Egor Chebanov: podium season, own gravel team and why tires are not the main thing

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Another issue with this guest

• Issue #24 · October 29, 2024 · 48 minEgor Chebanov: gravel camp in Turkey, the first season on the highway and the dream of his team

Useful from the issue

1. Training is more important than tires

   According to Egor, a month of additional training will give more on the 200-kilometer race than the most successful tires. It is better to spend time choosing rubber for training.

2. The widest possible rubber

   On gravel races, in addition to the smooth Tsar Grader, Egor advises putting the widest tire that fits into the frame: it saves energy on irregularities.

3. Tubeless and low pressure

   Neatly glued rim tape and a good enough sealant get rid of most punctures, and low pressure is a free upgrade: less shaking and loss of strength.

4. Saddle is the main upgrade

   Egor calls a suitable saddle the most important thing on a bicycle, then wheels and tires. Carbon wheels are now available on the secondary market.

5. Takeaway Cheat sheet

   Before the Tsar Grader, Egor pasted a list of kilometers on the takeaway, where gravel and asphalt begin, and chose the place for the attack in advance.

6. Start training in six months

   The Tsar Grader opens the season, so you need to prepare in winter: the difference with those who started earlier is very difficult to close later.

7. Hall, if there is not enough strength

   Yegor added two power days a week — squats, standing, lunges, core — because it sags when strong riders press on a low cadence. But this is his point of growth, not universal advice.

8. The sponsor should write first

   Look for brands that enter the market or are looking for ambassadors, write first and offer something specific — results, audience or content.

9. Bike in the luggage instead of a suitcase

   When flying to the camp, check if it is possible to hand over the bike in a box instead of the included luggage: Egor flew to Bali for no extra charge.

Podium Season and Tsar Grader Lesson

For several years in gravel racing, this season was the best for Egor: he was on the podium almost everywhere except Tsar Grader and Fury Road, collected third places and won the short distance on SHULZ. The paradox, according to him, is that he showed the best watts just at races without a podium: power should be applied where it decides, and not just have.

On the Tsar Grader, Egor stopped to go to the toilet — and at that moment the breakaway left. He made a simple conclusion: on the asphalt, the problem can be solved on the move, as the strongest riders do, and most importantly, do not step on the same rake twice. But then, in the second group, he pre-pasted a cheat sheet with kilometers of gravel and asphalt sections on the takeaway, came forward rested in front of the Chocolate section and tore up the group. He drove alone for the last two hours and showed the best figures of the season.

Variety of Russian gravel

Egor admits that he has become more tolerant of different races: he used to swear at dirt and shaking, and now he gets high from swimming in mud on Fury Road, and from a plowed field on the Cover. He believes that diversity is the essence of Russian gravel, and there will not be six races similar to the Tsar Grader during the season, and there is no need: at foreign gravel races, professionals also sometimes run with a bicycle on clay.

The only complaint is about the gati section with cross logs at one of the races: it was inefficient to drive along it, it was easier to walk. But he also understands the organizers: it is difficult to build a good route, and when the route is changed, there are always dissatisfied. There were so many races that he hardly drove the highway this season, and between gravel starts he had time to rest and come fresh.

Tsar Grader and Cyclocross: Ilya's plans

Ilya talks about plans for the next Tsar Grader: one distance of 200 km for everyone, about 60% asphalt and 40% grader on familiar roads, without "Chocolate". The start is divided into clusters, so that there are no more than a hundred people in each group, the starting town is in the village, at the stadium, and at the finish I want to make a lap of honor, as in Paris — Roubaix. About 500 people are registered, according to Ilya, about 400 will reach; he will not do an organized camp, but he found a place not far from the start.

Ilya started actively rocking Cyclocross this fall: four starts, a slot on the Tsar Grader for participation, cash prizes and races on the same track. He wants to repeat the combined cup of Novgorod and St. Petersburg with other organizers. Egor suggests doing more cross-country in the spring: after winter, everyone is charged, and by autumn they are already tired of racing. Ilya also remembers his first small gravel weekend camp in a village house near Borovichi — with excellent gravel and a reasonable housing price.

How the Endless Summer team appeared

Egor discussed the idea of his team for a long time, but while he started looking for sponsors, things didn't move. Everything shifted when, after the rebranding of Endless Summer, he realized that it was already possible to make a jersey out of a new corporate identity. He wrote to the guys, offered to chip in for a uniform and race together — everyone agreed. As soon as they decided to order, he threw a fishing rod to partners who supported him for two years, and they gave money as sponsors; the St. Petersburg workshop also joined.

The form was made two days before Fury Road, where the team shot a video, and the rider of the team Sasha won the overall standings of the Russian gravel series at the end of the season. As a result, the riders did not pay for the uniform — the sponsors paid for it, and so, according to Egor, it will continue. The team is looking for another strong rider from Moscow and one girl, as well as sports sports sponsors and money for high-quality videos from the races.

Coaching and preparing for the season

Egor left his coach to experiment on himself, and he has already been training six or seven people with different goals - from a famous cycling blogger, whom he wants to return to the podiums of long distances, to a teammate who rides the most, but never trained according to plan. The level of the gravel peloton, he says, is growing every year: machines and power meters are available to everyone, and where the winner used to drive 27 km/h, now more than 30 are going. In a gravel race, there are less than ten people in the group of leaders, and it will not work to sit out without working.

After the season and the camp in Turkey, Egor rested for a couple of weeks and six months before the season he started regular light work on the machine again. He warns: The Tsar Grader opens the season, you can't prepare for it in the summer, so you need to train in the winter. This season he is adding a gym — squats, deadlifts, lunges and core twice a week — because he lacks strength when strong riders pull at a low cadence.

Camps: Bali and Fethiye

Endless Summer has announced three camps for spring. The new one is in Bali, where Egor lived for two months last winter: according to him, this is more a trip to a completely different world than just skating. There will be a familiar gravel camp in Turkey, which will be held for the seventh or eighth time, and for the first time a highway camp in Fethiye with new routes. There is a discount for early booking.

Egor gives a practical hint about the flight: tickets to Bali are noticeably cheaper in advance, and the airline he flew to can have a bicycle in a box instead of included luggage at no extra charge. With a long transfer in Shanghai, you can apply for a transit visa and travel to the city by high-speed train.

Tires, bike and sponsors

Tires are the most popular question in the chat rooms before the Tsar Grader, but Egor is sure that their role is small: a month of training will take more off the finish time. He himself drove the Tsar Grader on Continental Race King 2.2-wide MTB tires and never regretted it. At the other races of the series, he advises to put the widest possible rubber that fits into the frame.: it saves energy on irregularities.

The main upgrades according to his version are a suitable saddle, wheels and good tires: carbon wheels can now be bought inexpensively. A tubeless camera is required — with a neatly taped rim tape and a sufficient amount of sealant — and a selected low pressure. The material of the frame, the type of shift and brakes are less important: Egor has been racing on aluminum for five years, although carbon dampens vibrations.

About sponsorship, Egor says that waiting for a letter from a brand is useless if you are not a top racer or a major blogger. You need to write first and catch the window of opportunity: his collaboration began with the brand's post about finding ambassadors, which many saw, but only he wrote. And you need to have something to offer — results, an audience, or the ability to make good content for the brand.

Timestamps

1. 00:00The room, the frames and the beginning of the conversation
2. 04:33Season 2025 in gravel racing
3. 10:07Tolerance for different races
4. 15:16The next Tsar Grader and the starting town
5. 19:53Champions at the start and cyclocross
6. 26:44Creating the Endless Summer team
7. 32:00Team conditions and sponsors
8. 43:13Plans and preparations for the season
9. 49:00Website and new camps
10. 53:39Tyres
11. 1:01:38Which upgrades are important
12. 1:06:40Carbon versus aluminum
13. 1:14:42Tips for novice bicycle influencers
14. 1:19:12Parting words to subscribers

Mentioned in this episode

Endless Summer · Tsar Grader · Fury Road · SHULZ · Cover · Gravel Instinct · Sports Marathon · Continental Race King · Fethiye · Bali