Gravel racer Ivar Slik from Bergen will be at the start of the first gravel World Championship ever on Sunday. “After winning the clay game Unbound, I hope to put the icing on the cake on Sunday”, Slik looks ahead.
Gravel racing is on the rise. “Graveling is basically old-school cycling. You get off track and it’s less tactical than on the road. It’s more every man for himself and you have less advantage when you ride in the peloton,” says Slik enthusiastically.
unbound
In June Ivar Slik won the clay game Unbound in America. That match is seen as the unofficial World Cup. After that victory, a lot has changed for the North Hollander. “It was special to be the first non-American to win that race and also in the fastest time ever. After that I was invited by three talk shows. Many bicycle brands also want to collaborate with me,” says Slik.
Slik was one of the first to switch from the road to the gravel paths. Due to Unbound’s important win, his team Willier-Triestina offered him a new three-year contract.
Next weekend he hopes to become the first world champion in clay courts in Italy. The North Hollander will face considerable competition, because none other than Mathieu van der Poel and Peter Sagan will appear at the start in Veneto.