Rosa Klöser on her rise from university commutes to Unbound Gravel winner: "It's mind-blowing and honestly, a dream come true for me"
Gravel
Rosa Kloser's rise in cycling has been nothing short of
remarkable. The 28-year-old Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto rider etched her name into
the history books last year by winning the Unbound Gravel 200, widely regarded
as the biggest event in gravel racing. Her journey from commuting in Copenhagen
to standing atop the podium as Unbound Queen, is a testament to her rapid
ascent in the sport.
The landscape of women’s cycling has undergone a
transformation in recent years. Between 2019 and 2024, the introduction of the
Tour de France Femmes has made it the premier event on the calendar,
professionalism has increased, salaries have drastically increased, and a new
generation of riders has emerged. For Klöser, the past five years have seen her
transition from a casual commuter cyclist completing her PhD to an elite gravel
racer.
Many recognise Klöser for her dramatic comeback from a
puncture and surprise sprint victory at Unbound Gravel. But now, as 2025 gets
underway, she is trying her hand on her road bike and will be competing amongst
some of the WorldTour’s best riders.
"I kind of started in the midst of the coronavirus
crisis. In Copenhagen and Denmark, everyone is really sporty, so a lot of
people use a bike for commuting," Klöser told Cyclingnews during her first
team training camp in December. "I thought at one point, why shouldn't I
do that? And then I really fell in love with cycling quickly.
"It must have been late 2020 that I was on a road bike
for the first time in my life. Then at the start of 2021, I bought a nice road
bike and went out on the first longer rides. But still, the first local race
I've ever done on the road was in 2022."
Klöser was encouraged to pursue gravel racing by
professional cyclist Piotr Havik.
"I took his advice, then fast forward to 2023 and I did
my first gravel races, almost by myself, very unprofessionally, with just me
and my boyfriend going to the races. But it went really, really well,"
said Klöser.
"I went on to score multiple podiums in the UCI Gravel
Series. From there on in, my professional cycling career started, because that
was the first time I got in touch with sponsors who were keen to support me in
the sport."
"In 2024 I had a way more professional setup for races,
but still very much focused on gravel," she recalls. "Then I managed
to win arguably the biggest gravel race in the world, Unbound Gravel, as a
little bit of a dark horse to some."
Her journey has been unexpected, even to herself.
"It's been huge progress and to be honest with you, I
never expected it. My main focus was my PhD when I started cycling, so if you
had asked me if we would be having this interview in 2022, I would for sure not
have believed you.
"If you had told me that I'm sitting here today with
you as a Canyon-SRAM WorldTour rider, I would not have believed you. So yeah,
it's mind-blowing and honestly, a dream come true for me - but maybe a dream
that I didn't even know that I had in 2022."
Just three weeks after winning Unbound Gravel, she lined up
against WorldTour professionals at the German road nationals, finishing ninth.
"It's fair to say that I was definitely elevated
through the victory at Unbound. Canyon as a cycling brand, they're really big
in gravel and are investing heavily in it. They do already have the GRVL
CLLCTV, their individual gravel squad," said Klöser.
"But with me, I was always curious from the start of my
short cycling career about road racing as well, with it being much more
strategic, more about teams and sometimes having goals for some riders not
always to win, but to contribute.
"When I talked to Canyon about becoming part of their
gravel team, at the same time, I was actually just signing up for the German
road nationals, to do some road racing just out of curiosity. I went there, and
it actually went really well. I was in the final selection in the race and of
course, Canyon-SRAM was present because of the team's German riders.
"That was kind of my first touch point with the road
racing side of the team. I think the idea emerged that actually, there are a
lot of synergies that we could maybe use and that it could be a really nice,
dare I say, experiment to use me in both capacities."
Now part of Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto, Klöser is thriving
alongside teammates like Zoe Bäckstedt, the 20-year-old Welsh rider who has
claimed the last two junior cyclocross world titles.
"It's a team that always, from when I started racing in
2022, really stood out to me because of their very unique approach of working
with cyclists," Klöser said. "They're very open-minded and they've
always had new approaches like Zwift Academy to select new talent, but also
with riders in the past who have combined different disciplines.
"They are giving me the opportunity to combine gravel
racing with road racing and I think if we look at both disciplines, the gravel
and the road, we can actually see that there's a lot of synergies and gravel is
becoming way more professional."
Klöser has clear ambitions for the future.
"For me, definitely, it's not a secret that you will
find me at the start line of Unbound again hoping to defend my title. The team
has also been super supportive in allowing me to prepare well for that and have
this goal in mind," Klöser said.
"I'm hoping long-term to do some of the more technical,
gravel-style road races like Strade Bianche or Paris-Roubaix would of course be
a dream to participate in.
"I think I can learn so much from the girls, from their
road racing smartness. But I hope that I can bring my big gravel engine to the
road races as well and support them as well as possible."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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