Full-time F1 race car driver, and part-time gravel bike racer, Valtteri Bottas announced this week that he plans to qualify and race in the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships taking place in Belgium in October.  

“I don’t mind hurting myself. I kind of like it. I will try to qualify for the gravel worlds next year,” Bottas said on the Bobby & Jens cycling podcast, adding that gravel racing will not interfere with his 2024 F1 schedule.

Bottas has been a semi-frequent graveleur when not behind the wheel of his 1000 horsepower F1 Alfa Romeo race car. In 2023 he competed in Colorado’s SBT GRVL, sponsored and organized his own FNLD GRVL event, and raced at The Gralloch world championship qualifying event in Scotland.

To qualify for the world championships Bottas will need to finish within the top 25% in one of 24 UCI Gravel World Series events. In 2023 he fell short of qualifying in the men’s 19-34 category at The Gralloch with a 48th place finish (38th place was the cut-off). Though, qualifying in 2024 might be easier with Bottas a year older and racing in the 35-39 year-old category. 

Listen to the complete Bobby & Jens interview with Valtteri Bottas below.

Photo Credit: Getty

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