Deep into my off-season in November, a time when the word 'guilt' belongs not in a cyclist's diction, I ran into Tiffany Cromwell. "Great news, we've started a gravel race in Australia," she proclaimed. "In fact, it's around the corner [from] your family house in Adelaide."
When is the race, I responded. "Oh, you know, mid-January," came the reply. Then down goes my cake and my last swallow of perfectly milky coffee - my last moment of innocence. My season is now about to start two months earlier than expected, and I'm now panicking. Thanks, Tiff. And thanks Valtteri [Bottas].
