3 Peaks Cyclo-Cross: No Gravel Bikes Allowed

Clickbait title! Essentially gravel bikes are allowed but they have to confirm to their rules on types, bars, suspension. Last year (one of) the bikes Nick Craig raced on came with flared bars as standard so had to put regular drops on. Not that it stops people towards the back of the grid pushing the rules a little I always see bars and tyres that wouldn’t pass scrutineering. Seems like a big risk to turn up that way given the effort and training to get to the start line.

Don’t ask too many questions about suspension stems in case they are banned, though my Redshift stem is stealthy enough nobody noticed. I could live without it as long as disc brakes and dropper posts are still ok. Seriously as a tall lad the dropper made the biggest difference to my enjoyment of the event, I can keep myself low and not feel like I was going over the bars constantly.

If they need to ban something it’s the multiple bike swaps to gain marginal advantages and the cavalcade of support vehicles that follow the race round – I think this creates too much visibility for the haters puts unnecessary impact on the area. Racers should be encouraged to self support as much as possible though it wouldn’t be possible / practical to stop the big teams placing people and kit round the course.

The top guys change all the time. They have a very “roadified” CX bike for the start, the road between Ingleborough and Whernside and then again for Whernside to PyG. Then a full on CX for the off road bits.

This creates a wave of traffic as cars and vans hurtle around the circuit trying to support their rider, overtaking frantically to park up and get into position. I was gaining on a guy a few years ago on the run back into the finish when a car shot past me, up alongside him and a very very sticky bottle materialised. Cheating ****.

It needs an all out ban on bike changes. Sort your kit out in advance and the wealthy/sponsored riders with acres of kit suddenly have much less of an advantage over the regulars or the folk without an army of support “staff”.

Some of the driving standards leave a lot to be desired, the traffic congestion around there is horrific on race day.

The whole thing sounds like a farce to me. Surely it should be one bike for the entire event and limited assistance.

The top guys change all the time. They have a very “roadified” CX bike for the start, the road between Ingleborough and Whernside and then again for Whernside to PyG. Then a full on CX for the off road bits.

not necessarily, it was a while ago now but  I was on the podium 3 times and the only time I ever changed a bike was when i snapped a rear mech 2 miles from the finish line and borrowed a bike from Charlie Craig and his mate who were riding past as I was running in.  I never once changed a bike for speed gains.

I’ve supported the event in the past. Carrying spare wheels, food and clothing for riders and TBH there’s no reason to drive like a dick, so perhaps there should be just a bit more visible police presence? Or just restrict the places you can get assistance?

Wasn’t there a massive thread on this years ago when last the rules were updated?  A certain forum contrarian/curmudgeon asked why folks don’t just ride mountain bikes?

Coming off Whernside you could definitely save a shed load of time if you knew someone had spare wheels for you on the way down. Same on PyG too.

When I did it I pumped my tyres too hard and in reality went too slow on the descents just to avoid bike damage as I had zero support.

For me its all part of the talent of the event, having the level of skill needed to get down quickly and not break stuff.

Good.  Although cyclo-cross races allow bike and equipment changes, so this is an extension of that spirit?

Interesting that flat handlebars are not allowed.  I’m sure that they  used to be allowed as long as they were below a (very narrow) maximum width?

This has been informative. I had no idea that cyclo-cross bikes and gravel bikes were not the same thing!

It’s a useful distinction, allows CX bikes to become the thoroughbred, uber-niche racing bikes they are supposed to be, without manufacturers looking over their shoulders trying to design for the majority of people who really want a gravel bike.

Its interesting that flared drops are banned

I could see why if there were fast groups forming on road sections. Perhaps exposing myself as a pathetic noob but when riding on road in a group at the end of a gravel ride, I hooked handlebars with the guy next to me and he went down, hard. 100% my fault but everyone (including him) seemed quite understanding as his bars had a pretty extreme flare. I just wasn’t concentrating and had adjusted my road position unconsciously to where his arms/elbow were, not where the ends of his bars were!

I like that 3 Peaks is trying to protect the sanctity of the event, disappointed to hear people are allowed to change bikes and have support teams though, that seems to be against the spirit!

Nice pic of Dave H on his Pickenflick up there.

Three Peaks was my favourite race. I absolutely loved doing it and always hoped I’d make a comeback. Now it’s become too big, expensive and hard to get a place. Glad I’ve got my memories though.

11 starts and 10 finishes for me.
It does get under your skin a bit – every year you finish and think “if only…” or “what if I did…?” and for a while I took it reasonably seriously – certainly seriously enough to do a lot of CX-specific riding in the Peak District, a few runs (as in on foot, not on bike) along sections like Whernside and PyG etc but there are a lot of uncontrollables and the simple fact is that no matter what bike you have, it’ll be unsuitable at some point of the course!

I’m not sure that having bike changes would really have helped me much. Could have done with a wheel on a couple of occasions but even then by the time I’d got everything sorted, I’d lost loads of places that I was never going to get back.

I still have an interest in seeing just how quickly you could go if you had:
road bike from start to first off-road section
gravel bike until it became unrideable
Run up the steep bit (no bike at all)
collect a full on enduro/DH MTB at the top
road bike again from the bottom to the next off-road bit
repeat as above.
It’d be a fun experiment.

wow i clearly havent paid that much attention , riders are actually switching bikes for different bits ?

does that mean i can get the smallest lightest balance bike, get a friend to switch bikes with me on the tough climbs/descents sling the bike over my shoulder and run up and down, and switch back on the rolling foothills section ?

sun 24th sept, think i’ll go up on my gravel bike to watch.

I think overall the intent of the rules makes sense. Not sure what the goal of this one is though:

Axles shall be 12mm through axles or quick release only

So technically my Open UP which I happily race CX on with CX tyres and non flared bars is out because of its 15mm front axle? 🤔

they pre-date Gravel by a good ten years.

Only if you think “gravel” is a fairly recent innovation. I bought my Kona Sutra in 2007 IIRC.

I  raced it 3 or 4 times, supported a couple more. I don’t remember a year when it ever went smoothly, without punctures or some kind of mechanical. (And every year going over the bars into a bog on the Ingleborough descent!) I once snapped two spokes in my rear but didn’t have a wheel change so had to ride to the end. The last year I did it, I was dropping off PyG with the aim of finishing in under 4 hours and double punctured, front and rear, in a place where I’d seen someone break his ankle in a previous year. When I helped, I tended to carry spare wheels, track pump, tubes, etc, and plenty of food. Keith Bontrager needed my assistance at the viaduct one year. It is a very hard race on equipment.

It’s a CX race – bike changes and a certain level of assistance are all part of that sport. If people want a self-supported event then they are in the wrong place.

Definitely. Would stop the farcical train of support vehicles driving like **** along narrow lanes between Helwith and Ingleton.

That’s disgusting if it is the case, (and I have no reason to doubt it having seen support vehicles at other races) and probably the best way to get support for the whole event withdrawn if there’s an accident or local complaints.

Sounds like an ideal opportunity for a small, informal vintage tractor rally. 😈

Its a CX race why are people up in arms they are limiting entry to CX bikes?

Also CX has always allowed bike swaps just like the road.

MTB races were conjured up to be different, unsupported races.

If you don’t like the rules, go do an MTB race, you will be welcome on your gravel bike.

Looking at the current rules we have.

12.2 Bike changes are permitted for mechanical reasons only. Any bike changes must
therefore take place on the off-road sections of the course.

and also

15.1 No cyclists or support riders (except competitors) have permission to go on the
following sections of the course:
1.Gill Garth – Ingelborough
2.Brunscar (Chapel-le-Dale)-Whernside-Blea Moor
3.Up and down Pen-y-Ghent from from the gate half way up.
Commissaires to enforce this regulation. Any competitor in the race connected with a
cyclist caught breaking this rule will either be penalised or disqualified.

So gaming the system with balsa wood bikes is a non starter.

I’ve ridden the event 5 times now and helped out, either marshalling or supporting club riders quite a few times as well.  When you have a team of people supporting multiple riders it quite easy to do it in a considerate way.  Last time I helped we had 5 or 6 riders and put support in after Ingleborough, before and after Wherneside and at Phenygent so we didn’t have people trying to keep ahead of their rider by dashing between locations.  For individuals being supported by a single other person this is harder – especially as your sharing some sections of the route with the riders.

It used to be that marshalling the event guaranteed you an entry for the following year, if you wanted it, but I don’t know if that is still the case.

One thing I’d ,maybe add to the list would be No Droppers, but that’s just me.

Short-arse by any chance?

Fair enough. Thanks for explaining. It’s been a few years since I looked into entering. I have also been lucky enough to race, support and marshal at the event.

Ranking points are available during the race, hence it’s taken pretty seriously.