Final yr, I used to be a part of a gaggle of elite ladies who had a collection of video convention calls with the Life Time Grand Prix organizers to discuss improving fairness for the elite women throughout competitions. We kicked round concepts like elevated staggered begin occasions and, sure, anti-drafting guidelines. The thought was to cut back the interference from the lads’s fields (each elite and novice) and create one thing nearer to an precise ladies’s race.
Life Time held off implementing anti-drafting guidelines final yr so as to higher outline rules and handle implementation, as it could be an enormous raise throughout a number of occasions, programs, and rider classes. However they did increase the start time gaps: finally yr’s Unbound Gravel 200, the elite ladies began quarter-hour after the elite males, and 20 minutes earlier than the amateurs. That won’t sound like a lot, however it was a strong tweak, which delivered the first-ever women’s sprint finish at Unbound 200 amongst 9 elite riders on the race.
Quick-forward to the week earlier than the 2025 Sea Otter Classic Gravel, and Life Time casually dropped an electronic mail into the inboxes of the Grand Prix riders within the discipline asserting that anti-drafting guidelines have been formally taking place. No warning. No follow-up convention name. No vibe examine. Simply… increase. Inbox shock.
That is massive. It’s the primary time a high-profile gravel collection is formally regulating drafting. Whether or not you find it irresistible or hate it, we’re watching the game evolve in actual time — and that’s fairly thrilling.
The rule and enforcement
The brand new guidelines state that elite ladies can not draft off elite males or any novice riders, and elite males can not draft off elite ladies or any novice riders. It additionally identifies novice riders, stating they “could draft off another Newbie Rider, no matter that Newbie Rider’s class (Age Group, Single Velocity, Male, Feminine, and so on.)”.
So what’s the definition of “drafting”? For Life Tiime, it’s being “inside 15 toes (or two bike lengths), and three toes to both facet, for longer than 15 seconds”.
What should you break the rule? “You’re relegated to final place within the elite outcomes and the LTGP standings for that occasion”.
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How riders be monitored throughout a race was the largest query. Here’s what Life Time spelled out:
Enforcement will come from impartial moto race marshals, course marshals, and Life Time employees who will present moto, drone, stay digital camera feed, helicopter, and another verifiable modes of remark proof, in addition to rider suggestions, on the discretion of a race jury.
*Nevertheless, Life Time says, “Rider enter as verifiable proof to find out the validity of a violation will NOT be accepted.”
*So mainly, should you see somebody dishonest and inform the officers, your phrase alone isn’t sufficient. They’ll solely depend on goal sources like footage and never he-said-she-said stuff from different opponents.
In course sections the place passing is inconceivable, logical concessions will probably be made. For instance, single-track sections, climbs, and areas of congestion.
Athletes may have half-hour from the declaration of a violation to submit an official attraction.
After we mentioned the rule in 2024, we debated concepts like escalating time penalties for first, second, and even third infractions (which could nonetheless be too lenient — I imply, is 5 minutes sufficient should you acquire 20 minutes from sitting on a robust wheel for hours?).
So now the penalty is so extreme that it removes any incentive to take the chance, which is the purpose. No warnings. No “hey, don’t do this once more.” No slap on the wrist. Only one-and-done relegation. Straight to the underside of the outcomes sheet.
The concern of relegation is actual. And perhaps that’s sufficient to shift the tradition.
Mushy launch
It was a dusty day for Sea Otter Basic Gravel in Monterey, so not condusive to drafting of any type (Picture credit score: Life Time / Dan Hughes)
The brand new anti-drafting coverage will probably be enforced in any respect six Grand Prix occasions, and started on April 10 on the Sea Otter Basic Gravel. Did it matter in Monterey? Actually, not likely.
The elite fields raced on Thursday and the novice discipline on Friday, in order that was no situation. Plus, the elite ladies began 20 minutes behind the elite males on a circuit that didn’t lend itself to drafting. It was punchy, technical, and largely singletrack — not precisely a spot you’re going to tuck in and cruise on some random man’s wheel.
There wasn’t a single occasion the place I noticed somebody breaking the rule. That may not all the time be the case, however at Sea Otter it labored advantageous.
Sea Otter was a mushy launch, however Unbound Gravel would be the actual take a look at. The elite males will start the 200-mile course at 5:50 a.m. (CST) from Industrial Road in downtown Emporia, Kansas, on Could 31. The elite ladies will observe quarter-hour later, like final yr, after which the mass begin for amateurs will probably be launched on the identical course 25 minutes after the elite ladies.
Fifteen minutes could really feel like an enormous hole on paper, however it’s an extended race. Folks have flats, mechanical points, and full-on meltdowns. It’s not arduous to think about an elite man dropping again and ‘interfering’ with the ladies’s race. Or just a few amateurs with mega-watts can catch dropped riders from the ladies’s elite discipline and pull them again to the lead group.
Whereas I’m glad they bumped the novice discipline again 25 minutes — transfer — I nonetheless assume that timing will probably be tight. However I get it. Folks need to end earlier than the solar units in Kansas.
How enforceable is that this?
Lauren De Crescenzo rides to ninth general, eighth amongst LTGP ladies, at 2025 Sea Otter Basic Gravel (Picture credit score: Life Time / Dan Hughes)
There are such a lot of nuances, so many what-ifs. And as of now, we’re trusting race juries to make sense of them. There’s going to be trial and error. And possibly just a few sacrificial lambs alongside the way in which.
However I give Life Time credit score for being prepared to strive. It’s not straightforward being the primary to place construction right into a sport that prided itself on being unfastened, grassroots, and gloriously chaotic. Life Time is sending a message: they’re severe about equity, and so they’re prepared to evolve. That’s value one thing.
This isn’t nearly drafting. It’s about rising pains. Gravel racing is maturing. With prize cash, contracts, and sponsorship {dollars} on the road, construction is inevitable. And typically, construction creates friction.
All of us desire a truthful race. We wish outcomes to come back all the way down to health, talent, and technique, not who discovered the strongest random dude, buddy or vital different to sit down behind for 80 miles. However gravel is messy. It’s a part of why we find it irresistible.
We’re nonetheless defining what gravel is, what we worth, and tips on how to shield these values whereas making room for evolution. This rule is one step in that course of. Not the ultimate reply, however perhaps a primary draft.
Is the rule excellent? No. Is it enforceable? TBD. Is it a step in the appropriate course? Undoubtedly.
And identical to Lifetime ends their Elite Tech Information with “Lifetime reserves the appropriate to amend this coverage at any time,” I’d like to order the appropriate to vary my opinion at any time, relying on how all this performs out. As a result of that is gravel, we’re figuring it out collectively. One rule change at a time.
