There will be lots of big names at the 2024 UCI gravel world championships on Saturday and Sunday—but one of them is most known for his driving abilities: Valtteri Bottas.
In 2024, the UCI Gravel World Series gave amateur riders the opportunity to qualify by placing in the top 25 percent at one of the 25 events.
Bottas secured his place in the world championship race by finishing sixth in the Swartberg 100, a 170km gravel event held in South Africa in May.
Bottas will be there cheering his pro girlfriend too
The Finnish racing driver currently competes for the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. He previously drove for Mercedes from 2017 to 2021 and for Williams from 2013 to 2016, accumulating 10 race wins and 67 podium finishes. Bottas was instrumental in helping Mercedes secure five Constructors’ Championships and finished as a Drivers’ Championship runner-up in both 2019 and 2020.
The Finnish driver, set to return to his Sauber car at the United States Grand Prix on October 20, announced he will auction off his racing kit to support the Princess Charlene Of Monaco Foundation.
Bottas, frequently shares his rides around his Monaco home on social media. In Leuven, Belgium, he’ll be cheering on his girlfriend, Australian pro cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, as she chases her first rainbow jersey.
Bottas on cycling: the human is the engine
The Finn has said that although he loves racing cars, cycling is purer to him. Bottas said he enjoys cycling because it contrasts with motor racing. Speaking to Marc Priestley on the Pitlane Life Lessons podcast, he explained, “That’s why I like cycling, because it’s like the opposite. You, as a human, are the engine, you are the machine.”
Bottas shared that he once spoke with a former Jaguar Formula 1 team member who later ran British Cycling. The person offered an interesting perspective on the difference between the two sports at the elite level. He explained that in Formula 1, it’s about 90 percent the car and 10 percent the driver, whereas in cycling, the balance is almost exactly reversed. While the individual emphasized that the 10 percent the driver contributes is still crucial, he pointed out that success in either sport requires the full package to win.
In cycling, Bottas said, “the fuel comes from the legs. You, as a human, are the engine, you are the machine.” He said that he loves bike races and challenging himself because, on the start line, everyone has more or less the same chances to win or do…
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