Valtteri Bottas returned to winning ways of the F1 track on the cycling circuit. A week after he finished second in a gravel event in the US ahead of the Canadian GP, he emerged victorious in another gravel event in Finland.
The 34-year-old posted on his Instagram about winning the 114 km lakes course at the FNLD GRVL event just outside of Lahti, Finland. The post caption read, “My first win on gravel 114km ‘lakes course’ @fnldgrvl was awesome good racing on the happiest gravel roads on earth”.
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Bottas also celebrated how his partner, Tiffany Cromwell, won the 177 km ‘midnight sun’ women’s race at the same event. The couple have been enjoying a lot of time together, participating in cycling events and this was another one of those instances.
Cromwell, who is a professional cyclist, also won the women’s category race at the US gravel event in Kansas where Bottas finished second. The #77 driver has picked up this hobby of cycling courtesy of his Australian partner and his participation in events now further highlights how much he likes it.
Bottas’ exploits on two-wheelers are inspiring other drivers in the paddock as well. While many F1 drivers do cycling for fun during their off-time, they may emulate how the Finn competes at such events. Carlos Sainz is one such driver who recently purchased a customized bike.
Carlos Sainz gets a new bike after Valtteri Bottas’ gravel race success
Just days after Valtteri Bottas finished second in the gravel race in Kansas, Carlos Sainz was seen purchasing a new ride for himself. The Spaniard got a high-performance bike – the S-Works Roubaix SL8 – worth $11,400.
The entire bike weighs 16 lbs (7.34 kg) and has a Future Shock 3.3w/Smooth Boot suspension. Both tires have a size of 700x32c with hydraulic disc brake systems. Since Sainz often goes cycling, especially during track walks, it would be interesting to see if he tries to participate in cycling races like Bottas, after purchasing a new state-of-the-art bike.
