issues and Course Layout

One of the key safety issues in gravel is the potential danger posed by blind hills and line of sight situations. Hageman says that the gravel nationals course was designed to minimize those situations and when they’re unavoidable, moto marshals will be on sight to monitor.

“Let’s say there’s a spot on the course where there’s a hill, and we’ve found that it creates a situation where a truck could come over it just as a group of riders is passing. That’s a major concern.”

One way that USAC has mitigated the possibility of rider/vehicle interactions is to avoid overly complex terrain where rides might take one of many lines on a technical selection. The course has been designed to minimize potential hazards, such as overly technical descents or areas with poor visibility, without compromising the competitive spirit of the race.

“We’ve been very thoughtful in selecting routes that are challenging but safe. We don’t want any unnecessary hazards,” Hageman says. “We’ve chosen routes that balance challenge with accessibility.” he says.

A Rolling Enclosure and the Centerline Rule

At last year’s event, there was a rolling enclosure — ie. the roads used in the course were closed to traffic while riders were on them — for both the men’s and women’s elite races. This year, USAC is modifying that to include a rolling enclosure for all categories but only for the first 15 miles.

Hageman says that the change was made after analyzing last year’s 131-mile rolling enclosure for the elite races. The organizers found that when separation occurred early in the race, the need for a full closure wasn’t as relevant.

This year’s race organizers feel that the 15-mile rolling enclosure for all racers will provide early protection and establish the tone for the remaining race. What they’re equally, if not more, focused on for this year’s event is the strict enforcement of the centerline rule.

According to the tech guide for the 2024 event, the center line rule “stipulates that riders must stay on their side of the road, delineated by the centerline (or virtual centerline/center of road), throughout the race. Crossing the centerline, whether for overtaking or any other reason, is prohibited.”

Hageman believes that the combination of the 15-mile rolling enclosure and enforcement of the centerline rule should result in a fair and safe race.

“After the enclosure, there’s a reasonable expectation that everyone should be able to stay on the right-hand side of the road,” he says. “We’ll have moto marshals and a lead moto regulator monitoring that closely.”

Additionally, USAC plans to ‘practice what they preach,’ so to speak, with actionable consequences if the rule is violated. First, a warning will be issued; however, that might be followed with a time penalty or disqualification for repeat offenses.

Cutting-Edge Technology for Real-Time Safety

A new initiative at gravel nats this year is the use of GPS trackers to monitor riders in real-time.

If riders opt in, they can download the Track Central app at no cost. This will facilitate quick and easy communication with USAC’s command center. Whether to report an irreparable mechanical or a medical issue, the app can be used as a two-way communication tool between participants and race staff.

The system will be managed by USAC in collaboration with local law enforcement via an 800 MHz radio network — the same communication system used by police and other law enforcement.

“If a rider has a mechanical issue or a medical emergency, they can alert us through the system, and we can quickly deploy resources to assist them,” Hageman says.

USA Cycling has also bolstered on-course medical support for this year’s event, increasing the number of medical personnel stationed at key points along the course. In addition to traditional first aid stations, there will be mobile units capable of reaching even the most remote sections of the course quickly.

“We’ve worked closely with local EMS, law enforcement, and fire departments to ensure that we have a coordinated plan for any situation that may arise,” Hageman says.

Education and Rider Responsibility

While USAC will do everything it can to uphold the safety protocols during the race, like any organizer it is also focused on educating participants about their own role in maintaining safety. Riders will receive detailed information about the course, potential hazards, and rules — specifically the enforcement of the centerline rule.

During the pre-race briefing, race organizers will also clear up commonly-held misconceptions about traffic management and the role of course marshals. Hageman says that it’s often assumed that course marshals are there to stop traffic for racers when it’s actually the opposite.

“As you come through, a course marshal will stop you, not the traffic. We want to ensure riders don’t have a false sense of security when approaching intersections,” he says.

Another concern after last year’s event was the presence of parents on the course for younger riders in the 11-14 age group. While well-intentioned, too many vehicles on the course poses additional risks.

“The more vehicles we can keep off the course, the safer it is for the kids,” Hageman says.