As 31 elite women lined up on the start line of the 2026 Gravel Worlds race on 22 August, many multi-thousand-dollar carbon bikes with perfectly trued wheels and carefully selected tyres could be seen in the sea of steeds ready to take on the 150-mile course through the plains of Nebraska.
But looking carefully through the start line melee, one bike stood out from the rest. Professional triathlete Amanda Macuiba, 32, pushed off to tackle the 9,000 feet of climbing aboard a $500 Marin gravel bike that she'd purchased on Facebook Marketplace the previous week.
