Introducing: Our First-ever Gravel Week

A week-long spotlight on all things gravel: tech, events, gravel stars, racing and bikepacking.

Gravel Week
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Anne-Marije Rook
By Anne-Marije Rook
last updated

Has the gravel bug gotten you yet? Do you find yourself riding on increasingly wider tires on roads, or ‘groads’ less travelled? Will you be going bikepacking this summer? Or maybe you’re gravel-curious or attracted to a wider-tired, more capable and more comfortable utilitarian bike. Whoever you are, this week we are celebrating and putting the spotlight on all things gravel riding. 

From bike sales to event registrations and social media content, gravel continues to be the hottest trend in cycling, and we’re here for it! 

We'll be publishing tons of articles about gravel riding this week - and you can find them, as they go live, here.

Gravel, Roubaix, Groad, Adventuring…what’s the fuss all about?

At the heart, gravel is about adventure and exploration. It’s our modern day bike touring or the millennial generation’s call of the wild. 

It’s less about getting from point A and B as quickly as possible —though in racing or setting FKTs it certainly is—, and more about the journey in itself. It’s about building a different relationship with the bike and seeing where it and your own two legs can take you. It’s about the freedom to roam, being  away from cars, going into nature and relying on your own abilities. 

In racing there’s always the element of who crosses the finish line first, but at the time there is also a certain unity if having conquered the same course at the same time. In that way, everyone wins and everyone is celebrated. 

But don’t let me tell you what gravel is. Part of the beauty lies in the fact that it’s so many things. It’s for you to define and for you to make it your own. 

Gravel riding in the mountains

(Image credit: Getty Images)

What content you’ll be seeing this week

Now, we’re not going to give it all away just yet, but these are some topics and questions we’re hoping to cover this week:

You'll find all of our Gravel Week articles here, keep checking back, as more will be added daily! 

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Anne-Marije Rook
Anne-Marije Rook
North American Editor

Cycling Weekly's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.

Originally from The Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a cycling journalist for 11 years. 

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