Valtteri Bottas recently shared a heartfelt message of support on Instagram for his girlfriend, Tiffany Cromwell, after she experienced an unfortunate loss at the 2024 Bolero UCI Gravel World Championships finale. Bottas expressed his admiration for Cromwell despite her setback.
The Finnish driver uploaded an Instagram story sharing Cromwell’s post summarizing her race and added a caption that read, “Tough luck today for @tiffamycromwell. But always my hero.” Bottas will also be racing in the event as he has often participated in such events in 2024 alongside his cyclist girlfriend.
Cromwell had a promising start in the gravel race, maintaining a good position for 25 kilometers. However, she encountered an unfortunate mishap when she punctured her front tire after hitting a rock during a forest descent, ruining any chances of her victory.
Her race took another turn when her teammate, Neve Bradbury sacrificed her own chances in the race to help Cromwell by exchanging her front tire with Cromwell’s punctured one. However, she had already lost a significant amount of time and couldn’t recover her position at the front of the race.
Reflecting on her experience, Cromwell shared on Instagram, “In cycling, but especially gravel racing you need not only the legs, but also a little bit of luck. Unfortunately today, Lady Luck was not on my side.”
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She also praised her team, sponsors, and Bottas, referring to him as her “personal team” for standing by her side throughout the race. She is looking forward to swapping roles and supporting Bottas in his race the next day.
Bottas is set for a mammoth task in the gravel race tomorrow
The Sauber driver also took to Instagram to share his excitement about his upcoming race at the Gravel World Championships explaining how he had set himself a personal goal last year to qualify for the event which he was able to do under his Finnish nationality.
Bottas is ready to take on the 182-kilometer course, which he knows is going to be extremely challenging. However, the Finn emphasized that his main goal was not to win but to finish the race safely.
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“End of last year I set myself a little side goal – to qualify for the Gravel World Championships in my age group… And here we are. My goals? I want to challenge myself. I want to finish the race in one piece. And most importantly, I want to enjoy being part of all this, to the fullest,” Bottas wrote.
