Winty's story: Gravel Worlds

BaseCamp athlete Winty Singh shared his experience at the 2026 Gravel Worlds bike race in Nebraska.

A long time roadie, this was my first season riding gravel, and crossing that finish line felt like the culmination of a lot more than one day in Nebraska.

I’ve been coached by Coach Matt Tague since last year. He guided me through completing three double centuries and earning my California Triple Crown, and then this year through an entirely new challenge as I learned to ride gravel. Through all of it, Matt has had a way of keeping me grounded and helping me maintain a healthy perspective, especially when I have a tendency to get a little too deep inside my own head.

Last year taught me a lot about becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. This year, gravel gave me some deeper lessons.

There were rides when rough terrain, steep descents and unfamiliar conditions exposed how much fear and uncertainty could affect the way I rode. I found myself thinking not just about fitness or bike handling, but about how I respond when I don’t know exactly what’s coming next, and how easily uncertainty could make decisions for me.

Over the course of this season, I became very conscious of that response, and made it a focus to trust the skills I’d developed, and to keep moving forward without needing to know exactly what was around the next corner.

Yesterday, a lot of that came together.

The rain before the start left the gravel unexpectedly tacky, and after months of training on some much rougher terrain back home, I found myself increasingly comfortable as the miles went by. At the end of the race, I crossed the finish line tired, but with a relieved sense of accomplishment.

The Riaan Research Initiative kit I wore represents the cause I’ve been fundraising for through this ride, which added another layer of meaning to getting across that finish line.

One of the best parts of coming to Gravel Worlds was finally getting to meet so many BaseCampers in person, especially Late Show workout coaches Jill Gass and Liz Inglese, but also many others. I had a hard time placing names to faces because no one actually looks like their Zwift avatar. But, it was great finally putting real faces and conversations to names I’ve seen on Circle and Zwift all year.

And a special thank you to Tina Hart and Lorri Lown. They’ve followed my training for this fundraising ride for months, and when I came across the finish line, they were the two people standing there waiting to greet me. That felt special.

Thanks to Matt for guiding me through another very different cycling adventure, and to everyone here who offered encouragement along the way. I’ll be leaving Lincoln not just a more capable gravel rider, but with a better understanding of how to move through fear and uncertainty without letting either one control what I do next.