Valtteri Bottas was at the start… of the Gravel Cycling Worlds, this Sunday, October 6 in Louvain (Belgium). The KICK Sauber driver took advantage of the four-week Formula 1 break between Singapore (September 22) and Austin (October 20) to tackle his other big challenge this season.
The Finn was entered in the same competition as some stars of world road cycling, including Mathieu van der Poel, 2023 road world champion and double winner of Paris-Roubaix (2023 and 2024) who won the race and the arc jersey -en-ciel this Sunday, but also Matej Mohoric, triple stage winner on the Tour de France (2021, 2023) and 2023 gravel world champion, the recent European road champion Tim Merlier or even the former wearer of the Yellow Jersey on the roads of the Grande Boucle (2016 and 2018), Greg van Avermaet.
Engaged in the Men 35-39 year old category, which had 232 runners at the start, bib number 1400 finished the 182.2 kilometer course in 133rd place in its class in 5h40’04, obviously far from the overall winner Mathieu van der Poel who won in 4h41’23.
This passion for gravel cycling is not new for the Finn, who had already participated in the European Championship in 2023. To qualify for the Worlds, the native of Nastola (Finland) had to finish in the first 25 of a event during the 24 rounds of the Gravel World Series. What he achieved by climbing to sixth place in the Swartberg 100, a round taking place in South Africa on April 27, that is to say between the Chinese GP (April 21) and Miami ( May 5).
Valtteri Bottas also met on this occasion his partner Tiffany Cromwell, professional cyclist and competing in these Worlds among the women. The Australian finished 36th in the Women’s Elite category.
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