Unbound Gravel 200 final yr wasn’t the expertise Brendan Johnston had hoped for – he was simply one of many many victims of the peanut butter mud that destroyed races and drivetrains en masse – however the Big rider is aware of all too properly learn how to reset and discover one other method when the chips don’t fall his method.
Lining up for a second try on June 1 is an opportunity to do exactly that. The Australian is seeking to flip his debut shock right into a constructing block for achievement on the race which captures the creativeness of the gravel world like no different.
“It is a unusual vibe within the morning whenever you’re lining up. It isn’t that many occasions you’ve gotten one thing forward of you the place there are simply so many unknowns,” Johnston advised Cyclingnews from his Australian base within the days earlier than he set off for Unbound, the second race of seven within the Life Time Grand Prix. “It is simply an epic day forward of you and something may occur.”
Final yr’s ‘something‘ of a lengthy, sticky mud pit so near the beginning left Johnston caught and watching his rivals journey away earlier than then attempting to chase again on a motorbike that couldn’t shift gears as a result of harm sustained via that part. His race was successfully over 11 miles in, though he endured for a lot of extra earlier than he pulled the pin.
“I had simply put a lot emphasis on that race,” stated Johnston, who raced the Life Time Grand Prix for the primary time in 2023, embracing the possibility it provided to lastly embrace life as a full-time bicycle owner. “I needed each race to achieve success and, to outline myself within the US and that was only one race that I assumed I may do properly in and so quickly into it.
“I used to be simply in a state of shock. That I used to be utterly out of it and never even actually progressing within the race was one thing actually arduous to take.”
Johnston, nonetheless, has confirmed his skill to bounce again from far, far worse. When goals of a European-based skilled biking profession had been stymied by a most cancers prognosis at 17, Johnston did not stroll away from the game however continued on a distinct biking path, constructing a formidable tally of wins throughout disciplines in Australia over a decade, whereas on the similar time working as an electrician.
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The persistence meant he lastly obtained the chance make the bike his occupation in his 30’s with the emergence of gravel racing and the Life Time sequence. It is a chance he’s decided to benefit from, regardless of the obstacles alongside the best way.
“I assume having that catastrophe final yr at Unbound might be good as a result of I am properly conscious now of the drama that may type of strike and derail your objectives on the race,” stated Johnston. “It is a huge occasion and the fellows and gals which are proper up there in our sport attend and that is what makes it fairly, particular. It has a little bit of a stripped-back nature within the organisation, which can be good or unhealthy, however it’s what it’s, and other people need to do it and other people need to win it.”
That features Johnston.
The construct
Brendan Johnston wins the SEVEN Gravel race 2024, a part of the UCI Gravel World Collection (Picture credit score: Daniela Tommasi)
Final yr Johnston – who rides for Big however carries the nickname of “Trekky” because of affiliations earlier in his profession – completed his first yr of the Life Time Grand Prix total sequence in seventh place.
The season began solidly with a sixth at Fuego XL however these prime 10 locations evaporated mid-season as as soon as the robust version of Unbound was via there have been additionally then the races at altitude to cope with, not one thing there’s a lot of in Australia. That, in addition to the fall-out from Unbound, took a toll. In hindsight, Johnston stated he ought to have allowed for extra restoration from the race and the massive coaching blocks beforehand, somewhat than doubling down after the Unbound disappointment.
Although regardless of the challenges, there was no capitulating, and Johnston delivered a late-season resurgence, with third at The Rad Grime Fest and a second at Massive Sugar Gravel, that additionally delivered prime sequence factors given first-placed Torbjørn Andre Røed wasn’t collaborating within the Life Time sequence. That buildup of ends in the sequence because the yr progressed not solely led to seventh total but additionally constructed confidence heading into a brand new season.
“I did not suppose it took too lengthy to see the lay the land and see who kind of matches the place and the place I slot in as properly, the place I used to be sturdy and the place I wanted to enhance,” stated Johnston of his first yr in Life Time. “Even now I am feeling so a lot better about Unbound, simply figuring out what to anticipate. That stage of consolation is for positive saving me some vitality within the preparation.”
The run on this yr, too, has given Johnston cause for optimism with the rider’s newest four-week racing block beginning with a fifth at each the Fuego XL and Belgian Waffle Journey California in April within the US. He then jumped on a airplane and completed it off with two weekends of wins in Australia on the Marathon MTB Nationwide Championships and SEVEN spherical of the UCI Gravel World Collection in Nannup in Could.
Johnston is now again within the US, having fine-tuned his lead in coaching due to the information gathered previously yr, with confidence that the “type is de facto good” as he checks out the 202.9 mile course (326.5km) with 11,850 toes (3,611m) of elevation acquire.
There are two concerns that come into play for Johnston on the race – one is delivering a great strong outcome to assist hold him excessive on the leaderboard on the Life Time Grand Prix sequence, and the opposite is to go all out for the win at Unbound.
Whereas the 32-year-old should still have been weighing up the priorities when Cyclingnews spoke to him final week, there isn’t a query that he has put final yr’s disappointment firmly behind him and is able to chase a spot on the pointy finish of the race.
“The primary aim is simply to attempt to be in that entrance choice when it occurs and, I actually suppose I’ve obtained the form to try this,” stated Johnston. “I do not see myself being on the again foot except we have now some type of main catastrophe.”
If there’s a main catastrophe, little doubt Johnston will come again and check out once more subsequent yr having learnt an entire lot extra alongside the best way but when issues go to plan a yr or constructing outcomes has demonstrated that he has a spot among the many main group of contenders at US gravel races.
“I actually kind of have gotten good confidence in how I am going that I could make the cut up and journey good place,” stated Johnston, though there was no underestimating the size of problem introduced by the chase for Unbound glory. “I feel I’ve my place in that bunch, albeit there are some new and actually sturdy guys popping out.”
