Gravel may be cycling’s newest race discipline, but its innovative tech is often borrowed from cycling’s other disciplines, some more surprising than others. Certainly a lot of the technology — i.e. knobby tires and gear ranges— comes from the mountain bike world but if you’re racing gravel and looking for ways to eke out every last watt, you should also look to the perhaps unlikely place of triathlon and time trialling.
Yes, triathlon. Sure, multisport is a solo endeavor more than it is a team sport and group tactics are wildly different due to drafting penalties, but a lot of gravel riding occurs solo as well.
