Mid South splits pro and amateur race days to prioritise safety while preserving the gravel spirit

Mid South is changing its schedule for 2026: A new pro-only 100-mile race will be held on Friday afternoon, March 13, followed by the traditional mass-start amateur race on Saturday morning.

The change carries several important implications for racers. Most significantly, it was made for safety reasons, particularly concerning the finish of the race.

As gravel racing has evolved, finish chutes have become problematic. Shorter course riders often find themselves in the chute just as elite men and women are sprinting for the line. At Mid South, this has been quite problematic, as larger groups tend to enter the finale together, with the race undecided until the very last metres.

"It's chaos for everyone. The 50-milers miss out on the celebration, they get overshadowed immediately, and the pros are dodging riders in the finish. It's an accident just waiting to happen," Bobby Wintle, the race’s director, told Cycling Weekly.

For a race known for the signature “Bobby hug,” where Wintle personally embraces every finisher, the risk of a serious crash has become too great. Yet separating the finishing chutes wasn’t an option, given Mid South’s inclusive ethos.

“Other events have separated their finish line chute for amateur or short distance finishes. I'm vehemently against that," Wintle said. “I said, ‘I'm not making two finish line shoots. We can't stop the 50 milers half a mile down the road and make them wait. We can't do any of those things.’”

The idea of separate race days took off from there.

A Safer, Simpler Race Structure

Splitting up the pro and amateur race days mirrors the sport's evolution.

For 2025, organisers had planned to give pros a few minutes' head start, but that didn’t fully address safety concerns. The finish line remained a pressure point, and the multiple staggered starts each morning made it difficult for police to manage full road closures. The new schedule simplifies the logistics, allowing law enforcement to provide a safer, more comprehensive rolling enclosure.

Some gravel purists may lament the change. Mid South has always been celebrated for its inclusive, egalitarian roots, where pros and amateurs share the same start and finish line. Additionally, Mid South is well-known for its finish-line atmosphere, with celebrations going all day, from the first rider across the line to the very last rider, or DFL, many hours later. With the pros finishing a day early, that continuous first-to-last celebration will inevitably feel different.

That said, in recent years, it was the pro finishes that often drew the smallest crowds, as most attendees were still out on course. The new Friday finish, slated for 5:15 p.m. in downtown Stillwater, will give the pros a dedicated spotlight and a more professional, celebratory atmosphere rarely seen in U.S. gravel racing.

The race structure is now much more aligned with European events such as Strade Bianche, where the pro race precedes the amateur gran fondo.

“We're not doing it to garner more attention for ourselves, and we're not doing it to attract more pros,” Wintle clarified.

“We're doing it because the pros are already showing up, and the pro numbers keep growing. So what do we do about it? How do we keep it safe? But more than anything, how do we give everything happening throughout the weekend the attention that it truly deserves? I think everybody deserves their moment of attention.”

What about the Mid South Double?

One small group likely to lament the change are elite athletes who attempt the “Mid South Double,” which consists of a 50 km trail run on Friday morning and the 100-mile gravel race the following day. Starting in 2026, however, that second leg will take place later the same day, not on Saturday.

Organisers are planning a special category for those athletes and have moved the run earlier in the day to allow for more time. Alternatively, participants can still run Friday morning and race in the amateur event on Saturday.

This, however, represents only a small percentage of all participants. For most attendees, split race days should retain the event's celebrated aspects while also allowing the professional race to grow.

“I think we know that the pros, ever since they've really started coming, have looked at Mid South as the season opener,” Wintle said. “It’s the litmus test of where your fitness level is at.

“We've been able to facilitate that and nurture it for the pros, all while knowing that our event is completely supported by the 99% that makes up the amateur field. The pros are coming, but because the amateur field is the ethos of everything we are and everything we do, we don't want to lose sight of that.

“But that's the question – how do we do that?”