According to defending Unbound Gravel 200 men's champion Ian Boswell and his top competitors this week in Emporia, Kansas, gravel racing is in the fight and its opponent is road racing. Boswell has a straightforward perspective on gravel racing: "Respect is more important than results."

He referred to negative racing and sneaky tactics where a strong rider "hides in the wheels" and lets others do the work while he rests for the second half of the race.

"I'd rather ride hard and get dropped than hold out to win," Boswell told Cycling News of old-fashioned racing that emphasizes process over results. 'At least that way you respect yourself and your fellow competitors. To me, that's more important than the result."

Gravel events have not only blossomed, but have exploded around the world. In the United States, unbound gravel has become part of the six-race Lifetime Grand Prix presented by Mazda series, and Belgium's Waffle Ride series has expanded to five events this year. With more races offering prize money, the environment seems to be in flux.

Last year, Lauren De Crescenzo, the Unbound 200 women's champion, threatened the "spirit" of gravel competitions when her rides were overly supported by her Cinci teammates, men and women, making them more like road races than gravel events. She faced allegations from fellow competitors that she was threatening the "spirit" of the gravel event.

De Crescenzo defended her riding, saying that she was "not getting special treatment from anyone on the team."

Peter Stetina, who like Boswell switched from WorldTour to gravel and finished third in Emporia last year, said he is concerned that the road racing mentality will creep into gravel.

"I feel like the balance has been lost a bit. Winning supremacy is creeping into Gravel. Everyone has a different view of what's right and what's wrong and what the spirit of Gravel is." I got into gravel because I liked the feeling and the welcoming attitude of it all. Besides, it definitely feels more like road racing these days. If I wanted to road race, I would still be doing it in Europe."

Boswell, who is becoming a de facto leader in the genre, is no stranger to winning. In fact, his victory at last year's Unbound Gravel 200 was his first individual win in over a decade after racing in the pro road peloton for 11 years.

During his career as a Pro World Tour rider, Boswell has become one of the best domestiques who can lead the sport's top riders to glory. So it makes sense that, despite his success in gravel, Boswell just wants to ride.

"When the group is big, I think it's okay to hold back in the beginning. But when the main race is decided, the last person standing wins. You pull through until you are dropped, and if you are not dropped, you win," Boswell said.

At last year's unbound, the lead pack was down to Boswell, Lawrence ten Dam, Peter Stetina, Ted King, and Colin Strickland around the halfway point. Boswell pulled away from Ten Dam, another pro roadie-turned-off-road rider, and the pack with 10 miles to go, passing the Dutchman at the finish for the win; Stetina, who finished 1:11 behind, earned the final podium spot in a sprinting duel with King.

"All five of us, we all rode with integrity and honor and no one missed a pull.

Another former World Tour rider turned gravel privateer, Kiel Reijnen, was hesitant to declare what was right and wrong about gravel racing. Along with Stettina, he was one of 60 riders invited to the Lifetime Grand Prix.

After the first event of the Sea Otter Classic, the Fuego XC 80k, Reynen was in 20th place, five places behind Stetina. Keegan Swenson is the current leader of the men's team going unbound.

"I don't want to dictate how Gravel should or should not be. Gravel does not dictate what people can and cannot do. There is a collective cry to avoid Gravel changing too rapidly."

"We are in a fragile movement. We just need a few tweaks to keep Gravel unique, inclusive, and approachable. For many people, the road racing scene is really intimidating. I don't want it to be. I want more people to be excited about participating in events, races, rides, whatever it is."

Reynen has another name for the mixed rides with a large number of participants that he is currently focusing on. "I call these gravel rides 'events' instead of 'races.' It's a way of using words to draw a line somewhere without actually changing anything."

For Leinen, the pressure of competition is something he wants to escape. He spent 14 years as a professional road racer, the last six with Trek-Segafredo, where he was teammates with Stetina for four seasons.

"I left road racing for a reason. Whether it was an effort to reduce the importance of producing results or a group of riders who agreed to an unwritten code of conduct. If the (front) group is interested in such an effort, I'm all for it," Leinen said.

"But my opinion is no more valid than the next. We can all work together to create something special and different."