Valteri Bottas and Tiffany Cromwell won't be troubling the Oscars with their race promo video
F1 star dons a pair of budgie smugglers to sell tickets to Radl Grvl
It's Tuesday and F1 star Valtteri Bottas is trying to get you to go to race a gravel event in Australia by appearing in a pair of speedos.
That is a sentence you probably didn't expect to read this morning, it’s certainly one I wasn’t expecting to write, but Bottas and his partner Tiffany Cromwell, pro rider with Canyon-SRAM, have a very tongue in cheek approach to marketing.
The gravel power couple have already run a handful of other events under their Grvl Events company and in January the show is coming to Adelaide, South Australia.
To promote it the pair have made a short ad where Bottas, inclined on the sofa, runs out of Shiraz and after a conversation with Cromwell, who’s getting ready to go training, decides the only way to remedy the situation is to start a race in the heart of Australian’s wine production country.
Why he then needs to march out the door, bike bag in tow, in a pair of budgie smugglers emblazoned with the logo of Victoria Bitter (VB) one of Australia’s most popular beers, is somewhat unclear.
Predictably, the acting from two sportspeople is more wooden than a whole cellar of Shiraz barrels but the ability to laugh at yourself is a commendable trait and one both Bottas and Cromwell clearly possess it in spades.
When one person commented that Bottas’s swimwear “made the video” he replied: “Don't leave home without them.”
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The event itself does at least promise to be a good one. Radl Grvl will last three days from Thursday January 18 to Saturday January 20.
The first day will be a shakedown casual ride, Friday will be a 131km gravel race with a prize purse of $10,000 AUD (£5,200 / $6,300 USD) and Saturday will be another casual ride finishing with watching the Tour Down Under on the legendary Willunga Hill.
The event is limited to just 250 places and registration opens on Wednesday October 25. Entry costs $275 AUD (£143 /$174USD).
It follows in the wheel tracks of events run by the pair in Colorado, USA and more recently Finland, Bottas’s home country.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Having trained as a journalist at Cardiff University I spent eight years working as a business journalist covering everything from social care, to construction to the legal profession and riding my bike at the weekends and evenings. When a friend told me Cycling Weekly was looking for a news editor, I didn't give myself much chance of landing the role, but I did and joined the publication in 2016. Since then I've covered Tours de France, World Championships, hour records, spring classics and races in the Middle East. On top of that, since becoming features editor in 2017 I've also been lucky enough to get myself sent to ride my bike for magazine pieces in Portugal and across the UK. They've all been fun but I have an enduring passion for covering the national track championships. It might not be the most glamorous but it's got a real community feeling to it.
-
Forget distance covered, these are the key stats to note in your Strava Year in Sport
We asked a coach how to best analyse our end of year Strava data
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'She should show a bit more respect' - Lotte Kopecky responds to Demi Vollering comments
The pair seemingly had one last fractious year together at SD Worx-Protime in 2024
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Stinner’s first stock program makes US handmade bikes accessible — and they ride well, too!
The Stinner Carrizo Select blends custom craftsmanship with accessibility, offering a handmade alternative to mass-market bikes built overseas
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
15 things you didn’t know about two-time Life Time Grand Prix winner Sofía Gómez Villafañe
MTB Olympian, Unbound winner, two-time Life Time Grand Prix series victor — meet the queen of off-road racing.
By Kristin Jenny Published
-
Unbound registration is now open: Your guide to 2025's biggest gravel events and key registration dates
Here are the registration dates for gravel’s biggest events around the globe
By Anne-Marije Rook Last updated
-
SBT GRVL lives! The story of just how close the gravel community came to losing one of its biggest events
Here are all the details on what the revamped event will look like in 2025 as government headwinds continue to push against the event
By Logan Jones-Wilkins Published
-
Integrated cockpits on gravel bikes: is it fashion over function, or an upgrade worth considering?
Are the pros really worth the mechanical cons? Here's what to know before going all in(tegrated)
By Logan Jones-Wilkins Published
-
Keegan Swenson notably absent as USA Cycling announces Gravel Worlds roster
With 23 elite riders led by Swenson and Stephens, Team USA hopes to claim a medal at the second-ever event in Italy
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Lauren Stephens and Brennan Wertz crowned US National Gravel Champions
In Nebraska, riders battled for the Stars-and-Stripes jersey, a $40,000 prize purse and entry to the UCI Gravel World Championships
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Will the real Gravel Worlds please stand up?
The official unoffocial Gravel Worlds race takes place in Nebraska this weekend. It's been running for 16 years, has live coverage, awards metal swords, but is not a UCI-sanctioned race.
By Logan Jones-Wilkins Published