First off, can you introduce yourself?

My name is Elliot; I’m from London, and I race gravel full time at the moment. It’s been a new thing for me over the past few months. I’m a privateer. I ride for Specialized, Rapha, Lightweight, Styrkr, and SunGod. I’m in the thick of my gravel campaign this year.

I grew up racing in London, and I’ve only recently moved to Spain and made the commitment to ride my bike full time. I make a lot of content around cycling, too—these very fast-paced Reels that no one can seem to keep up with.

I grew up living next to and racing on a velodrome, then I moved to doing cyclocross, crits, a bit of road racing. When I was like 17 or 18, I broke my leg and took about six years away from the sport. I got a degree in engineering, and I worked as a structural engineer for about two or three years. Eventually,

What brought you back to cycling?

I lived in Australia for a year on exchange, and I was just skateboarding and destroying my body…going to bars after skating. That was just the thing that we did. I had a great time, but then something just clicked in my head. I wanted to stop destroying my body and start looking after myself again.

I flew back to the UK after my exchange, and I didn’t want to skate anymore. And my bike was still there from years ago, and it still fit me. I went on holiday with my parents and started riding with my dad. I just found a new love for it. We went back to London, and I started training. There was a great group of people in my local club—three or four of them are now in the World Tour, actually. Everybody was really keen to train. It was something I hadn’t had before. There hadn’t been that sort of community.

What factor has gravel played in your return to cycling? Did the new discipline help keep your interests focused on riding?

Definitely, it was something different to road and crit racing. The road racing scene in the UK is unfortunately kind of on its knees.

And it definitely played a huge part in me being able to do this for a living. I’ve always had a great interest in traveling, and there are so many weird, small gravel races all around the world, and I just remember seeing some YouTube videos about races in America and feeling like “I want to go and do this.”

Last year, I was working at Wahoo, and I just asked them, “Can I work remotely for three months and go race my gravel bike?” And I somehow convinced them to say yes. So, last year, I got to go and race Gravel Locos, Belgian Waffle Ride San Diego, Rule of Three, UNBOUND, and Tulsa Tough. It was such a good experience and gave me so much. I made loads of connections, met loads of interesting people who are in the scene, and it kind of just snowballed from there, really.

How does the US gravel scene compare to that in the UK or Spain?

I would say the American gravel scene is more open and inclusive. The sizes of the fields are much bigger. Everyone has a story to tell, and no matter what level you are, there’s still an option to go out and do it.

I think with European gravel, it’s still a bit more racer focused. The scene in the US is just much bigger. There’s more racing, more events. And just the way the roads are designed, you have all these unpaved roads naturally. In the UK, we don’t really have the same roads, or if we do, they are being used quite a lot.

You just finished your second UNBOUND, and you ended up taking second place in the 100-mile race? What was that like?

It was pretty eventful, as you probably have heard. The first 11 miles were pretty tame. Then we hit this crazy mud section…just crazy. I was near the front, maybe about 10-15 wheels back. My cyclocross skills from when I was a kid took me so far. I was just picking lines.

I tried to make an effort to keep moving. I’d put my bike on my shoulder, even though it was heavy from being really caked in mud. But I didn’t want to run along with the bike because it would just continue to clog up.

We had it bad. The 200-mile racers might be complaining, but the 100s, we had to deal with the mud after everyone else had already been through it. It was pretty insane. I got through that section, digging deep and running with the bike, and then I came over the top, keeping my derailleur away from the spokes to avoid snapping it off. I was cleaning my bike as I went, keeping the mud off to keep it from weighing too much.

Eventually, I found two other guys who were also riding the 100, and they were pushing so we went together. We dropped one of the guys, so me and the other guy were alone for maybe two-and-a-half or three hours. We didn’t know that we were in first. Neither of us knew. We were just going, putting our heads down and catching masses of 200s. When the 200s split off from the 100-mile course,

I was like, “No way!” They told us the other people were minutes back. We were pretty stoked on that. But UNBOUND is one of those races where you never stop pedaling. You get to the point where you’re like, “I could really do with freewheeling for a bit.”

We got to the aid station; I didn’t have a massive support crew, but shoutout to John, my photographer. He jumped in and helped out. We left the aid station, and the guy started pushing. I lost the wheel and couldn’t hold it. Which actually turned out to be a good thing. After an hour, a group of three caught me. I thought I had second wrapped up. But they caught me.

So, I jumped on with them, and we started rotating.

He was in a bad way, so he sat on for a bit. But none of us had any gas to attack for the last hour. We were all really low on water. Everyone was cramping. I would get on the front just to cool off and get some airflow. The four of us rolled in. It was a four-person sprint for the win. I was actually at the back, and I got a good jump, but the guy at the second wheel had a kick in him, and I couldn’t quite get round him.

But yeah, I was super happy with that result.

How did this year compare to riding the 200 last year?

It was just as brutal. I thought the 100 would be a bit easier. But you’re pushing harder. In the 200, you have some time to lull, to regather your thoughts in the middle. But the 100 is just full gas all day

How does UNBOUND compare to some of the other gravel events you’ve taken part in?

UNBOUND is just the show. It’s the big one. Everybody’s there. Everybody’s peaking for this one. There are plenty of other amazing gravel races out there, and everybody is in good form for those races, as well. But UNBOUND, all the brands are releasing their new equipment. There’s a massive expo.

There are some great gravel races leading up to UNBOUND, as well. I’m really glad that they’re there, as they help you get into shape and think about things you need to remember on the day of UNBOUND.

Rule of Three in Bentonville is an amazing race run by this guy, Andy Chasteen. It’s a really fun course. There’s like 20 miles of singletrack. You’re kind of under-biked on a gravel bike. It takes you out and around Arkansas, then you come back in and do another 20-mile segment of singletrack—and it’s brutal!

You were in California a few weeks ago for the Rapha Yomp Rally. How does that sort of non-competitive bikepacking help prepare you for longer gravel races?

It basically forces you to go out and do 200-kilometer days. You don’t have a choice. It’s great. Going out and training, and saying to yourself, “I’m going to ride for ten hours” is pretty tough. I don’t know too many individuals who can do that. Whereas the Yomp Rally, you don’t really have a choice. You’ve got to cover 200KM in a day to get to where you need to get to.

The Yomp Rally was one of the most amazing routes. Shoutout to Brandon for putting so much time into designing that route. It was phenomenal, but I knew that I had to get to certain points each day, so it forces you to cover 200 kilometers, and then do it again the next day to get off this insane 80-mile stretch from the top of the Sierra Madre to Santa Barbara. The Sierra Madre is insanely gnarly: incredible hike-a-bike sections, even on the descents.

How have your Lightweight wheels handled the rigors of the Yomp Rally and races like UNBOUND?

I’ve been putting those things through their paces. I’ve been riding them pretty hard, even the road wheels. Sometimes I find myself on a dirt road when I was planning a road ride. They’re holding up. The gravel wheels have been phenomenal.

I was definitely getting some looks at the start of the Yomp Rally. Some people there were on these bikes built like tanks, and I’ve got Lightweights, a greyhound-light specced bike, but it held up. I dinged the rims so many times, and they really, really held up.

But yeah, the Rapha Yomp Rally—I got through it on Lightweights.

Gravel racing comes in many forms and lengths. What’s your sweet spot?

I definitely think the 100- to 150-mile distance is perfect for me. Also, something that has a bit of up and down, where the pace can get quite spicy on the climbs, then you get a little rest on the way down, maybe with something a little technical— that would be my ideal gravel race. Maybe a mix between Big Sugar and Rule of Three would be amazing. With UNBOUND, I definitely could have done with a bit more up and down.

Are you ever tempted to take on an ultra-distance gravel event, like Silk Road or something similar?

Not yet.

What advice do you have for anyone new to gravel trying to work their way towards a podium?

Jasper, for example, the guy who won Gravel Locos last year, he’s fought for podiums against Roglič. These are the people who are winning these races: guys who could have been on the World Tour but now race gravel.

So, be very patient with the training. That’s something I’ve had to learn, as well. The body eventually will come round with consistency, and your physical potential will start to show.

Last question: What’s next for you, and what’s next for gravel?

Next for me, I’m going to Tulsa Tough on Wednesday. I’ve not actually decided if I’ll race or not. I’m pretty cooked at the moment. It’s been full gas for the past month and a half. But there’s a good party there.

What’s next for gravel, I can imagine more people from the high levels of racing coming to dip their toes in the sport. I can imagine brands will put more energy and money into the scene. And I think it looks really promising.

You can follow all of Elliot’s gravel adventures on Instagram @l4loud and @vc.letsgetit