Great video Tristan and congratulations on your effort. We can't always finish where we want, but as long as you leave your all on the road/gravel then you can't ask anymore of yourself ... That's a win in my books ... very well done (fellow Aussie)
Absolutely. It’s interesting how steep the learning curve is every time I race. Can’t say I’m excited for the next one (yet) but I’ll give it my best crack 😆
Nailed the learnings and opportunities. Went through the exact same ones my first few races - it's so hard to wrap your mind around emptying the tank the opening 10K (of a long race), and then letting the "actual race" begin. You'll do better on the next one. Cheers.
Yeah, that’s exactly it. Knowing you’ve got 5 hours of racing ahead and needing to pull out a max effort at the start to make the front split. Big learning curve but one that has to be experienced to be in a better position for the next one. Thanks man 🙏🏼
Great vid Tristan. I did the Limburg gravel race, and my biggest lesson was to eat allot earlier than you would on a road race. As you said once you blow, there’s no coming back
Great filming...almost felt like I was riding myself. ... and jeahhh, there is always someone better. Thanks for shearing your experiences..keep on going!
That looked like a really fun route! Glad you made the vid. It’s the first of your vid that got recommended on my RUclips feed. Subscribed and liked. It’s the journey that counts.
Thanks man, glad to have you on board. It was actually an amazing route, such a well organised event and had I been on a better day I’m sure I would’ve loved it. Thanks for your support! 🙏🏼
Great video Tristan, nothing like a honest review, brilliant. I completely get the "no free miles", hard for road riders to understand where you are either one of off.
Thanks for this video Tristan! Always interesting to see the pics and hear your analysis. We learn little from our successes but much from our failings.
Well done super hard race. I did the UCI road race in Peterborough at weekend and doing well then chain came off after hitting a pot hole cause we were riding so fast. Missed out on time qualifying for Glasgow by minutes. But you finished without injury so that's a win. I passed so many accidents due to bad road conditions and inexperience.
Great video Tristan. Looking fwd to following your next gravel adventures. I've a feeling you'll be surprised how much you'll improve in the next handful of races 😊
Fair play Tristan, great video. Failures are a more important part of trying to race a bike at all levels so this helps to the lower levels like me. Even looking at yours as impressive and seeing the same feelings is good to see that we all go through it 👍
Great video thanks for the analysis. Haven't done any gravel races but have been in many xc mtb bike races in Australia and it is exactly like this at the start. I'd say training on the fire roads here, mashing pedals like going nowhere will definitely help! I've never used a hydration pack for the reasons you state as well. Not just extra weight, I'm sure it traps heat on your back. Looks like smaller tires and a more roadie bike was the call. Congrats on finishing and with the quality footage!
Losing is a great learning experience if you are willing to listen to the lessons, which it sounds like you are. I am having a great time living vicariously through you. You helped get me back on the bike, but there is no competitive racing in my future, just lots of fun rides. Hopefully one day Girona. Keep busting your butt mate.
Tristan, that's how I feel every time I step up a group road cycling the gap opens, I can close it twice, but then is grows very steadily then exponentially! I keep telling myself if I could have clung on up the last climb..... It's a great leveller. However, next time.....Great honest video.
Way to put yourself out there, some great learning lessons, looking forward to seeing how all these adjustments lead to improvements in more efficient gains….when is your the next gravel race?
Thanks mate 🙏🏼 I’m doing Badlands which is an 800k ultra in the south of Spain at the start of September. A little different to this but should be a good challenge!
So nice to see this from you, 😊 your analysis and the comments here sum it up quite well; and i guess you were also dealing with this psychological factor of your expectations not being fullfiled as you wished. I really adore how ambitious you always are, thats of course what brought you here in the first place, but sometimes it can drag you down as well. So how do you shut your head down when it comes to the point that it is taking over your thoughts? I dunno. But it cost you 15 Watts i guess 😅
Greta video Tristan, have you reviewed your eq choice? 45mm tyres is pretty wide for a race. I wonder if most guys rode 38mm with lower rolling resistance I expect that would have helped you conserve energy over the 5 hours. As a smaller rider you would be putting out a greater % of your power than the bigger guys.
Yeah, will definitely go narrower for next time. Bit of a stupid decision on my part..I thought they’d help, and they turned out to be a hindrance. Loved the extra grip but didn’t need that much for this race.
Great effort. When you look back on your data, how did you do? Absolute measures like place don’t provide context for evaluating how you really did…. Awesome video - thanks.
kudos to you nonetheless, great achievement - great breakdown, you look like you had fun, you did your best now know what's required next time. did you use a heart rate monitor? it sounds like your effort level was always near the upper edge and therefore you had no buffer to chase/hold back on etc. as you said; gravel or dirt is simply higher resistance riding and economy through the terrain plays a bigger role, the torque requirement and torque endurance is significant compared to road. I've found you can only prepare by riding gravel or zwifting (never stop pedaling) in tt mode at 3-4 w/kg and to then deal with the accumulated fatigue whilst still pushing the pedals at a decent power.
You might also have lost some watts due to your tire pressure. Chances are you psi was too high. Did you review that? Thanks a lot for sharing the experience. Im doing the gravelonefifty in the Netherlands next month
Yeah, I’d say that was also the case..I haven’t played around enough with tire pressures and in general came away realizing I know far less about gravel than I thought I did..😂 Always the best way to learn though.
To be fast on gravel, you must train on gravel. Train your legs to deal with constant resistance and slightly lower average cadence. After a few weeks, your legs won't feel the additional resistance. I also train with my hydration vest even if I don't need it.
mate i wouldn't be too hard on your self, like you said new element being gravel, im sure your first few road races you learnt a few things and made changes for the next races, i think we all have had an off day or race, maybe the camping, maybe the food, maybe the out of normal pattern for you, who knows. im sure with some time and refection you'll come back and kill the next race or maybe gravel isn't for you and road is your true passion and place...anyway great vlog as always and great insight into what happens when not at the pointy end.
I would think about skinnier tires, a bit faster on the tame sections helping you to hold wheels and to close gaps. The 45's are good for the single track but you're not going to gain positions anyways.
@@tristantakevideo I was thinking also with the way you were descending through the trails I believe 38 would be perfect for you. In my humble, honest opinion, I think if you would’ve had 38 on there no drop. Well that start was a big mistake too 🤣
Just another chance to make it competitive I guess. I’ve done a few events with different timing formats (stopped timing at the feedzones for example) and they run into other complications. For example where riders wait to roll through the timing mat on the way out, then chase back on and therefore are effectively “faster” as far as timing goes. So it’s a tricky one. Unbound seemed to take it to another level though..I can’t imagine needing 4 support crew to keep me rolling in an event. Not sure what the solution is unfortunately 😕
Gravel really doesn't suit small w/kg type riders well. There is significantly higher rolling resistance the entire time and it's a greater percentage of a smaller riders lower total power. Very climby courses can help, but basically gravel really suits mid size high total power riders. Additionally, to excel at gravel you have to be able to maintain extremely high carbohydrate rates. You'll need to practice maintaining 120g an hour at a 1:1 fructose/glucose ratio for full race distances. This high fueling is vital for success in gravel.
I think you are being a bit hard on yourself. First off 160km uci gravel race is hard. You’re use to road racing, something you have been doing for a long while with some impressive results. Your road bike is fitted for you, the tyres and tubolito‘s are super fast and gravel tyres aren’t. Your breakfast probably hadn’t had time to digest properly before you went full gas. The positives are you finished. You have obviously learnt a great deal which will stand you in good stead for future races. I’m sure if you did it again you would qualify. I look forward seeing you race gravel again…
absolutely amazing race. At the risk of being overly pedantic, there is only one road world cycling champion (which is the current one), Valverde is a former world champion.
Of course Alejandro is not THE road cycling world champion. He was A road cycling world champion. But hey who really knows (the difference) in gravel? :P
Going as deep as you can from the go is a hard way to go; kinda like a Zwift race. No such thing as failure Tristan; just another opportunity to learn............
![CHILE vs. BRASIL [1-2] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 9](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ObJt_71AYc/mqdefault.jpg)
Great video Tristan and congratulations on your effort. We can't always finish where we want, but as long as you leave your all on the road/gravel then you can't ask anymore of yourself ... That's a win in my books ... very well done (fellow Aussie)
Thanks man 🙏🏼 Definitely left it all out there and it also leaves me hungry to go better next time. Glad you enjoyed the episode!
Gravel racing is absolutely it's own discipline. Lots to learn. Looking forward to see how you implement what you learned in the next one.
Absolutely. It’s interesting how steep the learning curve is every time I race. Can’t say I’m excited for the next one (yet) but I’ll give it my best crack 😆
Tristan, you are a gentleman. Thanks for all the tips
My pleasure mate 🙏🏼
Nailed the learnings and opportunities. Went through the exact same ones my first few races - it's so hard to wrap your mind around emptying the tank the opening 10K (of a long race), and then letting the "actual race" begin. You'll do better on the next one. Cheers.
Yeah, that’s exactly it. Knowing you’ve got 5 hours of racing ahead and needing to pull out a max effort at the start to make the front split. Big learning curve but one that has to be experienced to be in a better position for the next one. Thanks man 🙏🏼
Great vid Tristan. I did the Limburg gravel race, and my biggest lesson was to eat allot earlier than you would on a road race. As you said once you blow, there’s no coming back
6:57 the sign of a true videographer. 😊Beautifully made. Thanks. Joy to watch
A nice day on the bike. You can't win every day. Well done 🙂👍👍
Exploding with a smile and learning from the experience..Thank you!. Great footage!!! Thank you!
I appreciate your race content and lessons learned summary.
What a great video. Analytical and thoughtful, and so watchable.
Thanks Chris
Great filming...almost felt like I was riding myself. ... and jeahhh, there is always someone better. Thanks for shearing your experiences..keep on going!
Once again, a great video. I hope you don’t give up on gravel racing.
That looked like a really fun route! Glad you made the vid. It’s the first of your vid that got recommended on my RUclips feed. Subscribed and liked. It’s the journey that counts.
Thanks man, glad to have you on board. It was actually an amazing route, such a well organised event and had I been on a better day I’m sure I would’ve loved it. Thanks for your support! 🙏🏼
Great video Tristan, nothing like a honest review, brilliant. I completely get the "no free miles", hard for road riders to understand where you are either one of off.
Nice to see you have finally come round and upgraded the coffee machine!
Fantastic vlog Tristan and awesome onboard footage during the race. But man, that looked tough. Well done. 👏😊
Thanks for this video Tristan! Always interesting to see the pics and hear your analysis. We learn little from our successes but much from our failings.
Tristan, thanks foe the great, high-qual content, Young Man! Sub’d…
Thanks Richard 🙏🏼 Good to have you on board
Well done super hard race. I did the UCI road race in Peterborough at weekend and doing well then chain came off after hitting a pot hole cause we were riding so fast. Missed out on time qualifying for Glasgow by minutes. But you finished without injury so that's a win. I passed so many accidents due to bad road conditions and inexperience.
great video, thanks for posting. really enjoy getting the full experience
Thanks mate 🙏🏼 That means a lot
I like the honesty in your videos.
Thanks mate 🤝🏼
Great video Tristan. Looking fwd to following your next gravel adventures. I've a feeling you'll be surprised how much you'll improve in the next handful of races 😊
Fair play Tristan, great video. Failures are a more important part of trying to race a bike at all levels so this helps to the lower levels like me. Even looking at yours as impressive and seeing the same feelings is good to see that we all go through it 👍
Great video thanks for the analysis. Haven't done any gravel races but have been in many xc mtb bike races in Australia and it is exactly like this at the start. I'd say training on the fire roads here, mashing pedals like going nowhere will definitely help! I've never used a hydration pack for the reasons you state as well. Not just extra weight, I'm sure it traps heat on your back. Looks like smaller tires and a more roadie bike was the call. Congrats on finishing and with the quality footage!
So great, so useful video 🙌
Losing is a great learning experience if you are willing to listen to the lessons, which it sounds like you are. I am having a great time living vicariously through you. You helped get me back on the bike, but there is no competitive racing in my future, just lots of fun rides. Hopefully one day Girona. Keep busting your butt mate.
Thanks man 🙏🏼 Stoked to be a bit of inspiration for you!
Great resume, good job
I love your videos they’re so good keep up the great work!
Tristan, that's how I feel every time I step up a group road cycling the gap opens, I can close it twice, but then is grows very steadily then exponentially! I keep telling myself if I could have clung on up the last climb..... It's a great leveller. However, next time.....Great honest video.
Gravel riding is like riding an Ergo trainer, as soon as you stop pedaling, game over!
Interesting analysis. Valverde on the hot sauce.
Way to put yourself out there, some great learning lessons, looking forward to seeing how all these adjustments lead to improvements in more efficient gains….when is your the next gravel race?
Thanks mate 🙏🏼 I’m doing Badlands which is an 800k ultra in the south of Spain at the start of September. A little different to this but should be a good challenge!
@@tristantakevideo whoa😳... Badlands is no joke...Lachlan did that... I believe it's totally unsupported
@@marinolman Yeah it's fully self-supported which should be interesting!
@@tristantakevideo some people just love punishing themselves 🤷♂️
😜
Great effort even giving it a go given the calibre of riders on the start line
Thanks mate 🙏🏼
I feel you, im semi pro and sometimes i dont get the reselts i want even if people say wel done i still have big expections.
So nice to see this from you, 😊 your analysis and the comments here sum it up quite well; and i guess you were also dealing with this psychological factor of your expectations not being fullfiled as you wished. I really adore how ambitious you always are, thats of course what brought you here in the first place, but sometimes it can drag you down as well. So how do you shut your head down when it comes to the point that it is taking over your thoughts? I dunno. But it cost you 15 Watts i guess 😅
The rolling resistance of gravel means you need a lot more power to get up clubs and ride in general and it wears you down
Greta video Tristan, have you reviewed your eq choice? 45mm tyres is pretty wide for a race. I wonder if most guys rode 38mm with lower rolling resistance I expect that would have helped you conserve energy over the 5 hours. As a smaller rider you would be putting out a greater % of your power than the bigger guys.
Commented too soon. Just finished the rest of the vid and saw you mentioned the narrower tyres
Yeah, will definitely go narrower for next time. Bit of a stupid decision on my part..I thought they’d help, and they turned out to be a hindrance. Loved the extra grip but didn’t need that much for this race.
Great video, thanks a lot! Did you take Heinz beans as a pre race meal? Genuinely interested 😊
Just as a snack the night before, but we had a proper sized bowl of pasta in the town nearby as well.
Great effort. When you look back on your data, how did you do? Absolute measures like place don’t provide context for evaluating how you really did…. Awesome video - thanks.
this is what mountain bike racing feels like ......welcome to hell 👿
Thanks Tristan. What a great learning experience for you. You don't have to be good at all disciplines of cycling.
Thanks Wendy 🙏🏼
Wide slicks look really good for races like this. It seems like knobs aren't needed unless there is a lot of slop.
Agreed. I learned this the hard way 🥲
That is a lot closer to what Gravel should be as compared to the “UCI WORLD GRAVEL CHAMPIONSHIP”.
The World Champ should be the winner of UNBOUND!
But you did it… 😎🙌🏽🍻
kudos to you nonetheless, great achievement - great breakdown, you look like you had fun, you did your best now know what's required next time. did you use a heart rate monitor? it sounds like your effort level was always near the upper edge and therefore you had no buffer to chase/hold back on etc. as you said; gravel or dirt is simply higher resistance riding and economy through the terrain plays a bigger role, the torque requirement and torque endurance is significant compared to road. I've found you can only prepare by riding gravel or zwifting (never stop pedaling) in tt mode at 3-4 w/kg and to then deal with the accumulated fatigue whilst still pushing the pedals at a decent power.
You might also have lost some watts due to your tire pressure. Chances are you psi was too high. Did you review that?
Thanks a lot for sharing the experience. Im doing the gravelonefifty in the Netherlands next month
Yeah, I’d say that was also the case..I haven’t played around enough with tire pressures and in general came away realizing I know far less about gravel than I thought I did..😂 Always the best way to learn though.
To be fast on gravel, you must train on gravel. Train your legs to deal with constant resistance and slightly lower average cadence. After a few weeks, your legs won't feel the additional resistance. I also train with my hydration vest even if I don't need it.
Yeah, you’re spot on. I have definitely not done enough gravel training and paid the price. Learning lesson though, I guess.
It's a brutal sport, I understand your disappointment :) Better days will come.
Thanks my friend 🙏🏼
fantastic well done!
mate i wouldn't be too hard on your self, like you said new element being gravel, im sure your first few road races you learnt a few things and made changes for the next races, i think we all have had an off day or race, maybe the camping, maybe the food, maybe the out of normal pattern for you, who knows. im sure with some time and refection you'll come back and kill the next race or maybe gravel isn't for you and road is your true passion and place...anyway great vlog as always and great insight into what happens when not at the pointy end.
I would think about skinnier tires, a bit faster on the tame sections helping you to hold wheels and to close gaps. The 45's are good for the single track but you're not going to gain positions anyways.
I really enjoyed the video. 38 mate on tires. 45!! no way
Yeah, lots to learn here!
@@tristantakevideo I was thinking also with the way you were descending through the trails I believe 38 would be perfect for you. In my humble, honest opinion, I think if you would’ve had 38 on there no drop. Well that start was a big mistake too 🤣
Well done anyway 👍
Great video Tristan … hate to say it, GoPro adds 10 watts, just sayin’ 😂
Haha cheers man. Lemme add it to the list of excuses..🫠😂
Great job bro, gravel is a different sport, you’ll do way better on the next one, nothing to be disappointed about
Thanks man 🙏🏼
Would be interesting to know how the top guys train for gravel racing
I think with a lot of gravel riding, and high torque efforts mainly. It’s requires so much high-torque sustained power.
@tristantakevideo Is it comparable to Cyclocross? Obviously, with an emphasis on endurance, longer hours, kms etc.
What was your power output before being hard to yourself? Did you do fine with your food income?
I heard that UCI had changed it's name to FUCI. Maybe I heard wrong.
Why are feedzones in gravel races now like F1 pitstops? I have already seen this at unbound.
Just another chance to make it competitive I guess. I’ve done a few events with different timing formats (stopped timing at the feedzones for example) and they run into other complications. For example where riders wait to roll through the timing mat on the way out, then chase back on and therefore are effectively “faster” as far as timing goes. So it’s a tricky one. Unbound seemed to take it to another level though..I can’t imagine needing 4 support crew to keep me rolling in an event. Not sure what the solution is unfortunately 😕
Chalk it up to experience. You'll be better prepared for the next race
Gravel really doesn't suit small w/kg type riders well. There is significantly higher rolling resistance the entire time and it's a greater percentage of a smaller riders lower total power. Very climby courses can help, but basically gravel really suits mid size high total power riders. Additionally, to excel at gravel you have to be able to maintain extremely high carbohydrate rates. You'll need to practice maintaining 120g an hour at a 1:1 fructose/glucose ratio for full race distances. This high fueling is vital for success in gravel.
I think you are being a bit hard on yourself. First off 160km uci gravel race is hard. You’re use to road racing, something you have been doing for a long while with some impressive results. Your road bike is fitted for you, the tyres and tubolito‘s are super fast and gravel tyres aren’t. Your breakfast probably hadn’t had time to digest properly before you went full gas. The positives are you finished. You have obviously learnt a great deal which will stand you in good stead for future races. I’m sure if you did it again you would qualify. I look forward seeing you race gravel again…
Was this the same race Lawrence did
Yeah
absolutely amazing race. At the risk of being overly pedantic, there is only one road world cycling champion (which is the current one), Valverde is a former world champion.
Changed it just for you 🤝🏼
@@tristantakevideo haha, I know it was pretty pedantic, but I fully expected to see Remco
fook me what an intro.... like a dubstep rave with rubber, lyrca and mud ( and a bit of gravel)
looks like a perfect day though!
Easy start i see ... whats 462 watts AVG for 10 min ?? Hold my beer
Just a casual 6.5w/kg for 10 minutes an hour after waking up. Perfect start to a Sunday. 🥲
Of course Alejandro is not THE road cycling world champion. He was A road cycling world champion. But hey who really knows (the difference) in gravel? :P
Could of been worse ! You could of been riding unbound instead with those ultra close tyre clearances and all than thick thick clingy mud !
Absolutely. When I got to the finish I was literally thinking “thank god I don’t have to do that entire distance again” let alone with the mud. 😟
Going as deep as you can from the go is a hard way to go; kinda like a Zwift race. No such thing as failure Tristan; just another opportunity to learn............