"It's literally a dogfight and nobody gives a sh*t about anyone" - Connor Swift explains the chaos of the Gravel World Championships

Last weekend at the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships, INEOS Grenadiers' Connor Swift secured himself a top-10 finish for the second successive year. After 3rd in 2023, the Brit had to settle for 6th this time around as Mathieu van der Poel took the title. 

Now the dust has settled somewhat, the 28-year-old reflected on his experiences in Belgium via the podcast of his INEOS Grenadiers teammates Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas, Watts Occurring. "Honest to god, you should go just for the experience," Swift begins his assessment. "It is the maddest thing ever!"

Ahead of the recent Gravel World Championships got back in the swing of gravel racing by taking victory at the UCI Gravel World Series - Graean Cymru. As mentioned, this wasn't his first experience of the madness either, having finished on the final podium behind Matej Mohoric and Florian Vermeersch at the 2023 edition in Italy.

"Throw it back to last year, the start of the Gravel World Championships, because obviously, I've done it twice now, there is nothing like it. It's literally a dogfight and nobody gives a shit about anyone," he recalls with a wry smile. "I've never had my elbows out as much and last year I literally had my knees out as well just so no one could get past me."

"You've got 290 guys, all going for a pinch point that is two guys wide or even single file," he continues. "In that first 1km, there's Tim Merlier in a grass verge with a Belgian on his side and they're both headbutting each other even though they're from the same nation!"

So can we expect to see either Rowe or Thomas competing at the 2025 edition? "Mate, you're not selling this to me!" Thomas laughs. "It sounds horrific." As for Rowe, the Welshman simply asks: "Why do you do it?"