The Biggest Result of My Career So Far. Mid South Gravel Power, Bike Setup, and Race Analysis

Mid South Gravel is a classic American gravel race that attracts most of the biggest names in the sport and this year was no exception. I take you through my unique bike setup for the race, the race itself, and the power output that was required to achieve the biggest result of my career so far.

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[ChrisWagner-bhvn]

McElveen said something in his vid about your leg/arm sleeves, "I'm sure he did the research". I did laugh.

[GravelHerault]

Dude, 36km/h average especially riding mtb tires, this is a huge performance. Congrats on the well deserved result.

[GSmith]

Watching you get better and better makes me believe in karma. No other cycling pro does as much to educate the everyday rider. Great job!

[harrywebster]

Your choice of number placement probably amounted to meters of gains, more than compensating for the 5 inches difference in placement. A trade worth making for sure.

[mikekobylasz]

Backwards hat Dylan is proud even if he doesn’t say it!!

[SamuelBlackMetalRider]

The FELT looks awesome. Congrats on the race Dylan, you’re killing it

[rof]

You're so generous to share your prep. Good on you. Thank you.

[jeffp]

The tires setup bit just elevated your comedic editing to category pro. That was excellent. 😂

[eto]

That is wild that 4th to 5th could have come down to a timing chip placement error by Dylan.
Great race recap and fantastic result! The power numbers are nuts.
Next video: Dylan tests timing chips on gopro extension pole....

[jameswithy]

That was absolutely the best plug for subscribing that I’ve ever seen on YouTube. Promising future value for subscribers to not miss. Everyone else just says subscribe please. Well done!

[jackbecker]

Dylan’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with this year

[ShawnIsBatman]

Fantastic result, congratulations! What I found most interesting is that you raced this in more of a traditional style of racing vs. the 'let the pack go, ride my own sustainable pace' strategy that you have used at Unbound. My guess is that since this race is half the length of Unbound, that type of a steady-pace strategy just would not work here. I will be interested to see how you approach Unbound this year given your continued fitness improvement....note that I don't expect an answer here as you would not want to publicly state anything that might give a competitor an advantage.

On the race number placement, the next big innovation is certainly going to be a Dropper Post style extender that is mounted inside the top tube of the bike and would push the side-mounted number plate/chip forward several inches during the bike throw.

[barrowsworm]

Hey Dylan, first of all, congratulations, great result! I am looking forward to more detailed analysis of gravel racing tire width, rolling resistance vs. aero factors. There is also the consideration of a smoother ride to consider: the less the bike is bouncing upwards, the more forward speed is preserved-this is of course very terrain specific and very hard to quantify! I look back at my early MTB racing days with tubes and now cringe at how "wrong" we were. Usually running lightweight 1.9" tires, with tubes, at, often 40 PSI or so to avoid pinching...
The events and gravel riding I do are mostly on pretty smooth gravel (Colorado, SBT, etc), but I am considering going up 45s myself... As a 62 YO amateur, racing speeds are also slower, so a bit less emphasis on aero is OK.

[jonpoon]

You definitely weren’t at a disadvantage with your setup. And for most of us mortals at these events, it makes so much sense.
27.5 x 2.1 is what I can fit, and that’s what I’d use with my goal of just finishing

[Simte]

Congratulations Dylan, this truly was a very nice ride. Btw, I really like how tactics are becoming slowly adopted into races.

[whatthehoeck]

Thr Lauf Seigla has similar tire clearance. Running fast xc tires like mezcals is so fun

[sgameirojr]

I guess that "biggest result of your career" was short lived! Wishing you many more PBs, DJ.

[chuckfrizzell]

Great race result Dylan. Excellent description of the race as well. Best wishes this season.

[nateisright]

Great job! My favorite part was the sand roads with one foot wide line in the gutter.

[SpiritualStuntman]

I have followed you for a while. Congrats on the new Bike sponsor and the fast finish. Keep up the good work brother.❤