Collegiate cycling has long meant road racing, mountain biking, cyclocross, track, and BMX.

Now add gravel to the list.

USA Cycling held its inaugural Collegiate Gravel National Championships in Turkey, Texas, in March 2026, officially bringing one of cycling’s fastest-growing disciplines into the collegiate racing landscape.

For college cyclists across Arizona and around the country, that creates a new question: How do you prepare for collegiate gravel?

BorderLands Gravel would like to offer one possible answer.

Come race in the Arizona borderlands this fall.

Southern Arizona has already earned a reputation as one of the most compelling gravel cycling regions in the Southwest.

Patagonia and Santa Cruz County have helped lead the way.

Travel east into Cochise County, however, and the riding begins to tell a different story.

That is the opportunity we see in Douglas.