Ian Boswell on the Migration Gravel Race: 'It's so much more than a bike race'

NAIROBI, Kenya (VN) — In the two weeks between Ian Boswell’s big win at Unbound Gravel and his travel to Kenya for the Migration Gravel Race, the 30-year old had very little time to think about riding his bike.

“It was busy,” he told me. “I didn’t really realize how influential that race could be on an athlete’s career. I didn’t turn down any media requests or podcasts, big or small, I tried to accommodate everyone’s requests. I know how difficult it can be, I have a podcast of my own.”

Read also:

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Boswell lives with his wife on a 10.5-acre farm in northern Vermont, and he had plenty of chores to do between Kansas and Kenya. He also works full-time as an athlete liaison for Wahoo Fitness. He only managed three bike rides while he was home. Like any travel related to work, sometimes the tedium trumps the adventure.

But for Boswell, the Migration Gravel Race isn’t work.

Of the race’s 61 riders, 21 hail from Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. For the past year, some of those riders who are affiliated with international partnerships like Team Amani, Team Africa Rising, and the Masaka Cycling Club have embarked on a unique training and racing program with Wahoo’s Sufferfest platform. The Migration Gravel Race is their opportunity to test themselves against some of gravel’s current A-list, including Boswell’s Unbound podium-mate Laurens ten Dam.

Boswell said that he plans to race hard, but that he also feels that his presence on course could serve a different role, one more of ‘captain’ than competitor.

“Of course, I want to race them, but if I have the opportunity to see how they’re implementing their fitness into tactics and techniques, that’s really cool,” he said. “That’s what I want. For these athletes to go against the best riders in gravel and show what they’re capable of.”

As someone who has just come off the self-proclaimed biggest win of his career, Boswell knows how much is riding on the East Africans having a good performance in Kenya. Wahoo is sending the top three East African finishers from the Migration Gravel Race to the U.S. later this summer to compete at Belgian Waffle Ride Asheville, as well as SBT GRVL.

“I think when I look at my own career, all these opportunities I’ve had, going to nationals, junior races, U23s — when you keep having the opportunity to perform on bigger stages, if you perform at the right time, you move up,” Boswell said. “This is a huge opportunity for them, and not just the race in their own backyard.”

“Laurens and I have raced professionally, had our opportunities. For me, if I can give an opportunity to another rider to change the course of their life, how cool is that that?”