'I may not have a ridden a bike, but I’m f*****g strong' - British gravel racer has unusual off-season ahead of Sea Otter Classic

British gravel racer Annabel Fisher believes she is in the best physical shape possible ahead of the Sea Otter Classic on Thursday, saying that she will be “above and beyond” the rest of the competition despite riding her bike just a handful of times this winter.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly before flying to America for the event, Fisher said her unusual off-season, which consists of regular cross-country skiing competitions, means she is in the shape of her life ahead of the 100km-plus event in California, the first event of the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix.

"Today I did just my sixth bike ride of the year," Fisher said as she recounted her training. "My preparation is not at all the norm, it's just not cycling. In October I put the bikes in the garage and they then don’t get touched for a while. I start skiing in around the second week of December and do a fair bit of ski racing. It's cross-country skiing that I do, not downhill, so I've skied 3,000 kilometres over 178 hours and completed 41,000 metres of elevation gain. That's what my preparation for my gravel season looks like. I may not have ridden a bike but I’m fucking strong."

The 35-year-old started her gravel campaign in Spain, finishing second in a UCI Gravel World Series event. Fisher explained that her training between the race in Spain in late March and travelling to the states would be kept to a minimum.

She said: "I’ll do maybe another two or three rides before the event so Sea Otter will be about my tenth bike ride since last October. Physically I feel I'm above and beyond the rest of the field because cross-country skiers are some of the strongest athletes in the world, no matter where you put them. I guess my preparation has been non-stop, but it's just very different from what you might expect."

With plenty of climbing on the menu at the Sea Otter race, Fisher said that the parcours is much more tailored towards a rider of her attributes.

"It's going to be my first time racing over there at this event," she explained. "The course will suit me really well. I'm a climber, even on my skis, I go uphill really well so that really pleased me when I looked over it. 125 kilometres and something like 2,400 metres of climbing, so it's right up my street and much better for me."

And what kind of equipment does a cross-country ski racer opt for when jumping back into gravel action? Fisher talked Cycling Weekly through her machine and explained that she had been heavily involved in its development at her adopted home of Switzerland.

"My bike is a brand called Bixs," she said. "It's Swiss designed and I believe the frame is actually welded together in Zurich. The bike was actually designed about four years ago when gravel first started becoming a thing in Europe. I'm super happy with the geometry and how it handles. It's super twitchy, super reactive and really nice to ride. We've done it up with SRAM, it's actually got a mountain bike derailleur on it as it helps it go faster. I’ve got Zipp wheels too."