The international gravel cycling community is in mourning after Stéphane Goyard, 54, was killed on Saturday 31 May 2026 during the Nature is Bike festival near Angers, France.
Goyard, a native of Dijon (Côte-d’Or), was taking part in the Défi200 — a 200-kilometre ride that departed at 08:00 from the festival village at Lac de Maine — when his bicycle collided with a car on the RD60 departmental road at the intersection with the Chemin de Marigné, in the commune of Bois-d’Anjou, approximately 30 kilometres east of Angers.
Emergency services responded rapidly, but Goyard did not survive his injuries. The driver of the vehicle involved, a 46-year-old local woman, was hospitalised in a state of shock. The Saumur prosecutor’s office confirmed that a gendarmerie investigation has been opened to establish the precise circumstances of the collision.
According to early accounts, Goyard arrived at the intersection without slowing, despite warnings from event marshals stationed along the course. The deputy prosecutor told Ouest-France that the driver likely had no opportunity to avoid the impact.
Now in its fifth edition, Nature is Bike is France’s flagship gravel festival, held across 30 and 31 May at Lac de Maine in Angers, offering routes from 70 to 300 kilometres for riders of all levels.
Goyard was far more than a participant. He founded and ran Gravel & Bike, the first French-language YouTube channel dedicated exclusively to gravel cycling, which had accumulated nearly 65,000 subscribers. His Instagram account, @gravel_bike_stephane, had a following of 22,700.
The tributes have been immediate and heartfelt. Fellow riders described a man who democratised the sport — reviewing equipment across all budgets, never condescending and always welcoming. Community members have already floated the idea of a “Challenge Stéphane Goyard” to be staged at future Nature is Bike editions as a permanent tribute to someone who made gravel accessible to everyone.
The accident casts a long shadow over the ongoing conversation about road safety during mass cycling events and the fragile coexistence between riders and open-road traffic. No charges have been filed, and the investigation continues.
Gran Fondo Daily News extends its condolences to Goyard’s family, friends, and the global gravel community.
Photo Credit: Instagram
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