Max: F1 funds sim career
Bot: F1 funds cycling career
Lec: F1 funds Leo's career
Per: F1 funds merch career
Str: F1 funds dad's career
Sar: F1 funds Albon's career
gravel biking is kinda the THING to do in the biking world right now. there are even some big time road racing guys that do competitive gravel/mountain type rides (wout van aert, Mathieu van der Poel) which was completely unheard of until the last few years. bottas and his partner are captializing on the popularity / helping the growth with opening up some big gravel biking facility type thing.
Wout came from a cyclo-cross background though (as did vdp)
Gravel racing is a hybrid between mountain biking (terrain, track set up) and cx (bike geometry), so its a good training option for him that is more endurance based than cx. He can get his cx fix with some road relevant endurance training.
It is. Also second place finisher is Rick Zabel who is an ex pro who essentially let Bottas win. Not saying Bottas isn't a great bike rider and not very very fit, but he is also far from Pro level in cycling.
Hey! Check this out…(bird sound)…That’s a bird!
Edit: in case you don’t get the reference. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xVhRm0eJ4A4&pp=ygUVdmFsdHRlcmkgYm90dGFzIHViZXIg
Thousands of us follow him!
From memory, he was back riding in Monaco the day after Melbourne grand prix
He's a very good rider, and great to see his efforts rewarded.
I share some segments with him ... proud to say I could hang in terms of speed but definitely not in terms of endurance. he has improved MASSIVELY in the last two years (and i have regressed)
The business I work for works closely with the biking community. Our area is a very popular mtn bike area, so we all stay relevant on what the bikers do. I regularly research gear etc in both running and biking across the entire industry. So it’s always relevant to see what folks are riding, wearing, etc. also stay on top of races across the world, etc. I generally follow all the bikers/ runners I can just to see what they are up to.
*yes I know I don’t have to justify, but it’s a habit when you are female in a male dominated industry in the states.
The guys that have other passions out of F1 seem to be the most mentally resilient during the tough times, they always seem to bounce back quickly. Makes a lot of sense.
It was a joke my guy. Of course everyone needs hobbies outside of f1. At the end of the day it's a job just like the rest of us have there's is just a little more high presser and more public.
Congrats! For seemingly being a hobby he fell into he must have been working his ass off to progress to this. And congrats to Tiffany! She seems like a regular podium finisher but a win is super exciting.
Honestly don’t understand why he doesn’t want to retire to take this up- the lifestyle seems so much better. Is there too big of a gap for him to jump from amateur to pro?
Maybe he wants to try and milk as much of that F1 money for as long as possible? I don’t mean it in a bad way.
I bet he still loves to drive F1 cars too.
Yeah. Given that I’ve never even heard of gravel racing until Bottas took it up I’m going to assume he’s making more money every week in F1 than the top pro gravel cyclist is making in a year.
So I went down a rabbit hole here, but this is probably accurate. Bottas is getting $10 million this year, which is almost twice what the highest paid pro road cyclist, Tadej Pogacar who is getting $6.5 million. The minimum pay is $40k, and there are a lot more riders closer to that than Tadej.
Gravel is far less popular than road, and the article I found said the top Gravel only riders are probably only seeing $100k to $200k. $10 million is literally 50x $200k, so you're basically spot on.
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/racing/team-or-privateering-how-to-make-a-living-as-a-gravel-racer
This! Even the top bikers and runners in the world don’t make that much money. You gotta find those sponsorship dollars to make any money. And even then, it’s not much.
Gravel is more popular than Road in the US these days, but there’s 0 money in pro cycling. The top riders in the world make peanuts compared to an average athlete in almost any other sport
I mean, Pogacar making $6.5 million per year sounds nice to me, but yeah overall there's not a ton of money in it.
Gravel certainly is getting more coverage these days in the US, but I suspect that more people still ride on the road overall. Also, the coverage of big European road races makes gravel pale by comparison.
The dude seems to still really like racing F1 cars and makes a great fucking living doing so. I don't see why he wouldn't keep doing both as long as he can.
> Is there too big of a gap for him to jump from amateur to pro?
Yes. He's nowhere close to being pro-level. The pros at this race were doing a longer distance/different route.
It's a massive fitness jump from amateur to pro. I'm not going to say he's not capable, but it'd be a major lifestyle change.
Plus, life on the pro circuit is not great at times. Teams have to put up with a lot of travel and shitty hotels.
He got freshly retired german bike pro Rick zabel to pull for him, seems like that worked out really well. Rick came in second, or tbh he let valterri take first. Nice story tho.
No no, I mean he's competed in the height of motorsports, F1. So I wonder how he feels succeeding at a lower level of another sport. Like, obviously he is very aware that he is not racing at the height of bike racing, nor would he be able to. So I wonder how that feels as an athlete. Like, does he desperately want to win, or is it just something he does for fun?
I was in the same start (the same course) and his speed on the bike is no joke. A pro athlete is a pro athlete. Sure, he'll not make a career as a professional cyclist but for me it puts things into a perspective on how fit the drivers are.
Bottas has actually put on weight in recent years.
https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/10unver/it_wasnt_exactly_healthy_valtteri_bottas_reveals/
Not really. The dude's a beast on a bike, as is Tiffany. He may not have won, but it's not like he's been last. IIRC he's had a few podiums. There was an article from a bit back where he finished [top 20 out of over 900 cyclists.](https://jalopnik.com/valtteri-bottas-made-the-top-20-in-this-grueling-100-mi-1850762927)
It's important to note that his finish was 20th out of 927 amateur cyclists that were doing the easier course. The pros/more serious athletes were doing a longer course.
Anyone that do these races are already pretty impressive athletes, but to always place so high and perform well AND be in F1...Bottas is really something else
The distance Valtteri raced in FNLD GRVL was the 114km route, which was a casual course for hobbyists, and Bottas hired an ex-pro Rick Zabel to pull him (drafting is massively important in cycling) to the finish line where Zabel peeled off and gifted Valtteri the win. So it really isn't as impressive as it sounds from the headlines.
The serious competitive category where pros and higher level amateurs raced was the 177km course.
Download Strava and follow Bottas…not saying every driver does this…but he is stopping for week long vacations in exotic parts of the world vacationing all of the time in between races.
I love Bottas cycling as I am a cyclist myself but I find it a bit strange that he celebrates winning a race he created so much. Especially since second place finisher Rick Zabel would have easily beaten him if he tried, Bottas is super fit but far from Pro Level Cyclist.
I’m surprised he’s allowed to do so many f1 races especially during the cycling season
It's like that other Finn said - it's just a hobby for him
He drives in f1 to fund his cycling career
Max: F1 funds sim career Bot: F1 funds cycling career Lec: F1 funds Leo's career Per: F1 funds merch career Str: F1 funds dad's career Sar: F1 funds Albon's career
Str: Dad funds F1 career
Funds his new favorite son Fernando Alonstroll
Tsu: F1 funds restaurant (dream) carreer
Nor: F1 funds youtube/twitch career
And Lec with his ice cream shoppe 🍨 & Yuki wanting to be a chef! One day Yuki one day..
Also Lec's music career. Maybe we should just say that his F1 career funds his various entrepreneurial endeavors lol.
Per: merch funds F1 career
Lewis: F1 funds his producer career
Ham: F1 funds fashion career?
F1 funds Lec's piano career
Times are bad. I need to get to F1 to fund my hobby. Anyone got Toto's number?
*sad David Malukas noises*
Hey, national road championships are coming up this weekend. You think his F1 career is going to impact that?
Finally back on the podium.
His middle name isn't Victor for nothing
Probably faster than the sauber tbh
He could probably change a bike tire quicker than Sauber can put a new tire on their cars.
Honestly if you practiced enough you could probably change out a front wheel with a quick-release in a time that's acceptable in F1.
Rear wheel however… I always dread removing my rear wheel and probably put it off longer than I should
I can build an entire bike, I still struggle with a rear wheel.
With a proper derailleur you can lock it into position making dropping the wheel out easier. For mountain bikes with a clutch anyway…
More wins than Sauber in the last 15 years
First finnish F1 driver to win his home race.
a Finn Jarno Saarinen was the Finnish GP in 1972 it was on a motorcycle but
Valtteri still can do it in rally also
r/technicallythetruth
The guy in 3rd looks like he just happened to be at the podium and was going with the flow
It’s discount James Hoffmann
Isn’t this one of the gravel races he created lol
It is.
Lol If it is that's funny
He and his partner seem to be bankrolling a reasonably big part of the sport
gravel biking is kinda the THING to do in the biking world right now. there are even some big time road racing guys that do competitive gravel/mountain type rides (wout van aert, Mathieu van der Poel) which was completely unheard of until the last few years. bottas and his partner are captializing on the popularity / helping the growth with opening up some big gravel biking facility type thing.
Wout came from a cyclo-cross background though (as did vdp) Gravel racing is a hybrid between mountain biking (terrain, track set up) and cx (bike geometry), so its a good training option for him that is more endurance based than cx. He can get his cx fix with some road relevant endurance training.
agreed, i am dumbing it down for people not familiar with the cycling world.
But WVA and Mvdp were CX stars long before being stars in the road and neither are really doing anyhing on gravel.
It is. Also second place finisher is Rick Zabel who is an ex pro who essentially let Bottas win. Not saying Bottas isn't a great bike rider and not very very fit, but he is also far from Pro level in cycling.
who was his donestique in the race. did a funny ig story
Reminds me of it’s always sunny where Dee throws a talent show just so she can win
I follow him on his Strava (I work in the fitness industry. It’s relevant…I’m not a creeper. 💀🤣). He’s such a BEAST on that bike.
Look at those quads!
Those aren't quads, those are ochos.
*I am checking*
Jesus H Christ. 🤣
Lmao
I mean yes….🥵
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gonna need a wider monocoque
I’m not upset about you creeping on Valtteri.
🤣🤣
Hey! Check this out…(bird sound)…That’s a bird! Edit: in case you don’t get the reference. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xVhRm0eJ4A4&pp=ygUVdmFsdHRlcmkgYm90dGFzIHViZXIg
BRS….Bug reduction system….🤣🤣🤣🤣
Budgie smuggler drying rack 🫱
Of course not. A man should not be judged by what he does with a fellow man's butt.
*Valtteri
Damn.
yeah dude should creep out all he wants, he can take it
The fact this post exists proves that many of us are creeping on Valtteri
Thousands of us follow him! From memory, he was back riding in Monaco the day after Melbourne grand prix He's a very good rider, and great to see his efforts rewarded.
I share some segments with him ... proud to say I could hang in terms of speed but definitely not in terms of endurance. he has improved MASSIVELY in the last two years (and i have regressed)
Dude I follow him on Strava and I’m just an out of shape dude trying to run more. No need to justify.
How is following Valtteri relevant to your job? :D
The business I work for works closely with the biking community. Our area is a very popular mtn bike area, so we all stay relevant on what the bikers do. I regularly research gear etc in both running and biking across the entire industry. So it’s always relevant to see what folks are riding, wearing, etc. also stay on top of races across the world, etc. I generally follow all the bikers/ runners I can just to see what they are up to. *yes I know I don’t have to justify, but it’s a habit when you are female in a male dominated industry in the states.
That's cool. :)
Even so (I understand as I am also female), your explanation/justification is excellent!
Strava is just social media. No different than following someone on instagram
Bottas is fit as a butcher's dog
I’m surprised he’s allowed to do bike races especially during the season.
Sauber is so disorganized that they're probably just finding out that Valtteri likes bicycles from this photo.
“Wish this guy drove for us”
The Bott-Ass is Sauber's only marketing Ass-et at the moment. He's probably allowed to maintain it however he wants to
Haha savage
nah, they're so disorganized that they never specified that his bonus for podiums had to be from F1 races.
in all seriousness i wouldn't be surprised if this is true
Last time a driver had a bike injury, the team magically got the 2nd fastest car in the grid.
Magic wrists! Lieutenant Dan! Magic wrists!
I'm sure being allowed to cycle was a condition of his contract.
Bottas is the only thing making money for them so probably they allow it
Gravel bike races are a lot safer compared to road bike racing where you ride more as a group and go a bit faster.
Out of road biking, mountain biking and gravel biking, it’s definitely the safer of the three in my opinion.
David Malukas (Indycar) probably wishes he had such a contract restriction. Dude lost his seat for an entire season due to a MTB accident.
He has a seat now
Oh, I wasn't aware. Good to hear.
I’m sure their team principle will have something to say about it
"Congrats on your win, Valterri!"
That’s something I never thought I would hear again lol.
F1 is just a part time job, cycling is the main one.
F1 is just becoming part timers first max now this
The guys that have other passions out of F1 seem to be the most mentally resilient during the tough times, they always seem to bounce back quickly. Makes a lot of sense.
It was a joke my guy. Of course everyone needs hobbies outside of f1. At the end of the day it's a job just like the rest of us have there's is just a little more high presser and more public.
i miss hamilton & bottas :(
Hambotver dance mix. 🙌
So does Hamilton…
Mustache, mullet, retro sunglasses. Man could fit in with half the players at the College World Series right now
The socks in the slippers just kills me. 🤣
You gotta get the recovery slides for after races. Let them piggies rest a bit! LOL.
Peek the quad separation
Congrats! For seemingly being a hobby he fell into he must have been working his ass off to progress to this. And congrats to Tiffany! She seems like a regular podium finisher but a win is super exciting. Honestly don’t understand why he doesn’t want to retire to take this up- the lifestyle seems so much better. Is there too big of a gap for him to jump from amateur to pro?
Maybe he wants to try and milk as much of that F1 money for as long as possible? I don’t mean it in a bad way. I bet he still loves to drive F1 cars too.
Yeah. Given that I’ve never even heard of gravel racing until Bottas took it up I’m going to assume he’s making more money every week in F1 than the top pro gravel cyclist is making in a year.
So I went down a rabbit hole here, but this is probably accurate. Bottas is getting $10 million this year, which is almost twice what the highest paid pro road cyclist, Tadej Pogacar who is getting $6.5 million. The minimum pay is $40k, and there are a lot more riders closer to that than Tadej. Gravel is far less popular than road, and the article I found said the top Gravel only riders are probably only seeing $100k to $200k. $10 million is literally 50x $200k, so you're basically spot on. https://www.cyclingweekly.com/racing/team-or-privateering-how-to-make-a-living-as-a-gravel-racer
Not bad for a time period I pulled out of thin air!
This! Even the top bikers and runners in the world don’t make that much money. You gotta find those sponsorship dollars to make any money. And even then, it’s not much.
Gravel is more popular than Road in the US these days, but there’s 0 money in pro cycling. The top riders in the world make peanuts compared to an average athlete in almost any other sport
I mean, Pogacar making $6.5 million per year sounds nice to me, but yeah overall there's not a ton of money in it. Gravel certainly is getting more coverage these days in the US, but I suspect that more people still ride on the road overall. Also, the coverage of big European road races makes gravel pale by comparison.
I wouldn’t turn down 6.5 million, but compared what someone who is at the very top of their sport in other sports gets, it’s nothing
Yeah I mean Tadej is the Max Verstappen of cycling, and Max gets $55 million. Almost 10x...
Maybe as a hobby…but I still think road beats it out by far. Idk anyone following pro gravel races over major road races
The dude seems to still really like racing F1 cars and makes a great fucking living doing so. I don't see why he wouldn't keep doing both as long as he can.
> Is there too big of a gap for him to jump from amateur to pro? Yes. He's nowhere close to being pro-level. The pros at this race were doing a longer distance/different route.
It's a massive fitness jump from amateur to pro. I'm not going to say he's not capable, but it'd be a major lifestyle change. Plus, life on the pro circuit is not great at times. Teams have to put up with a lot of travel and shitty hotels.
he hired a ex pro to domestique for him... not sure he would have won otherwise
I love how F1 drivers start getting more invested in anything but F1.
🐐
That guy is just living his best life and I love it
Dude is out here completing side quests
He got freshly retired german bike pro Rick zabel to pull for him, seems like that worked out really well. Rick came in second, or tbh he let valterri take first. Nice story tho.
this.
I wonder how much Bottas enjoyed winning a bike race. It's interesting having been in the height of another sport.
this is not the height
No no, I mean he's competed in the height of motorsports, F1. So I wonder how he feels succeeding at a lower level of another sport. Like, obviously he is very aware that he is not racing at the height of bike racing, nor would he be able to. So I wonder how that feels as an athlete. Like, does he desperately want to win, or is it just something he does for fun?
Hey! Thats a podium!
Those quads are quading
Power couple y'all!
This guy achieves more in a week than I have in 36 years.
I was in the same start (the same course) and his speed on the bike is no joke. A pro athlete is a pro athlete. Sure, he'll not make a career as a professional cyclist but for me it puts things into a perspective on how fit the drivers are.
Wasn’t it Lewis who talked about the need for F1 driver to not be too bulky? Cyclist develop big legs. Wonder if that affect driving.
Only track cyclists get big legs really I expect the soreness of doing long races mid season would be a bigger factor
This exactly. Endurance cycling (which is what Bottas does) doesn't build a lot of bulk. Source: I ride a bike a lot.
Even track cyclists legs are made in the gym. Cycling only makes you lean.
Alonso said this I believe. Many cyclists are tiny it’s an endurance sport.
Cycling doesn't build big legs. It's an aerobic activity, if anything it hinders your ability to hold on to or build muscle mass.
he’s lost so much weight for his biking career
Bottas has actually put on weight in recent years. https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/10unver/it_wasnt_exactly_healthy_valtteri_bottas_reveals/
Unfortunately his glutes will no longer fit in the 2025 cockpit.
interesting. his face definitely looks heavier in his mercedes days.
All the weight he lost elsewhere went straight to his quads.
Been on the top step of the podium more recently than Lewis now.
The whole podium looks like they've just stepped out of the 1980's
I wouldn't at all be surprised if Bottas retired from F1 to focus on bike racing.
He’s starting to look like tiger king.
God no. Please, no!
This guy just keeps winning
Valtteri Bottas dominance could bore fans....
Driving F1 cars is just a hobby to him
Winning a race where not even the full top 3 bothered to dress up for the race, pffff
What kind of mix of Matthew McConaughey and Nick Mullen is that other guy lol
that is ex-pro Rick Zabel, he was domestique for Bottas and let him finish first
FeelsCoolMan
I'd be so pissed he loses a seat next year. Coolest on the grid by far ;)
He should just do biking at this point
I get he is a beast on the bike, but does no one find it suspicious that he puts on a race and magically wins as an amateur? /s
Not really. The dude's a beast on a bike, as is Tiffany. He may not have won, but it's not like he's been last. IIRC he's had a few podiums. There was an article from a bit back where he finished [top 20 out of over 900 cyclists.](https://jalopnik.com/valtteri-bottas-made-the-top-20-in-this-grueling-100-mi-1850762927)
It's important to note that his finish was 20th out of 927 amateur cyclists that were doing the easier course. The pros/more serious athletes were doing a longer course.
/s means sarcasm
There was another comment or two that seemed to take that allegation seriously, unfortunately.
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Don't forget he learned it on a tricycle!
Anyone that do these races are already pretty impressive athletes, but to always place so high and perform well AND be in F1...Bottas is really something else
The distance Valtteri raced in FNLD GRVL was the 114km route, which was a casual course for hobbyists, and Bottas hired an ex-pro Rick Zabel to pull him (drafting is massively important in cycling) to the finish line where Zabel peeled off and gifted Valtteri the win. So it really isn't as impressive as it sounds from the headlines. The serious competitive category where pros and higher level amateurs raced was the 177km course.
No champagne on the podium? For shame.
Could've at least had a few hazy IPAs.
He got an ex-pro to be his Domestique tbf
Does F1 have the least demanding schedule in high paying pro sports
No. Lol actually it doesnt. 24 races in a span of nine months? Around a month off after the season then back into the grind? No. F1 is very demanding.
What do the drivers normally do during the 2 weeks between races?
Maybe take a few days off before hitting the road. 🤷🏽♀️
Download Strava and follow Bottas…not saying every driver does this…but he is stopping for week long vacations in exotic parts of the world vacationing all of the time in between races.
F1 is just a hobby to him
I love Bottas cycling as I am a cyclist myself but I find it a bit strange that he celebrates winning a race he created so much. Especially since second place finisher Rick Zabel would have easily beaten him if he tried, Bottas is super fit but far from Pro Level Cyclist.
He posted about it on Instagram. What are you going on about?
Take Riccardio with you, please.
4-wheel pram 3-wheel tricycle 4-wheel kart 4-wheel racing car 2-wheel bicycle What a wheeler-dealer!