LAURENS TEN DAM
Laurens reflects on endings, and new beginnings
Iwas disappointed when I heard that this would be the last edition of Procycling and therefore my last ‘Last Word’. Not only was writing these words a lifeline for me in order to still be connected to the world of pro cycling after my retirement from the WorldTour, I also loved reading the magazine and all the interviews.
The ending of a career, or a magazine for that matter, can be the start of a new beginning too. I remember vividly the end of 16 years of pro cycling for me at the Tour of Lombardy in 2019. After finishing that race I jumped straight away into a two-day, 560km bike trip towards Tuscany. It was still cycling, but the point was that it was in some ways a complete change from the cycling I was doing before. Stopping the rigid pro life opened new doors towards adventures on the bike I never would have thought of before. The bike brought me to Kenya, to race a bunch of hungry East African riders. I bike-packed the Pyrenees as a race in the event known as ‘Further’ and I did a bunch of other cool stuff. I didn’t need to overthink my physical condition or worry about tired legs. I switched to gravel so I could have more fun in racing and in life.
It all started in the 1980s with the 7-Eleven team, when a bunch of North American cowboys entered the European pro peloton. I say cowboys because they didn’t care about any conventions. When they wanted to attack early in a race, they did. The peloton bosses like Hinault could yell at them, but they just didn’t listen and followed their hearts. American cycling grew fast and ended up sky high before collapsing into a big mess after the USADA scandal and Lance’s confession on Oprah’s couch.
Almost a decade after 2012, there was no money any more in US pro cycling. As a young rider it was almost impossible to make it as a pro. There were no teams, there were no races, there was no perspective. And out of this shitstorm emerged a totally new scene: gravel racing.
Long hard races on hardpack rocky roads. Nobody would disagree if I were to call Unbound the most important race in North America nowadays. Bike manufacturers jumped aboard the ship. Falling sales figures were bent upwards again with the sale of thousands of gravel bikes and components. Companies started to sponsor ‘privateers’. These are the modern cowboys in cycling. They just race for the sake of racing. They race with honour. No one dares to skip a pull, and I can say that from being involved first-hand.
Whereas in the beginning, everything about gravel was cool and new, I can see some battles coming. Winning Unbound can change a rider’s status from amateur to professional, or in other words, it can change a life. The challenge for the upcoming years will be to keep gravel alive and kicking, while being part of the commercial circus. But it opens up a bunch of possibilities too for boys and girls worldwide who dare to race their balls off. That’s cool and it’s good to know that it all started because something else ended. The end of the road was the start of gravel. Sometimes an ending is also a new beginning.
Laurens ten Dam is an ex pro cyclist. He lives by his motto, ‘live slow, ride fast’, while doing podcasts, organising gravel events and running a coffee brand and clothing label.
Almost a decade after 2012, there was no money any more in US pro cycling. There were no teams, there were no races, there was no perspective. And out of this emerged a totally new scene: gravel racing