Gravel world in mourning after death of French pioneer during Nature is Bike

The gravel world was plunged into deep mourning last weekend by the death of Stéphane Goyard. The Frenchman was hit by a car during Nature is Bike, a gravel event in and around Angers, and did not survive. France’s gravel scene thereby lost one of its pioneers. Goyard was 54.

It says a lot about the person he was: in the last video on his Instagram, the Frenchman says with a smile that he had a tough week behind him. The week before, Goyard had taken part in Bordeaux–Paris, a 660-kilometre race. Afterwards, he developed a tooth abscess, which meant antibiotics.

Still, he was already looking forward to the next challenge. “At the time of posting, I am at Bike is Nature, for the 200 kilometres,” the Frenchman said in the video. It was in that event that things went wrong. “A lover of gravel, he wanted to pass on his passion, share it and keep it alive in the spirit of adventure that brings us together,” the organisers wrote in a fitting tribute.

'Today, in the village, a minute of silence was observed, in honor of Stéphane. The teams and participants are deeply scarred by this tragedy. All our sincere thoughts go with his family and loved ones," Nature is Bike said.

With his death, France loses a pioneer of gravel. Goyard founded the first French-language YouTube channel entirely dedicated to gravel, which now has just over 65,000 subscribers. The reactions under the organisers’ tribute say plenty. “Stéphane made me, like many other people, fall in love with gravel,” one comment read.

Rodolphe Beyer, owner of Canyon France, had some striking words to offer. “Alongside the cycling enthusiast, the gravel world is losing one of its most sincere and inspiring voices today. Through his content, his teaching and his kindness, he helped introduce our universe to thousands of believers. All my thoughts are with his family, his loved ones and the whole gravel community, which has been deeply affected by this drama.”

Repose en paix, Stéphane.