Andrew ‘Andy’ Lydic refers to himself because the ‘U23 Gravel World Champion’, and whereas that title is unofficial it’s genuine. He raced each editions of the UCI Gravel World Championships with the elite males’s squad for Staff USA and was certainly the perfect rider beneath the age of 23 who was not within the 19-34 age class.
Stepping up on the Worlds to race among the many elite class turned out to be the spotlight of a tumultuous 2022 season for Lydic, who moved to Spain that 12 months to pursue an expert highway profession and realised that gravel may create an unconventional new path to a profession in biking.
“My entire mission is to make use of gravel as a platform to skilled biking. I need to get into an expert staff or WorldTour staff, from gravel-based outcomes,” Lydic informed Cyclingnews on his birthday in January about his deliberate profession path, nonetheless solely 22 years previous.
“My entire gravel venture is a pathway. I would love to have the ability to create a stairstep behind me for guys who got here into the game and had a poor expertise with novice groups. To not say I do not love racing highway, however I feel there’s an untapped market. And I get to race gravel, I’ve enjoyable.”
It was two seasons in the past the unknown 20-year-old was added to the Staff USA elite males’s roster on the UCI Gravel World Championships. He had completed twenty fourth general on the lengthy course at Ranxo Gravel, so he certified for the 19-34 age class at Worlds and used a petition course of with USA Biking to maneuver on the elite roster on the inaugural Worlds, making him the third-youngest rider in that division.
“I needed to race with the elites, and I used to be like, wow, this can be a improbable expertise. I acquired to line up with Peter Sagan and Mathieu van der Poel. Superheroes – I acquired to race them. I believed it was the best factor on this planet,” Lydic cheerfully said. “I had a horrible race. I did not end. Shortly after, I [realised] I had COVID.”
He returned to the 2023 Worlds within the elite area and completed among the many main 25% of the riders in thirty seventh place.
“You get to step into these [gravel] races with the perfect racers on this planet – the perfect cyclocross racers, the perfect mountain bike racers, and the perfect highway racers unexpectedly. So in case you can present your self as a younger man, I feel there’s a variety of worth that I can create for my identify and my private model. I am hoping that they [UCI] acknowledge sooner or later, even an under-23 jersey for this upcoming 12 months. I am nonetheless eligible for U23.”
He began a full 2024 schedule of off-road racing final weekend on the Low Hole Grasshopper sequence occasion in northern California, the place he completed seventh. This Sunday he’ll take the beginning near his Boulder, Colorado dwelling at Previous Man Winter Rally on Sunday.
“I’ve by no means executed it earlier than. It looks like it is 45 levels and completely advantageous, and a number of the trails are a bit gnarly, or different years it is like two toes of snow, and it is simply brutal for the entire time. So I am to see how that truly performs out. It is acquired a fairly first rate prize purse.”
His largest disappointment for the brand new season was not being chosen among the many 30 elite males to compete within the Life Time Grand Prix. He thought his utility can be accepted, given his expertise at such a younger age.
“I am bummed to not be within the Grand Prix, particularly for Leadville,” Lydic admitted, including he was on the clock to register for qualifier races to get into Leadville Path 100 MTB in a while his birthday. As a Life Time athlete Leadville would have been an computerized entry.
“Now I’ve to place some stress and strain on myself. I’ve acquired to have good performances at these qualifier races to get me into Leadville. After which past that, the affiliation with the others within the Grand Prix, I feel is admittedly cool. They get good media publicity and the blokes discuss to one another. I believed I deserved a spot there, however it goes to indicate that like racing, it is a couple of bit extra than simply bike racing. And it offers me some fireplace to indicate as much as these occasions and do rather well.”
Bumpy highway to gravel
Lydic got here up by the ranks of Boulder Junior Biking and had success on the Colorado Time Trial Championships and smaller criteriums and stage races. Began racing some gravel in 2021, taking a shot at SBT GRVL in close by Steamboat Springs on the age of 19. He completed the 144-mile black course in thirty fourth general, out of 705 riders. The following 12 months he was twenty sixth general on the black course, ending simply two minutes behind prime professionals like Peter Stetina, Cole Paton and Laurens ten Dam.
It was in 2022 he moved to Spain with a contract to race on the highway, however it was a myriad of misfortunes, and a 12 months he described as “turbulent, unstable”. His first, then second, Spanish novice staff folded in the course of the season, whereas a 3rd promise of a profession alternative simply vanished come fall. He summed it up, “The novice racing scene in Europe is a prepare wreck”, however he mentioned it was a invaluable expertise.
“I used to be like, all proper, I’ve executed gravel races, Steamboat twice. I put in a strong consequence on the UCI Gravel race in Spain which afforded me the chance to race on the 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships. So I ought to attempt to determine how I can race gravel, put collectively my very own season as a result of I did not need to sort of be on the danger of being on groups folding again and again and over,” he recounted. “I used to be in Europe just about for 2 years, after which got here again to the US to race gravel.”
He mentioned he sat in Girona, ’emotionally disrupted’ and pondering how he ought to proceed to pursue his dream of racing his bike, with out a staff or perhaps a resume filled with outcomes from the previous chaotic 12 months to land sturdy curiosity. What he did have was connections in Colorado and expertise on gravel.
“So then I began racing for some private sponsors, racing for BMC, ‘It May Be Me’, and Northwave. In 2023 I began the season with the UCI gravel races. So I acquired fairly good leads to these. And every of these out of the highest three for under-23. I went again over for Gravel World Championships this fall, in fact, and had a very good journey there.”
He nonetheless rides with assist from BMC, Maurten Diet and a Colorado non-profit It May Be Me, which works to enhance the connection between motorists and different customers of the highway by creating an atmosphere of mutual respect.
This 12 months he’ll compete at solely a choose few of the Life Time Grand Prix occasions, skipping Sea Otter’s Fuego XL and Unbound Gravel. His early summer season is crammed with six European races, starting at Wörthersee Gravel in Austria and going to Might 18 for an additional strive at The Gralloch in Scotland, the place he was fifteenth final 12 months. Different targets embody the US Marathon Mountain Bike Championships in June and a fourth look at SBT GRVL in August.
“I sit up for racing subsequent season because the U23 gravel world champ and am excited to proceed to create the way forward for gravel.”
