From the dusty paths of the Nedbank Gravel Burn in South Africa comes an important and powerful message that cannot be ignored. The author is Clara Koppenburg, a 30-year-old Cofidis athlete, professional for eleven seasons and winner of two road races in her career.

After the seven stages of the challenging Gravel race (won by Axelle Dubau-Prévot with Koppenburg finishing sixth, ed.), the German cyclist wrote on her Social media: "Road cycling, I still love you, but right now, you're not the right environment for me".

Clara, in her post accompanied by smiling images, shares her experience: "The Gravel world seems to be the most suitable place for me, a place to rediscover myself, that smiling Clara who trusts and enjoys life, drawing the best from each single day". This week was different, I pedaled on gravel, slept in a tent under the stars and lived the adventure. My mind was free".

Koppenburg had started her road season in late January in Spain, then tackled the Italian spring races and the Northern Classics; then the Vuelta Espana and a few other races up to the Tour de France Femmes (finished 88th overall).

In August, on her Social profiles, Clara had spoken about weight, sharing her struggle with eating disorders and her personal victory, a topic she also addressed in her recent post. "I recovered from my eating disorder, and I'm incredibly proud, but in road cycling, it's not easy... everything is measured, compared, weighed - calories, grams, watts per kilo... In these days, no one weighed anything, no one counted calories, we just ate what was available. Real food, dessert included. And I pedaled harder".

In closing, the German athlete promises her fans exciting news soon, but in the meantime, it seems evident that gravel and a new way of understanding cycling are taking more and more space in Clara's heart.