8 ways to ride gravel faster — and finish fresher

Gravel speeds are lower than on the road, but on fast, flat sections aerodynamic drag is usually still the largest single force you're pushing against — and gravel races often last five hours or more. A small saving, applied for that long, adds up.

Gravel kit has to balance that with a more upright riding position, rougher surfaces and a lot more to carry.

Most gravel races are decided in the last hours, not the first. Riders who go out too hard in the opening sectors fade, and the steady riders pass them later.

Keep the first hour deliberately controlled. If it feels easy, you're pacing it right. Hold steady power on rolling ground and spend as little as you can on surges. On climbs, ride at a power you can sustain instead of matching every attack.

Your power in hour five matters more than your power in hour one. How well you hold your output when you're tired is called durability, and it's worth training and measuring.

Gravel rewards patience, so plan the race instead of reacting to it.

Know the course. Learn where the climbs, rough sectors, exposed sections and feed stops are, so you know where to push and where to save.

Choose your groups. Riding with others still saves energy on flat and exposed sections, but don't burn big efforts bridging to a group unless it matters.

Start sensibly. The first gravel sector is often narrow, so get a good position early without sprinting for it.

Let attrition work for you. Riders who started hard will fade. Stay patient and make your move late.

A hydration backpack adds bulk in the airflow, heat on your back and weight on your shoulders. The Gravel Suit has a 3-litre pouch at the base of your back that holds a hydration reservoir securely over rough terrain, with two loops to keep the hose in place.

It's cut for a more upright position and tuned for gravel race speeds of roughly 30–45 km/h. The reservoir isn't included — the pouch takes any major brand.

Every stop to refill bottles costs time you'll never get back, and the clock doesn't care how fast you were riding before it. Carrying more water on your body, and planning stops around the course, can save more time than any single piece of equipment.

Work out how much you need to drink and eat before the start — our Nutrition Calculator can help.

On gravel and dirt tracks, rolling resistance becomes a much bigger part of the picture than on tarmac. Tyre width, tread and — above all — pressure decide how efficiently you roll and how much the bike bounces around.

Lower pressures often roll faster on rough ground than you'd expect, because the tyre absorbs bumps instead of lifting you and the bike over them.

Hours of vibration through the bars lead to numb fingers and sore palms — and a rider who can't hold the bars properly isn't riding fast. Padding at the contact points helps reduce the nerve compression that causes numbness.

Aero Mitts pair a textured aero back with under-palm padding and a silicone grip, so you get comfort without giving up speed.

Gravel days often start cold and finish hot, and you have to carry more than on the road. The Cargo Base Layer is an ultra-light open mesh base layer with a central chest pocket that holds a bottle up to 650 ml.

Carrying a bottle on your chest, under your suit, smooths the airflow around your torso. In our wind tunnel testing that saved over 5 W at 32 kph. On a hot day, the same pocket holds an ice pack close to your core to help you stay cool, and the open mesh keeps it breathable.

It pairs well with the Gravel Suit's rear hydration pouch, so you can carry more without a backpack.