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As the men’s WorldTour reconvenes in earnest on European roads this month, there are several riders notable by their absence. The Americans Peter Stetina and Ian Boswell, and Holland’s Laurens Ten Dam, have all stepped off the unrelenting treadmill of the road race calendar, all for different reasons, to throw their lot in with the burgeoning amateur gravel racing scene.
It’s a scene that’s largely set in the USA, having grown pinning on a number to race gravel and mountain biking events, not with the backing and safety net of a team and contract but rather a clutch of sponsors. He’s confident he’ll earn enough to keep supporting his family and pay the mortgage, yet to sacrifice the monthly wage of the WorldTour means it remains a leap into the unknown until he’s tried it for a season.
