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F1 star warms up for Melbourne Grand Prix with 30km/h ride...uploaded to Strava, of course

Last week, Valtteri Bottas was spotted supporting partner and Canyon–SRAM pro Tiffany Cromwell at the Tour of Flanders

How did Valtteri Bottas warm up for his 8th-place finish at the Melbourne Grand Prix this morning? With a 30km/h training ride, of course. And, like any true cyclist, the Finnish F1 racer uploaded his spin to Strava...

Valtteri Bottas Strava

Nice for some, getting paid to roll along the Aussie coast in toasty temperatures of 18-24°C (depending on which of his Garmin Epix Gen2 or Strava you trust more).

Valtteri Bottas Strava

Admittedly, Lewis Hamilton's former Mercedes teammate did then have to go and race a Grand Prix, finishing 8th, so it is not all pedalling along promenades.

With that said, Bottas' 30km/h average speed, on what was presumably a relaxing pre-race warm up, hints at the Finn's fine fitness which saw him finish second in his age category on gravel racing debut at the SBT GRVL event in Colorado last summer.

I guess you would get pretty quick pretty quickly if your partner is Canyon-SRAM pro and two-time women's Giro d'Italia stage winner Tiffany Cromwell.

Last week, Bottas was snapped cheering on Cromwell as she raced the cobbles of the Tour of Flanders, supporting team leader Katarzyna Niewiadoma.

So, when you have got a women's WorldTour training partner to keep up with perhaps it should not be a surprise to see the 32-year-old Alfa Romeo driver tapping out relatively easy 30km/h rides.

Valtteri Bottas Strava

The joys of urban cycling will explain all those stops and accelerations, but helped Bottas burn 577 calories before the racing had even begun.

The 10-time Grand Prix winner regularly shares his rides on Strava, with one recent activity attracting a comment from a British fan offering Bottas a place on the local club run when he arrives at Silverstone in July. Could Valtteri be coming to a Northamptonshire lane near you?

Bottas is not the only cyclist in the Formula 1 paddock. Four-time world champ Sebastian Vettel often pedals to races, with this J.Laverack Bicycles' beauty featuring Shimano DuraAce Di2, Pro Vibe carbon bars and ÆRA's forks, carbon seatpost and 700c carbon wheels his ride of choice.

Sebastian Vettel's bike (Image credit: J.Laverack Bicycles)

This week, the now-former No.1 mechanic of Formula E outfit Jaguar TCS Racing, Charlie Forkner, landed himself in hot water after a screenshot emerged of a foul-mouthed social media post in which he ranted about cyclists who do not use cycle lanes.

> Mechanic "no longer associated" with Jaguar TCS Racing after saying run over cyclists ignoring cycle lanes

Forkner said cyclists who ride in the road when there is a cycle lane available should be "ran over [...] dragged onto the path and p*ssed on by everyone!". Shortly after, Jaguar TCS Racing released a statement saying the mechanic was "no longer associated" with the team.

Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.

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