VALTTERI BOTTAS has revealed his stunning plans to swap sports when his F1 career is over.
The 34-year-old is in the autumn of his F1 career and already planning for life after motor racing.
And he has revealed on the Bobby and Jens podcast that he plans to take gravel cycling “seriously” when he retires.
Gravel cycling is a branch of cycling that sees competitors riding a drop-bar bike on unpaved roads and trails, fitting somewhere between road cycling and mountain biking.
He has already competed in two gravel racing events at the Belgian Waffle Race and SBT GRVL at Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
He finished on the podium for his age range both times, with both races considered world class events.
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Bottas has fallen so in love with the sport that he has created his own gravel racing event, which his team, Alfa Romeo, sponsored.
The event is held in his home region of Laht in Finland.
He has also revealed his plan to qualify for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships.
He told the podcast: “Obviously, Formula One is the priority for me.
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“But a close second is cycling. Whenever I get the chance, I try to fit in some good [cycling] training blocks and I plan on racing some more gravel events this year – this time of year is for the bicycle.”
And while Bottas said he knew he wanted to be a racing driver from the age of six, “bikes were always around,” when he was growing up.
He continued: “Road, mountain and, now, gravel — I love to ride everything.”
Bottas’ girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell is an Australian Olympian and professional gravel racer and the two have encouraged eachother in their cycling.
Bottas will aim to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium this year where there are several ways to qualify.
Bottas will likely try to leverage his age in a 36-39 men’s event where finishing in the top 25% of a race will secure him qualification.
The world championships will take place in September this year.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
