Gravel racing is something however regular, and crammed with downside fixing on various kinds of surfaces and terrain. This appears to go well with Karolina Migoń properly. In 2024, she strains up for her second UCI Gravel World Championships as one of many choose specialists within the rising off-road self-discipline and is a medal hope for Poland.
Even earlier than elite ladies’s defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma pulled off the beginning listing for Poland, Migoń was the highest rider from that nation primarily based on gravel outcomes this yr, with wins at The Traka 360 in addition to two wins on the UCI Gravel World Series calendar, La Indomable and Gravel Suisse, which earned her qualification to Belgium for the world championships.
“I’m far more ready bodily and mentally this yr. UCI races are identified for being brief and quick, and this one is not any completely different. It’s flat, quick, with some punchy brief hills,” Migoń instructed Cyclingnews. “The course isn’t superb for me. However, you by no means know until you strive, so it is going to be like using on the street.
“I need to see the place I stand, and I consider gravel racing has grow to be far more aggressive. Gravel riders can compete with World Tour riders, as we’ve confirmed in some races this yr, particularly in direction of the tip of the season when many roadies be a part of gravel occasions. It makes it extra enjoyable and difficult.”
Migoń earned her first win of the 2024 season at La Indomable, the Spanish UCI Gravel World Series race in Berja-Almeria overlaying a 96km observe fitted for pure climbers. She defeated final yr’s champion, Carolin Schiff (Germany) by practically two minutes. And earlier than she defeated Schiff once more on the 102km Gravel Suisse occasion, she captured a signature outcome at a career-defining endurance check in Spain.
“My favorite race this yr was positively the Traka 360. It was my first huge gravel race, and I had by no means ridden such a protracted distance, even on the street. It was a giant unknown for me, and I didn’t know what to anticipate,” she admitted.
“However, I actually favored the course and felt assured that I may compete for the highest spot. The folks have been wonderful, and the environment in Girona, taken over by cyclists for the entire week, was unbelievable.”
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The 28-year-old appeared dialed in for a full racing season that had few issues she could not remedy, including second place finishes at The Rift in Iceland, Monsterrando in Italy and Gravel Worlds in Nebraska. She additionally completed fourth at SBT GRVL on the 200km black course and fifth at Santa Vall gravel stage race in Spain.
Until 2020 Migoń rode for a Polish beginner street staff, Maton Atom Deweloper, and likewise competed in mountain biking, and after the worldwide pandemic relocated to Switzerland. Now 28 years previous, she is a full-time software program engineer and was imagined to be a part-time bicycle owner. She dedicated to the PAS Racing staff final yr and shifted a few of her priorities.
“I actually take pleasure in my skilled job; it’s by no means boring, and I get to unravel completely different issues than these I face on the bike. I work with a staff of gifted engineers, which is a really completely different atmosphere in comparison with biking. Having this stability helps me rather a lot,” she defined.
“It’s not simple to juggle work, my sport profession, and my private life, however I give attention to the highs. Maybe in some unspecified time in the future, I’ll resolve to go full-time in biking or stick to my profession. It’s good to have choices.”
A month after her win at The Traka, she accomplished her first Unbound Gravel 200 with twenty first within the elite ladies’s race however needed to rejoice podiums for her PAS Racing teammates as an alternative, USA’s Chad Haga in second and Tobias Mørch Köngstad of Denmark in third. And like Migoń, Köngstad can be has a full-time profession off the bike.
“I used to be actually blissful and impressed once I noticed their outcomes on the end line. We share every little thing as a staff, so whereas I used to be upset with my very own outcome, I used to be thrilled for my teammates’ success in such a giant race.”
PAS Racing helps 18 riders for gravel pursuits, which isn’t the conventional path for many riders, who sometimes change from professional street or mountain bike squads and delve into self-supported programmes.
“I began with mountain biking and street biking, so transferring to gravel felt like a pure development. It was fairly an natural transition,” she mentioned.
“I moved to Switzerland and commenced using my bike to discover the nation and meet new folks. I began using a gravel bike a couple of yr in the past, and by the tip of the yr, with some good outcomes below my belt, I used to be supplied a spot on the PAS Racing staff. Initially, I didn’t notice it might flip right into a full yr of racing. The staff had nice outcomes, so we adjusted our calendars to incorporate extra races.
“In the gravel scene, most riders are privateers who handle every little thing on their very own. I’m actually lucky to be a part of a staff the place plenty of the stress and logistics are taken care of for us. I’m by no means alone at races.”
Other PAS Racing teammates can be in Belgium for Worlds, however no different riders can be a part of Team Poland.
“Last yr, I wasn’t actually racing or coaching, so my resolution to take part in Worlds was fairly spontaneous, particularly because it wasn’t removed from the place I stay. It was unbelievable to be a part of such a prestigious occasion and to see Kasia’s unbelievable victory firsthand. Her win was properly deserved and gave me an enormous inspiration for gravel racing,” she instructed Cyclingnews about her inaugural season on gravel final yr.
“The race [last year] felt extra like a street race when it comes to velocity and dynamics. Gravel racing isn’t supported by a nationwide federation, so I didn’t even know who else was taking part from Poland. We needed to determine every little thing out on our personal, and there was no nationwide staff tactic as a result of we hadn’t mentioned something earlier than the race. So, in that sense, it was like a typical gravel race the place everybody rides for themselves.”
No Niewiadoma this yr is not any downside, since final yr she did not know her compatriot was on the beginning line prematurely. She ideas Lotte Kopecky as this yr’s race favorite, because the Belgian rider enters recent off a second consecutive street world title. However, Migoń reiterated that gravel is actually a person setup with the nationwide groups and restricted sources for in-race help as properly. It’s a large open guess for a winner.
“Lotte [Kopecky] can be at house, and she or he has confirmed that she will win in any situations this weekend. It can be a extremely attention-grabbing race; every little thing is feasible in case you are by yourself and not using a staff automobile behind you.”