A European gravel title was up for grabs on Sunday, and while the elite men's field set off onto clear roads and tracks for the first lap of the 138km three-lap race from Houffalize in Belgium, it was a different scenario for the elite women's field.
The men's elite start – written into the UCI Gravel World Series regulations as being the first cab off the rank – was followed by every single men's age category racing the 138km distance, released in three minute intervals. Then there were also the men's 60 to 74 age categories racing the shorter 92km section and after that it was just five minutes later that the elite women headed off to chase a title.
Not surprisingly, it wasn't long until they hit traffic in the form of the age categories in front of them, and it was so soon after the start that there was no time for the fields to have stretched out. That meant splits rapidly occurred, not because of the pressure being applied by rivals, but by the conflict of racing categories.
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"After roughly 2km we caught the first age-grouper and that was the beginning of a 140km slalom," said Belgian racer Hanne Van Loock in an Instagram post. "Some riders immediately moved aside and even cheered us on as we passed. To those people: thank you!
"Others stubbornly stayed on their line, forcing us into dangerous situations. Some insulted us and refused to let us through. There was even a rider who was hitting elite women as they tried to pass!! For roughly 140km, I found myself thinking more about finding gaps, avoiding collisions and getting past people than about actually racing."
Van Loock was far from the only rider who was disturbed by this situation, with UCI Gravel World Series leader Wendy Oosterwoud among a number of others publicly expressing discontent.
"From there on it felt less like a gravel race and more like a game of Pac-Man, constantly navigating through (big) groups of riders," said Oosterwoud in an Instagram post while discussing the impact of quickly being mired among the age group categories.
"What’s even more disappointing is that we had to deal with misogynistic comments during the race. At a European Championship, this simply shouldn’t be part of the experience.
"We raised these concerns with the organisation weeks beforehand, but sadly, we didn’t feel heard. Women deserve a fair chance to race, compete and perform at our best. This isn’t about asking for an advantage, it’s about asking for a fair race. And we deserve better."
This was seconded in the comments by 2023 Unbound winner Carolin Schiff. "Totally agree! That was just annoying and dangerous. It has to be different in the future," she wrote.
As well as being the European Championships, the race was part of the UCI Gravel World Series, which has specific start procedures outlined. For events with more than 1,500 riders, there is a start procedure that requires that "women’s elite start must take place after all male age‑group starts, also those doing a shorter distance".
But it also outlines that "the gap before the women's elite start must be the largest possible, considering traffic management limits and overlap-prevention".
In a race like The Gralloch, which has received praise for the stand-alone nature of its women's race, that gap to the last of the age-group men sat at around an hour this year.
At the European Championships this year, it was a five-minute gap. It may have been the longest of the start intervals, with most at around three minutes in a wave of starts which was completed within 30 minutes, but the scale was clearly completely inadequate to prevent early overlap.
Cyclingnews contacted the UEC for comment on Wednesday, but they have yet to respond.
The organisation has, however, responded to Van Loock's social media post which, in no uncertain terms, expressed her disappointment in the organisation, particularly given the lack of action to rectify the situation even after being forewarned.
"We take the concerns raised by the Elite Women seriously, and your comments will be carefully considered together with the organisers when reviewing the event and planning future editions," said the UEC in the comments,
"We are sorry to hear that the race experience did not meet your expectations. Safety and fair racing conditions for all participants are extremely important, and feedback from athletes is essential in helping us identify where improvements can be made."
One thing that already seems certain is that it will not be a situation repeated in the year ahead, as the next European Championships in Lahti, Finland has already settled on a two-day race programme that delivers separate days of racing for the women and men.
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