'I'm happy to be here until the end of my career' - US gravel racer Alexey Vermeulen extends with ENVE on unique long-term deal

Alexey Vermeulen is still a week away from the official start of his 2026 season at RADL GRVL in Australia and the US gravel racer may have just scored his biggest win of the year. On Wednesday, he announced a career-long contract extension with ENVE components that will provide support through the end of his years as a full-time racer and continue with a role with athlete development.

In the months leading to his 31st birthday in December, Vermeulen began discussion for a new contract with his primary gravel sponsor, ENVE, who provides his bike, wheels and various components. The partnership was created in 2021 when the Michigan native moved from road racing to off-road racing. That first year he competed in Unbound Gravel 200 and finished in the top 20.

Vermeulen has been part of the invitation-only field for the Life Time Grand Prix since the first year in 2022, finished 11th or better each year, and was twice second overall to Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road). With multiple podiums, his top victories in the series have been at 2024 Big Sugar Gravel and 2025 Chequamegon MTB.

"It feels cliche to say 'family', but it's really been fun the last five years with ENVE. Loyalty is somewhat unique in the sport. A lot has changed. When I first signed with ENVE, they didn't make a bike. ENVE products have come such a long way in a very short time," Vermeulen told Cyclingnews.

"We started the negotiation process [for a new contract] last year, and I was asked to make a three, five and 10-year plan, which I believe is not something that most companies would ask their athletes. It made me think. Obviously, I'm 31 and don't think I'm going to be racing at 41 so that forces you to really say, 'OK, are you gonna be racing in three years, five? What are you going to be doing? Still in the Grand Prix? It kind of opened up all these thought processes.

"We got to a point where I think the contract was ambiguous enough, like the length we wanted to sign, and we got to the point where we committed to each other till the end. I think it's just really special. Very, very few athletes in cycling have been able to finagle that. This is what a true partnership can look like in gravel."

Vermeulen came from a background in road racing, with three seasons on the BMC Development Team and then two seasons with LottoNL-Jumbo, now Visma-Lease a Bike. He had sporadic success at USPro Road Nationals with bronze medals in the road race and time trial, as well as sixth overall at Tour de Beauce and second overall at Tour du Maroc, both UCI 2.2 stage races.

The first lifetime contracts for a professional cyclist were signed in the past two years by Wout van Aert and Marianne Vos to remain on Visma-Lease a Bike. This was followed by Mads Petersen committing last season to Lidl-Trek for the extent of his road racing career.

Long-term contracts of three years or more are rare in road cycling, and almost non-existent in gravel racing, where most athletes race on individual programmes as privateers. Until Vermeulen's agreement, Swenson's new signing with Specialized Off-road for a three-year term had been the most notable marker for occupational stability.

"One of the big things I feel like that I've that they've utilized me for a lot is athlete development. The conversation post-career has been a lot toward the development of athletes more than product," he said, hinting of another announcement in March.

"At a young age, because I left the road early, I feel like I had a good finger on the pulse for what it means to be 23 and fighting for a contract, or 25 and trying to break into it. Gravel has a standing guard now, like Keegan, Matt Beers, Russell Finsterwald, like we're all 30 to 35. Gravel's future is not us, and that's exciting. I think that's probably where I look forward with most excitement is athlete development, from 18 year olds, like from high school leagues."

Vermeulen travels to Australia to compete in next week's RADL GRVL p/b Quad Lock, January 23 in McLaren Vale, one of the early races on the international gravel calendar. While he has visited Australia many times, it is the first time he has competed in any bike race there since the Tour Down Under in 2017.

He will return to the US to race The Mid South and Valley of Tears as preparations to begin a fifth Life Time Grand Prix, the opening round set for April 16 in Monterey, California at Sea Otter Classic.

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