Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas has been discovering a new love of cycling since meeting his partner, Australian cyclist, Tiffany Cromwell in 2020, and together, the pair are set to launch RADL GRVL, a South Australian cycling race with a $10,000 purse.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo’s star driver, is known for his blistering speed and cool head through the asphalt of a Formula 1 track. The Finnish driver, who has won 10 F1 races, spent the majority of his career alongside the sport’s greatest-ever driver, Lewis Hamilton, and was always commended for his work ethic, consistency and unrelenting sportsmanship.
In recent years, Bottas has spent more and more time across Australia and New Zealand, exploring the country with his new partner, South Australian cyclist, Tiffany Cromwell. Bottas has grown out his mullet, trimmed his moustache and chucked a VB shirt over his budgies as he nears completion of his full Australian transformation.
“The more I’ve seen, the more I’ve fallen in love with the country and the lifestyle,” Bottas claimed. “Just the scenery and the people and everything was so nice.”
As an athlete, Bottas always looked at a diverse range of sports and exercises to maintain his peak physical fitness when he was not on track. Almost ten years ago, Bottas discovered a new racing love, complete with a quick changing of gears, high-speed turns and breathtaking views.
Since meeting his partner, the pair has shared the love of cycling together, recently cycling from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road last summer. They launched FNLD GRVL in Bottas’ hometown of Lahti, Finland this year and now, they’ve taken it one step further by launching their own cycling race event Down Under.
Scheduled to take place from Thursday, January 18, to Saturday, January 20, 2024, RADL GRVL promises participants an exclusive mix of both paved and gravel roads that wind through the scenic landscapes of Adelaide and its surrounding areas.
“Last June I had the chance to introduce the gravel cycling community to the riding around my hometown of Lahti, Finland at FNLD GRVL,” Bottas said. “And this year I’m excited that Tiffany gets to do the same around her backyard of South Australia.”
“I’ve enjoyed some very memorable gravel rides around Adelaide and McLaren Vale over the last few years, so when the opportunity arose to bring an event to the area I was fully committed.”
Let’s hope he’s as quick on gravel as he is in the chicane.