We’re out of summer and into autumn, which means the road season is coming to an end and the cyclocross season is about to start in earnest. But cyclocross isn’t the only drop-bar form of off-road riding that people do now. In recent years gravel riding has taken the cycling world by storm with most brands having several gravel specific bike models in their line-up. Both gravel and cyclocross seem in theory very similar. They are both mostly off-road, both require wider knobbly tires than road bikes, both use drop-bars rather than flat, and both bikes can be used on the road as well as off it. But is that where the similarities stop?
To find out more about the differences between cyclocross and gravel riding, I spoke with British Gravel Champion Xan Crees, who is also an Elite cyclocross rider having won National Trophy rounds and competed in the fabled Superprestige events in Belgium. There are few people as qualified to talk about how to excel in both disciplines as she is.
