The best gravel races of 2026 with Pro Gravel Magazine's James Ion

Gravel racing continues to explode in scope, scale and speed. Today I’m happy to have Pro Gravel Magazine founder James Ion with me to discuss which races are most important in 2026, and which racers we expect to see on the podiums of said races. Also, we share our recommendations of events for you to do. Places to watch https://www.youtube.com/@LifeTimeGrandPrix GravelEarthSeries.TV https://www.youtube.com/@gravelearthseries Major Gravel Series Life Time Grand Prix https://www.lifetimegrandprix.com/ UCI World Series https://ucigravelworldseries.com/en/calendar/ Gravel Earth https://gravelearthseries.com/events/ Belgian Waffle Ride https://www.belgianwaffleride.bike/ Grasshopper Adventure Series https://www.grasshopperadventureseries.com/ Grinduro https://grinduro.com/ James’ picks of top Euro races to do The Rift https://www.therift.bike/ The Traka https://www.thetraka.com/ The Gralloch https://www.grallochgravel.com/ Ben’s picks of top US races to do The Mid South https://www.midsouthgravel.com/ Unbound Gravel https://www.unboundgravel.com/ SBT GRVL https://www.sbtgrvl.com/ Pro Gravel Magazine On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/progravelmag On the web https://www.progravelmagazine.com/ Thanks to Þráinn Kolbeinsson for video from The Rift -- Want to see what I'm testing and where? Follow me on Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/ben-delaney on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben_delaney -- The Ride is supported in 2026 by: BikeTiresDirect: https://tinyurl.com/yc7vxujh (save 10% with code 'RIDEWITHBEN') Castelli clothing: https://www.castelli-cycling.com/US/en/ Perc coffee: https://tinyurl.com/fjr7nurr (save 15% with code 'ride15') Feedback Sports stands & tools: https://bit.ly/3S9Dq8r Saris racks: https://saris.com/collections/racks# (save 15% with code 'ben15') Silca maintenance: https://silca.cc/ (save 10% with code 'theridewithbenjune2025') Lezyne radar & lights: https://tinyurl.com/4z5e3e9u The Cyclist Lawyer: https://www.thecyclist-lawyer.com/ Shimano shoes: http://tinyurl.com/ye274tep -- 0:00 intro 1:22 top races 17:22 top riders 30:24 our picks for events