One wildcard spot for Mathieu van der Poel ‘saved for him’ on Dutch gravel worlds team

An early pioneer to alternative gravel racing after a career on WorldTour roads, Laurens ten Dam is preparing for a second appearance at the UCI Gravel World Championships for the Netherlands. This time, however, he’ll set a new milestone as both rider and coach, having been appointed in the spring as the national coach for the Dutch gravel programme.

Known as the ‘godfather’ of a growing contingency of his gravel racing peers, the 43-year-old continues to compete on a high level. In four appearances at Unbound Gravel 200, he’s finished fourth or better three times and set a new record in the early spring for the non-stop division of Transcordilleras in Colombia.