Nathan Haas blog – The inevitable rise of teamwork in gravel racing

The Rift - Gravel Race Iceland
Haas (in pink and green) chases behind a split with two Mazda Lauf team riders at The Rift (Image credit: The Rift - Gravel Race Iceland)

My alarm went off at 5.am, an hour usually reserved for darkness, but with the all-night sun in Iceland this time of year, the distant Volcano of Hekla - my challenge for the day - could already be seen through the windows of my cabin. 

Dressed, and bike packed in the car, we set off for the 20-minute drive to the start of The Rift gravel race, to be ready for a bleary-eyed 6:30.am start.

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Nathan Haas turned his back on the WorldTour to dive into world of gravel. After a decade at the top echelon of professional road racing, the Australian is answered the off-road call in 2022, teaming up with Colnago to race and ride as a privateer on the burgeoning global gravel scene. He'll be documenting his experiences for Cyclingnews along the way, in his own inimitable style.