It’s holding on for dear life, accelerating out of 100,000 corners and holding your breath in between attacks. While not long in terms of kilometres, the intensity more than makes up for it. 

It’s only 69 miles (111km) in distance, but set in Utah’s Tushar mountain range, it is just beyond brutal. It starts by going up a 10,000-foot climb (3000m), down, and then back up for a mountain-top finish on another 10,000-footer. Of all the photos and videos I’ve seen from any gravel race this past year, there is no finish where riders are as broken as at the Crusher. 

Knowing how much protein to consume at meal times as well as throughout the day as a cyclist can sometimes be a little confusing.

Winners barely lift a hand in celebration, and there are staff to help push riders past the finish as even unclipping seems impossible after the mammoth effort. 

HOW TO OPTIMISE YOUR PROTEIN STRATEGY FOR CYCLING

• Neilson is Oneida on his father’s side and in 2020, he became the first tribally recognized Native North American to race the Tour de France.
• He is only the sixth American to wear the Polka Dot jersey joining Nate Brown (2017), Taylor Phinney (2017), Tejay Van Garderen (2011), Greg Lemond (1986) and Marianne Martin (1984).
• He was the American U23 road race national champion in 2017, winning a three man sprint ahead of Gage Hecht and Brendan Rhim.
• While Neilson is only 26, he has been racing since he was very young and turned pro in 2018.
• His first WorldTour team was Lotto NL Jumbo which is now known as Jumbo Visma.

There are three well-sized zippered pockets – two on the front and one on the rear. The high elastane content ensures stretch in all directions for an excellent fit, which can be altered via the adjuster tabs on the waistband.

Migration Gravel Race

Easily one of the coolest things about racing gravel is that the races are all over the globe, in some pretty far-out places, and you don’t need to be in a team to qualify for entry. You just need to win a lottery for your entry in some of them, or simply to register early. In my opinion, the three best-in-class are listed here.

That number comprises the 15 Women’s WorldTour teams and seven invited teams from the second tier of women’s pro racing. The penultimate stage finishes atop the Col du Tourmalet. All eyes will be on Annemiek van Vleuten of Movistar to see if she can achieve her aim of completing the Vuelta-Giro-Tour treble in 2023, prior to her retirement later this year.