Women gravel racers call for a race of their own as Life Time decides to not implement drafting rules

In an email to Life Time Grand Prix athletes, the race series organizers announced that a no-drafting rule will not be implemented this year.

In gravel racing, the men’s and women’s fields, elite and amateur alike, all tackle the race course around the same time. This has led to several issues and controversies, particularly for the women’s pro field. For one, the starting frenzy and mingling fields mean that the riders have to navigate heavy traffic before they can race their own race. Secondly, because inter-field drafting is legal, some women riders have capitalized on the presence of male riders to gain an advantage.

An example of this tactic occurred during the 2023 Unbound Gravel race, where Carolin Schiff capitalized on an acceleration made by Dutchman Ivar Slik to break free from the pack.  Likewise, many women in the chase behind her also used the drafts of men in an effort to gain ground. While this strategy is within the rules and has proven successful, it has also drawn criticism. Some argue that the current racing format impedes women from competing independently, free of interference or assistance from other categories.

In an effort to address the mass start traffic, the seven Life Time Grand Prix events this year will see separate staging and send-offs for the elite men and elite women categories. These time gaps range from a few minutes to a full half hour. This is, however, most beneficial for the elite men, whose race is now completely free of inter-mingling of categories, or at least until the pointy end of the elite women’s field catches up.

To generate a more even playing field – when having a separate race altogether isn’t possible – some riders have called on race organizers to implement a no-drafting rule. This rule would prohibit riders from one category to draft off riders from another category. 

After months of discussion, consultations and deliberation, Life Time today informed riders that a no-draft rule simply isn’t feasible.

“...we ultimately feel we cannot implement a set of drafting rules that are possible to enforce over the courses of our events fully and fairly,” Life Time’s Marketing Director Bekah Sands states. 

“While this may not be the decision some of you were hoping for, your concerns on enforcement were heard loud and clear. In the end, we do not want to roll out a rule that we cannot properly enforce across our vast courses.”

Sands continued with an assurance that Life Time is dedicated to advancing women’s racing by implementing separate starts for the women’s pro elite field at all of its events with wider time gaps in the events ahead.

For many riders in the pro peloton, the separate race starts isn't enough and the announcement came as a disappointment. 

Sofia Gomez Villafañe, a former Unbound winner and defending champion of the Life Time Grand Prix series, took to social media, writing, “Reading an email like this breaks my heart…

“I truly believed [the race organizers] were going to figure out a way to give the elite women a race that would be protected from start to finish and not allow any men to affect the race dynamics or outcome.”

She expressed gratitude for the separate race starts and increased time gaps in 2024, but also states that an equal race opportunity in gravel racing is still a ways off. 

“I feel like at the end of the day it’s just a logistical inconvenience to give the women the race we deserve,” she writes.

Deanna Mayles, another Grand Prix athlete, echoed Villafañe’s sentiment, writing: “I am also disappointed. I would personally love to have the same opportunity/ experience that the front of the men’s race gets. Would totally change the dynamic and the women would need to be more strategic about timing efforts within their race.”

Notably, the UCI has managed to avoid this conflict from the start by having the women and men elite fields race on different days. While logistical constraints prevent this at all events, it remains a topic of intense debate as gravel racing continues to professionalize and riders’ careers are at stake.