There’s a simplicity to the thick forests and endless lakes of Finland – which are a source of great pride to its people. <\/span><\/p>\n You can see that in Valtteri Bottas’ eyes when he talks about the sense of calm they bring to him. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n That geography is why so many of the Finnish sporting greats, such as Juha Kankkunen and Kimi Raikkonen, find their way into motorsport – forced as they are to drive a car from a pre-legal age just to get around. <\/span><\/p>\n But less so Finland’s current number one driver, who began life getting across southern Finland’s unforgiving parcours on a bike.<\/span><\/p>\n “My daily commute to school, even if it was snowing or raining or whatever, was by bike,” says Bottas. <\/span><\/p>\n “For me it was a normal commute, so I didn’t find it that hard – I got used to it and the wet weather.”<\/span><\/p>\n Bike first: it’s a message so many of us in towns and cities across the world are acclimatising to these days. <\/span><\/p>\n And Bottas, 33, a man who has burned his fair share of fossil fuels in winning 10 Formula 1 races for Mercedes, has joined the revolution: falling in love with gravel racing – a craze of taking drop-handle road bikes with more gears and fatter tyres and blazing across the dirt roads of the world. <\/span><\/p>\n There’s a even a world championship, this year’s men’s race was won by Belgium’s Gianni Vermeersch, while Ineos Grenadiers’ new signing Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of France took the women’s title.<\/span><\/p>\n “Gravel racing is something that’s been really rapidly growing, getting more and more popular especially in the United States,” says Bottas. <\/span><\/p>\n “I did my first gravel race last year in Steamboat Springs – SBT GRVL [near Denver, Colorado]. Most people go mountain biking and road cycling, but it just gives you the opportunity to explore a bit more – get on roads without any traffic or without any people. That’s the pretty cool thing about it.”<\/span><\/p>\n So cool, he has launched his own race for next year – FNLD GRVL, set across the very same natural phenomenon where he grew up around Lahti – a Finnish city of 120,000 people, and one which has chosen Bottas as an ambassador to affect change to preserve its surroundings. <\/span><\/p>\n “I try to get involved in some of my passions – nature, cycling, and another one is coffee\u2026 no doubt good there’ll be good coffee in the race. <\/span><\/p>\n “I like to reward myself after a ride with a beer or a gin and tonic, so that could be an opportunity. I think there’s going to be a few things linked to the event I’m involved with that I have a passion for. <\/span><\/p>\n “It’s quite common for people [in gravel cycling] to have camp fires and cook some marshmallows or something, but the nature in Finland is something we will try to make accessible for people to explore – then maybe have a sauna or go swimming straight after race.”<\/span><\/p>\n But another catalyst for his passion for two wheels comes from his partner, professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, who also races on gravel – she was sixth in the aforementioned worlds – when she’s not on the road for Canyon-Sram on the Women’s World Tour.<\/span><\/p>\n Bottas continues: “With [car] racing when I started training more systematically, cycling was always one part of cardio for me. But when I met Tiffany my cycling game went up to the next level, I would say, and the interest as well.”<\/span><\/p>\n The pair operate out of Monaco now – where the shops are “70 metres away – job done”. But when they are on the move, it’ll usually be on the bikes.<\/span><\/p>\n “When I do a hard training session or even a race I do it mainly for fun to challenge myself. I kind of like to push myself to the limit. If you do even like a two or three-hour gravel race and you spend most of the race at your max heart rate\u2026 it’s quite painful so it’s something that makes you tougher in a way. It really is a sport that allows you to push even further that you thought you can go. It’s quite satisfying.”<\/span><\/p>\n But it’s not just the physical benefits of cycling which really capture Bottas’ imagination.<\/span><\/p>\n “For me it’s a bit of a stress release,” he says. “I can go to places that are quite remote, I can go to explore and almost leave any stress or F1-related things behind me when I get on my bike. <\/span><\/p>\n “For me it’s mentally really important. I love nature and I love clean air, pure water, nice scenery – the less people you can see the better when I disconnect.” <\/span><\/p>\n Ah, yes, the uncomfortable truth. Bottas races for Alfa Romeo these days, in a sport which creates around 256,000 tonnes of carbon equivalent waste each season. <\/span><\/p>\n Not that professional cycling is necessarily in any better shape: governing body the UCI is still yet to register any true figures on the <\/span>carbon footprint of a sport which often requires several helicopters and an endless stream of cars and motorbikes. <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Bottas knows all this. And, like many others, it’s affecting him.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’ve definitely seen climate change in Finland – already the summer and winter is turning more in extremes. Already from my childhood to now I can see a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n “Some places in Finland have become really windy, and it was not like that 20 years ago.”<\/span><\/p>\n Bottas is determined that his presence in F1 and now in cycling will affect positive change in both sports and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n “Being in F1, there’s quite a big push to be greener – it took a while, but finally people are taking it seriously. Teams and organisations are really putting effort into it. <\/span><\/p>\n “I will definitely try to do my best with this event – in the end it’s all about making simple choices, like if you go to work or to the supermarket; do you take your V8 car or bike? Simple things.” <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Bottas\"](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/128A6\/production\/_127324957_bottas.jpg\")
<\/span><\/span>The gravel revolution<\/h3>\n
Freedom, but for how long? <\/h3>\n