Formula 1 superstar Valtteri Bottas will miss the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Australia, on Sunday 11 October 2026, but the Cadillac driver has found a creative way to keep his legs busy. He cycled from Malaysia to Singapore between races.
The 37-year-old Finn secured a Worlds spot in August with fifth place in the men’s 35-39 category at the inaugural Gravel Tour Hlinsko in Czechia, as we reported at the time. Unfortunately, the Singapore Grand Prix is on Sunday 11 October 2026, the same day as the Gravel World Championships. Like most amateur cyclists, Bottas’ day job got in the way of his passion — gravel racing.
Instead, after spinning out in Sepang, Malaysia, on Sunday 04 October, Bottas skipped the short private-jet flight and rode his Canyon gravel bike south on gravel roads towards his next Formula 1 gig in Singapore.
The opening leg covered 56.6 kilometres to Port Dickson in 2 hours and 8 minutes. He then reportedly logged more than 160 kilometres on each of the next two days, finishing with a final leg of just over 40 kilometres into Singapore. Bottas confirmed a total distance of 419.67 kilometres and arrived just in time for his Cadillac media duties on Thursday 08 October, much to the relief of his team.
It suits a rider who won his 35-39 age group at SEVEN in Nannup earlier this year and also raced at the 2024 Gravel World Championships, where he finished 133rd. Cadillac, though, is still waiting for its first championship point after 16 races, so for now, the kilometres are the only numbers stacking up in his favour.
The rainbow jerseys will be decided in Nannup without him. Bottas, for his part, will work a different set of pedals on the Singapore street circuit, but this time the car will provide the watts — reaching speeds of up to 325 km/h.
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