Gravel cycling
Waiting for Dirty Kanza (now Unbound Gravel) bike race to start at sunrise | |
| Highest governing body | UCI |
|---|---|
| First played | Since beginning of cycling; modern era began around 2006. |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | No |
Gravel cycling, gravel biking or gravel grinding is a sport or a leisure activity in which participants ride bicycles on gravel roads or other unpaved surfaces. While often performed on a specially designed gravel bike, any bicycle capable of covering the terrain can be used.
Gravel cycling bridges the gap between road and mountain biking, combining the efficiency of road cycling with the capability to ride on rough and loose terrain of mountain biking. It allows riders more freedom to choose routes than road cycling, without many of the physical and equipment-related barriers of mountain biking. Gravel cycling is nearly as old as cycling itself, with most significant developments in the racing side having occurred in the 20th century. Gravel racing as a discipline has its own global series and world championship.