USA Biking will launch a five-race Junior Gravel Nationwide Collection in 2025 in partnership with Life Time, SBT GRVL offered by Wahoo, and Valley of Tears, completely for riders ages 15 to 18.
Riders should begin in three of the 5 occasions for sequence scoring in 4 classes – women and men competing individually in 15-16 and 17-18 age teams. 4 riders will then be topped as total winners, of their respective age class, and obtain invites to a USA Biking Junior Expertise Identification Camp in October 2025.
“We’re working carefully with occasion organizers and business companions to construct a basis for the longer term. This sequence is just the start of a broader initiative to develop alternatives for junior riders throughout a number of biking disciplines,” stated Kyle Knott, USA Biking’s director of nationwide occasions.
“The USA Biking Junior Gravel Nationwide Collection represents a daring step ahead in our efforts to develop youth participation in gravel, a self-discipline that provides a singular bridge between highway and off-road biking.”
That bridge is taken into account to be a method for the governing physique to find new expertise for not simply elite-level highway racing, but additionally different biking disciplines which are a part of the Olympic Video games, with the subsequent Olympiad going down in Los Angeles, California in 2028.
Valley of Tears Gravel in Turkey, Texas will lead off the sequence on March 8 with the juniors participating in a 48-mile medium course. Sea Otter Basic Gravel Race’s 60-mile course and Unbound Gravel 50, each owned by Life Time, would be the subsequent two occasions set for April 11 in Monterey, California and Might 31 in Emporia, Kansas, respectively.
The fourth cease is GRVL Race Circuit, held on June 29 as a part of SBT GRVL weekend in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with the junior races masking 76 miles. The sequence closes out at USA Biking Gravel Nationwide Championships on September 20 on the new venue from La Crescent, Minnesota. The nationwide championship races can even be used as tiebreakers if wanted.
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Knott defined that scoring might be a easy technique of “the place you place is the factors you get”. Every athlete receives a rating equal to the location from every sequence occasion, so first place equals one level. Riders in every class with the bottom whole rating from three of 5 occasions might be deemed winners within the sequence.
In accordance with a USA Biking press launch, all sequence contributors can have unique entry to a particular discounted registration price for the 2025 USA Biking Gravel Nationwide Championships. Moreover, the highest three finishers in every sequence occasion main as much as nationals will earn a $50 credit score towards their registration price. Along with class winners, different high finishers might be eligible for the expertise camp picks.
“Valley of Tears is thrilled to host the primary race of the 2025 Junior Gravel Nationwide Collection. On the coronary heart of our race is a dedication to fostering neighborhood, resilience, and a ardour for the game,” stated Christian Pretty of the Pretty Household, which launched Valley of Tears this 12 months.
“By partnering with USA Biking, we’ve got the chance to assist assist aspiring younger American cyclists – one thing USA Biking did 20 years in the past for my brother Caleb – by offering younger athletes a platform to problem themselves and develop their abilities. We look ahead to seeing these gifted juniors discover their limits and carry the spirit of gravel biking ahead.”
Individuals must register for every particular person occasion, utilizing hyperlinks supplied on the USA Biking’s sequence info web page. November 1 is the opening day to register for Valley of Tears and enter the lottery for Unbound Gravel.
A USA Biking racing license just isn’t required to take part within the sequence as a complete, however a home or worldwide license is required to compete within the USA Biking Gravel Nationwide Championships.
Junior Gravel Nationwide Collection 2025 calendar
- March 8 – Valley of Tears Gravel in Turkey, Texas
- April 11 – Life Time Sea Otter Basic offered by Continental in Monterey, California
- Might 31 – Life Time UNBOUND Gravel in Emporia, Kansas
- June 29 – SBT GRVL offered by Wahoo in Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- September 20 – USA Biking Gravel Nationwide Championships in La Crescent, Minnesota
