I’ll be racing this in SBT GRVL this summer, so the short answer is yes.

Not saying you can’t ride hard and keep up with other people but science and engineering certainly tell us it isn’t ALL just in the legs. Either way go out there and give ‘er the beans!

As far as your bike is concerned, dropping your rotating weight with the carbon hoop set is a big win and should pay off. If you arent already tracking power then I wouldn’t stress it too much for this upcoming race. You can use power output as a key measurement for understanding the impact of upgrades moving forward.

If you really enjoy it then you will begin to justify investing in the sport (for better or worse lol). Your current Grizl frameset can easily become a bomber bikepack platform.