Lachlan Morton talks about gravel racing: "As long as teams don't come into it, it's gonna stay really cool"

Lachlan Morton, a man known for his light-minded approach to cycling, is ready to set off to glory at Unbound Gravel. The Australian is famous for riding the course of Tour de France in sandals, riding around the world on bike, and many other impressive feats within the cycling world. On top of that, Morton's projects often have charitative outreach. The 31-year old Australian rider spoke to Cyclingnews about his netx aim; Unbound gravel.

"People want to keep gravel racing as it is, or they only want to keep it as competitive as they're willing to make it. I can see some of the merit in that, but I can also say, there are a lot of people who just wanted to stay the same, so they can stay competitive and relevant."

"It's a cool race. It's obviously the biggest gravel race in the world - it's very competitive. And the level of competition is really high. But it's a pretty fun course and just a big, hard day out. I think anyone who has raced it before would love to win it. But you have to have no bad luck and good legs."

"There was always a lot of debate around aero bars, no aero bars, if it's safe or whatever. Realistically, I think people are just going to flop their hands on their bars anyway. So you'd probably be better off having something to hang on."

"I just kind of try and focus on the way I carry myself, the way I race, and the way I approach it, and then you just have to hope that people see the value in that or they don't and the sport of will go whichever way."

"The biggest thing is, as long as teams don't come into it, it's gonna stay really cool. It can get as competitive as it wants, but as long as it stays solo individual riders out there racing hard, it's going to be cool racing and will always be fun to be part of. I think that's like my only hope for gravel racing."

"The sport is changing and that's not a bad thing. I don't think it has to be seen as this monster. I think growth is a good thing. And the amount of people you see trying to get on that start line every year and how much it goes up every year - I hope it continues to grow more and more crazy."