Lachlan Morton, with his relaxed attitude toward racing and life in general, is the embodiment of the spirit of gravel racing. In one way, the increased participation in gravel events by WorldTour road racers like the EF Education-EasyPost rider has disrupted the ecosystem and led to culture wars. On the other hand, Morton’s approach to cycling in general exudes the same ethos as gravel – that events should be enjoyable.
So after Adam Roberge came under fire for employing road-like tactics to win Gravel Locos earlier this month and then accused his rivals of trying to sabotage his livelihood, it was no surprise that Morton took a positive interpretation of the incident.
“I think it’s growing pains,” Morton tells Cyclingnews.
“People want to keep [gravel racing] as it is, or they only want to keep it as competitive as they’re willing to make it. I can see some of the merit in that, but I can also say, there are a lot of people who just wanted to stay the same, so they can stay competitive and relevant.
“Everyone’s trying to hustle up their living but trying to pretend like you’re there for the fun of it doesn’t really do anyone any favours. The reality is at the front of those races, it’s not high fives and a pat on the back. Everyone’s racing each other.
“Where you draw the line between what’s competition and what’s fair fight – I don’t know. I’ve never really been able to draw that line. I think if you want to have a fun, relaxed time you can race at the back. If you want to race at the front, you’re probably gonna get annoyed at certain competitors at certain times. It’s a race. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer.”
This year, as his teammates tackle the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, he’s circling the globe on racing gravel. His next stop is Unbound Gravel 200 in Emporia, Kansas – arguably the Tour de France of the gravel circuit, and a race he has yet to win.
“It’s a cool race. It’s obviously the biggest gravel race in the world – it’s very competitive. And the level of competition is really high. But it’s a pretty fun course and just a big, hard day out. I think anyone who has raced it before would love to win it. But you have to have no bad luck and good legs.”
Morton, who is also one of the athletes in the Life Time Grand Prix series, was one of several riders who relied on aero bars during Unbound 200 – another “storm in a teacup” that injected drama into the gravel scene.
This year, Unbound organisers are outlawing the use of aero bars,…
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