For 2021, the Mid South Gravel Race Goes “Incredibly Socially Distanced”
The Mid South gravel race cancels its main event, scheduled to be held from March 12 to 14.
Instead, the race will hold challenges throughout the country due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The iconic gravel event was one of the last major gravel events held in 2020—and it was a muddy, sloppy doozy of a race—before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of many events.
In 2020, the Mid South gravel race was one of the last races to be held before countless events were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was on my way to Stillwater, Oklahoma to race last year right as the NBA suspended its season on March 11. Of the 2,200 riders registered for the 100-mile event, about half didn’t make it to the starting line, opting not to travel as the gravity of the pandemic sunk in.
This year, it’s the first major gravel race being detoured as the pandemic continues to take its toll. Race director Bobby Wintle and his team have opted to do what they’re calling an “Incredibly Socially Distanced Mid South” the weekend of March 12 to 14 instead.
In an email to registered racers, Wintle outlined his 2021 alternative event plan that includes 50 and 100-mile bike routes (as well as 50K running routes) created by partner bike shops throughout the country. Registered racers can complete these routes and be eligible for prizes.
Those who signed up will be getting 50 percent off their registration fee and will receive their Mid South swag bag in the mail. To complete the alternative race, riders will join the Ride With GPS challenge page and upload their ride between March 12 and 14.
Prizes include a Salsa Stormchaser, five free entries to Mid South 2022, free bike shipping to and from Mid South 2022, a free entry to the race courtesy of Bike Flights, and the “Eternal Entry,” which gains you entry into the red clay race forever.
Partner shops include:
District Bicycles in Stillwater, Oklahoma
Meteor in Bentonville, Arkansas
Gravel City in Emporia, Kansas
Angry Catfish in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cycleast in Austin, Texas
Cycleworks in Lincoln, Nebraska
Hope Cyclery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Yawp! in Denver, Colorado
If you don’t live near one of these shops, you can create your own routes—or even do them on the trainer—and still be eligible to win prizes.
“We’re extremely disappointed, but confident this is the right decision, “Wintle told Bicycling. “When registration opened, I was 98 percent certain we were going to be good to go…and then everything changed again. We didn’t want to reschedule and risk stringing riders along. We wanted to dig in and still get people excited to ride in early March and give them something to shoot for and talk about.”
The Mid-South’s news comes on the heels of the cancellation of another iconic event, Rasputitsa, which was slated for April 24, 2021, but will now be held April 30, 2022. The event’s co-founder, Anthony Moccia, is battling cancer, and the host town of Burke, Vermont, denied permits for the spring event due to the pandemic.
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